Forced: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (The Blackthorn Brothers Book 1) (16 page)

I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I’d heard enough of the conversation, and it was clear that something was going down and by the sound of it, it wasn’t good. And though I knew Ash was trying to protect me, I didn’t appreciate him trying to shut me out, even if a part of me felt like I needed to get the hell out of here.

I should be putting as much distance between us before things got even more complicated and he found out what my dad had done—and yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave him when his brother might be missing. But if anything at all happened to Finn, that would fall on my father’s head too, since he was the one who’d gotten this giant mess of a ball rolling.

“Ash, if you think you’re somehow protecting me from the sort of shit that goes down around here, then you’re a decade and a half too late.” I’d been in my teens when I started to realize the sort of business my father was in. Though I may not have known the extent of my father’s business dealings, I was smart enough to guess that anything legal was nothing more than a front for his other, less-than-legal ventures. “I’m not naïve, and I’m not stupid.”

“It’s nothing. He didn’t show up at Locke’s. But that doesn’t mean anything. He probably fell asleep or forgot. And the last thing I want is for you to be needlessly worrying over nothing.” He lay back on the bed and pulled me into his arms, leaving me unable to resist the pull he had on me—and that left me wondering why the hell I’d come back.

What the fuck had I done?
I never should have given in to his pleas…never should have slept with him again. Especially once I knew that we had no chance of making this work. And yet, the mere fact that I couldn’t resist him only dredged up my nightmares of Steven calling me a whore, as my body betrayed me and proved him right. Because time and again, Steven would get my body to come for him, even as I begged him to stop.

I fought back the repulsive shudder as I thought of Steven, and instead focused on Ash, and getting the hell out of this mess before things turned even worse. “If everything’s okay and you don’t need me here, I’m going to head home.”

“Wren…you belong here—with me. I want this to be your home, and I’m not letting you go.” Something in him shifted, and I didn’t know if it was because he was stressed about his brother or because he knew I’d pull a runner the moment I had a chance, but there was no ignoring the firm dominance in his voice. “We’re getting married, and I’d hoped you’d be there of your own free will. But if that’s not going to happen, then I don’t need your compliance.”

Even though it was pointless to argue with him, I didn’t care. Things were going from bad to worse and I just couldn’t take it anymore. “You can’t force me to marry you, Ash—just like you can’t force me to stay here.”

He let out a heavy breath, his gaze both stern and kind, though it did little to settle my nerves. “Little bird…do you really think I’m not capable of those things? Because if you haven’t noticed, things have gone fucking sideways as of late, and I refuse to bury anyone else. We both have far too many enemies, and since our options are limited, the only solution is to appease your father by getting you to say
‘I do,’
even if it means you think I’m a fucking asshole.”

“Then I’ll talk to my father again. But I’m not marrying you, Ash. Not now—not ever.” Refusing to pointlessly argue with him all night long, I shifted his attention away from us getting married. “Now tell me what’s going on with Finn. That’s who we need to be focusing on if there’s a chance he’s in danger—and don’t go telling me you’re not worried about him.”

“I am. I’m worried about my entire family, Wren.” He cupped my face in his large hands and kissed me as if I was his lifeline and he was drowning. “And I’m worried about you. Just please…say you’ll stay.”

Fuck.
I knew he had so much going on, and he was just trying to do right by everyone. But that only made my deception worse, even if it was by omission.

In the end, all I could do was nestle myself up against his naked body, and battle my guilt. “I’ll stay for now.”

“Sometimes, love, all we have is ‘for now.’” He kissed the top of my head and pulled the covers over us, though his gaze kept drifting back to his phone.

“He’ll be okay, Ash. Finn’s a resourceful guy and can take care of himself. All your brothers can.” And that definitely wasn’t a lie. All of the Blackthorns could kick some serious ass. They were fixers—or rather they had been. And that meant convincing people to do things they didn’t want to do, by any means necessary, even though the Blackthorns tended to get things done without resorting to brutal violence.

“That’s what I thought about my father—and now he’s fucking gone, Wren…and nothing is going to change that.” The pain in his voice broke my heart, and it only served to remind me that he’d hate me if he ever found out the truth. “I should have had his back…should have found a way to protect him until we could make a full break from this life.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Ash.”
No…the blame was landed firmly on my father’s shoulders.
“This wasn’t your fault. And your brother…I don’t know what to say. But if you want to go and look for him, then let’s do that.”

“Will you keep me company?”

Ash was no doubt worried I’d take off if he left me alone, though at this point, I didn’t know if I could leave him when things felt so dire for him.

