Burn (Breathless #3)(96)

“Did she say what happened?” Gabe asked when they’d gotten into the car.

“No,” Ash clipped out. “Fuck!”

“It’s okay, man. We’ll get to her. She’ll be okay. You have to believe that.”

“You said Mia and Bethany had lunch with her. Have you heard from Mia? What could possibly have happened? They can’t have finished that long ago.”

Gabe paled and then immediately dialed Mia’s number.

“Are you okay?” Gabe asked bluntly.

Then his shoulders sagged in relief. Mia must be fine. But Josie wasn’t. What the f**k could have happened?

“When did you and Bethany leave Josie?” Gabe asked.

He listened a moment and then said good-bye without telling Mia anything about Josie.

“Well?” Ash demanded, silently urging the driver to go faster. They were already driving recklessly.

“She said Josie walked back to her apartment after they had lunch. That was an hour ago.”

Ash closed his eyes. He should have kept a man on her. What if Michael had gotten to her? He’d refused to put anyone on her, not wanting to upset her even more than she already was. He’d promised her space and now that space had cost her.

A few minutes later the car squealed to a stop in front of Josie’s brownstone and Ash jumped out, Gabe close on his heels. The first thing he registered when he burst through her door was the smell of blood. His own went cold, freezing in his veins. He tore into the living room, his heart seizing as he took in the sight before him.

“Sweet mother of God,” he choked out.

Josie lay in a bloody heap in front of the coffee table. Blood was smeared on the floor where she’d evidently dragged herself to the phone.

“Call an ambulance,” Ash barked to Gabe.

God, he should have already called one but he hadn’t been thinking. His only thought had been to get to her as fast as he could. And maybe he’d denied that it would be this bad.

He ran over, dropping to his knees beside her, afraid to touch her because oh God, the blood. Her face was a mess, eyes swollen, lips split and bleeding.

“Josie. Josie, darling, I’m here. It’s me, Ash. Talk to me, baby. Please. Open your eyes and talk to me.”

He was pleading with her even as he put a shaky finger to her neck to feel for a pulse.

She stirred, emitting a soft moan that seared his heart and cut straight to his soul.

“A-ash?”

Her words were slurred, distorted by her swollen lips. He smoothed a hand over her forehead because it was the only place she wasn’t bruised or bleeding.

“Yes, baby, it’s me. I’m here. Tell me what happened, Josie. Who did this to you?”

“H-hurts to b-breathe,” she said and then she stopped, coughing and choking as a stream of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Oh God. Oh God. She was hurt badly. Someone had beat the ever-loving hell out of her. Rage exploded through his chest until he couldn’t breathe either. His vision went dim, his pulse about to beat out of his head. He was coming apart. Unraveling at the seams. His hands shook so badly that he had to pull them away from her skin so he didn’t risk hurting her.

She tried to lift her left hand and he saw she was holding something. He gently pulled it away, frowning when he saw it was a picture. Bile rose in his throat as he stared in disbelief. It was a picture of Mia. Dear God. She was naked, tied up and spread out on what looked like a coffee table. The man in the picture was Charles Willis and he was trying to shove his dick inside her mouth.

He quickly stuffed the picture into his pocket before Gabe could see it. Gabe would lose his f**king mind, and right now the only thing Ash was worried about was Josie and getting her to a hospital. They’d deal with the picture later.

“Is she okay?” Gabe asked as he dropped down beside Ash. “Jesus. She’s obviously not okay. Ambulance is on the way. ETA is five minutes. What the f**k happened?”

“I don’t know,” Ash said, his voice still shaking with fury.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Josie’s forehead, too afraid to do what he most wanted and gather her in his arms. She obviously had internal injuries and he didn’t want to cause her further injury.

“Who did this to you, baby? Can you tell me?” he asked her gently.

Tears gathered in her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks. Each one broke his heart. He wanted to cry with her, but he refused to break down. She needed him to be strong. He would be strong. No way he was going to let her down again.

“He had a message,” Josie whispered. “For you. And Gabe and Jace.”

Gabe and Ash exchanged quick what the f**k looks.

“What was the message, Josie? Don’t try to talk if it hurts you, though. We have plenty of time to talk later when you’re not in pain.”

She licked her lips, her tongue bright red with blood. Ash was shaking from head to toe now as his reaction set in. This was bad. If she was coughing up blood it meant she was f**ked up on the inside. People died from internal injuries!

“Said nothing . . .” She broke off and choked, more blood seeping from her lips. Ash was panicking now. Where was the goddamn ambulance?

She took a long moment and for a second Ash thought she’d slipped into unconsciousness.

“Josie. Josie! Stay with me, baby. Fight it. Stay awake. Can you do that for me? Open your eyes, baby. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. The ambulance is on its way. They’ll be here soon and they’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of you,” he choked out, tears knotting his throat.