Chapter 11
11
ECHO
“ W hy did I let you talk me into this again?” Ash grumbled, yanking on the collar of his tuxedo shirt.
“You have the least ink and went to fucking law school. You can pull off the high class, rich motherfucker better than most of us,” I grunted as I watched him on the video monitor from our hotel suite. “Now stop acting like you’re uncomfortable in a monkey suit.”
“I am uncomfortable in a monkey suit,” he grumbled. But he quickly dropped his hand and put on a smile when Cynthia—formerly known as Jean—reappeared at his side.
“Hello, darlin’,” he drawled, his natural Texan accent thicker than normal.
Ash was the club secretary and our legal counsel. He’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the only child of a Texas politician and his wife, who pretty much had a kid because it polled better. But instead of becoming a spoiled douche, Ash had been an A student and got scholarships to cover his bachelor’s and law degree. He’d worked for anything extra that he needed, not taking a single penny from his Mom and Dad.
They played the proud parents, even when he went to work as a public defender, putting a positive spin on it to make themselves look good. Then he went and joined the Hounds of Hellfire and got involved in shady shit that no one could nail us for…because of Ash.
Which put us where we were now. He was playing up his role as the senator’s son—who we’d made to look like he’d been a recluse all the years since he dropped out of the media.
It probably made me an asshole, but I laughed hysterically when Ash’s parents called, trying to reconnect. Clearly, they’d thought he was returning to their society and wanted to take advantage of the situation or clean it up, depending on his motives. He told them to go fuck themselves.
The best part of having Ash play this role was that we didn’t have to burn one of the aliases that Ace and Wizard had built. We simply had to resurrect Ash’s former self. He wasn’t happy about it, but he’d agreed, even without King threatening him.
“Elias,” she greeted with a beaming smile.
Wizard snorted, and Ash shot a scathing look at the nearest security camera.
I gave Wizard the side-eye and muttered, “Because Baylor Chadwick is so much better than Elias Prescott III?”
Wizard’s amusement faded in an instant.
“That’s what I thought. Now get your head in the fucking game.”
Cynthia put a perfectly manicured hand on Ash’s bicep and licked her lips.
I grimaced, feeling relieved that it was Ash and not me out there.
“I just ran into Dev and Hema Pillai. Didn’t you go to law school with their son?”
Ash plastered a charming grin on his chiseled face and nodded. “Rishi and I go way back.”
“We must get together with him and his wife!” she gasped with a girlish giggle that almost made my ears bleed. “He’s running for Congress. I’m sure if you decide to go into politics like your father, Rishi would be a valuable ally.”
Cynthia had done her homework before approaching Ash. Luckily, his parents would rather die than admit he was a patch with the Hounds of Hellfire. They’d stuck to any facts that made them look good, building trust in Ash without us having to do a damn thing.
“Are you at all worried that she will try to make him husband number seven instead of her next mark?” Wizard wondered casually.
Ash choked on his champagne, and I swallowed back my laughter when it sent him into a coughing fit. He was gonna kick my ass if I gave him any more reason to. Hopefully, Wizard would keep saying stupid things to get me off the hook.
However, Wizard’s concern was valid. Over the past couple of weeks, she’d been making more and more comments about Ash’s future in politics and wanting to introduce him to the heads of prestigious law firms. I’d begun to worry about her motives as well. Especially when it had become clear that she was getting frustrated that he hadn’t taken her up on her offer to go back to her place or come back to his.
But Ash had been confident that she was still on the con, so we trusted his judgment.
“Are you alright, sweetheart?” Cynthia asked as she rubbed his back in slow circles.
“Sure, darlin’,” he croaked with a fake laugh. “I was a little distracted by your beauty, and my drink went down the wrong way.”
She batted her lashes at him, and a blush stained her cheeks as she played with the diamond necklace circling her throat.
There was no way that woman had a single thing to blush about.
“I would say I’m sorry, but I can’t pretend I’m not flattered.”
Ash grinned and slipped his arm around her waist. “It’s not flattery if it’s true, sweetheart.”
“Elias…ummm…would you mind terribly holding this for me?” She held out her small clutch and batted her fake lashes again, and I couldn’t help but think that it was weird hearing anyone call him by his full name. The few people who didn’t call him by his road name used Eli. “I don’t know what I was thinking of bringing that old thing. I completely forgot that the wrist strap was broken.”
Ash frowned at the clutch, then gave her a charming smile. “You shouldn’t be wearing things that aren’t as beautiful as you, darlin’. How about we go shopping tomorrow?”
Cynthia giggled again, making me wince. “Oh, Elias. You are the sweetest. You don’t need to take me shopping!”
“I know I don’t need to, sweetheart. I want to. You deserve everything your heart desires. Now, let me take that for you so you don’t have to worry about a thing.”
She patted her blond updo and blushed before leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Yeah, Violet had been right to blow a fucking gasket about me being the bait. Any man who put his lips on her was gonna be staring down the barrel of my gun right before they closed their eyes for good. So I couldn’t blame her if she’d clawed the woman’s eyes out for kissing my cheek.
