by Roxy Sloane
My heart is racing. I don’t want another fight, but I have to make him see. I’m here for him. He can depend on me.
I press the buzzer. A moment later, the door clicks unlocked.
I step inside. The hallway is empty, but there’s a note on the table with a single red rose: the same heavy cream card he sent for all the invitations.
JJ is written on the front.
I open it.
Come upstairs…
I’m torn. He’s probably planned another scavenger hunt, something bold and sexy to distract me from all our problems. But I don’t want distracting: I just want us to talk it out.
You can always talk after he fucks your brains out, a little voice reminds me.
I smile. Our sexual chemistry is so overpowering sometimes, but I love it. I love the feeling I get when his cock is buried deep inside me, not just physical pleasure, but the connection, like we’re moving as one.
I already feel hot between my thighs as I follow the staircase up a level. There’s another rose on the top step, and another, leading me up the next flight.
My anticipation grows.
“Hello?” I call, expecting the trail to lead to the bedroom, but instead, the roses continue up to the roof.
Kinky.
I push open the door, wondering what he’s planning for me. Something naughty, I’m sure.
“Ash?” I look around, but the roof terrace looks empty. Just lounge furniture on the deck by the pool, with green shrubs lining the edge of the roof, creating a private retreat. “Ash, are you there?”
There’s a noise behind me. I turn, but not fast enough.
The last thing I see is Bea lunging towards me with a brick in her hand, then a sharp pain in my head, and everything goes black.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
JUSTINE
I wake up with the worst hangover of my life.
No, wait, it’s not a hangover. My head is splitting in agony, but I don’t feel sick the way I usually do…
“Wakey wakey,” a woman’s voice coos.
It all comes rushing back. Bea. The brick.
I sit up with a jolt. Pain hits me again, but I fight to look around. We’re still on the roof: I’m in a heap on the ground over by the far railing. She must have dragged me here, because there are gravel stings and bruises on my bare arms.
Bea is lounging on a chair a few feet away, watching me like a hawk.
Resting casually in her hands is a gun.
A gun? Holy shit.
I panic.
“What do you want from me?” I ask, trying to keep back my fear. I scan the rooftop looking for a way out, but the exit door is far away, and Bea is blocking my path. We’re four floors up here, hidden from the other buildings nearby by the shrubbery along the edge of the roof.
“I asked nicely,” she says. “But you didn’t listen. You had to steal him back.”
She’s smiling at me pleasantly, like we’re sitting down to tea and crumpets. But the dull metal gleams in her hands. She strokes the gun, weighing it in her grip.
She can’t be serious about using it.
Can she?
I don’t want to find out. I’ll tell her whatever she wants to hear.
“I’m sorry, I’m listening now,” I babble, terrified. “I’ll do what you want. I’ll go back to LA, break it off. Whatever you say.”
Bea shakes her head. Her hair shimmers in a silky cascade. In the back of my mind, I register that she must have spent the morning at the salon. Who does that? Go get a blow-out, and then pick up a gun.
“I gave you a chance, but I can see it’s too late.” She frowns. “I thought this was just another distraction, but you’re different. He thinks he’s supposed to be with you.”
I shiver, trying to stay calm. I just need to keep her talking long enough for… what? Someone to come help me? Ash will be at the office for hours, and nobody even knows I’m here.
She looks calm right now, but I know Bea’s temper could turn at any minute.
“It’s my fault,” I say soothingly. “You were right. I’m in the way. So let me get out of the picture.” I try to get to my feet. I’m so dizzy.
In an instant, she’s waving the gun at me. “Don’t move!” she barks.
I slowly sit down.
Shit, shit. I don’t know what to do. My heart is pounding in fear, and I can’t think straight.
Your phone. Call someone.
I take a deep breath and try to casually reach for my back pocket.
“Looking for this?” Bea holds up my phone.
My heart falls.
