Page 42 of Ash Storm

“You’re not going to hurt me…” she whispered.

“No,” he said. It was all he could get out without sobbing like a child.

Her small hand came up between them, to rest against his chest. As if she could see how hard this was for him and she wanted to lend him her strength.

“You believe me,” he said in wonder.

“I won’t leave without Chloe,” she said quietly.

Then nodded quickly. “We’ll get her out as well.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.” He couldn’t be more specific about the timing. There was so much that could still go wrong. “Be ready and don’t say anything to anyone.”

“My friend Aileen … is she safe?”

“She’s safe,” he whispered. “She helped us find you.”

Reka’s eyes filled with tears. Ash wanted to wipe them away, but that would be out of character. So he kept going. After a few minutes of humping air, Ash pulled his head back and howled what he hoped was a convincing release.

Less than five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Reka jumped out of bed and flew for her dress, quickly slipped it on over her head. Her beautiful dark eyes were still full of tears. Ash got up, stark naked, and pulled the dresser out of the way.

The guards came inside. One of them stared at the crooked dresser.

“What the fuck did you move that for?”

Ash shrugged, his Italian accent back in place. “I don’t like to be interrupted when I’m—“ He thrust his hips forward. “You know.”

The guard frowned. He looked like he wanted to cut Ash’s dick off. But he also clearly remembered what Ash could do with his fists. “We’re here for the woman.”

“I don’t get to keep her for the night?” He complained. “We only had time for one round, if you know what I mean.”

“Should we tell Mr. Afsan you are not happy?”

Ash raised his hands quickly. “Take her, Take her. No marks, like I promised. Though she’s a frigid bitch,” he said. He prayed they would take her straight back to the other women, and that nobody would hurt her tonight. He didn’t know if he could live with the alternative.

The younger guard knocked his colleague on the arm. “I told you she would be. Gezi chose better.”

Ash forced himself to stand aside as the two guards took hold of Reka’s arms and dragged her away. He thought of all the difficult things he’d done in his life. They all paled in comparison with the effort of staying still when every cell in his body shouted at him to beat the guards unconscious and take Reka away.