Chapter 17
Rush
Guilt eats away at me for keeping this information from Ashley, but at the time I had no choice. My hands were tied, but when I saw her beaten and bruised, I lost it.
Consequences be damned.
When I left Nolan and Ashley in that room in the old subway station, I made a decision. I text Ian Dual, the leader of the 38th Street Gang and told him what Reiser did and that we're going to be out for blood. He responded and wants to set up a meet. I haven’t told Ashley that part yet. He wants to meet with just the two of us, but I’m not stupid. I’m going to reach out to my guys and set them up to have our backs. Nolan will go with us too. I know I can’t get rid of him and quite honestly, I don’t want to.
My mind drifts back to a memory I have of Ashley and me on our way to a race in San Diego, right before she broke it off with Shaun and took her rightful place at the head of our family.
******
“Woman, you’re giving me that creepy look again,” I say with a laugh. Ashley just got into my car and we're heading to San Diego.
“Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out why there is no spark between us. It would make things so much easier if there was.” Ashley blows out an irritated breath. She’s cute when she’s annoyed, but I know what she means.
“I know, and I’ve wondered the same thing. I came up with an answer. Do you want to hear it?” I ask her.
“Yes, please fill me in." Her soft brown eyes are hopeful.
I think about it for a minute, trying to find the best way to answer her without hurting her feelings. I know she doesn’t feel any attraction toward me like I don’t feel anything like that for her.
“Well, for starters, we’ve known each other for years. I’ve always thought of you as a little sister. Second, we’re not meant to be. There is someone out there for you, who you haven’t met yet, that will be your other half. The one you can feel safe with and will want to tell him everything. No hesitation. No holding back. Finally, you can’t handle this sexy man.” I say with a grin. Ashley lets out a laugh at my final answer. That’s exactly what I was trying to do, lighten up her mood. She's been through so much in her seventeen years, most people don't go through in their lifetime.
******
I’m thrilled she found a guy like Nolan who will protect her, but also let her fly. She can’t have clipped wings. It would slowly kill her and Nolan, even though I just met him, comes off as the type of guy who will do anything to protect her, but will also let her do her thing. He cares deeply for her. I can see it in his eyes, the way he brought her back from the panic attack. No one has been able to do that, ever. He penetrated her carefully erected walls and for that, I’m grateful. He’s her other half, the one she won’t hold back with. With time, she'll tell him all her deep dark secrets and I hope he does the same. The way they watch each other and know where each other are, it’s something a lot of people don’t find.
Nolan comes back from calling that Iverson guy and I watch as he smiles gently at Ashley. Her face lights up and it’s like watching a romantic movie. The guy and girl love each other, but neither is sure about how the other feels.
We head inside, and the rest of our crew greets us. Noah is sitting on Ashley’s beige couch in the living room. He has his earbuds in and he’s probably listening to some audio book on his phone. He’s a smart kid and studies hard. I can see him going off to college to do important things. With as much as he reads and writes, I think he could become a famous author one day. He’s the only one in our crew without a nickname. Ashley hasn’t let him race yet, and he doesn’t want to. He likes the interaction with the drivers and taking their bets.
Hotflash, a.k.a., Natalia Betters is the leader of the East Side Crew. Her Latina heritage makes her one unique little woman. She is about five foot two with long black curly hair, deep brown eyes and she can spew expletives at someone in Spanish so quick, she’ll make your head spin. She’s the first to spot us walking in the door.
“Dios Mio! I’m going to Muerte that gilipollas.” Hotflash says as she takes Ashley’s face in her hands gently. My God! I'm going to murder that asshole.
“It’s ok. It looks worse than it feels.” Ashley quietly tells Hotflash.
Ashley’s trying to downplay the pain she’s in, so everyone stops worrying about her. She tries to keep us all at arm’s length, but this time it won’t work.
“La Mujer, don’t tell me that. I can see the pain in your eyes, la hermana.” Hotflash says, calling Ashley out on her bullshit.
