“Jake, what’s going on?” Serefina asked. Jake licked his lower lip and felt his chest tighten. “Your brothers need to know they should stay away from Tasha. She’s involved with someone else, and now is not the time to push their feelings for her. It’s not right, and Tasha doesn’t want it.” He walked by her but not before seeing the anger and upset on Serefina’s face. This was going to be hell to get through, but Tasha’s life depended upon it.
* * * *
“How is the burn doing, Bull? When can you return to active duty?” Tasha asked him.
He smiled. “It’s looking better every day, but the chief has to follow protocol, never mind my brothers. They won’t let me return until it’s fully healed.”
“That stinks, but it’s for the best.” She felt so badly about what happened upstairs with Tyler, Eddie, and Lance that she just wanted to go home. She was ruining everything. She tried to make small talk, but truth was, she should leave now, before matters got worse.
“But, I have this pretty lady right here I can hang out with. My personal nurse,” Bull said as Serefina approached. Tasha could tell that she wasn’t happy, as she grabbed Tasha’s arm and pulled her away from Bull.
“Excuse us, Bull, we need to talk.” Serefina led Tasha over toward the side patio and a bench.
“Serefina, it’s best that we just leave things alone.”
“No!” Serefina yelled. Tasha looked around them, seeing Bull watching and now Ace, Ice, Eddie, Lance, and Tyler were there, too. At least they were at a distance from where Serefina and Tasha stood.
Tasha swallowed hard as Serefina took a deep breath and then released it. Thank God she was talking low.
“I know what this guy did to you and how scared you were of him. What the hell is going on? Are you using him for his money because your mom’s medical bills are so high?”
“What? No, my God, Serefina, what the hell kind of woman do you think I am?”
“I don’t know.” Serefina looked away from Tasha. This situation was destroying all her friendships. She shouldn’t have come here.
“I was wrong about Dash. I read into his behavior because of my fear after what my ex Gino did to me.”
“Gino was a jerk. This guy is aggressive,” she said it so loudly that now Eddy, Lance and Tyler were walking closer.
Tasha stood up. “I need to go. I can’t stay here.”
“You’ll leave your friends and my brothers for this guy, a man who has hurt you, caused bruises on your body? What the hell is wrong with you? Where is that fighter, the one who never gives up? You’ve been working your butt off, saving money, paying for your mom’s medical bills, and hardly even hanging out, never mind dating anyone. This guy comes along, orders you around, and threatens you, and you give up without a fight and don’t tell this guy to fuck off? I don’t get you, Tasha.”
“This guy hits you? He’s threatened you?” Eddie asked with his fists by his side.
“Stop it. He has not. You don’t understand!” Tasha yelled, and then saw Jake coming over, ready to intervene. Tasha needed to end this and save them from any harm by hurting them even more.
“If you need me to choose between you guys and him, then the choice is clear. I choose Dash. I’m sorry, but I don’t have the same feelings for your brothers, and if you can’t accept that, then our friendship is over, too. Good-bye.” Tasha turned to leave, feeling the tears fill her eyes but she had to be strong. Perhaps breaking ties like this would truly keep them all safe so she could concentrate on staying alive.
She heard the men calling her name and then Jake calming them down and saying that it was over. It was over. Her life, her friendships, the chance for love were definitely over.
Chapter 9
“Are you sure about this?” Dash asked James.
“Melanie overheard her father talking about some information to police and mentioned Tasha being approached by an investigator.”
“Are you certain that Melanie is telling the truth?” Dash questioned.
“I’m not certain, Dash. When I was at their house, and spoke to Melanie’s dad Paul, he said he never said any such thing and that his daughter was making it up. The guys were on Tasha’s tail everywhere she went. There’s no way she was involved with this. But Melanie, well, I’ve given her more freedom, Dash. I know I shouldn’t have, but she asked and I allowed it. She begged me after the beating she took a couple of weeks ago when she didn’t bring Tasha like she was supposed to.”
“James, we can’t have this type of thing. You know what you need to do.”