“Of course I’ll go with you. And if you want me to call my father and get his help with this, then I will. Whatever you want.” After all his family had been through, I was hoping that it’d be a simple case of Finn forgetting to meet his brother and the battery on his phone being dead.

We got dressed and headed out after we’d made sure Sammie was okay for the night. I didn’t ask where we were going, but before long, Ash pulled up in front of a nice home in a quiet neighborhood nestled in the woods. “If he’s not here, we’ll have to check the distillery. He’s been working there more and more, as we transition over.”

He didn’t need to say what they were transitioning over from, since I knew full well the type of work they’d been doing. And if they could move to a more legitimate model, then all the better for everyone involved, even if it might take some time to get things up and running. “How’s Blackthorn Whiskey been doing? I know it’s quite the change from what you’d all been doing.”

“It’s doing remarkably well, to be honest. Even if my brothers might find it all a little boring.” He killed the engine and shook his head. “Never mind that they might end up dead otherwise.”

It was all too real a possibility, given the thugs and criminals they’d once associated with. But before they could discuss it further, Ash was exiting the vehicle and coming around to get my door, taking my hand as we wandered up the path to Finn’s home. He rang the bell far more times than was necessary, and waited impatiently before heading to one of the windows to peek inside. “The lights are on, but I don’t see him.”

“He could have left them on before heading out.” Not that I’d expected to find him.

“He keeps a key stashed around the back.” He started to head in that direction but I let my hand slip free of his grip.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to stay here and call my father. See if he can help in any way…or if he’s heard anything.”
And to make sure he and his thugs didn’t have anything to do with this.
Because if my dad thought his manipulations were helping me, he was gravely mistaken.

“I’ll just be a minute.” He stole a quick kiss, and then took off along a path, leaving me to watch his muscular form move with an ease and grace that left me wondering how the hell I’d ever be able to walk away from him.

Once he was gone, I pulled out my phone and dialed my father’s cell number. “Please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with Finn Blackthorn’s disappearance.”

“Ash’s younger brother?” There was only the slightest pause before his denial, leaving me to wonder if I could trust his word. “No…I didn’t even know he was missing. But it could very well be the men who killed his father.”

I knew my father was trying to remind me that he hadn’t been directly responsible for Alec Blackthorn’s death, even if it was his attack that landed him in the hospital in a vulnerable state, allowing the other vultures to take advantage. “Who are they, Dad? You’ve yet to tell Ash so he can just deal with this himself and keep his family safe—and don’t you dare try to pretend that you don’t know who was behind the attack.”

“I’ll deal with them, Wren—but only once you’ve married Ash. I need to know you’ll be kept safe and happy after I’m long gone, and there are few people I trust to do just that.”

“How the hell am I supposed to marry him after what you did?” Ash would hate me if he ever found out—and he’d murder my father with his bare hands.

“I don’t fucking care how you manage it—just do it, or there will be consequences, and I can guarantee you Ash and his family will be the ones to suffer on behalf of your inaction.”

“You’re such a fucking bastard. How can you even think of doing such a thing?” My eyes stung with tears at the thought of someone else Ash loved ending up dead, all because of my father’s manipulations. And I hated myself for bringing this into Ash’s life. Because if it weren’t for me, for my father, Ash’s dad would still be alive, and his family would be a hell of a lot safer.

“I do whatever it takes, Wren—
and you will too
.”

The key was where Finn always left it, but it didn’t take long for me to go through his home and realize my brother wasn’t here, and nothing looked out of place. No signs of a struggle, no blood, nothing left on the stove cooking, nothing to indicate he’d been forced to flee in a hurry or that he’d been taken by force. And that meant I still didn’t have a fucking clue as to where the hell he was.

Hopefully he’d just gotten caught up in something and was running late. I sent Locke a quick text to let him know Finn wasn’t at his home, while Locke checked out Finn’s regular haunts. With luck, he’d turn up at one of them.

I locked up and put away the key where I’d found it, before heading back toward the front of the house. I had the momentary thought that I’d come back around to the front of the house and Wren would be gone, but I caught her voice as she spoke to her father, and hated that she sounded agitated. But the moment she heard me coming, she cut her conversation short and hung up on the call.

“Finn’s not here.” I ran my hand down her arm, and pulled her to me, relieved that she wasn’t fighting me or pushing me away. Maybe there was hope for us after all. “Everything okay?”

“No. It’s not, Ash.” She growled in frustration and tried to step out of my arms, shoving at my chest when I wouldn’t let her go, my hopes of her not distancing herself evaporating in that very heartbeat. “Everything’s a fucking mess. Your father’s dead, your brother’s missing, and we’re being blackmailed into marrying each other—and though I’ve always loved you, there’s a reason we split up.”

