Chapter 14 - Ashan

It was getting late, and there was still no sign of her. I was angry and worried at the same time, how could Ana have done that? She knew full well I married Jamie. My men had been out searching the surrounding clubs and parks; they even went to search in the other territories.

There was no sign of her, it was like she had vanished. I couldn’t believe she would go so far as to leave our territory, but I didn’t want to take any chances. My men knew it had to be done discreetly. We didn’t need a war with Jamie still a target and now out there.

A couple of hours passed, I had returned to the den and was on my fourth drink when the call came in. One of my men felt sure he had seen her entering a warehouse on the edge of our territory. After receiving the coordinates, I recognized the location. Pedro was known to hang out there at times. A sense of relief washed over me. If she was with him, she would at least be safe.

I rushed over, wondering why she was with Pedro. Feeling sure that he had just happened to stumble upon her, I was grateful she wasn’t out there on the street. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing okay and why he didn’t let me know that he had found her.

Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones. I had asked my men to wait outside for me, to not enter. I wanted to talk to her calmly and sort things out. I didn’t want her to feel like she was being held hostage.

Four of my guards were waiting as instructed when I arrived at the warehouse. They were parked across the street, so I pulled in next to them. I didn’t see Pedro’s car as I got out, but then again, the place was dark. The warehouse looked quiet and abandoned. “You sure they’re here?” I asked as we walked across the road.

Before any of them could answer, we heard the screaming coming from inside. Instantly, my body went cold. There was someone there all right. My guards broke through the door, and we stormed in. The warehouse was dark; the only light came through the windows of the kitchen/lounge area at the back.

Hearing her screams, now clear as day, sent rage through me. Breaking through the door, I saw her on the floor next to the couch. She was kicking and screaming while Pedro sat on top of her with her hands pinned above her head. His one hand was up in the air as if he was about to hit her. He glanced around as we barged in. I saw fear settling on his face as he realized what was happening.

Storming at him, I grabbed him behind the neck, lifting him off her. “You have no right touching my wife,” I screamed.

“Ashan, I was going to call,” he mumbled as I held him up against the wall.

The last thing I remember doing was flipping him over and smashing him to the ground as I started raining down blows. A deep, dark blackness took over after the first two or three hits.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard Jamie crying and pleading with me to stop. Through the daze of fury, I saw blood splattering the couch and carpet around his head. Feeling his scull cracking with each blow, I knew deep down inside I had to stop but it was like I was no longer in charge. Then I felt big, strong hands taking hold of my arms and pulling me backward.

“Low-life piece of crap,” I heard myself saying as I tried to find my feet and push my rage down. “Let me go,” I shouted, shaking my head, and pulling at my arms. Looking to my left and then right, I saw Leo and Luder. I forced myself out of the darkness that had taken hold. Leo was on one side holding my arm, and Luder on the other; they wouldn’t let go.

“Ashan,” Luder said harshly. “You have to calm down, get a grip, man.”

Looking down before us on the floor, I saw Pedro. His face was covered in blood, his one eye purple and swollen. He lay there lifeless. Did I kill him, I wondered as my racing heart started to slow down. The skin on one side of his jaw was torn or ripped, exposing his jawbone, and it appeared he had some hair missing where the white bone of his skull was visible.

There was blood splatter all around him on the carpet and furniture. I shook my head, trying to get a grip on what had happened. Pulling free from Leo and Luder’s grip, I staggered back. Two of Leo’s guards rushed over and tried to stop the bleeding. Glancing around, I saw Jamie standing by the door with one of my guards. She was sobbing terribly into her hands.

Standing there, I stared at my blood-covered hands. How could I have been so insensitive, how could I lose control like that? This wasn’t like me. Luder tapped me on the shoulder as he handed me a cloth and lightly pushed me toward the door. “I think you should move out, brother,” he said.

Walking to the door, I reached out for Jamie, but she pulled back from me and walked out before me. Leaving the room, I heard Leo on the phone asking for a clean-up. I watched Jamie walking ahead with Frank; everything still felt like a bad dream. I shook my head but couldn’t clear it.

Luder came up behind me, making me jump as he spoke. “Let’s go,” Still dazed, I went with Luder, following Jamie and my guards as they exited the warehouse. We drove back to the den in silence. The guards took Jamie up to the suite while Luder and I went to my office. Once my hands were washed, I ordered a strong pot of coffee as we waited for Leo.

