Velvet Fire - Ashby Crime Family Romance

“I’ll burn this fucking city to the ground to find her if I have to, Bonnie.”

Her eyes widened and for a moment I thought my intensity scared her, but her lips quirked into the first grin I’d seen from her since I picked her up.

“Oh wow, you like her. Like really like her.” She surprised the hell out of me by laughing. “I can’t wait to see this play out.” The laughter slowly died as if she suddenly remembered everything.

“Thank you, Virgil.”

“No problem,” I grunted her and grabbed her bag from the back seat.

“Let’s get you settled.” She nodded and said nothing as we walked the stone path that led to our front door.

“Ashby Manor,” she said on an awestruck sigh. “It’s so beautiful.”

“It’s home,” I told her with a shrug.

“No, this is a piece of architectural perfection. It’s even more gorgeous at night.” Shaking her head morosely as if realizing once again, why she was here, Bonnie looked up at me. “Sorry. I ramble when I’m nervous.”

“Don’t worry about it. You hungry?”

“I don’t even know.”

Bonnie had the shell-shocked look of a woman thrown into the deep end, a fact that comforted me because it meant she realized how serious this shit was.

“Thanks.”

“You already said that.”

She laughed again. “Nerves.”

Inside the house, Jasper, Sadie and Kat were in the living room waiting for us, with Thomas hovering in the background.

“This is Bonnie,” I grunted at them.

I could tell she was overwhelmed, by everything, the murder, Maisie’s disappearance, the house, my family. So, I eased Bonnie into the room with my hand lightly on her shoulder.

“Bonnie, this is my mom, Sadie. My brother, Jasper, and my sister, Kat. Calvin is around here somewhere.”

“And what about me?” I recognized that voice as well as any of my own siblings because he was as good as a brother, to me and certainly to Jasper. Terry waved from inside the foyer just beyond and smiled at Bonnie.

She gasped and hid behind me, which made Kat groan.

“It’s all right Bonnie, he’s one of us.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Thomas,” Sadie called out impatiently. “Can you get our guest settled into her room? Kat, go with them.”

She nodded in the direction where Thomas had already escorted Bonnie off, toward the main staircase and under her breath said, “See if you can find out anything else, Kat.”

I shook my head, my gaze settled on Ma’s.

“No. Just keep her calm. I got everything out of her she could remember, but between the death of her priest and listening to the kidnapping of her best friend, the girl is barely hanging on.”

I couldn’t imagine how civilians shook this shit off because I knew I never could.

Sadie sighed again, having little patience for uncontrollable emotions.

“Give her a Xanax if you have to, since the goody two shoes probably never smoked weed in her life.”

Ma shook her head and turned back to Jasper and me. And Terry.

“Where’s Cal?” He was supposed to be digging up any and everything we could find that would help us locate Maisie.

“Not to butt in here,” Terry began with a smile as he clapped his hands together and slid his palm together in a circular pattern. “But I have something for you. Come with me.”

As soon as we opened the front door, a loud pounding and muffled screams came from the trunk of his car, parked less than twenty feet from the front door.

Sadie looked intrigued while Jasper looked worried. And curious, as we all approached the vehicle. Very cautiously.

“I love gifts,” Ma said in that flirtatious tone she used on almost every man in her orbit.

“This is a good one, Sadie.” Terry flashed a grin and folded his big ass biceps over his chest. “Savannah Rhymer. Spotted her just after I got Jas’s call when I was coming out of Bullets & Beer.”

“Little bitch was asking for trouble,” Sadie growled and nodded for the rest of us to follow her, not to the dining room where our interrupted dinner still sat, growing cold, but to the salon where she had a fully stocked wet bar.

“Maybe,” Terry agreed. “I didn’t harm one hair on her pretty little head. She’s pissed as fuck, but otherwise all right.”

Sadie poured whiskey into two tumblers and handed one to Terry. “Well done, Manning. Well fucking done.”

Terry winked and shook his head. “Raincheck on the drink? I hear we’ve got heads to bash tonight.”

His answer pleased Ma, and she nodded with a small smile, pouring his whiskey into her glass and drinking it down. “Later, then.”

Jasper and I both groaned at the intent in Sadie’s voice. I didn’t even want to think about that shit. Not ever. What I wanted to think about was Maisie and getting her back.

“We do have heads to bash so what the fuck are we doing sitting around?”

Jasper poured two fingers of whiskey slowly before he turned, gaze colliding with mine. “Soon brother.”