Velvet Fire - Ashby Crime Family Romance

Sadie stared at me for a long moment, and I wasn’t sure if she found me lacking or was thinking of the most efficient way to kill me and hide my body. Eventually she nodded and took a final pull on the joint before stamping it out.

“Kat will find a place for you within the Ashby empire. That degree will come in handy. For both of us,” she said vaguely and sent a look to Kat that said make it happen.

“Uhm, thank you?”

“Don’t thank me just yet. And by God, don’t let me down.”

Her gaze settled on Bonnie and there was a sympathy in her eyes I didn’t imagine her capable of. “When the darkness passes, I might have use for you too. Come see me then.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Virgil

“You think Sadie’s gonna be pissed we didn’t get home for breakfast?” Calvin looked worried, his gaze settling on Jasper and then me and then Terry. “She’s probably worried.”

Terry was the first to laugh. “Settle down Baby Ashby, Sadie is sleeping off a righteous hangover or she’s sleeping the sleep of the damned. Peaceful as fuck.” He raked a hand through his almost white blond hair and grinned. “She knows the deal.”

“He’s right, Cal. Sadie will appreciate sleeping in after the last few days.” Jasper looked around Midnight Mass, a slight frown on his face despite the early morning crowd. “Where the fuck did all these people come from?”

“Graduation,” I answered automatically. “Town population tripled in the past week with parents staying in every hotel and B&B in the area for festivities and moving their graduates back home.”

Jasper grunted at my answer and then the grumpy bastard grunted at the waitress who took our order. “Something’s off.”

Terry laughed and clapped a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “Only Jas could feel unsettled after the successful night we had. Thanks to Baby Ashby,” he gestured to Cal, “we managed to take out nine houses belonging to The Crusaders.” Flop houses, whore houses, higher end brothels and even stash houses, We found them thanks to Cal unlocking Brendan Rhymer’s phone, and we torched them with as little collateral damage as possible.

“Fucking productive night,” he said and raised his Guinness in the air with a satisfied grin.

Jasper nodded, acknowledging Terry’s words. “It was a good night but something feels off here.” He looked around and froze when his gaze landed on a petite woman with a high auburn ponytail swinging as she bounced our way. “Fucking Feds.”

Sure enough, the closer the woman came the clearer the FBI letters gleamed on her dark blue windbreaker. She stopped at the table flashing a wide smile like the head cheerleader trying to score votes for Homecoming Queen.

“Good morning Ashby men. Mr. Manning.”

Jasper arched a dark brow at the woman, doing his best to appear calm and unaffected. “It seems that you have us at a disadvantage, Agent.”

She smiled and cast a wary look at the dark-haired man who stopped beside her. “Agent Addison Beck and I think you know my partner, Agent Baxter Marshall.”

She flashed another wide smile that was meant to be disarming but she hadn’t perfected sincerity yet.

“Agent Marshall,” Jasper snarled. “Someone important must have gotten killed or swindled for you to make another trip back to the desert.”

Marshall had been a thorn in our sides for years now, always looking for a way to take down the Ashby family. Always failing.

“Funny you should say that,” Agent Beck beamed. “You guys wouldn’t happen to know anything about the series of house fires, would you?” He turned to his partner. “Or were they explosions?”

Jasper shook his head, always the spokesperson for the family when no lawyers were present. “Sorry. I haven’t had time to read the news this morning. Running the family business keeps me pretty busy.”

She tossed her head back and laughed, almost like they were flirting. It was some sick shit, and since I had a shot and a Guinness in front of me, I sat back and enjoyed the show.

“I imagine that running a criminal empire is rather time consuming.”

Jasper laughed back. “As a card carrying member of the biggest criminal organization around, you should know.”

The woman growled like an actual animal in Jasper’s direction and my unflappable brother…he fucking smiled.

“You’re the criminal,” she insisted.

“And if you really believed that, I’d be in cuffs.”

“Soon,” she promised, leaning forward to get right in his face, nostrils flaring and her cheeks beet red.

“Promises, promises,” he whispered, a hint of a smile playing on his mouth.

It looked like Agent Beck was about to lose her shit, but Marshall reined her in, knowing the futility of taking on the Ashby family with little more than threats. “We’re here about the priest killings. You heard anything on the street about it?”

Terry laughed. “Try every fucked-up altar boy in the state, and then expand your search for suspects.”