“Yeah…there is—and it’s that I was too young and stupid to see that you were emotional and lashing out because you’d been repeatedly abused by your stepbrother.” I closed the distance between us, refusing to let her run away from me and make excuses for why we couldn’t be together. “I fucking love you, Wren—and you don’t get to walk away from us.”

“Why not?
You did
.” She was seething with frustration and though I knew she had every right to feel that way, it didn’t mean I was going to let her go.

“I did—
but I’m here now
. And I don’t care how much you push me away, I’m not leaving—
and you’re not either
. Now if you don’t mind, I need to focus on finding my brother.” If I had to guilt her into behaving herself and not pulling a runner, then I had no qualms about doing so—and luckily it worked, as she stalked back to my car, got in and slammed the door hard enough to practically take it off its hinges. And that was fine. She could be mad at me all she wanted as long as she stayed put.

“What did your father say? Has he heard anything?” I highly doubted it since Finn hadn’t been missing all that long, but you never could tell with Turner. He had feelers out everywhere.

“No. Nothing. And if you were smart, you wouldn’t go to my father for help. He’s nothing but a manipulative jerk.” She was so angry with him that it left me wondering what exactly they’d said to each other. Maybe she’d asked him for a way out of this arranged marriage, and he’d denied her. Or maybe she’d simply told him she was heading home and he’d threatened her into staying, and she was now pissed off about it. Not that it mattered when it all came down to it, since she’d be walking that fine ass of hers down the aisle, by hook or by crook.

“No offense, little bird, but how is this a surprise to you? You know damn well what he’s like, though I wish you wouldn’t let him get to you.” She said little else to me as I started to back out down the driveway, and nearly hit a car as it was pulling in.

Finn
.

I pulled forward, so he’d have space to pull in, and threw it in park, relief washing over me as I headed over toward my brother, just as he was getting out of his car. Even in the dark of night, with nothing but the outdoor lights from his home, it was clear that his face was bruised and bloodied. “What the fuck happened?”

“Nothing worth discussing.” His movements were slow and clearly painful, making me think that his face wasn’t the only thing to take a beating. “I just got off the phone with Locke… Sorry you guys were worried.”

“Who the hell did this to you?” I had no doubt he wouldn’t want to discuss the matter, but I needed to know what the hell was going on if I had any hope of keeping everyone safe.

“I know you’re thinking this has to do with Dad, but it doesn’t. Okay? And I appreciate your concern, but I don’t want to fucking talk about it, Ash.” He let out a weary sigh, and took another step toward his front door before pausing and turning to face me. “Look…I’m fucking sorry. But…it’s late, and I need to get some ice, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to go.”

“Well, guess what? I do fucking mind when someone’s gunning for us and our family.”
What the fuck had happened to him?
Though Finn was normally level-headed, tonight he was just pissing me off.

He glared at me, with a shake of his head. “It has nothing to do with anyone but me. So no offense, but I’m in no fucking mood to deal with you, Ash.”

Yet before we could continue our asinine argument, Wren got out of the car and came around to my side. “Everything okay? Finn…it’s nice to see you again. Just sorry it’s not under better circumstances.”

“Wren…it’s good to see you too. Sorry you got dragged out in the middle of the night on my account.” Some of Finn’s anger seemed to mellow once he realized Wren was here.

She gave him a sweet smile and looped her arm with his as she walked up the steps of the front porch and toward his door. “Come on… Let’s get those scrapes and cuts cleaned, and maybe get you something for the pain—Ash might be a pain in the ass, but he’s right to be worried about you.”

Watching Wren with my brother left me falling in love with her in a whole new way that had nothing to do with our past or the attraction between us. But that moment, as I watched her take care of my brother and defuse the tension between us, sealed my fate.

I loved her like she was my very soul.
Because she was my very soul, my everything.

Once she’d sat Finn down at the kitchen counter, she grabbed him some ice and a damp towel, and proceeded to gingerly wipe the dried blood from his face, ignoring his grumbling as he told her he was fine and she didn’t have to do this. She just gave him a kind smile, and did what she could to patch him up. “I’m not sure how bad your ribs are, but you might want to get them checked—even though I highly doubt you will.”

Before he could start protesting, I interrupted him. “What happened, Finn? And how can you be sure this has nothing to do with Dad?”

He growled at me, clearly annoyed that I wouldn’t let it go. “’Cause it had to do with Skylar.”

Skylar
… Fucking hell, could this night get any worse?

“Fuck, Finn…I should have known she’d somehow be involved.”