Page 14

Asher

A trail of water follows me across the hall as I leave her to finish up in the shower.

I go straight into my room, not stopping until I’m in my bathroom.

It’s all white from top to bottom inside.

There’s not a trace of color anywhere, but I like it this way.

It’s clean of any stains from my past, and it’s all mine.

A sharp contrast to the ones I had to use in prison with several others at the same time.

Privacy isn’t something I’ll take for granted ever again.

I pull off my shirt and toss it on the floor.

I’ll pick it up later.

I have more important things to do right now.

Grabbing a towel off the rack, I start wiping at the water droplets that cover my neck and chest.

My temper’s so far gone that I don’t realize how much pressure I’m using until I feel the burning of my skin.

I throw it next to my shirt and grip the sides of the sink.

My head hangs as I struggle to keep my breathing even.

Every time I deal with her, she throws me for a fucking loop, does the opposite of what I expect her to.

Not to mention I fucking flinched at the heat of her touch. It felt like fire branding into my skin. It’s both aggravating and intriguing all at the same time, and that just pisses me off.

Goddamn her!

I exhale another long breath and struggle to get my pulse under control. If I don’t get my shit together, I may end up wringing her neck. The damn dark-haired vixen is nothing like I thought she’d be. She’s fire and ice all wrapped up in one tiny little body.

Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention and I know who it is before he even speaks. His footsteps are much heavier than Zane’s.

“You okay there, big brother? Z said you had a little bit of trouble with your hellcat.”

There’s no missing the humor in Axel’s voice. The fucker’s enjoying watching me come unhinged more than he should.

“Not now, Ax.”

I don’t have it in me to put up with his shit right now.

To my relief, he listens and doesn’t say anything else. He leans against the doorjamb and watches me lose my shit over a woman half my size. She may be a tiny thing, but fuck me if her temper isn’t as large as mine.

“She’s so fucking stubborn.”

I meet his eyes through the reflection in the mirror and sigh.

“Sounds like someone else I know.”

His mouth curves into a wide smile like my frustrations are the funniest thing he’s ever seen.

“The fuck if it does. I am not anything like her.”

Despite what he thinks, he’s wrong. To compare us is like comparing oil to water. We’re nothing alike.

“Right.”

Axel doesn’t look convinced one fucking bit and it grates on my nerves.

I ignore the feeling that’s settling into my bones at what he’s implying and walk past him to grab a dry shirt from my closet. The first one I find I throw on. It doesn’t matter that it happens to be a dark shade of green or that it matches the color of her eyes perfectly. That’s just a coincidence.

Turning my back on Axel’s laughing ass, I make my way back to the little demon. I don’t need to look at the time to know her ten minutes are up and if they aren’t, oh fucking well.

I’m shocked as shit when I walk in to find that she’s done exactly as I’ve asked. She’s showered and dressed in one of my t-shirts, glaring at me. The shirt’s so big it hits her just above her knees. Her dark hair is sopping wet and clings to the sides of her face—a face that’s now free of makeup and showing off a perfect olive complexion.

Blood flows south, making my jeans uncomfortably tight. There’s just something about seeing her in my clothes that has my dick springing to life. I fight against the ache in my pants and focus on the raven-haired vixen in front of me. She’s the enemy. I need to remember that or things are going to get fucked before I’ve even started.

The points of her nipples poke against the thin cotton material, no doubt remnants of the cold shower she endured. It’s enough to almost make me feel like the bastard she believes me to be—almost. If she’d just fucking cooperate and do as I say she’d realize things wouldn’t always be this difficult. Then she glances behind me and her calm demeanor flies out the window.

“You!”

Like a wild banshee, she charges for my brother. Her tiny hands ball into fists as she punches against his chest. “If you hurt Kelsey, I’m going to cut your balls off.”

I should probably stop her, but I’m enjoying the fact that her rage is aimed at someone else for the moment. Plus, I’m still annoyed with Axel’s earlier comment, so this is what he gets—a little payback for busting my balls.

“Whoa there, Hellcat.”

Axel raises his hands in mock surrender. He keeps them up and doesn’t make a move to stop her, which is good because if he puts his hands on her, I may lose my shit. “She’s safe at home.”

“Bullshit,”

Charlee snaps as she continues to hit him. I should probably stop her, and I might…eventually.

“It’s the truth. I swear on Willie Mae that she’s fine.”

Axel’s voice has gone soft as if he’s talking down a wild animal, and I guess the comparison isn’t that far off. Charlee is proving to be a bit feral.

She stops her assault and stares at him like he’s lost his mind, which is a strong possibility. “Who?”

“His truck,”

I offer up from behind them, causing her attention to shift back to me.

