The Billionaire(40)

"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.