Jase looked at Leyton. If he had his way, they’d whisk Ashlynn out of there as fast as possible, take her somewhere that no one knew about, and hide her out until Max took care of things on his end. Unfortunately, Ashlynn was far too stubborn to allow that to happen, and Jase worked for her. He could advise her of what she needed to do all day long; if she wanted to do something else, she would.

Before he could ask Leyton what his thoughts were, the man was on the phone. “When’re they movin’ him?” A lengthy pause ensued before Leyton replied with, “Thanks.”

Now Ashlynn was watching Leyton the same way Jase was, waiting patiently for what came next.

“We’ve got an hour before they move him. When they do, you’ll have five minutes with him, then they’re transporting him to an undisclosed location.”

“Undisclosed?” Ashlynn did not sound happy about that.

“Yes,” Leyton’s face fell. “Max feels it’s better that no one knows where he’s at. That way … no one could possibly be forced to tell.”

Great. And now they were worried that the information would be tortured out of them. Just what Jase wanted to hear. He moved to the window and peered out at a small courtyard filled with trees and a few benches, though he saw none of it. He was too busy trying to figure out how this was going to go down. What they needed to do was put an end to the Morosos, because that seemed to be the only way to ensure Ashlynn’s safety. Marco had proven that he wasn’t just talk; he’d delivered, and Jase knew that she was likely next on Marco’s list. Only he wanted her dead, not beaten.

“What do we do for an hour?” Ashlynn asked.

Jase could list off a few things that would take their minds off of this shit, but he didn’t speak, didn’t even bother to turn around.

When silence ensued, he finally gave in to his curiosity, turning to see that Ashlynn was in Leyton’s arms, her lips pressed to his, their hands slowly gliding over one another. And just as it had Saturday night when he’d glimpsed them in the kitchen, Jase’s dick went rock hard instantly.

He was so caught up in observing he didn’t notice right away when Leyton crooked a finger at him, summoning him to join them.

Jase glanced at the door, then back to them, captivated by the sight of Ashlynn pulling her T-shirt up over her head and tossing it behind her. Her bra quickly followed, and he knew then that he couldn’t simply watch.

If Ashlynn wanted to use sex as a way to pass the time, who was he to argue?

Chapter Forty-Four

Time to show them who’s boss.

Max climbed into the passenger seat of the armored Escalade when Rock and Dane came around to pick him up at one of the back entrances to the hospital. He’d left Courtney there with her brother Hunter, who had come to the hospital after being the one to track down the information that had led them to Aidan. It wasn’t ideal, he’d much prefer to have her under his protection, but Max had learned that underestimating his wife would get him nowhere. She was capable of handling herself, even if he wanted to think she needed his protection.

So she’d convinced him to take care of business, to make a stand. It was time to put an end to the bullshit.

A red haze had clouded his vision when he’d learned that his brother was clinging to life after Moroso had sent a couple of his enforcers to take care of him. They’d left him for dead in the back alley of Devil’s Playground, and he’d apparently been found by the fucking cleaning crew who’d been taking out the trash from the night.

Fucking cleaning crew.

It still pissed him off to think that Aidan had refused any protection, but for so long, his brother had insisted he didn’t need it, that he was the black sheep and no one gave a shit about him, anyway. Max had spent hours and hours of his life trying to argue, but it had gotten him nowhere.

Still, he couldn’t fucking believe he’d allowed this shit to happen, allowed Aidan to make that decision in the first place.

Max knew he should’ve expected Moroso to do something stupid. The meeting Saturday night had been a fucking joke. He should’ve taken the bastard out when he’d had the chance, but he’d received a phone call earlier in the day informing him that he needed to stand down, to let things run their course.

That phone call had come from an anonymous person who claimed to be tied to one of the reigning mafia families up in New York. Someone Max hadn’t dealt with before but who apparently had known Samuel quite well. It’d been a surprise to learn that Moroso was being hunted by someone with such power thanks to his recent business dealings. Turned out that Moroso hadn’t just stolen from Max, he’d actually hijacked a huge shipment of drugs that had been coming across the Texas border, being readied for shipment up north.

The stupid fucker.

But now Max couldn’t sit back and let this shit go.

“Boss?”

Realizing Rock was talking to him, he glanced over at the big guy driving. He hated that he’d taken Leyton’s backup, but he knew he needed him more than Leyton did at the moment. Since his conversation with Leyton earlier, he’d found himself, for the first time, being told how things would go. By his second-in-command, no less.

“I want you to stay with Ashlynn,” Max informed Leyton as they headed back from the nurse’s station, where they’d just learned that Aidan wouldn’t be coming out of surgery for a while.

“That’s my plan,” Leyton replied, stepping into an alcove after peering down the hall to ensure they didn’t have someone listening in.

“That’s the plan, huh?” Max asked, confused by Leyton’s no-nonsense response.

“What would you do if Courtney’s life were on the line?” Leyton asked. “Would you trust someone else to protect her?”

Max didn’t respond, because it was a stupid fucking question. Of course he wouldn’t.

“Exactly my point,” Leyton continued. “I trust Jase, know he’ll do whatever it takes, but I can’t … I’ll be useless if I have to wonder where she is and whether or not she’s safe. So I’m gonna stay with her and Jase. I want you to take Rock and Dane and figure this shit out.” Leyton’s voice lowered another notch. “I want this bastard taken out. I don’t care how; I don’t care by who. If he harms one fucking hair on Ashlynn’s head, I’ll burn this fucking town down until I find him, until I find his entire family.”

“Got it,” Max stated, realizing just what Leyton was feeling. He didn’t need to order Leyton to stay with Ashlynn; the man had planned it all along. “You’ll keep her safe.”

Leyton nodded. “And you’ll show them just what it means to fuck with the Adorites. Something they never should’ve forgotten in the first place.”

Max hadn’t been able to argue. It was time he stepped up, ensured that Moroso and anyone else who thought they could encroach on their territory—whether by stealing their merchandise or threatening to off family members—understood just who they were dealing with.

Grabbing the burner phone he kept on him, he dialed the familiar number and waited.

“’Lo?” came the gruff response.

“We good?” Max asked Ace, the man he’d hired to kill Marco Moroso.

“Yes, sir.”

“Change in plans,” Max stated. “I want him alive.” Without another word, Max hung up. That was all he needed to say. Ace would still get his money, but Max would get the pleasure of watching Marco die. The bastard wasn’t going to get away with hurting his family and not atoning for it.

With his family safe for the moment, Max had something else to take care of. It wasn’t going to be pretty, and Max preferred to handle it himself, anyway. It was safer that way. Safer for everyone involved.