Ruthless Sinner (Ashby Crime Family)

“Yes, Jasper, we have a deal. I’ve already put in for a transfer, effective after some personal time off.”

“Excellent. That’s exactly what I want to hear.”

“I’m sure it is,” she shot back with a smile. “We both know if I stuck around any longer, your family would be in a lot of trouble.”

I let out a deep laugh and shook my head. “We both know that if you stuck around any longer, there wouldn’t be much longer for you to be around.”

Sadie didn’t want Agent Beck killed, not after the shit show with Father Dietrich, but if she stuck around, that would have been the most expedient option.

Her blue eyes widened for a fraction of a moment before she regained her composure and lifted her chin in a defiant tilt. “That sounds an awful lot like a threat to a federal agent.”

“I don’t make threats, Beck. I make promises.” I took a step back and reached for my backup phone. “Speaking of promises, I have another to keep. Did you get the Bitcoin wallet like I said?”

Beck nodded. “I did.”

“Good.” I sent the two million we agreed on and tucked the phone away. “It was nice doing business with you, Agent Beck.”

She flipped me off just as her phone chimed with a notification. “Fuck you, Jasper.”

I laughed. “I guess you should have negotiated a fuck before leaving town if you wanted one so bad.”

She rolled her eyes and let out a huff of disappointment. “Right, because your dick is coated in gold and fat-free chocolate.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Addison. You made the smart decision.”

She shook her head and looked away and for the first time. I could see how hard this was for her. But it was the best thing for the Ashby Organization. “That doesn’t make this choice any easier.”

“Nobody said it would be easy. Nothing worth having ever is.” Running this family, keeping everyone safe. It was the hardest, scariest thing I’d ever done in my entire fucking life. But I didn’t want to be or to do anything else.

Beck didn’t move from her spot in the middle of my office, her blue stare trying to see through me. “Well?”

“You want the fuck, convince me with a blow job.”

She let out a low, frustrated growl. “My father’s location, Ashby. Where the fuck is he?”

I smiled. “Text me when you’re out of Nevada, and I’ll send you his coordinates.”

“I don’t trust you.” Arms folded, lips pushed into a small pout, she looked like a bratty fucking kid.

“I don’t trust you either, but I have the information you want, which puts me in the power position.”

She wanted to argue, I could see the fire in her eyes, and I waited. “If you don’t send me those coordinates, I will be back, Jasper. And I will make you and your family pay.”

I gave a short nod. “I have no doubt you’ll try. Just remember, I have a recording of you shouting to my waitress about how you rode my cock to kingdom come.”

Beck sucked in a breath, nostrils flaring. Her skin turned an angry shade of red, and she let the breath out slowly. “Fuck. You. Ashby.”

“No thanks. Have a nice life, Addison. Hope to never see you again. Or else.”

She stormed out like the angry little tornado she was, and I was happy to see the back of her for the last time.

With the problem of Agent Beck behind me, it was time to focus on another problem. The envelope on my desk staring up at me from Greater Las Vegas Diagnostics. Inside were the results of the test that would change my life forever.

If Mo was pregnant with my baby…shit, it wasn’t even something I had even given proper consideration. I knew she was pregnant, but the thought that the baby might actually be mine hadn’t seemed like a real probability. Hadn’t seemed like it was in the fucking realm of reality, so I pushed it off to the side while we waited for the DNA test to come back.

But now, with the envelope staring at me, the green letters of the laboratory almost seemed to mock me because what the hell did I know about being a father? I had a shitty father who didn’t give a damn about anyone—not even himself—only about the money in his pocket. The only thing I could learn from Colm Ashby about being a father is what not to do. And Grandpa Cillian, rest his weary soul, had been a good granddad, but he indulged his own son and nearly ruined the family business in the process.

I wasn’t ready for fatherhood, but life didn’t give a shit if you were ready for things or not. Life just kind of threw obstacles in your way, and you could either overcome them or let them defeat you.