Entangled Heart (Ashby Crime Family)

The laptop and phone provided by Sadie sat on a table that was too high for Ava Rose to reach. Those curious little fingers got into everything these days. She was always crawling around, constantly exploring. Soon she would need a full-time nanny. For now, she had me.

“Ba-ba-ba!” I was never quite sure if she was calling out for a bottle or trying to say a name, or just engaging in baby talk, so I just smiled and tickled her little tummy.

“Your mama was quiet, not like you, but she loved you to pieces Ava Rose. I hope you remember that,” I told her as the phone buzzed on the table. I sat the little girl on her puzzle mat, slid on the headset to muffle background noises, and answered in my best sultry customer service voice.

“Elegant Escorts. What is your pleasure this evening?” It was cheesy as fuck, but it never failed to get the guy on the other end of the line rock hard.

“Yeah, I want to book Brie. She available?”

I nodded even as my fingers flew over the keyboard, checking her schedule for the night. “She is. How long would you like the pleasure of Brie’s company this evening?”

The man grunted a response and gave his details before abruptly hanging up.

“Rude.”

These guys all acted like they were in some fucking spy movie, all covert and short with words, like they were being wiretapped. I thought it was hilarious, and instead of being offended, I laughed it off and called Brie.

“Maddie, hey.”

“Hey, Brie. Got a full night booking for you. Arm candy for a night of gambling and more.”

“Holy shit, seriously?”

“Yep. Starting at Black Stallion in an hour. You up for it?”

“Hell, yeah, I’m up for a full night booking. One cock and a big payout? You’re the best, Miss Madison. Thanks.”

“No problem. Have fun and be safe.”

“Yes, mom,” she laughed and ended the call. If they only knew I was barely of legal age.

It was a weird job at first, taking the bookings and talking to the girls. I expected them to be more reluctant about fucking for money, but they were all super professional. Each girl had her limits and the clients respected them, and more, they treated the guys like dates instead of johns.

I respected them because they took this job because it gave them the lives they wanted with designer handbags, penthouse apartments, graduate school tuition. They used their beauty and brains to make a shit ton of money. What’s not to respect about that?

It was a hell of a lot more respectable than my own mom, fucking randos for a six-pack of Bud Light.

Every call that came in was for a full night booking, which meant my cut would put me that much closer to getting my own place. Molly would need the privacy to recover from whatever hell she’d been going through. She’d need time and peace and with all the money I was making and saving, I could give it to her.

Thoughts of Molly made my heart hurt because I still hadn’t seen her or talked to her, which fucking sucked. I pushed the French doors a little wider to let some fresh air in because thoughts of Molly always made me feel like I was suffocating. Like someone was pressing down on my chest, harder and harder until I felt like I might black out.

But voices interrupted that sensation, and my ears perked up.

“The last fucking thing we need is to give that bitch Beck another excuse to come after us, Sadie, and your obsession with these fucking priests will come back on all of us. Hard.” Jasper’s voice was low and angry. I’d never heard him speak to Sadie like that before.

She laughed, a dry and humorless sound. “Have I ever let you down, Jasper?”

“I didn’t pull the fucking trigger,” he growled, his anger palpable. Scary. He sucked in several deep breaths, and when he spoke next, his words were more restrained.

“It doesn’t matter who did what. What matters is that between Beck’s father and Mueller, the bitch will be up our asses until the day we die.”

That bitch was definitely Jamie’s partner, Beck. But Mueller? Pull the trigger? Did that mean…no, it couldn’t and even if it did, that was not the kind of shit I wanted to know about.

“We have to handle her, Jas.” Sadie’s voice was calm but insistent.

“Fuck that shit, one dead Fed is one too many on our books Sadie. They’ll tear this fucking town apart to find her killer.”

“Only if they find her body,” Sadie shot back quickly. Too quickly if you asked me. “We’d have to be more careful this time.”

Jasper let out a bitter laugh. “That makes it sound like we were careful the first time when it was a goddamn shit show.”