Page 118 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“Is that really what you think?” He scoffed at me. “It’s because of people like you that have the courage to push through that men like Ambrose are dead and gone. Maybe you didn’t take down The Syndicate,” he shrugged. “Guess what, you were never going to single-handedly take them down. You did your part and no one faults you for wanting out. You did your time. You gave more than most, so take your wife and live in peace.”

Peace. I could almost believe that was possible. I glanced over to the casket in search of her, but she wasn’t there. I scanned the small crowd, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Asher?” Cash asked.

“Where’s Jade?”

He looked around with me, but we didn’t see her anywhere. Panic filled me with every second that passed. What if she decided to walk away and leave me behind? I hurried over to Patrick, thinking she might have gone to him.

“Have you seen Jade?”

“She’s over by the—” His voice cut off as he glanced over at the casket and saw she was gone.

I ran over to a group of women, trying to hide the desperation in my voice. “Have you seen Jade?”

Eva looked around the crowd, but I was already moving on. Fuck, she was gone. She was leaving me. I should have kept an eye on her. I knew this was too much for her. Days of her laying in bed staring at nothing should have clued me in that she wasn’t ready for today.

“We’ll find her,” Patrick said, gripping my shoulder.

“She’s gone.”

“She’s not gone. She’s just…somewhere.”

Tires squealed behind us and I spun around just as one of the minivans roared through the cemetery at full speed.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head in denial as I took off through the gravestones. “Jade!” I shouted, but it was no use. She couldn’t hear me.

The minivan went faster and faster, swerving for just a second straight toward a tree. “Jade!” I shouted, hoping she would slam on the brakes or veer off her current path. The minivan crashed into the tree, spinning with the impact and rolling over before settling on its side.

I gasped, feeling like all the air had been sucked out of my body. The tires on the van spun and metal was scattered from the wreckage. My feet ate up the grass as I ran hard toward the crash site. I could faintly hear the others behind me, screaming for me to stop, but I couldn’t. Not until I saw her with my own eyes.

I nearly stumbled and fell to my knees as I saw the destruction before me. The front end of the vehicle was smashed in. Glass was scattered all over the ground along with her purse. On weak legs, I started toward the driver’s side, only to be held back by my own teammates.

“Don’t,” Chase whispered.

I swallowed hard, my eyes filling with tears as I slowly peeled his arms off me. “I have to.”

I slowly approached, terrified of what I was about to see. I held my breath as I stepped up to the shattered window, but she wasn’t there.

“She’s not—” I sucked in a ragged breath and for just a moment, hoped it wasn’t her. “It wasn’t her.”

“Asher,” Patrick said brokenly, holding her purse in his hands. He didn’t have to say anything more. It was her. My eyes drifted back to the van, back to the shattered windshield, and I knew she was on the other side. I stumbled around the tree, sucking in a breath when I saw her broken body lying on the ground.

A ragged breath left my body as tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed by the sight of her, of her lifeless body lying there. It wasn’t supposed to end this way. She was supposed to stay with me. We were supposed to escape this life together.

I shook off Patrick’s death grip on me and ran over to Jade, crouching beside her body. I was terrified to touch her, but my hand drifted to her beautiful face and cupped her bloody cheek.

“Baby,” I whispered.

When she didn’t answer, I broke, bending over and scooping her limp body into my arms. “No,” I whispered, holding her close to me. I sucked in a breath as a whiff of her scent overwhelmed the smell of blood for just a moment. “No,” I cried. “Stay with me.”

I squeezed my eyes closed as I cried into the crook of her neck, knowing I would never feel her lips against mine again, or wake to that beautiful smile I so rarely saw. I would never have one more day with her or hold her in my arms after this moment. She was gone. I had failed her so miserably.

“Ash,” Chase whispered, gripping my shoulder tightly.

A sob broke free from my throat as I held her tighter to me, rocking back and forth. Her hand slipped free from where I held her and landed softly on the ground. The ring I’d placed on her finger as an act to trick her father glinted in the sunlight. I slowly reached out and slid the ring from her finger, gripping it tightly in my hand.

“I failed you,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

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