“I’ll talk to her and see what I can find out. I’ll make her give up any information she’s hiding, even if I wind up killing her.”
* * * *
Tasha was sitting in the waiting room all alone as her mom went through surgery. When the doors to the waiting room opened, she hadn’t looked up until she sensed the large presence. One glance and the tears filled her eyes. Jake, Hollywood, Bear, and Michaela arrived for moral support. Jake pulled her up into his arms and hugged her tight. She heard someone clear their throat, and when she looked up, there stood Eddie, Lance, and Tyler as well as Serefina.
“Thank you for coming,” Tasha whispered, and Serefina took the seat next to her. They all settled in, talking about the surgery, wondering how long it would take when Catalina stopped in to check on Tasha and give their support. Tasha was overwhelmed with emotions. She loved every single person in this room, and in order to save them she had to be mean and distant. She had an overwhelming urge to tell them the truth but knew she couldn’t. Then the doors to the room opened again, and Tasha thought she would have a stroke. Dash was there, dressed in one of his designer dark dress pants, a dark green shirt, and diamond cuff links, his muscles showing against the material.
“Sweet baby, I came straight here as soon as I got back into town.” She stood up, knowing that she had to put on the show of her life to prove to her friends that she was indeed in a great relationship with a wonderful man. Anything to keep them all safe. Dash pulled her against him, kissed her deeply as he let his hand slide over her ass then back up against her lower back. He was putting on a show, too, and letting all these men know that she belonged to him.
* * * *
Eddie grabbed Tyler’s arm before his brother did what they all felt like doing. Knocking this new guy Dash onto his ass. Jake placed himself between them, and now even he looked pissed off. Eddie stared at Tasha absorbing the pretty cream-colored dress she wore, and how it accentuated her breasts, her hips and ass. When Dash had his hands on her ass and was kissing her so deeply, it not only pissed Eddie off but also broke his heart. There was something about this guy he didn’t like, aside from the fact that he had his hands all over their woman.
“So how long have you been dating Tasha?” Tyler asked Dash. Eddie moved closer. Dash leaned back into the chair he sat on and placed one arm over Tasha’s shoulder and then put his hand on her knee. Tasha slid a little away from him only for Dash to pull her back and adjust his own position closer to her on the seat. Even she was trying to put some distance between them. Interesting.
“About a month or so, right, Tasha?” Dash asked her as he gave Tasha a wink. Tasha nodded her head.
“Kind of serious and fast, don’t you think?” Tyler pushed.
Dash looked at Tasha and then back at Tyler as he moved his hand back and forth over her knee, up her thigh slightly under the material of her dress. Tasha placed her hands on her lap so Dash couldn’t move further up her thigh, which would be pretty inappropriate.
“All it took was just one kiss. She has powerful kisses,” Dash said, holding Tyler’s gaze.
“I know exactly what you mean,” Tyler replied firmly, without missing a beat.
“Tyler,” Tasha said his name and sat forward, but Dash squeezed her knee and moved his hand higher under her dress. Back and forth he rubbed her as he held Tyler’s gaze. Eddie watched the whole scene unfold and knew something wasn’t right about this guy, and about Tasha’s interest in him.
“That’s okay, Tasha, it’s good your friend knows he can’t kiss you ever again because you’re mine.”
Eddie was about to say something, but Tyler beat him to it, and Lance took up position on Tasha’s other side in case things got out of hand.
“I don’t know, Dash, like you said, her kisses are pretty powerful.” Tyler looked from Dash to Tasha, and Tasha’s eyes lit up but then she shyly looked away.
“That’s enough, Tyler,” Jake intervened and Tyler just stared at Dash.
Eddie grabbed his brother’s shoulder. “Let it be. She made her decision,” Eddie said as he stared at Tasha.
The sound of a cell phone ringing drew the attention back to Dash.
“I need to take this, baby. You’ll be okay here without me for a few minutes?” Dash asked her.
“Of course, Dash. These are my friends.”
Dash gave her a firm expression that didn’t sit well with Eddie. They all watched him leave the room.
“Pompous asshole. What the hell do you see in that guy?” Tyler asked.