Her eyes snapped up to his face and he smiled. “I need to get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“We’ll be in the office.”
“’Kay.”
It only took a few minutes for him to get dressed and meet the two of them downstairs in Ashlynn’s home office. The place looked a lot like Max’s, complete with dark wood walls and bookshelves that contained more knickknacks than books, an expensive desk along with two long black leather sofas and two matching chairs that all faced one another. Like the rest of her house, there wasn’t any clutter, not even on the desk, where only a laptop sat opened on the top.
“So what is it we need to talk about?” Ashlynn inquired when Jase entered the room and closed the door behind him.
Leyton was watching her intently, and Jase didn’t think he’d even heard what she’d said.
“Leyton?” Ashlynn took a seat on the leather sofa, leaned forward, and rested her elbows on her knees, creamy cleavage escaping the black silk robe she wore. Come to think of it, Jase couldn’t actually blame Leyton for being tongue-tied. Though Jase had the pleasure of seeing her in even less than that, he still found himself at a loss for words when he looked at her.
But the truth was, it wasn’t merely Ashlynn’s physical attributes that caught his attention. The thing he noticed about her most was her eyes. The hazel shimmered, but it was what he could see in their depths that drew him. She’d lived through so much, seen so much, and she was, by far, the most remarkably put together woman he’d ever met.
Jase cleared his throat when it was obvious Leyton was lost somewhere in his own thoughts.
“Yeah?” Leyton glanced back and forth between them.
“You said it was important,” Ashlynn said.
“Right.” Leyton broke from his reverie and took a seat in the leather chair across from Ashlynn. “We’ve got a situation,” he told her, then turned to Jase.
“Can I get you somethin’ to drink?” Jase asked before Leyton could get too far into the details.
Leyton waved him off, so Jase took a seat on the sofa beside Ashlynn, making sure to remain close to her.
“What situation?” she asked, subtly leaning into Jase.
“Snarly took care of business tonight.”
Ashlynn nodded. “I’d expected him to. What’s the situation?”
“We’ve got some complications,” Leyton said with a sigh. “Turns out, what we thought was idle bullshit from Tony was something else entirely. You mentioned he’d been working with the Moroso family…” Leyton glanced over at Jase. “Which honestly was news to me … so I did some more digging. You were right, they were workin’ together. When Tony said he was moving up in the organization, he wasn’t talkin’ about ours.”
Jase cocked an eyebrow.
Leyton continued, “Tony wasn’t just working both sides.”
“What does that mean?” Ashlynn inquired.
“It means he was a Moroso. Technically, he’s Marco’s half brother. Was.”
“Really?” Ashlynn didn’t sound as though she believed it. “How the hell did that get past us?”
“I’ve got someone lookin’ into that.”
“I don’t buy it,” Ashlynn added.
“It’s true,” Leyton confirmed. “He was workin’ with his brother in order to get a stronghold on our guns.”
It made sense to Jase, in a way. And he had to hand it to them, it’d been rather brilliant considering no one would’ve ever thought Tony was working with the Moroso Crime Family, much less part of it.
“So what’s the issue?” Jase inquired, sliding his arm over the back of the sofa and pulling Ashlynn toward him. “With Tony outta the way, Ashlynn’ll find someone else to move the inventory, and we’ll move on.” Jase glanced between them. “At least that’s the way I see it.”
Leyton swallowed hard, then leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. Dropping his head into his hands, he ran his fingers through his sandy-blond hair momentarily. He was still wearing the same suit he’d had on earlier in the day, looking good enough to eat though Jase could sense his stress. His hair was slightly mussed, as though he’d been running his hands through it for quite some time now.
“I wish it were that simple. Turns out Marco was very protective of Tony.”
Jase waited for Leyton to go on although he knew exactly the direction they were headed. They could never predict the actions of the people they worked with. In their world, business was based on greed, not necessity. Everyone wanted to be on top, and as Max and Ashlynn could attest, being on top always meant there was someone ready to knock them down.
“What is it, Leyton?” Ashlynn seemed anxious for the news.
“The Moroso family… After they got word of Tony’s death … they contracted a hit.”
Ashlynn’s sharp inhale told Jase he hadn’t been hearing things.
Leyton’s eyes hardened as he stared at Ashlynn. “On you.”
Jase sat up straight, yanking his arm from behind Ashlynn. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” A hit? Leyton couldn’t fucking be serious. “Do they know who they’re dealin’ with?”
“I’d say so,” Leyton stated firmly. In the blink of an eye, Leyton pulled himself together, now appearing not at all fazed by this news, and Jase had a difficult time believing that he wasn’t. “It’s a stupid move but not surprising. Marco wants revenge for his brother’s death.”
Glancing over at Ashlynn, Jase noticed her eyes were wide. She clearly understood what this meant.
“Who took the contract?” Ashlynn inquired, her tone smooth, even. As though she weren’t worried about the fact someone was now targeting her for death.
It was a damn good question, though. Jase wanted to know who’d be stupid enough to go up against the Adorites and expect to live through it.
“I’m lookin’ into it,” Leyton replied.
“Where’s Max?” Jase asked. “Why the fuck isn’t he here to deal with this?”
“He’s aware of the situation. As soon as I heard, I called him.”
“Please tell me he didn’t cancel his plans for this?” Ashlynn stated.
“Not yet. He’ll reach out to Moroso if I don’t hear back from him today. Once he hears something, he’ll let me know.”
“Good,” Ashlynn said, leaning back into the cushion. “This is bullshit and Moroso knows it. The man’s a fucking rat, just like Tony.”
Jase couldn’t hold it in any longer. “A hit, Ashlynn! He put a fucking hit out on you. Do you understand what that means?”
Ashlynn glared at him, and Jase realized how belligerent he sounded. He couldn’t help it. The mere thought of someone wanting to kill Ashlynn… It made him fucking crazy.
Son of a bitch. A fucking hit.
The only way to deal with an ordered hit was to counter it with one of their own.
Leyton’s expression changed, from nonchalant to serious. “We won’t let them get close to her.”
“And how the fuck do you plan to do that?” Jase barked. “Put up a sign that says no trespassing? Come on, Leyton. Don’t be fucking naïve.”
Ashlynn’s soft hand on his arm had Jase leaning back, taking a deep breath. He knew he was overstepping, confronting Leyton the way he was, but he couldn’t help it. He damn sure wasn’t going to sit back while they waited for someone to come after her.
“Max will deal with this,” Leyton assured them. “He wants us to call him in the morning. First thing.”
Jase nodded. He agreed that this had to be dealt with immediately. No waiting for surprises.
“I need to talk to Max,” Ashlynn said.
“He’s in a meeting. He told me not to let you out of my sight. Which is why I’m here.” Leyton didn’t look at all happy about that, and Jase understood why. Not because he didn’t want to protect her but because he feared he’d give in to her if given the chance.
The man was falling for Ashlynn, no matter what the fuck he said. This had to be eating at him, knowing that the woman they both wanted was now the mark of a fucking rival crime family.
“We need to put all security on her,” Jase insisted, getting to his feet and pacing the room.
“I’m gonna meet with Moroso as soon as I can. I’ve already reached out, told him if he made a move tonight, we would take down his entire family within minutes.”