Page 26 of Ash

“I would never ask her to,” he returned. “But everyone has a price, Ash.”

“Not if it means betraying a bond that is unbreakable to me.”

He watched me again for a moment, then nodded. “Lealtà prima del sangue,” he said in a low voice. “Loyalty before blood. It’s something I understand and respect.”

With that, we left the small space and entered the imposing courtroom. A cold room made of marble and wood, with a dour-faced judge, a prosecutor who looked like he thought I was the scum of the earth, and twelve people who I saw as blank slates. No matter what had happened previously in the trial, they were my masterpiece to mold.

With the exception of my home and the clubhouse, this was the place I felt most at home.

The thought startled me because I suddenly realized it was no longer true.

Nora. She was my home. Wherever she was, as long as I was with her, it was home.

Refocusing on my surroundings, I mentally smiled. That wouldn’t stop me from kicking ass. And just like that, the charismatic, intelligent Texan emerged.

By the time I was done, I’d convinced the jury that my client was basically an innocent bystander with no knowledge that the art was stolen, no direct ties to the merchandise, and no criminal intent. I’d even managed to infer that the police had so manyunsolved smuggling cases that they were going after my client unjustly in order to make themselves look good.

All this without telling a single fabrication…or an outright accusation. The jury was convinced they’d come to these conclusions on their own, and I’d simply given them the tools to figure out the mystery through their own intelligence.

After the verdict, declaring my client not guilty, I told my client to keep his ass out of trouble and packed up, eager to get back to my woman. She’d sent me a text earlier, and I hated that I’d had to wait until now to respond. She hadn’t come right out and said anything, but I was willing to bet she’d had an argument with her mom. So I sent her the information for my house and the code I’d already programmed for her.

Rafa stopped me on the courthouse steps with a hand on my shoulder.

I glanced back at him, and he smiled. “You’re one hell of a lawyer, Ash. Thank you. And though I know I will never get the call, I still have to put the offer out one more time. If you’re ever interested in coming to work for The Family, you will be received with open arms.” His grin widened, and he glanced at my extremely expensive, perfectly tailored suit before adding, “And bank accounts.”

The corners of my mouth lifted slightly, and I shook my head. “You want me to drain those bank accounts? I’m not opposed to that. But you’ll have to get King’s permission.”

Rafa’s expression turned frustrated.

This time, I actually laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

9

NORA

My day had started out so well, but it took a decided turn for the worse four hours after I returned home when my mom got back from her luncheon. I hadn’t seen her before she left, but since her spot in the garage was right next to mine, she knew I was home and headed straight for my room.

She didn’t bother knocking before she flung my door open and stomped over to my bed, where I was lying on my stomach while reading. Tilting my head back, I smiled up at her. “How was your lunch?”

“How was lunch?” she shrieked, planting her hands on her hips. “Is that all you have to say to me after disappearing for an entire night with that…that…thug?”

I set my book to the side with a sigh, then shifted positions so that I was sitting cross-legged—and she didn’t have quite as much of a height advantage. “I told you who was picking me up, Mom. That thug, as you called him, was Eli.”

“Elias Prescott III is in a gang?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“The Hounds of Hellfire aren’t a gang, Mother. They’re a motorcycle club,” I corrected, my voice thick with irritation. “One with members like Eli, who’s a lawyer. And two doctorswho I haven’t met yet. I don’t think that thug accurately describes men who’ve earned medical degrees and juris doctorates. Do you?”

“Well, I never,” she huffed, twisting her hands together. “A senator’s son in a motorcycle club? That’s ridiculous.”

“Eli is more than his father’s son.” And I was more than my mother’s daughter, but I didn’t voice that thought because the only thing that would accomplish was making her even more angry.

“Now you’re being ridiculous,” she chided. “That boy grew up with all the advantages anyone could ask for, and he walked away from it for a motorcycle club of all things?”

Eli had left his family behind way before he prospected for the Hounds, but that was his story to tell. Not mine. And my parents had to earn the right to hear it—something I worried would never happen with their deeply ingrained biases against everyone they saw as beneath them.

“That boy is a thirty-three-year-old man,” I pointed out.

“Well, hopefully he comes to his senses now that he’s dating a nice girl like you.” She smoothed the material of her skirt. “A summer wedding next year with a senator in attendance would do wonders for your father’s next mayoral campaign.”

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