Page 111 of Forgotten Prejudice

How the fuck did he know that?

“How do you know?” Andrei asked what I was thinking.

“I heard Chief saying something about it to his mom over the phone—”

“Okay, okay.” I raised two hands in the air. “How about we stop this gossiping session?” I faked a smile. “What happened between Ash and that asshole is between them. Most importantly, it’s in the past. The far, far past.” I paused before narrowing my eyes at Jessie. “Wait, why did you ask?”

“I dunno,” he mumbled, mouth full of pizza. “But he’s handsome.”

My nose scrunched up. “No, he isn’t.”

Andrei snorted.

“Why are you laughing?” I grunted.

“’Cause he’s gorgeous. Miles and I talked about it the other day,” he said, licking the sauce from his fingers. “We both said, hypothetically, of course, that we’d totally fuck him.”

What the fuck?

Knowing he was my last hope, I turned to Levi. The second our eyes met, he quickly took a big bite, and I gaped at him.

“Un-fucking-believable. You too?”

Levi shook his head, his ears already turning red. Apparently, I was surrounded by traitors. More importantly, how could anyone find Soren attractive?

“That man is probably filled with Botox—”

“What’s up, guys?” Ash’s voice surprised me, and midsentence, I turned to look at him. He was standing at the entrance to the living room, looking as tired as ever.

“H-Hey, Ashy.” I smiled at him, hoping he hadn’t heard our conversation while also ignoring the kids’ chuckles. At least they were laughing for a change.

“I see you had pizza for dinner?”

“Bought some on my way here.” I jumped to my feet. “I also got one with green peppers just for you.” It’d been his favorite for years.

“I already ate,” he said quietly while running his fingers through his hair. He then looked at the guys. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll head to bed. I’m beat.”

“Sure,” Andrei hummed, while Jessie squealed good night.

Once Ash left us alone, I turned to face them again. “You bunch of freeloaders are going to clean up in here,” I ordered while looking around the mess of empty soda cans, used paper plates, and pizza boxes. I glanced back at where Ash had stood only a moment ago and sighed. He was doing really badly lately, and I was seriously beginning to worry. The only time I remembered him being this down was after he and Soren broke up, and the fear of Ash going through that again scared the shit out of me.

Speaking of which… Why had he returned home so late? I checked my watch. It was definitely way past the time he usually got back. My jaw tensed, and my brows pulled into a frown because I bet that son of a bitch Soren had a hand in it.

Ash

With my eyes closed, I tilted my head back and allowed the hot water to wash down my body. The pressure of the stream gave me a sliver of relief that was soon forgotten the second my brain forced me to reflect back on the day. Hours of testimonies trying to prove that Diesel was a monster when he wasn’t. Him sitting in the middle of the courtroom with his hands cuffed like some animal, more bruises added to his handsome face each passing day. The jurors’ expressions while the prosecutor tried to convince them with false narratives and, later on, their images in Soren’s office.

Soren.

My stomach turned as goose bumps covered my body at the mere thought of him. Now cold, I turned up the heat until the water nearly burned my skin, but not even that was enough to take my mind off him. He had been so kind ever since he returned, reminding me of the past. It was brutal how easy it was to remember the good days and forget the bad. And while my breath still caught whenever the smell of his cologne hit me, and my eyes still attempted to steal quick glances at him, my heart didn’t forget. Our history was like a lump in my throat. One ugly, messy lump made of all the tears I shed over him that still choked me whenever he smiled my way.

The hardest part about his return was stopping myself from asking all the questions I’d held on to for years. Soren always had an answer up his sleeve, as he proved in court daily. And yet, to the biggest question of all, he never provided me with an answer. And although the suspicion had been gnawing at my flesh for years, I had to restrain myself from opening that Pandora’s box. Soren was here to do his job, and that was it. There was no place for the past when the present sucked every bit of energy I had.

Yet, in this chaos, small moments like coming home to find Kai with the kids gave me a bit of comfort. Knowing he was here to help me, despite what I was forcing him to go through, gave me the comfort I so miserably needed.

Strong arms wrapped themselves around me, and I leaned my head back against Kai’s hot body as he softly caressed my skin.

“I didn’t notice when you came in,” I whispered while he brushed my wet hair back and kissed my neck.