I struggle to repress a laugh, but it’s too late. Ashley’s eyes cut to mine, throwing me a death glare. I hold my hands up in surrender. Hotflash hasn’t spotted Nolan yet, she’s too concerned about Ashley.
Quickshift, a.k.a., Nick Depue is the leader of the North Side Crew. He’s standing in the corner of the living room, his arms crossed over his chest and he’s eyeing Nolan, but I have a feeling Nolan eats guys like Quickshift for breakfast. With Quickshift’s, dark hair, dark skin and black eyes, many people are intimidated by him, but Nolan isn’t. He's watching Quickshift from the corner of his eyes. Quickshift has always looked out for Ashley since the night she beat him in a race. She earned his respect, and he earned hers.
Maverick Marrow, who is known to the racing world as Redline, is sitting quietly in the chair next to the floor to ceiling windows. He hasn’t said anything to Ashley and I think he’s waiting for the moment to talk to her alone. The first night she met him was down in San Diego, when she took her place as our leader. He's always had strong feelings for her, but she’s never felt that way towards him. It hurts to see the way he’s watching her and Nolan, but he needs to get over it. I hope he can for the sake of our family. We need to be strong for each other.
Now with all of us here, we need to get down to business. I take a seat next to Noah and he removes his earbuds. I nod in Ashley’s direction and Noah looks. He gets up quickly from the couch and goes to her, engulfing her in a hug and won’t let go. She hugs him back and a smile forms on her bruised face.
“Hey Noah, I’m OK. I promise,” Ashley reassures him.
“I know, but still. I thought the worst. I can’t lose you.” Noah honestly tells her.
He looks past Ashley and spots Nolan standing in the doorway. Nolan’s watching the whole exchange with curious eyes like he’s never seen this type of family bonds.
“Guys, this is Nolan Ryan. He’s Ashley’s…,” I trail off not sure what to say.
They both look at each other and Nolan crosses into the living room. He places his arm around Ashley’s shoulders and gazes into her eyes.
“Boyfriend?” Nolan suggests, unsure about his answer.
“Well, it’s hard to define what we are. Boyfriend sounds too lame. There’s so much more between us than a label.” Ashley responds.
Nolan nods his head. Redlines face turns pale, and he shifts his hazel eyes back to the window. I have to talk to him later about his attitude.
“Dios Mio," Hotflash says, fanning herself. “El es Caliente." Ashley bursts out laughing.
“Thanks, Hotflash. I knew you’d think he’s hot,” Ashley says with a giggle. Hotflash’s face turns red under her dark skin.
“Chica. When did you learn Spanish?” Hotflash asks, shocked Ashley knew what she was saying.
“I didn’t, but I’ve heard you use that before when you think someone is hot." Ashley answers.
“Come and sit Ashley, we need to get down to business,” I say, popping the bubble we're all in.
Ashley slowly walks over to the couch, leaning on Nolan for support. She takes a seat next to me and lets out a sigh of relief. Nolan sits down next to her and the rest of our crew except for Quickshift sits down too. He stays in the corner, watching everyone. Something is bothering him, and we will address it soon.
“Tell them everything that happened, and I’ll tell them everything I know,” I say to Ashley.
She draws a deep breath before launching into her struggle with Reiser. After she’s finished, I tell them what I know about Marcus Dual. Quickshift’s body becomes tense at the mention of Dual’s name and I make a mental note to ask him about it later. I know he’s been having his own issues with a Mexican gang, has been for years, and I wonder if it’s tied together.
“So, let me get this straight, Reiser is after you,” Noah says pointing to me. “But he took Ashley to meet this stranger at Palisades Del Rey. Why did he take Ashley there?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Ashley answers.
“I wonder if Marcus was there and he wanted to finish the job. Wipe out your whole family since you’ve done more business than your father and we're trying to go legit. He should know if anything happens to you, we’d retaliate.” Quickshift says from the corner of the room.
I look over at him and he’s pissed. He keeps clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. Our eyes connect for a brief second and I give him a small nod, telling him he’s right. We will retaliate. Payback to the whole 38th Street Gang is coming. A war is brewing and we’re not going down without a fight.