Ash’s eyes came to the camera again, and I saw the desperate plea in them before he managed to shutter it.
“You know what she’s after, Ash. Figure out how to give it to her fast, and I’ll get you outta there.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, looping her arm around his. “I realized something this morning as I was picking out my dress.”
“Oh? What was that, darlin’?”
“I don’t know what your favorite color is!”
Ash laughed and glanced down at her blue silk dress. “Lucky for me, you wore it.”
“Say it, Ash,” I growled.
“I love blue,” he added quickly.
“Really? That’s amazing! It’s my favorite, too.”
“Just keep talking now that you’re holding the purse,” I instructed him. “As soon as you’ve given her all the sounds she needs for the voice key, I’ll page you for an emergency.”
He gave me an almost imperceptible nod, then launched into what was probably the longest conversation he’d ever had. Other than in the courtroom, Ash was a man of few words. But Cynthia needed a passphrase recorded in Ash’s voice to get into his servers. She had a tech guy on the payroll, and he’d told her all she needed was the specific sounds, and he could piece them together to fool the lock.
“Just a few more. Try to fit bench, moon, trigger, and warrant into your answers. That will give her everything.”
“That should be easy,” Wizard said drolly.
“Not fucking helping,” I muttered.
Ash managed to get in a couple of those words, then found others that would give her the final sounds she needed.
I sighed. “Got it. Give me five minutes.”
After making a quick call, I began cleaning up the equipment we’d brought to the suite so we could tap into the surveillance at the hotel where the fundraiser was being hosted.
“Elias Prescott?”
I glanced at the monitor to see one of the waitstaff standing in front of Ash, wringing his hands and giving him a sympathetic frown.
“Yes?”
“Sir. I’m…I’m so sorry to have to tell you. The hospital just called. Your father…he collapsed, and they’re rushing him into surgery. Your mom is asking for you.”
Ash’s brow slammed down, and he quickly handed Cynthia her bag before digging his phone out of his pocket. “Dammit. I turned it off.”
He looked at Cynthia, who was wearing a mask of horror and sympathy.
“Darlin’, I?—”
“No! No!” she said with an understanding smile. “Go. I’ll be absolutely fine. Go be with your mother.”
“I—” He shook his head. Then he squeezed her hand and whispered, “Thank you.”
Wizard started a slow clap as Ash rushed out of the ballroom.
I rolled my eyes. “I’d be gone when he gets here if I were you.”
He grinned and continued helping me pack up.
“My dad in the hospital?” Ash scoffed as he stormed into the room, yanking off his bow tie. “You couldn’t have come up with anything better? Do you know how fucking hard it was to pretend I cared?”
I shrugged. “Best I could think of to get you out fast while making sure she knew you wouldn’t be home tonight. In an hour, send her a text to check in and let her know you’ll be there for at least twenty-four hours.”
“And if she calls the hospital?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
“What? You think we’re new at this shit?”
Ash deflated. “Right.”
We’d set up a “private hospital” where Cynthia would be able to call and check on his dad’s condition. There was even an address in case she decided to take it that far. It was guarded by a couple of our enforcers, dogs, and an electric fence. For the privacy of the patients, of course.
Ash’s dad was actually on a ship with some donors who’d lost power and communication for the moment. It would probably be repaired by morning…assuming things went as we expected tonight.
Ash stripped out of the tux and pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Then he turned to Wizard with a scathing expression. “You and I need to have a talk, brother? Because if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get your ass handed to you.”
“He’s just trying not to think about the woman who won’t give him the time of day,” I answered.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Wizard groused as he closed up the last case and put it on the trolley we used to cart it up from our van.
“Violet and I have no secrets. You think she doesn’t know what’s going on with you and Thea?”
“We’re not talking about this,” he barked before slamming open the door and pushing the cart through it.
“Touchy,” Ash joked.
“Talk to me when you’re dealing with your own stubborn woman,” I replied.
He scoffed. “Not gonna happen.” He pointed at the tux balled up on the floor. “You, King, and Blaze got fucking lucky. Probably have the only three sane women in the world.”
I laughed and tossed him his cut from the bed. “We’ll see.”
An hour later, we were staking out Ash’s “house”—or the house we rented to solidify the illusion of Elias Prescott III—when King sent me a text to let me know that Cynthia had called to find out Ash’s dad’s condition.
Ten minutes later, Ash’s phone buzzed with a security alert. “She’s in the house.”
He watched the feed on his phone for a few minutes, then glanced at me. “Make the call.”
Wizard slid the door to the van open, and after I made an emergency call to 911, we all hopped out and crept toward the house.
Ash’s server room was on the main level at the back of the house. Since Cynthia had shut off the security system, we were able to enter through the back door unnoticed.
We waited around the corner until we heard the voice key and Cynthia’s wicked laughter before the heavy metal door squeaked as she pushed it open.
