46. Asher

Makingthe trip to the secret location, close to Bar Harbor, in the company of twenty bikers was an interesting experience. Cars moved out of the way, people stared, police watched suspiciously.

I didn't care about any of that. I had to get to Winter. I'd borrowed a bike from one of Cole's buddies. Mine was still at the cabin.

The trip took far too fucking long. Cole knew a way to get there by road. He didn't trust going in by ferry.

"We don't want them to be expecting us," he'd said.

When we finally got to the place, we rode into the underground garage, expecting to find security gearing up to take on the twenty hardened bikers who had just rolled in.

Instead, it was deserted.

"What the fuck?" Cole growled, leaving his bike and walking the perimeter of the garage. He looked at his guys. "Be careful. Something isn't right."

The door leading to the bottom level of the building was ajar. As I reached it, intent on finding Winter as soon as possible, and caring very little about anything else, I pushed it wider and spied a wet red mark near the handle.

Blood.

The hallway inside was dark. All the lights seemed to be off, except for some dim ones, powered by a generator.

Cole nodded to me and Marcus. "You guys take care of yourselves and find your girlfriend. Me and the boys are going to pay the Fitzgeralds a visit."

I went down the dark hall. I needed to find my way into the main area of the building and start checking rooms for Winter. Just then, we passed a room that was lit up, drawing my attention. The door was only open a crack, but it was enough to make out the grainy black-and-white computer screens that lined the walls. So, the generator kept the security cameras on, too? I surged inside, already scanning for a sign of Winter.

"Shit, isn't that Selena?" Marcus asked faintly and tapped a screen.

"Is Winter with her?"

"No, I don't think so."

"If you're looking for the cheerleader, she's on the lower level. Been a naughty girl, that one." The deep Irish drawl came suddenly from the darkest recesses of the room.

Both me and Marcus spun around. A man was leaning against the wall. He was huge and tattooed and confident in a way that made me certain he had killed people before. He had the aura of someone comfortable with violence. There was only one man in Hade Harbor I'd ever met like that before.

"I was about to go and grab her, but since you're here, I'll let you do the honors." He pointed towards the screens with the tip of a knife I hadn't known he was holding. "She's in the third room on the left. Though, to be fair, I think she can hold her own."

"But she doesn't have to. Not anymore." I'm here, Ice Queen. You're not alone.

I bolted and ran toward the room without another thought. For some reason, the sprinklers had come on. Maybe Cole and his crew had started a fire somewhere. It sounded like them, honestly. The door was locked and heavy as hell. I pushed at it. There were no windows.

"Help me!" I yelled to Marcus.

He started to push with me.

"We need to break it in," he panted.

Together, counting down, we rushed the door, shouldering it hard. Again and again. It didn't budge.

"This is taking too fucking long!" I spied a shiny box on the wall behind Marcus and raced for it. Seconds later, I hefted the fire ax and smashed it against the door handle. The first blow shook my entire body, and only made the smallest dent on the handle. A hair-raising scream came from the room. Someone in unimaginable pain.

The sound gave me strength I'd never known I had. I brought the ax down again and again, until the door banged open and flew off its hinges.

Winter stood in the middle of the room with Trent looming over her. I started forward and froze in place as I took in Trent's face. There was a piece of long, pointed metal sticking in his eye. He fell to his knees, and my brain rebooted.

Winter looked at me, her hair plastered to her head, her skin whiter than paper. She swayed and I raced to reach her before she fell. We sank down together. She turned her head to Trent, who was whimpering on the ground, blood running like a river. It was a gruesome sight.

"Don't look, baby." I tilted her face away and found her shocked gaze. "Just look at me."

I smoothed her wet hair back. "Keep looking at me. Everything is okay now. It's over. It's all over. I've got you. I'm here, and I'm going to take you home."

Her eyes focused on me. "You're here. You're okay, and you're here…and I love you," she whispered.

"I don't think I'm the one you need to worry about here, and I know. I love you, too," I murmured, and managed a crooked smile.

She nodded. "I know."

Something seemed to suddenly occur to her, and she tried to sit up too quickly. "Selena! She's here too. You have to get her, too," she managed, before the sudden movement caught up with her. Her eyes rolled back, and she was out. I caught her and swept her against my chest.

"Fuck, fuck! This is wild," Marcus gasped, venturing into the room and looking around.

My gorgeous, brave girl has slayed her own demon.

I wished I could have done it for her, so she wouldn't have those memories in her head, but I couldn't deny how impressive she was. Your Majesty was a fitting title for my love. She was a queen.

"Shit! Asher, watch out!" Marcus yelled. He was looking in Trent's direction. Fuck, I'd assumed he was out of commission.

