RUSH (Montgomery Men Book 1) (22 page)

I read one message over and over, each time feeling that knot in my stomach only growing tighter.

Kinsley: I’m sorry I lied, but I never pretended with you. The woman I was when I was with you, that is Kinsley. You gave me back the woman I once was. I’m so sorry I hurt you, but never did I ever pretend to feel something I didn’t. I love you, Ash. For all the things you’ve given me and all the times you made me feel as if nothing from my past could ever hurt me again.

She’d sent the message only moments after I sent her my good-bye. Moments after I shut my phone off and refused to turn it back on.

When Murray slowed to a stop in front of the law firm, I opened my own door this time. “Take a drive,” I said over my shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be awhile. I’ll call when I’m ready.”

I didn’t wait for his response as I climbed out and hurried toward the front entrance. A few heads turned as I entered, but I didn’t acknowledge them in return.

The young woman behind the desk looked up with an annoyed expression that immediately shifted to interest. She thrust out her chest, flipping her hair as she smiled brightly. “Good morning,” she cooed. “What can I help you with?” She scanned over my chest and settled her gaze on the space where my jacket hem rested. This chick was honestly staring at my cock. In the center of the law firm lobby.

“I’m here to see Kinsl—” I cleared my throat. “Kiera Masterson.”

“Ms. Masterson is in court with Mrs. Stockman this morning.” She finally looked back up to meet my stare. Normally a woman would be a little embarrassed at being caught cock-gawking, but not this one. Instead she licked her lip and smiled coyly.

“Ashton?”

I looked up to find yet another woman who’d made me feel like a full-course meal. I couldn’t remember her name, but I definitely remembered she was Kinsley’s friend—and the way her gaze devoured me when I picked up Kinsley from work one day. At this point she was better than the wildcat behind the desk eye-fucking me. Fuck, even I was slightly heated with embarrassment. I swear she was two seconds from stripping down and leaping over the desk to hump my leg.

“Are you here to see Kiera?” the other woman asked as she stepped up to my side.

“Um, yeah.” I turned my back to the woman and faced Kinsley’s friend.

“She’s in court, but it was a simple case. I’m sure she’ll be back anytime.”

I almost laughed when she looked over my shoulder and rolled her eyes. Apparently she too was annoyed by the woman’s antics.

“I guess I forgot.” Apparently Kinsley’s friend was unaware that Kinsley and I weren’t speaking. “Do you think I could wait in her office?”

“Sure.” She offered a smile. “Come on, I’ll take you back.”

I was relieved to get away from the woman that would have given my brothers a run for their money.

“She was in for about ten minutes before Mrs. Stockman dragged her off to court. I think she may be coming down with something, because she looked exhausted. But she insisted she was fine.” Kinsley’s friend opened the door to Kinsley’s office and stepped back to allow me to enter. “She shouldn’t be too long. Is there anything I can get you?”

“No, I’m fine,” I assured her. “I’ve got some emails to answer, so I’ll just work while I wait.”

She offered a sweet smile before she exited the office and closed the door.

I was completely engrossed in an email from a man I’d worked with in the past on some big projects. He’d sent over photos of a current vacant property and the plans he’d drawn up for condos he wanted to build on that property. It was exactly the type of project I needed.

I had no idea I was no longer alone until I caught a flash of red in my peripheral vision. I looked up just as Kinsley rounded her desk and placed her briefcase on the edge.

Our gazes locked and she stood at the edge of her desk as if waiting for me to speak first.

I closed my tablet and remained slightly slouched in the chair, my ankle crossed over my knee. I made sure to keep my eyes locked on hers, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“What are you doing here?” She didn’t sound angry. She looked as if she’d barely slept. One word came to mind:
defeated
.

“I told myself that no matter what you had to say, it wouldn’t change anything.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, keeping my eyes on hers. “I told myself that when I left your place on Friday, I’d never look back. That I would just let go and move forward.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered hoarsely.

“I know you are, but it doesn’t make any of this any better. You’re married, and the woman I thought I was falling for is just a fucking illusion.” Her quick movements caught me off guard, and I sat up as she fell to her knees before me.

“My name is Kinsley Hellman. I’m married to one of the most powerful men in Miami,” she began, which I already knew. “But that man hurt me.”

I locked my gaze on hers. The strong woman I’d been attracted to in the beginning had disappeared. Now she was desperate and frantic.

“For years he beat me and forced me to be a woman I wasn’t. If I fought back, he got angrier. If I threatened to leave, he made sure I couldn’t.” Her throat bobbed when she swallowed. “He’s a dirty man. He convinces innocent people that he can help them with whatever they need—money, fame. And he does, but then he takes that power away when you’re in so deep that you’re in debt to him and his father. I was one of those people.”

“Kinsley,” I whispered, taking her hand in mine.

“I used to dream of hearing you say my name. Hearing you call me Kiera was so hard.” Tears filled her eyes. “I know that you think you don’t know me, that the woman you have feelings for doesn’t exist, but you’re wrong. Ashton, for the first time since I graduated college, I felt like the Kinsley I’d tucked away safely was back.”

“I don’t understand.” This entire thing was still so fucked up. I didn’t know what to believe, because I still struggled to trust what she said.

