Page 115 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

I shook my head at him. “What did you think was going to happen? You’d fire him after years of service, cut off his balls, and he’d just let it all go? You brought this on yourself!”

His jaw hardened the longer he stared at me. “So, what is this? You’re here to kill me? It’s clear you’re not really on my side.”

“I don’t see anyone here to stop me.”

“My guards are posted everywhere. As soon as they hear the gunshots, you’ll be dead.”

I chuckled. “As long as you go with me, I don’t give a fuck.”

“And where does that leave my daughter? You vowed to protect her.”

“You’ve made it pretty damn clear that you don’t give a fuck about your daughter.”

“But you do. And if you kill me, who do you think my guards will go after? Who do you think the other members of The Syndicate will retaliate against? Just by holding a gun on me, you’ve put a target on your back.”

“Let me worry about that.”

An evil smirk crossed his face, giving me an odd sense of foreboding. “There’s nowhere you can hide, Asher. Ex-military. Impeccable service record.” He took a step toward me, not intimidated by the weapon I was holding. “That FBI agent you tried to convince me was turning on me? He’s in my pocket and always will be. Your plan failed, and now that I know who you are, there’s not a single member of The Syndicate that won’t come after you hard. You and your friend Rafe.”

“If you knew, why keep dragging this out?”

“To gain information,” he shrugged. “Although, I wasn’t aware that Marrick was after me so thank you for the information. But your usefulness has run dry. I suggest you run and hide. Find some rock to crawl under, because if you ever show your face again, I will make sure no one will ever be able to identify you.”

I heard the floor creak behind me, but didn’t dare take my eyes off Ambrose. But I wish I had.

“So, it’s true,” Jade said from behind me. I felt her move further into the room and wanted desperately to get her out of here, but I wouldn’t take my eyes off Ambrose for even a second.

“Jade, you need to leave,” I said, hoping Patrick was close by and would drag her out of here.

“You drugged her!” Jade shouted. “You kept her silent for five years. You took her from me!”

“And you turned on me!” Ambrose shouted.

I heard her shift further into the room and tried to position my body in front of hers. “Jade, get the fuck out of here!”

“You took her from me!” Jade continued. “She was the only good person in this house, and you made me think she was sick. Why?”

“She betrayed me, just like you. I’d say you got off easy in comparison.”

“Easy?” Jade choked out. “You had me chained in a cell for two weeks!”

“Ambrose!” her mother said, shocked by the revelation. But she was in no condition to do much else. It was clear she was too frail from years of living in a catatonic state.

“I was almost raped!” Jade yelled. “I still have nightmares!”

“And whose fault is that?” Ambrose asked. “You did this to yourself, just like her,” he jerked his head at his wife.

This was getting out of control fast. I couldn’t fire with her in the room, not with the chance that Ambrose would miss and hit her. “Jade, you need to leave. I promise you, I’ll take care of this.”

“You’re a monster,” she whispered. It was like she didn’t even hear what I had to say. “Why would you do that to your own wife? For five years, we’ve all hoped and prayed there would be a cure for her. Why would you do that?”

“To control you,” Ambrose said, his eyes holding no sympathy. “As long as there was hope for her, you would always concentrate on her instead of me.”

“All those treatments,” Jade said quietly. “All those doctors…”

“They were on my payroll,” Ambrose answered.

I could feel the tension in Jade’s body right behind me. It was coming off in waves, and I wasn’t sure how much longer she’d hold it together. “Jade, please. Leave now!” I ordered.

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