Ashtons POVI stormed out of the room angrily, leaving Payton to her own devices. I shouldn't worry about some ungrateful princess but the position she put myself and my men in is not a good one. We need her to be complacent and on our side more then ever now."Matthew!" I yelled out wondering where that idiot went and hid. "Yea boss?" His familiar voice called out from the kitchen, He was probably stashing away his coco puffs from Payton."Pour me a damn drink" "You got it boss" he smirked at me before sliding the bottle of cognac over to me. After a moment of silence Matthew glanced over at me "Soo.. how'd it go?""Matthew if you ever do something like that again, i"ll hang you" i muttered darkly before taking a long swig and reiterating the eye opening conversation i had with Payton moments ago............................."Honestly dude, it sounds like you're actually starting to care for the girl" Matthew teased, he's been my best friend since we were children, he knew all a
Paytons pov I woke up the following morning with a pounding head ache, although it was self-inflicted I couldn't help but pity myself. Stretching and rolling over, i sighed with resignation. Im never drinking again. "Oh good your up" Ashtons snipped as he stomped into the room looking quite dishevelled. "Mmmmmm" i groaned, sitting up lazily to rub the sleep from my eyes. "Hurry up and get ready we are going to get your things" He ordered again with an impatient tone to his voice. "Jeeze Someone must of woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Stumbling my way to the bathroom, i brushed my teeth and did my usual morning routine, Noting my clothes from yesterday were now cleaned and folded on top of the bathroom counter. Smiling gratefully i tore off the over sized t- shirt and put my clothes from yesterday back on, excitement fluttering in my stomach at the final relief of going home- even if it was only for a short while. Bounding down the hall into the living area, i had t
(Ashtons pov)I stumbled into the apartment the next morning still buzzing from my nightly high.After the shit Payton tried pulling, I needed to get away for the night and find some other escapade to keep me company.Since the private elevator was designed to pull up right into my apartment, I waited for a second after the metal doors slid shut behind me, then trailed upstairs to my bedroom. Slamming the bedroom door open, my eyes widened in surprise at Payton's lilt body snuggled under the comforter. She looked natural just laying there, the soft plains of her face relaxed as she slept. Payton stirred a little and stretched before rolling over and kicking off the covers to reveal the t shirt I had given her ridden up almost revealing her ass.This girl was seriously testing my will power.Groaning with frustration, I turned into the closet finding a change of clothes."oh, good your awake, hurry up and get ready we are going to get your things" I snapped at her when I retreated fro
Ashtons POVWe cleaned in silence, allowing Payton some space to collect herself. My eyes kept wandering to the random photos scattered of Payton and her dad. How could we know this man for years and never know he had a daughter this whole time?I took to putting the shelves back in their upright position and threw some miscellaneous trash into the large garbage bag we had set out."Hey Payton is there anything they could of been looking for specifically?" I questioned, as i pulled the couch back over onto its legs and the recliners back into their upright position.I want to know why they thought destroying her home would of been a good idea."Not that I can think of" she mumbled, pulling the dustpan out of a closet and began sweeping up the broken glass littering the floor.We tidied the rest of the main floor in silence. I knew her mind was somewhere far away as i watch her face contort with anger and resentment then sadness and resign."You look a lot like your dad you know" i
(Ashtons pov)After finding the pictures hidden in the drawer, and finding nothing in the dresser or en suite I scavenged the closet. So far, I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary apart from a few questionably funky dress shirts some worn loafers and a pair of edible underwear pushed to the back of the drawers.I moved around and investigated a few boxes on the top shelf of the closet and checked all the jacket pockets and soles of his shoes but nothing i found was of was of any use to us.We were so close! Were would James hide something he didn't want to be found?Frustrated i sat down at the edge of the bed, my mind wandering to the photo of James and Aiden's mom. They looked like long lost friends or lovers.Did they date previously or was there something more between the two of them? Rubbing my eyes in frustration I let out huff, letting my eyes wander my gaze settled at the custom Harley David mirror hanging across the room from me. The sun shone off of it but didn't
Paytons POV "ASHTON" his name ripped from my throat as I watched the guy behind him get up from the pavement and slowly raised a gun to the back of Ashtons head.Before I even knew what was happening my body moved on its own accord, I remember reaching for the gun tucked under my sweater but pulling the trigger and shooting the threat square in the left eye seemed like a faint memory, the only indication I had actually done it was the loud bang that reverberated up my arm leaving me blinking in shock.Had I actually just killed someone?Bile rose in my throat, but I quickly shoved it down. This Is what my life has become or rather what it was always about, I was just to blind to see it. It started with my father and now with me, an endless cycle with no reprieve in sight.Tucking the gun back under my sweater I just stared at Ashton. If he was surprised or impressed, he didn't show it, in fact his face tensed up as though he were in were secretly in pain. Looking down at Ashtons side
(Paytons POV)I drove 80 kilometres over the legal speed limit in a rush to get Ashton back to the apartment so he could get stitched up. My mind was a cluster of thoughts, I was angry and hopeful all at once. I couldn't seem to find the words to say after Ashton had shared his suspicions with me, not entirely sure if I wanted to meet someone who could potentially be my blood relative, after all where were they after my father had been killed?I pulled off the freeway and neared the heart of downtown, feeling the familiar shake of anxiety rattle my nerves. With every passing minute we were coming up closer and closer to the apartment, I glanced over at Ashton who was too half out of it to notice the blood starting to stain his Italian leather seats.I peeled towards the elevator door once we had entered the parkade, not caring about the shoddy parking job. I hopped out of the drivers seat and ran to the passenger side, helping Ashton out of the car as he kept pressure on his wound. S
(ASHTONS POV) I glanced around the office at the men and women sitting like soldiers wherever they could fit. This was my inner circle, the only six people I could trust to do their job and get it done right. Between you and me i would only trust half of them with my own life though. We started off with the weekly reports, updates on how sales were going, recent influxes on the black market and what was popular for stock and demand with our alliances. Once all that was dealt with i headed into the more explicit part of gang dealings- who's been killed, regathering information from informants and last but not least the news I had uncovered while at Payton's house."Alright men, I'm about to tell you guys something that is absolutely classified and I won't be repeating it a second time, I need to know that whatever I am going to say will not leave this room and will be treated with complete discretion.. especially from my father" I ordered not allowing my strong exterior to slip fro