Page 69 of Ruthless Rebel

“What about him?” He asks, flicking his gaze to the side, and my stare widens.

“Well, why did he come after him?” I question, and Asher shrugs.

“I don’t know, Lincoln said he sent some sort of threat, through one of the men who was killed in town, before they died, but obviously he is dead now, and so is Billy, so I’m not sure we will ever find out.”

I nod over his words, taking some comfort in them as I reply, “I guess you’re right, it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is that he’s dead, and Lincoln is safe.”

So why do I still have a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach?

35

LINCOLN

We stay locked in Ash’s penthouse for the next two days, avoiding everyone, but when we wake up on Christmas Eve, we know we’ve run out of time. I’m still in a world of pain, but there is no way I’d let Asher miss a holiday with his daughter, so we have no choice but to go home. Especially when the queen herself calls each of us and threatens our lives if we miss Christmas with everyone. So the guys help me shower and get dressed, before Logan heads off to pick up Lily, and Ash and I are heading back to the mansion.

“Superman, where the hell have you been?” Elle scolds, as I walk into the dining room later that day, jumping up to pull me in for a hug, and I grit my teeth to bite back my grunt of pain.

I feel shitty for lying to her, but I know if she knew the truth, then she would just try and get involved. She and Marcus only just got married, and we spent last Christmas on lockdown with everyone, so I’m not about to ruin another one for her. She deserves to be at home with her family making memories, and for her, I can grit my way through the agony I am feeling.

“Sorry I’ve been MIA,” I start, and just as she opens her mouth to question me, I feel Asher’s presence behind me.

“Ash,” Elle exclaims, looking between the two of us in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were together,” she adds with assessing eyes, no doubt seeing the shift between us, especially given Ash’s proximity to me. “Cassie is upstairs getting into her Christmas pjs.”

Asher smiles softly, accepting a hug from her and nodding to Marcus, Jace, and Riley, where they sit around the table. “I mean, you did threaten to kill us if we didn’t come home,” he laughs easily, no doubt surprising everyone, before pulling back from her. “Ready for another year of spoiling our girl?” He asks, his smile infectious.

The two of them might have been through the worst this world has to offer, and I guess in a way we all have, but watching them raise that little girl and giving her the world is truly heartwarming.

Elle nods with a smile, moving back to her seat, but still watching us closely as she asks, “No Logan?”

Asher and I share a look as we move toward the table, and he is quick to pull out one of the free chairs for me, and without thinking I take it slowly, as I reply, “Lily didn’t want to wait for a car service, so he went to pick her up, they should be here in a couple of hours if the traffic isn’t too bad.”

All of them are staring at us now, and when I don’t offer up any further information, Elle cuts into the awkwardness and serves us some of the lunch they were previously in the middle of. I grin in thanks to her, as Asher pours me a drink, before adding some black pepper to his meal and handing it off to me to do the same.

“You two totally fucked,” Jace yells across the table like a Eureka moment, knocking over his own drink as he points at us.

“Jace!” Riley scolds, jumping back in her chair so the water doesn’t spill on her. “You can’t say that to people,” she adds, grabbing a towel and passing it to him to wipe up the liquid.

“Why not, it’s obvious, look at them,” he exclaims, patting the table, and forcing everyone to focus on us. “They have secrets written all over their face, if they didn’t fuck, they definitely played throat hockey with each other’s baguettes.”

I look at Asher who is now blushing furiously, and I smirk as he mouths the words, “Throat hockey,” to me in question, and I shrug, more than used to my brother’s way with words, and just happy that Jace isn’t scowling at him for once.

“How about we mind our manners, and our business, at the dinner table?” Elle cuts in, but I don’t miss the smile pulling at the corner of her mouth as she adds, “No matter how overdue certain things are.”

Not wanting all the attention focused on us, I quickly change the subject. “So what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” I ask, silently praying I’ll be able to make it through it without them noticing my injury or pain, and Elle beams brightly.

“Well I’m glad you asked, Superman,” she smiles, pulling out her phone and no doubt checking a list. If there’s one thing she loves, it's Christmas. “Everyone will be arriving in the next two hours, then we have dinner at 4pm, followed by gingerbread house building at 5, and then we will create all the Santa magic,” she gushes, probably not even realizing how great of a mom she is, and how lucky Cassie is to have her. “Oh, and I got us all matching pjs this year, and not just for the girls,” she adds, making Marcus groan.

Yet before he can say anything in complaint, Cassie comes dashing back into the kitchen already wearing hers. “Daddy! Superman!” she screams, rushing towards us, and Asher grabs her before she can accidentally bump into me. “I’m so glad you’re home, did Mommy tell you we’re all going to be matching?” She asks brightly, and I see Marcus deflate in my peripheral, girl has him wrapped around his finger just as tight as the rest of us.

“Yeah, Angel, she did, I can’t wait.” He replies easily, and the thought of Asher Donovan in Christmas pajamas has me smirking into my cup, but of course he notices. “But, Lincoln is even more excited, aren’t you Linc?” He tosses out, making Cassie's eyes brighten.

“Oh yeah, I can’t wait to match you and your dad,” I reply, and her innocent excitement reminds me that even in pain, every single one of those fuckers I took out deserved it, because it’s one less piece of scum in the world who can hurt girls like her.

We finish up lunch, then I excuse myself under the pretense of getting changed, but really just needing to take some painkillers, and Elle passes me three sets of pjs with a smirk. I shake my head a little, accepting them gratefully, before slowly making my way upstairs. Once there I take off my shirt, and then try and fail to get my pants off, just as my door opens.

“Looks like you need a hand,” Asher drags out, leaning on my door frame and watching me closely, in a way he has done multiple times before but always tried to hide.

“From you, Dark Prince, always,” I smirk, attempting to lighten the lingering tension between us, but all he does is smile softly, making his way toward me.

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