Shift (The Disciples' Daughters #2) (23 page)

The bullet exploded from the gun in Ash’s hands at the same moment another gun fired to my right. Ash’s aim was true, going right to Barton’s head, but so was the other bullet. They collided at the same moment, blowing the asshole’s head apart, sending his body crumbling to the ground.

Not waiting a second, I wrapped both arms around Ash and took the gun from her hand. I held it out to the side and someone grabbed it from me. I didn’t look to see who. Didn’t give a fuck.

Ash’s legs started to go, so I scooped her up and held her to my chest. She was trembling something fierce.

“Ace,” she said.

I looked up and found Doc seeing to Ace. Ham was already rushing away, probably to the van. There was a stretcher we could use to move him without calling emergency services.

“I got a pulse. Weak, but he’s holding on. We need to get him to the hospital now,” Doc announced.

“Barton and his man are both gone,” Jager added.

Gauge appeared from between the trees. “Area’s clear. There’s an access drive a couple yards from here, connects right onto the main road.”

“Call Ham, tell him to bring the van around there,” Stone instructed, but Gauge was already on it. He went on with his orders to the group at large. “Ham and Doc in the van. Doc, you cool with Jager takin’ your bike out of here?” Doc nodded his agreement, his focus still on Ace. “Need a couple men to stay back, keep an eye on this mess until we can get the van back here and move these fuckers out.”

A couple voices rose to volunteer, I didn’t take time to look around for who.

“Jager,” Stone went on, “get on the phone with Andrews. We bring a GSW, questions are going to be asked.”

Stone looked my way. “You got her?” I jerked my chin in response. “Get her out of here.”

I didn’t hesitate. I just left.

As I walked, my pace quick and body tight, I said, “Talk to me, baby.”

“I shot him,” she said in a flat voice.

“You shot at him.”

I felt her head tip up to me. “No, I shot him.”

“You don’t know your bullet hit first,” I told her. It was thin, but it was something.

“But it hit, Gabe,” she returned.

It did. Fuck, if she hadn’t been sage already when she fired, if we hadn’t all been at her back ready to shoot the fucker instead, I would tell her it was a great shot. I’d tell her she’d defended herself and Ace, and that was that.

She had done those things, but there was something more at work.

Fact was, we were all there. She could have put the gun down, let us deal with Barton. It’s what I’d wanted her to do. I had no idea why she wouldn’t let go.

“I’m sorry,” that same lifeless voice said to me. It wasn’t my Ash. She wasn’t in there at the moment.

“Baby, you don’t have one fuckin’ thing to be sorry for. He would have killed you, he nearly killed Ace,” I told her.

Fuck, how much farther was it to my fucking bike? It seemed like that damn place went on forever. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to take Ash home on my bike. At that moment, I wasn’t sure she was capable of holding onto me and being safe while we rode.

“He killed Dad. And my mom.”

Was that what it was about? Revenge?

I looked down at my girl. Her curls were a mess. I could only begin to guess why. Chances were, the answer was going to make me wish I’d been the one to finish off Barton even more. Her blue eyes were dull, looking out at but not seeing the landscape as I carried her through the cemetery. Her skin was pale, ashen. If I couldn’t feel her breaths, see her blink every so often, I would think she was dead.

“He did, Ash. He was a fucking monster.”

“He threatened Emmy,” she said. Then, in a voice that had some life to it, repeated, “He threatened Emmy.” Her head swung up to look at me. “He threatened her. I couldn’t chance it. I couldn’t.” Her voice rose with panic, absolute terror coming into her eyes. “What if someone else missed? What if he got away and hurt her? I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t. I—”

“Hush, babe. Just breathe.” I wanted to be able to tuck her head into my neck, to run my hands through her hair in the way that always soothed her. “Let me get you out of here. We’ll be home soon, and I’ll take care of you.”

“Oh, god. I killed him. I actually…I…” She seemed to physically choke on the words. “How can I go home and hold Emmy? How do I…?”

“Ash. Stop it. Now. Don’t go there. Just hold on to me.”

Thank fuck, she did it. She burrowed in, gripping me until her nails were digging in. I didn’t give a fuck. She could make me bleed, as long as it kept her together. She held on that way, a punishing hold, once I got her on the bike and the entire ride back.

Ash made it inside the farmhouse from the bike without help. She seemed to be on autopilot. Once we were standing in the living room, she looked at me.

“What do I do now?” she asked.

The was a loaded fucking question, wasn’t it?

There was blood on her arms, on her clothes. I was guessing it was Ace’s. She’d probably tried to keep pressure on the wound before she turned on Barton. I didn’t need to look down to know it was on me as well.

“Shower,” I answered.

Her eyes dipped down, as if just noticing the mess. I should have been ready for it, I should have just taken her to the bathroom without saying anything so I could wash her off before she realized the issue.

Fuck.

She started wiping at her arms, but her hands were no cleaner. All she did was smear the red streaks around, making her rub more desperately.

“Oh, god. Get it off. Get it off. Get it off.”

I grabbed her face with both hands, moving in until I was the only thing in her line of sight.

