Sadie's Game (Ashby Crime Family)

I pulled my lips in to avoid the laugh that threatened at just how hard she worked not to argue with me.

“Really fucking funny, Thomas,” she growled and dropped her head against the rest. The fact that she didn’t argue, didn’t even attempt to threaten me to take her home meant the last thirty hours had gotten to her.

“Try to get some rest. I’ll wake you when we get where we’re going.”

“Do I get to know where that is?”

I nodded. “When we get there, you’ll know.”

“Fuck you,” she said around a yawn and drifted off to sleep.

She slept for almost two hours, which gave me plenty of time to take the long route recommended by Jasper just in case anyone had it in their mind to follow us to my own personal hideaway.

Mt. Charleston wasn’t even an hour from Glitz, but it had everything needed to keep this woman safe.

Surrounded by forests on two sides, with a fantastic view of the Mt. Charleston summit and the Cathedral Rock trail, my cabin offered ultimate privacy, guaranteed by a state-of-the-art surveillance system, a stockpile of weapons, strategic exits and traps for those who tried to be clever. It was my personal property, and I’d always dreamed of taking Sadie here.

Under different circumstances, of course.

I laid a hand on her thigh, and Sadie woke up with a gasp, eyes wide as she looked around to orient herself. Her hand went to her thigh, where she normally kept a small blade.

“It’s just me, Sadie. We’re here. Come on.”

She looked up at the impressive, two-story cabin that was more like a wooden mansion in the forest. “Where is this, exactly?” she said, smiling at what she saw.

“Mount Charleston. My cabin.”

“Yours?”

“Yes, mine.” I nodded and stepped out of the car, grabbing our bags before I opened the passenger door.

“Let’s not dawdle,” I told her and shuffled her up the steps and inside the cabin.

“Am I a prisoner?”

“No, you’re a guest.” I gave her the security code to ease her mind. “Everything you need to feel normal again is in the bag. Take a hot bath and get your head screwed back on. I’ll get us some food.”

Sadie looked around with a critical eye, but she said nothing about the décor or the furniture. “I could really do with a drink.”

“Sorry,” I shrugged, not sorry at all. “There was no time to stop for booze. We have enough food here to last us a while, though.”

“Get me a goddamn drink, Thomas.” She glared at me for a long moment until she realized I was telling the truth. “Fine,” she growled and took the bag upstairs.

A few moments later, I heard the water turn on, and I let myself relax.

Sadie could be reckless at times, but I didn’t expect her to shimmy down the wall to make her escape. Even if she did, the sensors on the window would let me know right away.

With Sadie taken care of, I rolled up my sleeves and got started on cooking.

Sometime later, Sadie joined me in the kitchen, looking soft and feminine with no makeup in a sweater that hung off one shoulder, and fitted cotton pants. She was the same Sadie I’d fallen for all those years ago, but she looked so unlike her usual self. She was still confident and in control, but soft and approachable.

“Something smells amazing.”

“Ribeye and salad.”

“Salad?”

I nodded. “Is that a problem?”

She shrugged and pulled open the fridge, probably double-checking that there really was no booze in the house.

“I was hoping for something with some carbs in it, like pasta.”

I smiled to myself. Sadie was being difficult for the sake of being difficult.

“Maybe if you’re good, we’ll have carbs for dinner.”

“I’m always good,” she cooed, and I grinned at her over my shoulder. I loved it when playful, seductive Sadie showed up.

“You’re even better sober.”

She groaned. “Not this shit, Thomas. Not again. I’m a grown-ass woman, and I can drink as much or as little as I see fit. Got it?”

I removed the steaks from the griddle, put them on a plate to rest, and turned to find Sadie’s angry green eyes glaring at me.

“Sadie,” I said in a voice I hoped would defang her. “I am well aware of just how grown you are. I’ve known you since we were barely adults. But the fact remains that you have been drinking a lot, some might say too much.”

“I know when I’ve had too much.”

I sighed and brought the salad to the set table, nodding for her to take a seat.

“Normally, you do. But something is different this time. You’re not drinking because you like it, or because Velvet Fire is damn good whiskey. You’re drinking to forget or hide something.”

“You’re starting to piss me off, Thomas.”

“I know,” I grinned. “But this has to stop, at least for now. None of us, especially you, can afford to have you making drunken mistakes. We need to get you out of this shit, Sadie. Beck is gunning for you, and she’s gunning hard, with the full force of the FBI at her back. To beat this, you need to be the ruthless, clearheaded Sadie we know and love. Can I have your word on the booze?”