“You don’t need to call anyone. You’d only poison Ash with more lies.” She drops it to the ground and then slams her heel into it. The screen shatters.
“Tell me what you want,” I try to reason with her. “We can work this out.”
It’s the wrong move.
She leaps up, scowling. “Want? What I want is my husband back! Our life together! Do you know what they’re saying about me, back in London?” she demands. “What it’s like to have to show up to dinner parties all alone? They pity me. Poor Beatrice,” she mimics, “She couldn’t keep her man. She’s crazy.”
The gun wavers in her hand. If anyone is crazy right now, it’s Bea, but I still cling to the hope I can talk her down.
“It’ll be OK,” I soothe her. “They’ll forget about the gossip soon. Or you could move somewhere else. Start fresh.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Bea frowns. “Once Ash comes home with me, everything will go back to normal. We’ll be the most beautiful, envied couple in the city again.”
She smiles at the thought. “I’m already planning our big anniversary party at his family’s estate. It’ll be the hottest ticket of the year. Nobody will dare shun me after that.”
I stare in disbelief. There’s no reasoning with her: not now that she’s lost all grip on reality.
“Ash won’t be coming home with you,” I point out. “It’s over, Bea. It doesn’t matter if I’m around or not, he won’t take you back.”
Bea scowls. “You think you’re so special, but I know him better than anyone. He’s my husband!”
“Was your husband,” I correct her. “But the divorce is final. He’s free.”
Bea’s face hardens into an angry mask. “I should have done this sooner,” she says, raising the gun. “Maybe then we would have stood a chance. God, he was like a fucking puppy dog when I met him. Mooning over you, over your deep connection. He couldn’t even see what he had standing right in front of him.”
“You’re not going to kill me,” I say desperately. “It doesn’t make any sense!”
But the look in Bea’s eyes is wild and out of control. She’s past sense and logic.
I have to try and reach her, even through her messed-up delusions.
“You don’t need to do this,” I plead, moving onto my knees. If I can just reach her, try to get the gun away. “Ash still loves you. He told me!” I need her to believe it’s true.
Bea pauses.
“He talks about you all the time,” I add hopefully. I inch forward. “How good you were, how sweet. I felt like I could never live up to you,” I lie.
Then a voice comes from behind her. “She’s right.”
Ash!
I gasp. Bea whirls around, still waving the gun.
“Easy there, darling.” He slowly walks toward us, his hands open and empty.
Bea looks back and forth between us. “Get over there!” she yells, turning the gun back to me. “Don’t touch her. I mean it. You try anything, and I’ll kill you both!”
Ash does as she says. He joins me by the railing. “You OK?” he whispers softly.
I nod, my heart still racing. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but somebody’s going to get hurt.
“It’s OK,” Ash says, soothing – but he directs it to Bea this time. “I’m here now. I promise, I won’t go anywhere.”
Bea’s movements are wild and errati
c. She jerks her head between us. “Why are you here?” she demands of Ash. “You aren’t supposed to be here!”
“I wanted to see you,” he says, his voice still low and calm. “To tell you I’m coming home with you.”
“You’re lying!”
“You said it yourself, sweetheart. We’re meant to be together.”
Bea looks confused. I can see it on her face, she wants to believe him.
“But what about her?” she jabs the gun in my direction.
“She doesn’t matter,” Ash says immediately. I know he’s trying to save me, but his words still cut. “I see it now, she’s all wrong. She can’t give me what I need like you do. You’re my wife, my strong, kind, beautiful wife. I need you by my side.”
Bea’s eyes flicker with hope. I cling to that chance.
“He told me all the time, I could never live up to you,” I add. “I’m so out of my depth at all the big social events. Not like you. You were the perfect hostess.”
She preens. “My parties were the best. They were written up in all the society pages.”
“And I loved that about you,” Ash says, before correcting himself. “Love.”
“I see it now, that you’re right for each other,” I tell her. “I’m only in the way.”