“Focus on me, baby,” I ordered. “Just me. I’m going to get rid of it. I promise.”

“We need to go to the hospital,” she returned.

“Are you hurt?” I demanded, worried I’d missed something and her shock had distracted her.

“No. Ace.”

Jesus, she’d scared the fuck out of me. “We’ll go later. I need to take care of you now.”

“But—” she started to refute.

“Later,” I insisted. “Right now, he’s getting the help he needs. We can’t do anything. I’ve got my phone. Anything changes, someone will call. Right now, you need to let me take care of you.”

As lost as she was at the moment, that seemed to penetrate. She nodded, the movement restricted by my hold, but I felt it.

I led her into the bathroom she and Emmy used, then stopped her in the middle. Kneeling down before her, I removed her shoes while I instructed her to empty her pockets. I was taking her into the shower with her clothes on and I’d help her undress there. It would be easier to clean the tub than the bathroom floors.

I noticed she only took out keys, and asked, “Where’s your phone, baby?”

“He took it. At the tree by Dad’s grave. He shot it.”

Fuck. I got my own phone out and called Stone. They needed to grab that phone as part of the clean up.

Only once that was settled did I lead Ash into the shower. Her body quaked, but I knew it had nothing to do with being cold. The water was hot and I had her close. She was shaking from the strain of holding herself together. Everything in her wanted to shatter and she couldn’t hold onto the pieces much longer.

“You’re safe, Firefly. Let go.”

She collapsed against me, her body too weak to keep up the fight. I held her up just long enough to get her soiled clothes off, then lowered us to the floor of the tub. There, she crawled into my lap and let loose. She sobbed and screamed, shook from the force of her emotion. I held on, even as that shit ripped my heart out. I held on to her because one of us had to.

After the worst of her breakdown passed, I managed to get Ash clean and into bed. She crashed almost immediately, the day proving to be too much. I figured it was best to let her sleep, so I had. Once I was sure she was out, I went back to the bathroom and cleaned up. I tossed her shirt and mine; there was no getting that amount of blood out.

I’d gotten a text shot out to everyone while I was cleaning. Ace was out of surgery and he would make a full recovery. I’d considered waking Ash to let her know, but decided against it. I’d have the news when she woke. That was soon enough.

Before I went back in to lay beside her, I called Deni and asked if she could keep Emmy for the night. Slick had already been updated on everything, so she had been expecting it. She put Emmy on the line and I’d asked her if she was okay with it.

“Yay! Sleepover!”
had been her response.
“Aunt Deni said she’d paint my nails pink!”

At least I didn’t have to worry about one of my girls.

“Okay, princess. You have fun, and I’ll see you in the morning, yeah?”

“Okay. I love you, Daddy.”

Fuck. Just hearing that had made it easier to breathe. After everything that had happened, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but she even made me fucking smile.

“I love you, too, princess.”

With the knowledge that our daughter was settled, I’d gone back to my woman. She had still been out, thankfully. In sleep, she’d seemed at peace. It was almost like none of it had happened, like she’d wake up without any of that shit in her head. I fucking hated that I couldn’t make that true.

She’d been asleep for several hours when my phone rang. She didn’t even stir, but I stepped out of the room before I took it.

“Yeah?”

“How’s Ash?” Roadrunner asked.

“Asleep. Broke down not long after we got back, then crashed.”

He sighed. I knew what he was feeling. There was no telling what shape Ash was going to be in when she woke up.

“Fucks me to say it, but you should wake her up. Ace is coming off the anesthesia. He’s stirred a couple times, askin’ for her.”

Fuck. I didn’t want to wake her and force her to face this shit. Still, he was probably right. As useless as it made me feel, being able to see Ace alive and awake would probably do more for her than I could.

“Right. You’re probably right,” I gave him. “I’ll get her up now. Be over there when we can.”

“Right, brother. Just see to her. Ace wakes again, I’ll tell him you’re bringing her.”

I hung up and pocketed my phone. It took me a minute to go back to the room and open the door. I knew waking her was the right thing, I knew it was what she would want, but that didn’t make it easy.

She was still curled up on her right side, facing the side of the bed. As I sat on the edge, she had no reaction to the movement. I ran my hand through her hair and her eyes pinched tighter.

“Ash,” I called. Her body pulled in so she was fully in the fetal position. A defense mechanism. It may not have been a conscious choice, but she was fighting me. She was trying to stay asleep.

With a gentle shake against her side, I repeated her name. A little groan was her response.

“Baby, you’ve gotta wake up.”

Finally, her eyes blinked open. There was still a tinge of redness to them. She looked adorably confused at first, but harsh reality only took a moment to settle in.

“Ace?” she questioned with fear.

“He’s alright. The surgery went well, and he’s supposed to recover fine.”

She released a heavy breath, and whispered, “Good.”

“That’s why I’m waking you. He’s coming off anesthesia. Roadrunner said he’s woken a couple times and is asking for you. You want to go?”

Her answer was immediate and definitive, even though she didn’t say a word. She was up, getting out of the bed and heading for the closet to get dressed.