Standing by the window, I tried to make sense of what happened. Turning, I looked Luder in the eye as I spoke. “I, I, don’t know what I thought, I don’t know,” but Luder interrupted me before I could complete my sentence.

“You weren’t thinking, were you?” he said sternly. “You always taunted me for making rash choices, but this, this is messed up.”

I turned back to face the window and the world outside. “He was going to rape her,” I uttered, still a little shaken up. “I had to stop him, you understand,”

“Even so, Ashan, you know he doesn”t only work for us,” Luder shot back at me. “You could have handled it better.” Luder came to stand beside me. “Killing Pedro will not look good for us. There will be a lot of blowbacks, Ashan.”

Hearing the door open, we turned together to see Leo coming in. He didn’t look too pleased with me. “What in the name of hell were you thinking? You made a royal mess of things.”

I nodded my head. I knew he was right. But hearing her scream, seeing her like that, it drove me blind with anger. “It’s just, well, I couldn’t just stand there,” I responded, even though I knew there was no excuse.

“You could have called us before going there. If your guard didn’t let us know, you might have killed him, and then there would have been more than doctor’s bills to pay.” Leo growled. As they continued to reprimand me, I couldn’t focus. My mind was filled with Jamie, and I only wanted to get her out.

Standing here in my office was the last place I wanted to be at that moment. I wanted to leave and check on Jamie. I had to explain to her that what she saw wasn’t the real me. She also had to understand that I was trying to protect her. Then I heard Leo saying something about Roman taking care of things, and that I could thank my stars that Pedro wasn’t dead.

Shaking my head, I tried to focus on the situation at hand. “So, he’s going to be fine then,” I said, looking at the two of them.

“Fine,” Luder spat at me. “Eventually, but if we were a couple of seconds slower, nothing would have been fine.” He pointed a finger at me as he continued. “Do you understand what you have done?”

Leo was furious. I had only seen him like this twice before. I stared blankly at them as my mind kept going back to Jamie. He pinned her and she was kicking and screaming. “I would do it again,” I blurted out.

Leo and Luder glanced at each other and back at me. “What?” Leo asked, lifting his hands in the air.

“You heard me. He was sitting on top of her, she was screaming and kicking, he was going to rape her.” Taking a deep breath, I turned back to the window before continuing. “If I didn’t get there when I did, I don’t even want to think what would have happened. He’s not worth the trouble.” I lowered my head and wished they would just leave so I could go to Jamie.

“Let’s talk in the morning,” I hear Luder respond as if he had heard my thoughts.

Glancing back, I watched as the two of them left my office. After taking a deep breath, I swallowed the last of my coffee, then left my office and headed to the suite. Entering, I paused, holding my breath. The suite was empty, but then I noticed the bathroom door was slightly ajar. Walking closer, I pushed the door slowly open.

There she was, sitting in the corner of the shower with her eyes shut. The water poured over her like rain. She looked delicate and vulnerable; my heart ached seeing her this way. I fought the urge to pick her up and hold her forever, never letting go again.

Walking closer, I swore to protect her no matter what. I would face any consequences for her. Kneeling by the shower door, I spoke softly, “Jamie, are you okay?”

She glanced up at me, “I’ll be fine.” She replied. Her tone was flat, and the sparkle in her eyes was gone.

“I’m sorry,” I added, wishing I could take away her pain. “Is there anything I can do or anything you need?”

Jamie shook her head, but I couldn’t just leave her like this. I took my towel robe from its perch and stood before the shower door, holding it up for her. “Can I hold you?” I asked softly.

Jamie looked miserable but stood and closed to the taps. As she stepped towards me, I wrapped it around her and picked her up. I felt her relaxing slightly in my arms as I carried her to the bed. Placing her down on the bed, Jamie rolled to her side and pulled herself into a ball. I sat down next to her, caressing her hair and rubbing her back, she just lay there with her eyes closed.

“Jamie,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.” She didn’t move. Her lips were pushed out into a pout, and a layer of sadness seemingly covered her like a blanket. Watching her, I realized that I needed to step up and make amends if I wanted us to work. I sat with her until I was sure she was sleeping.

Back in my office, I made arrangements and sorted some things out after I set an appointment with Leo and Luder for first thing in the morning. There was a lot to do, and it was time to get the family involved. They needed to know why things went the way they did so we could discuss moving forward.

Staring out the window, I felt a wave of guilt. I didn’t handle things right from the start. I was over-eager and made so many mistakes. But, moving forward I would set it right. We were a big family and supported each other, I should have included them, and I knew things could have gone better.