Bea looks torn. “Stop talking. I need to think. I can’t think!”
She starts pacing on the rooftop, waving the gun around.
Ash leans closer. “When I say, run,” he whispers.
“I’m not leaving you!” I whisper back.
He shakes his head. “Get out of the building and get help. Don’t stop for anything.”
I shake my head again, but his eyes plead with me. “You have to go!” he hisses. “Please, JJ, trust me!”
Of all the things he’s asked me, the wild games and crazy dares, none of them compare to this. Life or death, hanging in the balance, and he wants me to go blindly along with his plan.
I stare at him, frozen. Can I trust him, after everything?
Trust him with my life?
“What are you going to do?” I ask, desperate.
“Don’t worry about me,” Ash insists. “Just be ready to run.”
Bea turns back to us. Immediately, Ash moves away. I want to reach for him, hold tight and never let go, but Bea is like a bomb and she could go off at any time.
Ash gives her a charming smile.
“Put the gun down, Bea, darling. Let’s get out of here. I can have the jet fueled up, we’ll go straight to London. We could be drinking cocktails at Soho House before nightfall. Wouldn’t that be nice? Just like the old days.”
Bea bites her lip. “You’re tricking me,” she insists.
“No, darling.” Ash reassures her, taking another step closer. “You said it yourself. Why would I choose her when I could have you? You’re everything I want.”
He gives me a brief look. ‘Get ready,’ he seems to say.
I’m shaking with tension. I can’t believe this is happening; it feels like a nightmare. What is he going to do? She still has the gun, and in this state, she’s capable of anything.
I scramble to my knees as he keeps edging toward her, telling her everything she wants to hear. “I was wrong, sweetheart. All wrong. Once we get back home, I’ll make it up to you. We can have that big anniversary party, and I’ll take you shopping for something nice to wear. We can even buy that house you wanted in Mayfair. Big enough to start a family in. Start fresh.”
Bea’s face calms. “You want to try for another baby?”
“Of course.”
I can only imagine how much it’s hurting Ash to lie like this, but his face is blank.
He moves a hand behind his back where I can see and starts folding down fingers. A countdown.
I take a deep breath, adrenaline pounding in my veins. Five. Four. Three.
“But what about her?” Bea pouts.
“She’s nothing,” Ash reassures her, just a few feet away now. “It’s you and me, honey bee. Always and forever.”
Two… One…
Suddenly, he lunges. Bea screams as he tackles her to the ground, and then he’s rolling on top of her, pinning her down.
“Run!” he yells at me. “Go!”
I freeze for a moment, watching them struggle. Bea still has the gun in her hand, and Ash tries to wrestle it away.
He glances at me across the roof.
“Please, go!”
I break out of my paralysis and race for the door. I hurtle into the stairwell and skitter down the stairs, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. Every instinct in my body is screaming to run, to get out, as far from danger as I can.
I’m down to the second floor when a gunshot rings out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
JUSTINE
I stop on the stairs, gasping for air. I look back the way I came, but no sound comes.
Silence.
Then another gunshot rings out, a terrifying sound.
Oh God. What if Ash is hurt? What if he needs help?
I whirl around and race down the hall until I find his office – and the phone. I quickly dial 911.
“I need help. Someone’s been shot!” I cry, and give the address.
“Ma’am, who are you? Ma’am?”
I let the phone fall, already racing back to the stairs. I take them two at a time – heading back up to the roof.
Horrific images flash in my mind. Ash bleeding. Hurt. In pain. My chest splits open, I can’t bear the thought of losing him. I look around desperately. My eyes land on a heavy metal figurine on the side table. I grab it as I pass, holding tight to the base like a weapon as I charge back up the stairs.
I burst through the door onto the rooftop and stifle a scream. Ash is crawling on the ground, trailing blood. It’s worse than any nightmare. He drags his head up, clutching his shoulder, which is bleeding red through his shirt.