I dove over Winter, sheltering her with my body just as a hard weight crashed across my back. The chair. I spun around and jumped to my feet. Trent was up, stumbling, but up.

"You! I'm going to fucking kill you both," he shouted, reaching into his pocket. I had no idea what he had in there, but I couldn't take the chance that it was something deadly. The axe was in my hand before my next breath.

Protecting Winter wasn't a question, it was a goddamn necessity. An instinct as old as time.

Time slowed to heartbeats. One beat, the axe whistled through the air. The next one, Trent's eyes widened as he saw it coming. By the third, it connected with a meaty thwack. I let go of the handle, shock rooting me to the spot. Trent staggered back, the axe buried in his chest.

He fell forward to the ground. Silence fell except for the streaming sound from the sprinklers. Blood spread across the tile floor.

"I'll go and get Selena," Marcus said faintly after a moment, heading out of the room.

I tore my eyes from Trent and looked at Winter. The blood was getting closer to her. I wrenched her into my arms and carried her out into the hall. Water was still splashing down over us, but it wasn't waking her up. I carried her toward the sound of commotion. I had to find out what was going on, but I wasn't letting Winter out of my sight.

I took her upstairs. The main entrance of the place was a mess. Embers smoldered behind the reception desk, the flames snuffed out by the sprinklers. Finally, the damn things shut off.

Cole was standing chin to chin with the Irish guy from the control room. Tension filled the space. The security guys for The Cove were lying about in various degrees of hurt, while the rest of the bikers were wandering around. A couple had taken off their cuts and put them on the women they'd rescued. There were about ten altogether, crowding upstairs from the lower levels. Each was in a state of undress, and anguish at the same time. Brutish biker hands smoothed blankets and jackets around their bruised shoulders.

Marcus staggered into the room, Selena at his side. She was in better shape than Winter. She burst into tears when she saw Winter and rushed to my side.

"The way I see it, as long as Duncan Fitzgerald and his piece-of-shit son are taken care of, I'm not bothered either way," Cole was saying to the other dude.

The Irishman grinned. "That's good to know. I'd hate to have to hurt your lovely gentlemen friends here, but I do have to take both the Fitzgeralds somewhere quiet to talk. I'm here for information, you see. Spilling blood and causing a little mayhem was just a fun diversion." He glanced over at me and nodded approvingly. "There's my partner in crime."

"Me?"

He shook his head. "Your girl. She okay? She seemed like a fighter. I'm sure she'll be grand in no time." He looked at Cole. "The money in the safe, the CCTV footage of all the rich and influential men who have passed through here, and the various crimes they committed…it's all up for grabs. Just give me the Fitzgeralds."

Cole wet his lips. "And you'll just let us take everything else? Very generous."

"No, not generosity, payment for a job well done, and I told you, I'm only here for information. I have bigger fish to fry. I'm Bran, by the way. Bran O'Connor."

"O'Connor — out of New York?" Cole pressed.

Bran grinned. "The very same. Come visit Hell's Kitchen some time. Now, if we're done here, I have two men to torture and maim, before killing… the cheerleaders' orders."

He saluted us.

"The younger Fitzgerald isn't in a good state. He might not be answering any questions, ever again," I admitted as the Irish guy swaggered past us.

Bran just chuckled. "His own fault, I'm sure. I suppose I don't need to tell you kids to keep your goddamn mouth shut about them, if the pigs come calling."

"I won't say a word. I don't even remember your name," I lied.

Bran clapped me hard on the shoulder and grinned approvingly. "That's right, you don't. Shoot, I should have gotten an autograph. My godson loves the team."

Just like that, he was gone.

Cole stared at his brother. "You have no idea who you just dealt with, do you?"

Marcus shrugged. "A hockey fan?"

Cole shook his head and looked around at the carnage. "There's enough evidence to put a lot of shitty people away for a long time. Of course, we tip the police off, and they want to know who fucked everyone up. I suggest a little evidence tampering, and we can all go about our days. Get the cash from the casino," he told his men, then looked toward me, Winter, Marcus, and Selena. "You four, get back to Hade Harbor and make sure you have alibis."

Winter opened her eyes just then, blinking up at me. "What's happening?" Her voice sounded raw. She struggled to get down and I let her, reaching into my pocket. I took the knot ring I'd made sure to bring and slid it onto Winter's finger.

"Here. This needs to go back where it belongs," I told her firmly. I smoothed my finger over the metal. "Don't even think of fucking taking it off again."

She managed a nod. "I wouldn't dare." She looked around at the carnage of the room. "What now?"

I swallowed the hard knot of relief that gripped my throat. "We're going home, Ice Queen. I'm taking you home."