Page 39 of Ash (Dragon Riders MC 3)
“I love you, Ash.”
The words fell effortlessly from my lips as the entire world stilled around me. Even David’s sharp knife wavered against my skin. I looked up into Ash’s eyes as he peered down at me, and something sparkled behind them I’d never seen before. I wanted to hear the words. I wanted him to say them to me. But if this really was my last few minutes here on Earth, I didn’t want them being spent arguing with David.
I wanted them to be spent proclaiming the truth of my soul.
“I love you so much, and I’m so sorry for everything I’ve brought down on you,” I said.
David pressed his knee tighter into my back. “Shut up.”
I whimpered. “I would’ve loved to have had your children.”
He growled. “I said, shut up, Hannah!”
I drew in a broken breath. “And I sure as hell would’ve loved to grow old with you.”
“That’s it. I’m done with you. You’re a waste of space anyway.”
Then, I closed my eyes and awaited the permanent darkness of death with the relief that I—at the very least—got to tell Ash exactly how I felt about him.
Please forgive me, handsome. Please forgive me for ruining your life.15AshI knew I was dealing with a psychopath. Even if he hadn’t always been that way, whatever he felt for Hannah had twisted his mind into something darker than before. I’d never seen that look in a man’s eye. At least, not toward another human being. But I knew one thing was for certain:
I’d kill him before he killed her.
“We have to get him under control,” Link murmured.
Sly whispered at my side. “I’m the quickest draw. Want me to put him down?”
The bow slung around my shoulder itched. “I can handle this. Let me try to talk him down.”
And as I watched David lift his knife into the air, I held out my hand.
“I can give you what you want!” I exclaimed.
Hannah groaned in pain as David shifted. With the knife still held in the air, he slowly looked up at me. Our eyes connected, desperation flittering behind his gaze. The man was worn out. Tired. Ready for all of this to be over. And I wasn’t sure if that was his death wish or his soul’s last plea for sanity.
Either way, it gave me pause.
“David, can you hear me?” I asked.
He snickered. “The fuck you think I am? Deaf?”
“Just making sure. Sometimes, rage can cut off the senses.”
“I’m not angry. I’m hurt.”
I nodded. “I know you are.”
Hannah whimpered. “Ash, I’m sorry.”
David growled at her. “You shut up, spoiled little bitch.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Shut up.”
Hannah’s eyes widened as the whole of my crew looked at me as if I’d lost my damn mind.
“She really is, though,” David murmured.
Sympathize with him. “She can be, yes.”
Hannah scoffed. “Are you kidding me right now?”
I shot her a look that told her I meant business. “Hannah. Cut it out.”
She stared at me for a long time before she nodded her head. And I hoped to heaven on high she understood what I was trying to do.
“David, I get it. I mean, I’ve only been with her for a few weeks, and I already get it. I can only imagine what you had to put up with to love her for this long,” I said.
He shook his head. “She’s impossible sometimes, you know? Always bucking up. Never listening. Why can’t she just keep her mouth shut and do what she knows is good for her?”
“Because she’s stubborn. And sometimes, that stubbornness overrides her good senses.”
Hannah turned her head away from me, and it broke my heart.
“Finally, someone who gets it!” David exclaimed.
I slowly took a step toward him. “I get it. I promise, I do. We can even talk about it more, if you’d like. All you gotta do is—”
He snarled. “Oh, I see what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get me to get up so you can swoop in and take her for yourself. Well, I don’t care how difficult she is. I don’t care what kind of a bitch she can turn into. She’s my bitch. She’s my woman! And she’s coming with me!”
Link stepped up beside me. “David, the police are on their way. We’ve got you—”
I looked over at him. “Stand down.”
My president slowly looked over at me with rage in his eyes.
“What did you say to me?” he asked.
I sighed. “Link, let me deal with this. Back up.”
David nodded. “Yeah, idiot. Back the fuck up.”
And as I watched Link fall back behind me, the canister of bows on my back scratched around my spine.
“Do you know what she tried to do to me?” I asked.
David blinked. “What?”
I snickered. “After one whole day of being together in bed, she tried to storm my work and act like we were a couple. Can you believe that?”