I glanced at my watch and murmured, “Five minutes out.”
It would only take Cynthia a maximum of two minutes to get into the server and initiate the transfer of all of Ash’s money to her accounts. We’d put an electronic trace on the funds so it left a trail everywhere it went, leading us to every nook and cranny of her finances.
Ace, King, and I had discussed simply making her destitute and ruining her name, but in the end, we wanted assurances that she wouldn’t find another way to recreate her empire. Which was why we were allowing her to wire the money out before the cops arrived to take her in. At first, it would be for breaking and entering, then they’d discover the wire fraud, and finally, all the money she’d stolen.
We were there to make sure she didn’t somehow get out before the police arrived.
When the sirens were close enough to be heard, the noise in the computer room ceased. The blaring horns grew louder, and she cursed.
The three of us quickly stepped up to the door to block her exit but were taken by surprise when she pulled a gun. Her maniacal gaze landed on Ash, and she screamed in outrage before pulling the trigger.
“Son of a bitch!” he roared as he staggered backward.
I was on her opposite side, so I shot out my hand to immobilize her wrist while Wizard snatched the gun and flipped the safety on.
“Ash?” I called.
“The safety was off?” Cynthia yelled, drowning out any response he might have given. Her voice was shaking with panic. “Oh fuck. Did I kill him? Shit!” Then she began to struggle like a lunatic—which didn’t seem that far off at this point—and screaming, “Let me go! I’ll kill you! Let me go, you bastards!”
“Ash!” I shouted again.
“Yeah, yeah. Just a fucking nick.”
A relieved breath whooshed from my lungs, but I was stopped from being able to fill them again when Cynthia’s elbow landed hard on my sternum.
“Wiz…” I gasped as pain knifed through my chest. “Take…can’t…oh, fuck.” Black spots danced before my eyes, and the pain became unbearable when I tried unsuccessfully to take in some air. Then everything went dark.
I blinked and batted at the bright light shining directly into my eyes. “Shit! Stop shining that thing before I go blind,” I rasped. I sucked air into my lungs, relieved that it went in unobstructed.
“You fainted, man,” Ash said before bursting into laughter.
I heard a female sigh. “He didn’t faint, you butthead. His brain shut off from a lack of oxygen. There’s a difference.”
“Not when I tell the story,” he choked out through his chortling.
“Sir?” the woman said more quietly. “Can you sit up and open your eyes? I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion from the fall.”
I blinked again and winced at the brightness, but at least there was no flashlight shining right in my eyeballs.
Spoke too soon , I thought, when the EMT checked my pupils.
“Doesn’t look like a concussion. That was a hard hit you took to the chest. How’s your breathing?”
I nodded. “I’m sore, but nothing seems to be obstructing my flow of oxygen.”
“Good,” she replied with a smile. “I’d prefer to take you to the hospital to be checked out and just make sure she didn’t crack your sternum. But…” She glared at someone off to the side. “With how freaking stubborn your friend is after being shot , I’m guessing a little pain in the chest is nothing compared to dealing with that…pain in the butt.”
I chuckled and nodded. “You’re right on all accounts…”
“Oh, my name is Nora,” she told me with another smile. I took another good look at her and was surprised to see that she was very young. Probably no older than eighteen.
“Well, Nora. You’re doubly right. Ash is a pain in the ass, and it’s unlikely you’ll talk me into going to the hospital.”
She sighed and shook her head.
“I promise to get checked out, though, okay?” I offered.
Ash and I would both be looked over by Razor or Flint, doctors who were patched members. But I wouldn’t be telling Nora about that.
She crooked up one corner of her mouth and gave me a small wave. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you. It will help me sleep better at night.”
I laughed and turned away, only to see Ash glaring at me.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said through gritted teeth.
Nora started to walk past him, and I watched in surprise when he gently grabbed her arm to stop her. “Only one you should be dreaming about tonight is me, baby girl.”
She stiffened and raised her chin to a stubborn angle. “Dream on,” she snapped.
“Oh, I will,” he murmured before releasing her.
He watched her walk away with a myriad of emotions playing out on his face. It was clear he felt something for her but was confused and wary of it. If I had to guess, I’d say it was because of their age difference. There were probably twelve to fifteen years between them.
But that was his problem to deal with for now.
I needed to get back to my girl.
Unfortunately, giving witness statements, explaining the con, and making sure the right people were alerted so that Jean would be investigated for everything took a fuck ton of time. We didn’t roll back up to the clubhouse until nearly nine in the morning.
Violet was standing with the girls in the lounge when I walked in. The second she saw me, she gasped and ran straight into my arms.
I captured her mouth in a long, drugging kiss before touching our foreheads together. “Fuck, I missed you.”
“So…um, it’s all done now?”
“Yep. Police are rounding up Jean’s ‘employees’ now, and they received an anonymous packet this morning with the names and details of every victim we uncovered.”
“That’s…that’s so great,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
What the hell was going on?