So Jase had done what he could.

Derrick had been working for Ashlynn’s family for only a short time, but he’d fit in well, done what was asked of him.

Regret merged with the anger as he thought about Derrick and the fact that they’d spent so many years not talking to one another. Although there’d been a time in Jase’s life when he had hated Derrick, that didn’t mean he hadn’t loved his brother.

Courtney’s hand touched his leg. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Again Jase nodded.

When she left the room, he kissed Ashlynn’s head. “You need to get some sleep,” he told her.

“So do you,” she countered, not moving from her spot on his lap.

Jase wasn’t sure he could sleep. His eyes were heavy, his muscles felt like they’d been injected with lead, but still, he didn’t know if his mind would shut down long enough for him to rest.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. At the bastards who’d killed Derrick and Sal, but more so at the fucking assholes who’d attempted to take Ashlynn from him. There was no doubt in his mind that Derrick and Sal had been collateral damage. Whoever had hit them tonight had been gunning for Ashlynn. Had they hit their mark, the world would’ve been a very different place for Jase right then.

Losing his brother was devastating, but if he’d lost Ashlynn…

Guilt flooded him.

Jase closed his eyes and held on to her, listening to her breathe. He didn’t even want to think about it.

He sensed someone else coming into the room, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes to see who it was. Footsteps could be heard on the hardwood, and then a strong hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing gently but firmly.

“Let’s get her to bed.”

Leyton.

Ever since Jase had found Derrick dying on the front porch, Leyton had been right there, at his side. He was guiding him through the motions, making sure he did what needed to be done. Jase needed that more than he wanted to admit. He loved Leyton as much as he loved Ashlynn, but at the moment, it seemed that Ashlynn needed him more.

“Come on,” Leyton urged, squeezing Jase’s shoulder once more.

Forcing his eyes open, Jase glanced up at Leyton. The man looked as though he’d been through hell tonight. The dark circles ringing his eyes spoke volumes.

“Okay,” Jase finally agreed.

He shifted to the edge of the cushion, then lifted Ashlynn in his arms, keeping her against him, where she’d been for the last couple of hours. Her arms were still coiled around his neck as he made his way through the living room and to the stairs. Leyton led the way while Jase focused on putting one foot in front of the other. There were several guest rooms that Leyton could’ve selected, but instead, he went to the room he’d previously occupied when he’d lived at Max’s.

Opening the door, Leyton stepped inside, then waited for Jase to join him.

The first thing Jase noticed was that the room smelled like Leyton. Rich and spicy. The scent soothed him briefly.

Once Leyton had pulled the blankets back on the king-sized bed, Jase lowered Ashlynn onto the pillow. “I’ll be right back,” he told her.

Taking stock of his surroundings, Jase watched as Leyton closed the heavy blackout curtains so that the room was shrouded in darkness. The sun was just breaking over the horizon, the new day starting as though their world hadn’t been shattered in the night.

“Please don’t go,” Ashlynn whispered, drawing Jase’s attention to her.

Unable to refuse her, he managed to shed his clothes and crawled into the bed with her, pulling her closer. A minute later, the mattress shifted, and Leyton joined them, surprising him when he pressed up against Jase’s back, his arm sliding over his hip.

“Sleep,” Leyton instructed. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Jase nodded, but he knew sleep wouldn’t be coming. Not for a while.

But he couldn’t resist lying there, feeling the warmth and the comfort that both Ashlynn and Leyton provided. Though things looked bleak, they still managed to keep him together during a time when it seemed everything else was falling apart around him.

Chapter Fifty-One

Hell hath no fury...

Ashlynn awoke in a dark room that smelled oddly of Leyton. She opened her eyes to find Jase asleep on the bed next to her, but they were the only two in the room. Doing her best not to wake him, she slipped out of bed, then out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Venturing downstairs, Ashlynn smoothed her hands over the sweater and leggings she’d borrowed from Courtney when they’d arrived in the middle of the night as she followed the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. When she entered, she found Leyton and Max talking, both men leaning against opposite countertops, their arms crossed over their chests.

Leyton’s eyes softened when she entered.

“Are you hungry?” Max asked, pushing off the counter and coming to hug her.

Giving in to the comfort he could afford her momentarily, Ashlynn hugged her brother. “No, I’m good,” she told him. The mere thought of food made her stomach churn.

He pulled back, his hands gripping her shoulders as he studied her. “You sure? I can have Walter make you somethin’.”

Ashlynn shook her head, then made her way to the refrigerator. After retrieving a bottle of water, she turned to face both men. No sense in beating around the bush; she wanted answers and she wanted a plan. Now.

“Did it burn?” she asked, her question directed at Leyton.

He nodded.

The thought of her house burning to the ground didn’t bother her. The things most important to her weren’t material anyhow. And the minor things that she’d needed, Cowboy, Teddy, and Leo had been instructed to save. She could get a new house and she would eventually. But what she couldn’t get back were the lives these bastards had stolen from her. Derrick and Sal.

Her heart ached, a painful piercing feeling in her chest that made it difficult to breathe but also renewed the anger that had been lingering since she’d come out of the house to find Jase’s brother taking his last breaths.

Shaking off the thought, she turned her attention to Max. “I need to know what our recourse is.”

“We’ve been talking about that,” he explained.

“And?” Ashlynn glanced between the two men. “I’m not interested in talking, Max. I’m not willing to make any deals with Moroso.”

“What do you want?” Leyton was the one to ask.

“I want them dead,” she said bluntly. “The whole fucking family. And I want their deaths to hurt.”

Neither of them seemed surprised, but she hadn’t expected them to be.

“How’s Jase?” Max asked.

“He’s still sleeping.” Ashlynn looked at Leyton. Returning her attention to Max, she said, “I assume you haven’t located Marco.”

“No, but I will soon.”

Ashlynn frowned. “You sound sure of that.”

“I am.”

His confidence meant he’d done something, and she was almost scared to ask. “What’d you do?” When he looked as though he was going to shrug off the question, Ashlynn straightened. “And don’t tell me not to worry about it.”

“Let’s just say, I’ve got something he wants.”

“Something?” she questioned. “Or someone?”

Max tilted his head to the side, giving her that look that said, “You don’t want me to answer that.”

But she did. She wanted to know exactly what the plan was. And then it hit her. “You’ve got his sister, don’t you?”

Max didn’t answer her, but she could see the answer in his golden eyes.

“As collateral only,” he said quickly. “My plan is to draw Marco out.”

“I’m sure that’ll do it.”

“If that won’t, then having his nephew will,” Leyton added.

Ashlynn’s head snapped over to him. Clearly they’d had a plan all along. Generally, she would’ve been pissed that they’d kept it from her, but now, she was merely glad they had a plan at all.