Burn(147)

            Gabe and Jace exchanged worried looks but Ash ignored them. They’d try to talk him down but in this he would not be dissuaded.

            “This won’t touch you. It damn sure won’t touch Mia, Bethany or Josie. Not ever again. You don’t have to worry. You won’t be remotely tied to this.”

            “Oh fuck you,” Jace said rudely. “The hell I’m letting you take this shit on by yourself. We’ve already been over this. You never have to ask. We’ll always have your back.”

            “Means a lot,” Ash said quietly. “But I’m not pulling my family down. You and the girls mean far too much to me. I’m not going down either. You can take that to the bank. No way in hell I’m leaving Josie to survive on her own. I’m going to be there for her every step of the way and she will never have to worry about some asshole with a grudge against us using her to get to us. That will not happen again.”

            “What are you going to do?” Gabe asked quietly.

            “You’re better off not knowing,” Ash replied.

            Gabe ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus, man. This is on me.”

            “You had your shot,” Ash said carefully. “Not saying you did wrong, but whatever you did was not enough. I’m going to make sure that this time it is. He didn’t beat your woman half to death, even if she was the intended mark. He fucked Josie over, and I’m going to make damn sure that never happens again.”

            “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us this before?” Jace said to Gabe. “Can’t believe you kept this from us. Especially if you didn’t make damn sure Charles wouldn’t be a threat in the future.”

            “I couldn’t tell you when it happened,” Gabe said between his teeth. “Mia was freaking because she didn’t want her brother to know what kind of relationship we had or that we even had a relationship. And then after, it didn’t seem so important. He went away. Months passed and he seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. I thought he wasn’t going to be a problem any longer.”

            “What you did was piss him off to the point that he beat the shit out of Josie and now he’s gunning for Mia and Bethany,” Jace said in a furious tone.

            “You need to close ranks around the girls,” Ash said, veering the subject away from Jace’s fury. He had a right. Mia was his sister. But that wasn’t what was important right now. The women’s safety was all that mattered.

            “Hell yes,” Gabe growled. “They’ll go nowhere until he’s taken care of.”

            Ash nodded. “And I’ll let you know when the issue has been resolved.”

            Jace’s expression was still uneasy but he kept silent, though it was obvious that he and Gabe weren’t finished with their conversation.

            “Mr. McIntyre?”

            Ash whirled around to see a nurse standing in the doorway. He rushed forward.

            “How is Josie?” he demanded. “Can I see her yet?”

            The nurse smiled. “The doctor will see you now. She’ll update you on Josie’s condition and then you can ask her if you can go back. Stay right here while I let her know where you are.”

            Ash fidgeted with impatience. It had been too long with no word and he was slowly losing his mind. He didn’t like that Josie was alone. Or at least surrounded by strangers. She’d wonder where he was. He’d sworn to her that he wasn’t leaving her, that he would be with her every step of the way. How could he keep that promise when he’d been barred from her room while they gave her treatment?

            A moment later a woman dressed in scrubs walked in the door. She looked young, the ponytail her hair was pulled back in contributing to her youthful appearance.