Page 49 of Trial of Deceit (The Family’s Oath #1)

Chapter twenty-nine

H e’d checked on their baby a few minutes ago. Now, they were back in Ashari’s private room. They were in the bed — Ashari lying on the right side of Jediah’s chest while he had an arm wrapped around her body.

Silence was mostly their companion while they waited for the lozenge Cedella had given Ashari to take effect.

As they held each other, he thought of all the things he and his wife did to each other — every good deed, all the bad ones, and everything in between.

Ashari’s throat still ached, but not enough where she couldn’t speak occasionally.

After she confessed about her earrings, Jediah exhaled a long sigh.

So, Reka was right.

When Jediah had returned to one of the chambers in the dungeon for them to run tests on him, Reka had told him that Ashari might’ve been recording their conversations. Jediah hadn’t believed her until she showed him an image of Ashari walking with Toby Payne.

Jediah had felt betrayed.

Someone needed to pay for the secrecy that could’ve saved them all the trouble.

Of course he knew Ashari was the cause of the last set of leaks. Still, he needed to teach Reka a lesson about withholding important information from him. She was too valuable for him to kill, so he went with the next best option: the rookie.

As tech savvy as Reka was, it was impossible for her to hack into Jediah’s mind. She’d never figure out that Tyre was killed to keep her in line, and Jediah hoped to keep it that way.

Unsure of what else Ashari might’ve gotten had made him more insistent to pull the truth from her in the most grueling way possible.

That had been a wasted attempt.

All it did was leave Ashari’s back with long streaks that raised off her skin, and a guilt heavy on his shoulders that no amount of her sweet kisses could rid.

“You’re going to be my demise, Ashari…” Jediah said.

“Richardson,” she finished, and he could tell that she was smiling.

His chuckle riveted through his chest, right below her head.

“What did you want to tell me at the warehouse?” His blood boiled as he remembered how he could’ve lost his wife, child, and even his own life, but he couldn’t let it show.

Ashari needed to feel safe, and he wouldn’t dare to put her back on edge after all she’d gone through.

She leaned off him to look at his face. His eyes raked over her features. She had a few nicks and bruises across her face, which shone from a healing ointment. Dark circles were beneath her eyes. He needed to ensure she got some sleep soon.

“I overheard something back at the house,” she confessed, causing his brow to raise.

“What?”

Ashari gulped, the action not lost on Jed. “Somebody was talking about Quadre.”

“My nephew?” he asked, aghast as she nodded. “Wa ’bout him?”

“Before I tell you, keep in mind that the conversation was happening before I heard it. After I heard Quadre’s name, I knew I had to tell you.”

“You a mek mi uneasy. Talk if you a talk,” he gritted out. His hand twitched, desperate to have a gun in its hold.

Gulping, she nodded before forcing the words out. “It was Eli…”

His jaw dropped. The world faded around him. Ashari watched him, on edge waiting for a more hostile reaction.

Jediah closed his eyes. He sucked in a deep breath, then slowly released it. Smoothing out his expression, he opened his eyes. “Where’s the recordings?”

She took a moment before replying, “I can show you…”

Jediah shook his head. “No. You need to rest.”

“I’ve been through worse. I’m good enough to leave this room and show you.”

He stared at her in awe as the headstrong woman he was used to was rejuvenated right before his eyes. As her husband and sworn protector, he wanted to protest. But he knew better than to do that. Ashari wanted to feel normal. He barely knew what ‘normal’ was, but he’d do his best to give it to her.

Besides, he wasn’t one to prevent people from showcasing their strength. He always welcomed it. So, he nodded.

The shovel hit something metal, and he pulled back. The shovel dug into the Earth as he propped an elbow on it. Jediah wiped the back of his free hand across his forehead, riding the sweat. “Jah know, queen, if me did know seh a so far yu bury it, mi left this fi a next day.”

“But you look good down there. Remember when it was me?” Ashari chuckled. The sound was pleasant.

He looked up from his position in the hole to grin at her.

He moved a hand above his eyebrow, blocking the blinding light from the flashlight Ashari held.

Her hospital gown blew around her somewhat unsteady legs, reminding him he needed to be quick.

There was no time to linger on her beauty or allow her to prove her own strength.

Ashari Richardson was damn strong.

The first night they met proved it. He didn’t need a reminder. After this, he hoped she wouldn’t need one either.

He tossed the shovel beside Ashari’s feet, then stooped and grabbed the metal box. He brushed away all the dirt and small bits of stone covering it before he opened it. He sucked in a breath as he looked down at the earrings he always thought she had an unnatural attachment to.

“Which part in a dis fi record?” Jediah asked.

Sure, Ashari had already explained, but it was disbelieving to witness it.

If Reka could imitate this, he’d be practically untouchable.

But the risk wasn’t worth it. These things never stopped recording.

Though the recordings on them were useless unless they got uploaded to a server, he didn’t want to further risk himself and his crew by bringing them back with him.

“The F.B.I. is very skilled.”

“I know,” Jediah said, thinking of Reka. He wondered who she would’ve become if his crew hadn’t snatched her from training.

Dismissing the curiosity, he put the earrings into the box, then climbed out of the hole.

Now standing beside Ashari, he took them out of the box again.

He tucked the box beneath his arm and held an earring between his index finger and thumb.

He was about to snap it, when Ashari laid a hand atop his. Lifting his brow, Jediah looked at her.

Ashari transferred the flashlight into his hand before taking the earring. She looked at it, before she snapped it into two halves, then the other. Looking at him, she wore a small, yet tired smile. “Now, I’m all yours.”

“You’ve been mine,” he said, watching as her legs wobbled. Her hands rested on his forearms as he grabbed her and held her steady.

Ashari smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

He pursed his lips before swooping her into his arms bridal style.

Ashari tried to protest, but stopped when he gave her a warning glare.

As her arm wrapped around his shoulders, he looked down at her.

“Mi a no yu father or brother. Yu don’ have fi act strong ’round me. Yu don’ have nothing fi prove.”

Smiling, Ashari laid her head on his chest. As he carried her toward the car, she said, “Act?”

He chuckled. “Don’t start. We know you’re Toby Payne’s protégée, but above all else, you’re Ashari Richardson.”