Family Ties (Ashby Crime Family)

“Sadie and Jasper are in the office.” I knew where it was, but I waited for Thomas to guide me down the long, dimly lit hall and into the dark study that looked straight out of a political thriller. “Charlie to see you.”

With those words, Thomas closed the door and walked away, as unobtrusively as he’d entered.

“Charlie, what brings you by?” Sadie asked in that simple, non-threatening way she had, but she and Jasper eyed me carefully. “Drink?”

“I’m good thanks,” I told her and took a seat in one of the black club chairs with the buttery leather that probably cost a fortune. “I stopped by Maisie’s caterer.”

Jasper frowned. “Why?”

I shrugged. “Call it intuition. With all the shit happening around here, what are the chances the fire was accidental?”

“Do you have any proof or are you just bored?” Jasper could have a prickly tongue, but I didn’t let it bother me.

“Caterers don’t work at three in the morning, not typically. If they left something on that caused the fire, it would’ve happened a lot earlier in the day. Besides, the owner was there and confirmed my suspicions. It’s being investigated as arson. It’s clear from just a quick look around the place that it wasn’t an accident.”

“What wasn’t?” Virgil’s deep growl sounded from the doorway, and I turned, shocked at how quietly the big man moved since I hadn’t even heard the door open. “Well?”

“The fire at the caterer’s,” Sadie offered up with an exhausted sigh. “Charlie spoke to the owner, and it looks like it was arson.”

“Fuck,” he bit out and dropped down on the sofa situated right underneath an oil painting of Sadie. “I was afraid of that. Maisie is freaking the fuck out about finding a caterer who can get the job done by the end of the week.”

“That’s the main reason I’m here, actually. Mom put in a call to a friend. Said to tell Maisie to call and ask for Jessa. Tell her Jana sent her.”

Virgil accepted the business card with a frown. “She can do this in such a short time and she’s available?”

“Yeah. She’s one of Mom’s clients and they worked something out. I didn’t ask for details, but Maisie was bawling her eyes out the other day so everyone did what they could to find someone to help. Jessa came through.”

I didn’t care enough to get the details. I was just the messenger in this instant because I needed to talk to Jasper and Sadie.

“Thanks man, I appreciate this. A lot.”

“No problem.” Since wedding talk was taken care of, I turned back to the business at hand. “You think Rhymer would torch a catering joint just to fuck with you?”

Virgil sucked his teeth. From the look on his face, I thought he was going to spit on the carpet. He cooled whatever jet was going to blow over and said, “I wouldn’t put it past that fucker, honestly. But it could be the Black Jacks, fucking with either of us. You did take out one of their boys when you came through for Emmett and Nessa.”

Shit, he was right. Jameson and I were displaying our patches so it was no longer a secret that the Ashby family and the Reckless Bastards had common interests. “But there’s no reason for them to know Maisie has ties to us since she grew up in Texas.”

“Right.” Sadie nodded and opened a silver case. She lit a cigarette and continued. “But she lived with a known Bastard during college. Besides, I have a feeling we have a leak somewhere. I’m looking into it.” The steel in her green eyes was terrifying despite her petite stature and predilection for designer suits. “It will be handled, but just know that our ties are no longer a secret.”

I sighed and nodded as I pushed out of the comfortable chair. “Noted. We’ll probably need extra security for the wedding, and the bachelorette party. If I know my cousin, it’ll be big and splashy and frou-frou.”

Virgil laughed. “Yeah. Extra on the frou-frou.”

“The games are canceled this week for the wedding festivities.” Jasper grunted, speaking up after a long silence. “Mace and Provo, Hulu and Evan will monitor the women. And make sure you show up to the bachelor party packing heat.” It was more of an order than a suggestion, but as the oldest son and the head of the family, I figured bossy was his default position.

“I’m always packing,” I assured him with a grin. “Too many dickheads out there trying to take me out.”

“Amen, brother.” Virgil stood and clapped me on the back, offering up a grateful smile before heading toward the door. “I’m gonna go give Maisie the good news. Maybe it’ll relax her.”

Sadie laughed and called after him, “She won’t have a moment of peace until the vows have been spoken and the papers signed. Just a few more days, son.”