"Hey Ash how about a game of chess? I saw a board around here somewhere."
I just looked at him, he was trying so hard to keep me from losing it but this couldn't be easy for him either.
"I'm sorry Jace." He threw a cheese doodle at me.
"Don't be stupid you didn't do anything wrong, I just wish I'd been armed so I could've shot those two assholes instead of hiding out in here. Why didn't you let me go get the gun like I wanted to?"
"Now who's being stupid? You can't shoot a United States senator they'd lock you up and throw away the key."
"What do you think Gideon and his guys are gonna do to them, invite them out for a beer?"
" I don't wanna think about it."
"So don't, you want some ice cream?"
"Ice cream, he has ice cream in here?"
"Did you look in the refrigerator? Dude was planning for Armageddon."
"Yeah, but ice cream wouldn't it go bad?"
"Who knows what goes on in the head of the rich and crazy? I'm sure he has it restocked every few months or something."
"I'll thank you not to call my husband crazy thank you very much." He threw another cheese doodle at me.
JACE
I have to keep Ashley calm, for a minute there I thought she was gonna lose it. I had no doubt that Thorpe would be here soon if he wasn't already. The guy didn't strike me as the type to mess around with her safety and knowing what has been going on lately I'm sure he had it under control. The other reason is my guilt. I'd heard one of the assholes tell the other that Starks had told him she was here, that could only be my father. I should've killed him when I had the chance, should've killed all of them for what they did to her.
Gideon
The doctor checked his watch as he followed the senator down the hall. I could breathe easier now since they'd moved to the second floor, one floor overhead.
"I'm going for her."
No one tried to stop me this time as I made my way to the door. With gun drawn I looked both ways before making my way stealthily down the hall to the door camouflaged as a mural. It would be hard for anyone who didn't know that it was there to find the seam as it wasn't obvious to the naked eye.
I used my own code to open the door and step in. The door was hardly closed before she came flying at me.
Starks just looked at us and rolled his eyes and I have to admit to breathing a sigh of relief. I'd begun to grow rather fond of the kid, wasn't really looking forward to putting a bullet in him; glad to know I wouldn't have to.
"It's okay love I'm here you can stop crying now." Her poor body shook with the force of her sobs as I held her as close as I possibly could. The way she clutched at me tore at my heart, reinforcing the certainty that I'd been right to tell Gage in the end to save those two for me.
Gage was right, taking them out here would raise too many questions, I hadn't thought of that. Keeping them on ice at a secret location until I could deal with them made way more sense.
I still had to wait for the beep in my pocket to let me know it was clear to leave the room. I didn't want her getting anywhere near those two monsters. I'm sure she'd have a million questions especially when news of their disappearance hit the airwaves in the not too distant future, but I'll deal with that when the time came.
"Look at me Blossom." I lifted her tearstained face and ignored Starks's kissy faces in the background. The kid might not catch a bullet but he just might get a smack to the back of the head.
"You're safe, everything's going to be okay; this worrying can't be good for the little one now can it?" I covered her still flat stomach with my hand, not only to offer her comfort but for me as well. To reaffirm to myself that everything I loved was safe.
Chapter 34
When enough time had passed that I thought the coast was clear I led the two prisoners from the room. Not that anyone could mistake the panic room for a prison it had been built with every comfort in mind and after meeting and marrying Blossom in the last few weeks I'd made doubly sure it had everything needed. She was leaning heavily against me like all the air had been knocked out of her, too much. I kept a tight rein on my anger though not willing to add to her distress.
I exchanged a knowing look with Jason when I caught him removing the headphones that he'd had plugged into the monitor. That could only mean one thing, he'd been shielding her from what the men were saying, but he himself had been listening in. Chances are he heard them make mention of his father and his part in what had taken place here today. It was a fucked up situation in more ways than one. More so because I'm gonna have to sit this kid down at some point and explain to him why I offed his old man, but first I had to see to my wife. No doubt all the excitement was too much for her. Poor thing, she's been having a rough couple of weeks, but if everything went well this would be the last time she had to face any danger associated with her father and her childhood.
My guys were gone like the wind by the time we made it out and I sat her down in the kitchen while I went to make her some tea. The kid was talking to her calmly about nothing in particular as I listened, trying to take her mind off of what had just happened I gather. Knowing my Blossom that would be easier said than done.
I made them both tea though Jason looked at me like I was nuts when I put his down in front of him.
"Drink it."
"Dude this is for old women, sorry Ashley."
She snorted tea through her nose and started coughing through laughter. It wasn't so much what he said as how he said it and the look on his face when he said it, as if I'd given him strychnine.
We both laughed because she was laughing and then suddenly the air didn't feel so thick anymore. I sat next to her with an arm around her shoulders while she sipped her tea. I wanted to ask a million questions but decided to wait until she was done. I could watch the tapes later to see how everything had unfolded but I needed to hear her tell it. Needed to gauge just how scared she was and might still be. They'd breeched our home after all, a place I'd convinced her was safe. That more than anything pissed me the fuck off, that they'd sullied our sanctuary so to speak. Which reminded me.
"Baby I forgot in all the madness. I got you something."
"You did, what is it, where is it?" Her eyes lit up and I expected her to start patting me down any second to find her treat. It's amazing how she could switch from one emotion to the next so easily, I'm sure it's something she'd learned to do as a kid. Maybe it was a good thing I'm not sure, the psychiatrist we'd discussed her seeing would get to the bottom of it hopefully.
"It's not here, I have to show you." Her face fell into a sulky pout, which I found sexy as hell so couldn't resist taking a nibble out of her lip. I started to draw her into my lap forgetting for a second that we had an audience.
"Geez get a room." Jason got up to place his cup in the sink. I watched him as he rubbed the back of his neck; somehow I wasn't buying his laid back act. He seemed wound up and ready to spring at any moment. I studied him to see what if anything I could learn from his body language but he wasn't giving anything away. For all his manly size it was easy to forget that he was just a young boy. A boy who'd been on the streets for way too long hiding from his own father, because he'd tried to save a friend. A friend who was now my treasured wife, needless to say Jason Starks' life on the run was at an end. I will of course be taking care of him from here on out no matter what his thoughts on the matter. I'll just let Blossom deal with that when the time comes as I have no doubt his pride might get in the way of common sense.
"I think I've had enough excitement for one day maybe I'll go watch some TV in that gargantuan room you gave me." He stretched and yawned as he started out of the room. "Jace you ok?"
"Never better Ash, I'm just tired and I have to go ponder the fact that my father is an even bigger asshole than I thought."
He left the room and I could see her confusion at his last remark so to sidetrack her I made a split second decision. "Let's go get your gift baby you up to going outside?"
Of course I knew it was safe, the culprits were under guard except for Starks but I wasn't too worried about him. I'm sure the other two hadn't let him in on all they'd had planned or he would've most likely been here with them. Even in their evilness there was hierarchy.
I bundled my little wounded soldier up and after saying bye to Jason we headed out to see her gift. I had to make a phone call on the way to set things up. This wasn't quite how I'd envisioned giving her this particular gift but somehow it seems to fit after the events of the day. We were finally free, well almost. I couldn't wait to get our lives started out from under the bullshit. I still had some shit to take care of before the night was done but that can wait. She'd had too little joy in the last few days. I wanted to give her something good, something that would help take her mind off of all this. She hadn't asked about the safe house because again, that was her way. She knew if there was something to tell I would've told her. She was also steering clear of any mention of the two who were just hunting her down, which I was immensely glad of because that was a conversation I was not looking forward to.