“JJ,” he groans, seeing me. “No…”
I rush to him. “Oh God, you’re hurt.” I fall to my knees and help rip off his shirtsleeve, bandaging it tight around his wound in a makeshift tourniquet. The sight of the red staining his skin fills me with fear. But God, it could have been so much worse.
“Where’s Bea?” I ask, hugging his body to me.
Ash lifts his hand with great effort and points to the crumpled figure over by the edge of the rooftop.
My heart stops. “Is she…?”
“No,” he shakes his head grimly. “I managed to get the gun. I knocked her out cold.”
Relief floods through me. “Why would you do that?” I demand, my voice rising hysterically. “You put your whole life in danger rushing at her like that. She could have killed you!”
I don’t realize I’m shaking until Ash pulls me close.
“It would have been worth it,” he murmurs. “Anything to keep you safe.”
Tears well up. “I thought I lost you,” I choke out.
He holds me to his chest. “I’m here, JJ. I’ll always be right here.”
I realize, I’m never letting him go. This isn’t a game anymore; it stopped being one a long time ago. The invitations, the gifts, they were all just pieces of the puzzle leading me to the truth I’ve known for years, ever since that night in law school.
This man is my everything.
“I love you,” I vow, burying my face against his neck and breathing him in. “Every part of you, always.”
Ash holds me tightly. “I love you too,” he says, his voice hoarse with emotion.
I pull back to look at him. “But everything you said, about me going back to LA—”
“I didn’t mean it,” he swears. “God, JJ, I just wanted to keep you safe. It kills me that I couldn’t protect you from her.”
“No more talk about killing,” I shiver, looking over at Bea’s body. Now that it’s over, I pity her. So trapped in the past, she couldn’t see right from wrong. “Will she get help now?”
“I won’t have it any other way,” Ash says grimly. “Her par
ents can’t smooth this over. I’ll see she gets the treatment she needs.”
“Good.” I relax back against him. He winces. “I’m sorry,” I cry.
He shakes his head. “It’s OK. I’ll be fine.”
“Yes you will. And you know what else? Scars are sexy,” I add, trying to make him smile.
Ash exhales. “Then I guess this was all part of my plan.”
I hold him, feeling the reassuring rise and fall of his chest, his heartbeat strong through his ribcage.
This is it. Everything I’ve been running from. The trust I’ve always found it so hard to give.
It’s his, unconditionally. Absolutely.
Sirens sound in the distance, getting closer. Thank God.
“Remember how all this began?” Ash murmurs, stroking my hair.
“The invitation?” I ask, remembering that first crisp card. “‘Are you ready.’”
He shakes his head. “Before then. Years ago. That night in the bar.”
“When our dates were awful and we wound up hanging out all night doing shots.” I smile at the thought. “It feels like a million years ago.”
Ash looks down at me, and his eyes are full of intensity. “I knew you were the one back then. I can’t believe I wasted so much time, not being ready for you. I swear, I won’t do it again. I’m yours, JJ. Body and soul.”
“This is the only thing that matters, right here. I know you’ve been through so much, but I promise, everything’s going to be OK now.”
I feel Ash chuckle against me. His hands grip my waist tighter, nestling me firmly on his lap.
“More than OK, darling. I’ve got plans for us yet.”
EPILOGUE
3 months later…
“What do you think he’s planning?” Keely asks me as we finish up our drinks. It’s Friday night, and we’ve been catching up for girls’ night at a chic cocktail spot downtown.
“I don’t know.” I can’t keep the smile off my face. “He says it’s a surprise.”
“Ash’s surprises usually mean you’ll be having multiple orgasms before ten PM,” Keely giggles.
I laugh. “He likes to keep things interesting. And this is our anniversary.” Ash likes to mix it up to celebrate. Our first month together, he fucked me on the stairs while I wore nothing but a gorgeous string of pearls. Our second month, we went back to the Underground club, only this time we were the ones in the room fucking for everyone to see.
