Page 12 of Locked Souls
Pulling off my shirt, I begin to mirror Ash as he tapes his hands.
“I had a good reason for it,” he says sullenly. “You have no idea the hell I’ve been through. The depravity and shame I feel for the things I had to do.”
“I don’t fucking care!” I roar as I climb into the ring.
“Usually, I would remind you that you’re friends, and not to kill each other, but fuck it,” Levi says, sighing as he leans against the wall with Bast. “Figure it out. You can scrub the blood off the mats afterward.”
“Dick,” I grunt, gazing at the spider tattoo on Ash’s neck. He looks slimmer, more muscled, his body more defined.
“Are you going to drool over my body while I explain?” Ash asks, smirking. This is almost the Ash I had before. He was always a bit of an asshole, but he was mine, which excused it most of the time.
“It’s not mine to drool over anymore,” I say dully, swinging at him. Ash grunts as he blocks my punches, not making a move to hit back.
“I’ve always been yours, baby. I left for you, don’t you see?” he asks, his voice breaking. I don’t want to hear that emotion, so I scream and slide through his defenses, punching him in his side.
“Lazy blocking,” I grunt. “That’s the thing, I don’t see! You’ve missed so much. You missed all of Chas’ pregnancy. It’s inexcusable. Where the fuck have you been?!”
I’m angry, and tears slide down my cheeks as I rage and punch a man who was my everything. He and Chastity were the beginning of the rest of my life, and he threw it all away.
“You owed The Society a debt!” Ash screams, his arms spread wide. “Jacob told me that you were being sent away, and I refused. I threw myself at his mercy, because you’re so much better than I am.”
“What?” I ask, punching him in his lying face.
“You overstepped, and they don’t accept that kind of bullshit, so they sent me undercover,” he says. “No phones, no internet, no goddamn life.”
Throwing me against the ropes, his hands close around my biceps. His face is so close against mine, I can feel his breath along my skin.
“My mission was to help that bitch, Isabella, break in her new fucking slaves,” he snarls in my face. “I had to pretend not to care, even while people lost pieces of their souls. Good fucking people.”
“So, you refuse!” I scream in his face. “You choose to do the right thing.” Pushing him away, I refuse to accept that he did this to save me. Damn sacrificial lamb. “You choose us!”
“I couldn’t,” he whispers. Ash’s eye is already beginning to swell, his lip is busted, and he’s favoring his right side. Fuck, I hurt him. “There’s more. I… They made me participate.”
“You cheated on me… On Chastity. The mother of your fucking baby?” I gasp.
“Oh, fuck,” I hear Levi say, before a red haze overcomes my vision and I launch myself at him. I can’t hear the words that he’s screaming at me, but I can process the anguish and pain in his tone. I continue punching and screaming things I never would under normal circumstances.
He let someone else touch him.
My soul feels as if it’s withering away. I can’t believe Chastity is gone, and this piece of shit is what I’m left with.
“Fuck this shit,” I growl, looking down at him. There’s red on my knuckles, and Ash’s nose is busted and streaming blood. I didn’t even realize I’d done that. Spitting on him, I shake my head.
“You’re not worth this. You hurt me and I don’t forgive you,” I say, my heart breaking even more as I watch his eyes well with tears. “My girl is gone and in pain, and I need to find out what’s happening with the baby. You don’t deserve to be part of any of that. You turned your back on us. All of us.”
Turning away, I ignore Levi’s sad gaze as I untape my hands angrily.
“I understand the sentiment, but he’s dead to me,” I tell him, tossing the tape into the trash.
“Jonas,” Bast begins, but I shake my head.
“Trust me, I’m a ball of rage,” I say. “You don’t want any part of this. I’ll never forgive that piece of shit. I can’t even look at him. I need to know what’s going on with our girl. Come or not, I’m done waiting. I’ve wasted enough time.”
Levi and Bast trail behind me as I bang out of the room on the way to the tunnels, leaving Ash defeated and broken on the mats. Thankfully, they’re not in a meeting anymore, so I’m not going to piss anyone off.
I just want to know that she’s okay.
Chapter 4