“My father grew very sick when I was in college. He was always in and out of the hospital, and the doctors were worthless. No matter what I did, it was never enough, but that’s the reality when you’re poor.” She wiped away the tear that had escaped. “I used to think I was lucky Jase had found me, but now I know I was only an easy target. It never truly had anything to do with love. He preyed on the weak, and during that time I was vulnerable. When I couldn’t care for my dad, Jase and his father swooped in with their money and made everything seem so easy. They fooled us both.”

She took a deep breath and refused to look at me. “They’d convinced my father and me that they could provide the best care and the best doctors for him. So my father handed over the decision-making to them, feeling as if finally he would be able to live without so much suffering. They gained control of his finances, and soon they had the ability to make all medical decisions as well.” She looked up at me. “Like I said, they were very convincing.”

When she shrugged she looked so frail. Completely lost and so fucking alone. And just like that, my anger melted away. All I wanted to do was grab her and hold her close. But I held back because I still needed to understand why she lied about everything.

“Why couldn’t you just be honest and tell me these things from the beginning?” I asked, fisting my hands on my thighs to keep myself from reaching out for her.

“The last night I was in Miami, I found out Jase had hidden my father’s death from me.” I wrinkled my face in confusion. I wasn’t sure how something like that was even possible. “I know, hard to believe, but it is true.”

She took a shuddering breath as if to compose herself. “He rarely let me visit my father at the nursing home he lived in. Jase and Bruce placed him there because of the twenty-four hour care, or so they said. But it was just their way of keeping the hatefulness of their world hidden from my father. I know now I should have left and taken him with me, but at the time I felt he was getting the best care, and I would have gladly traded my happiness for his health.” She looked up at me, fresh tears staining her cheeks. “I found out from a complete stranger that my father had passed away. Jase never told me, because I think he knew that was my only reason for staying with him.”

“So he just let you go?” I wondered why they were even still married if that was the case.

“No,” she said without hesitation. “He’d never let me go willingly. He always told me that I would never leave him, that he would never allow it.”

This asshole sounded like a real piece of work.

“The woman I met, the one that told me of my father’s death, she helped me. Without her and the help of a long list of others, I would still be trapped, because half the law enforcement in Miami are on Jase and his father’s payroll. They made it next to impossible for me to escape.” She sat silently for a moment, and I wondered if I should say something, even though I honestly had no idea what to say. This was all so fucked up.

“That’s why I lied, why I didn’t tell you about Jase, and why I used a false identity. Because I can’t let them find me. I can’t go back there.”

I leaned in and wrapped her in my arms, pulling her body to mine. She didn’t fight it and seemed to welcome the comfort.

We remained in that position for a long time before either of us attempted to move. Finally I pulled back and took her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me when I spoke. “Don’t ever lie to me again,” I said sternly. “I don’t care what it is, or whether you believe it will make me angry or hurt me. You tell me nothing but the truth.”

She nodded immediately. “I used to be confident, and strong,” she confessed in an ashamed whisper. “I wasn’t always this weak. I spend every day scared, terrified actually, that Jase will find me.”

“That doesn’t make you weak, sweetheart,” I tried to reassure her.

“Yes it does. I never stood up for myself. I just took it. I let him control me, and in the process I also let him destroy me.”

The most amazing thing about Kinsley was that even though she’d been through hell and back, she still remained in control of her emotions. I rarely saw her cry. She got angry and heartbroken, but even during those times, she remained strong.

“Let me give you back the things he took, the woman you once were. I want to help you find the strength I know is inside of you, and I want to help you fight to find the Kinsley hidden down deep.”

KINSLEY

“LET ME LOVE YOU, KINSLEY,”
Ashton whispered.

I never thought I would hear those words from him after the way he left things between us only days ago.

“Let me protect you and take that fear away.” The way he was looking at me made my heart feel as if it may burst. No one had ever looked at me with such love and kindness. My chest ached with the consuming intensity of his stare.

I wanted to believe Ash could do those things. But I was also terrified of the outcome. If Jase or Bruce harmed Ashton in any way, it would be my fault because I’d placed him in the center of my mess.

He didn’t deserve that.

“I think you should—”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. It was a gentle kiss, but powerful enough to make me momentarily speechless.

“Let’s talk more tonight,” he said as he stood from the chair and lifted me from the floor in the process. “I’ll be here at five to pick you up. We have a lot to discuss.”

He didn’t even give me time to answer before he sat me down, took out his phone, and began typing out a message, I presumed to Murray. He then looked up and scanned over my face with a skeptical expression. “Maybe you should take the remaining part of the day off. You look exhausted.”

Again I attempted to argue only for him to shush me as he moved toward my office door and opened it. I followed him as he moved down the hall in search of something.

“What are you doing?” I asked, looking around, hoping we hadn’t attracted too much attention.

“I’m looking for Mrs. Stockman,” he said as if I should have already known that.

“Um, excuse me. Why?” I tugged on the back of his jacket just before I crashed into his back as he suddenly stopped.

“Ashton.” My gaze shifted up and over Ashton’s shoulder to find my boss only a few feet ahead. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”