“And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”

She puts her hands on her hips, causing the hem of my t-shirt to ride higher up her thighs, and glares at me. The movement is small, but her attitude is large as fuck. It’s an image that has my dick straining against the zipper of my jeans in appreciation.

“He loves that truck more than anything. So, if he swears on that, Princess, then he’s dead serious.”

I fight to gain control and keep my shit together while I answer her.

“I am.”

A muscle jerks in Axel’s cheek as he answers her.

“Let’s go.”

Situation handled, I grab her arm and lead her out into the hall. I’ll get what crawled up his ass out of Axel later. We have enough shit going on right now without adding more to the pile.

A faint scent of lemons hits me, and I do my best to ignore the way the scent of my shampoo smells better coming off of Charlee or the way her soft skin feels under my hand as we descend the stairs.

Axel must catch something on my face because he just grins and gives me a knowing look. I shake it off and keep walking.

When we walk into the basement, Zane is ready and waiting for us. Charlee’s back goes ramrod straight the minute she sees the lone chair in the center of the room. I didn’t need to drag her all the way down here to make the call, but I knew it would throw her off if I did. Messing with her has become one of my favorite pastimes. If I focus all my hate, all my rage on her, it keeps the nightmares and all the other shit inside my head at bay and that’s enough for me for now.

“Sit.”

A part of me feels like a sack of shit for ordering her around so much, but the more she’s scared of me, the better my plans will work.

She hesitates for a brief second before sitting in the chair. Her body scoots back until it’s flush with the backrest, causing her feet to dangle off the floor a bit as her wide eyes take everything in. She’s assessing, scheming to come up with an escape route. She thinks I don’t notice what she’s doing, but she’s wrong. The determined look in her eyes is one I’m all too familiar with. She’s Diego’s daughter through and through.

Axel hands me the rope off the floor and I get to work tying her up at her wrists and ankles.

“Seriously?”

She arches a dark eyebrow at me as her plump lips purse together. There’s a fire behind her gaze, driving home the same burning need in mine. This is going to be a battle of wills, and I will come out on top.

“Yes, Princess. Get over it.”

I grind my teeth to keep my cool. That fucking mouth of hers is going to be the death of me. I’m quick and efficient with my knots and have her all tied up in less than a minute. I tug on the ropes for one last test before I walk over to the laptop I had Axel bring down earlier and set it up for a video call.

“Yes.”

He answers on the first ring. His suit is wrinkled and his hair’s a mess. There’s no trace of the put together criminal I’ve come to know. He’s been waiting for this call. Behind him is Marco.

“Been a long time, Diego, huh?”

My fingers dig into the sides of the monitor. Seeing the turmoil on his face is the only thing keeping me calm.

“Let me talk to my daughter, Savage.”

Guess we’re not going to do the bullshit routine of small talk; that’s fine with me.

“I’ll do you one better.”

I twist the laptop around, giving him a full view of Charlee’s sitting form. “There she is.”

“You okay, Mija?”

Hearing the softer tone he takes with her, as a parent would with their child, annoys the shit out of me. I could have had that, but he robbed me of that privilege.

“I’m fine, Papá.”

Her voice comes out smooth and controlled. A momentary sense of admiration washes over me. She’s keeping her shit together much better than I thought she would.

I spin the computer back around to face me. “You get my present? It’s too bad Benny wasn’t more careful.”

His dark eyebrows narrow at my words, and in that slight mannerism, I see a small resemblance to Charlee, but that’s where the similarities end. She inherited her olive skin and green eyes from her mother.

“You’re fucking dead, Puto!”

Marco slams his fist down on the desk so hard the monitor rattles.

“What do you want?”

Diego puts a hand out to shut him up and turns his attention back to me. There’s no missing the dark circles under his eyes. He probably hasn’t slept much since he discovered Charlee missing. Good. Let him sweat and wonder how I’m violating his princess.

“You know what I want.”

The fact that he’s playing stupid right now only adds fuel to my fire.

“You want money? Is that it?”

He leans against his desk and closer to the screen. “Let my daughter go and we’ll talk. Settle this like men.”

A dark laugh escapes me at his use of the word ‘men.’ “Oh, I’m gonna settle this all right. You took from me and now I’m gonna take from you.”

His throat bobs up and down as he swallows, and that’s the only hint I get that he’s even pissed at me taking his precious little girl. “If you lay a finger on her I’m going to—”

I force out a small smile at the torment written on this bastard’s face. I have what he loves most at my fingertips and it’s killing him. “Going to what? Kill me? Torture me? Nothing you can do to me is any worse than what I’ve suffered, what I’ve lost, so bring it on, motherfucker.”

“You son of a bitch! I’m going to—”

“We’ll be in touch.”

I end the call, but not before I hear him and Marco let out another string of curses. Good to know I’ve struck a nerve. Phase one is complete. It’s time for phase two.