my house right now asking for names of the players in the card games. I pepper-sprayed him.”
The line was silent for a moment, but when he finally spoke, his voice was ice cold and low.
“Sit tight. I’ll be right there.”
The call ended before I could give him my address so I assumed there was some employee file for Lance.
I did what Jasper said and sat on my sofa with a glass of wine on the coffee table and the knife gripped tight in my right hand. I was prepared for a fight because there was no way I’d battled grief to die now.
I said the words out loud. “No fucking way am I gonna die now.” Maybe I felt more courage. Hard to know. I took another swallow of the wine.
What felt like just a few minutes later, a loud pounding on the door had the knife clattering to the floor and sliding beneath the sofa.
“Vanessa, it’s Jasper. Open up.”
Deciding to err on the side of caution, I flattened myself on the floor to grab the knife before I raced to answer the door to Jasper, Terry and Provo. All looking intimidating as hell.
“Hey. Thanks for coming.”
Jasper nodded and stepped inside, a move that forced me to back up.
He looked around and asked, “Was he inside?”
“No. He snuck up behind me when I was disarming the alarm.” A thought occurred to me. “Do you think he got my code?”
Jasper frowned, and Terry stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “Change the code. Now.”
I nodded and did what Terry said, listening to the men talk as if I wasn’t in the room.
“Brendan Rhymer,” Terry said.
“Has to be,” Jasper confirmed. “It’s time we stop fucking around where this asshole is concerned. I know what Ma said, but I’m done with this shit.”
Terry said, “I’ll handle Brendan. It’s been a long time since I’ve kicked some ass.” The delight in his voice was slightly terrifying and also a little hilarious.
“Well you handled the fucker who shot Kat with ease, didn’t you?”
“That was different,” he growled. “It wasn’t about enjoyment.”
“So you’re saying you didn’t enjoy it?” Provo had come in with the guys, but he’d mostly stayed quiet and I understood why. This was probably too much of a reminder of all the times he was here because of Lance.
“I didn’t say that, asshole.” Terry flashed a smile at Provo. “I just said it wasn’t about enjoying it. But whatever I do to Brendan, my plan will be to enjoy inflicting maximum pain on that motherfucker.”
He flashed a wicked yet joyful smile, and I shook my head. These were fully grown men and even talking about violence, they sounded like boys.
“We need to get her outta here,” Jasper said, bringing that conversation to an end. His serious, slightly angry gaze met Provo’s. “Take her to Sadie.”
I finished changing the security code and shook my head. “That’s not necessary. Odds are he won’t come back. Right? Or is he going to cut out my tongue like he did Fiona’s?”
Looking to these tough guys for assurance was a fool’s errand, but my heart raced and thudded at the idea of crashing Ashby Sunday dinner.
“Emmett,” Terry said.
“Yeah, Emmett. Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me I was in danger? You guys are supposed to be bad ass gangsters and you couldn’t even keep Fiona safe. Nor my husband!” I shouted, the tears starting to fall.
“Whether he comes back or not, you won’t be here.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I sobbed.
Jasper came closer and rubbed the back of his neck. “Vanessa, pack a fucking bag. You are going to the Manor. Now.”
Jasper’s words were final and I knew there was no point making another argument.
I gave a sharp nod and made my way to the bedroom to pack enough clothes for a week. I packed jeans and t-shirts for the day and a few dresses for work. A slinky red nightgown drew my attention to another fact. Emmett would be at Sunday dinner, and I wasn’t ready to see or talk to him. Not yet.
Provo demanded my keys and slid behind the wheel of my car. “What’s the big deal about staying with the Ashby’s. I thought you were cool with them?”
“I am, it’s just that I’d prefer to stay in my own space.”
I didn’t want to get into the real story about Emmett, especially with a man who had so much baggage and a clear dislike for me. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
“If you