Ash could deal. Of that Jace was positive. But the unknown in the equation was Bethany. How would she react to Ash? Did she have feelings for him? Did she still desire him? It was obvious she had been turned on by both men when they’d had sex with her. Would Jace have to always worry that Bethany would be looking in Ash’s direction or that she’d even pursue him?
It was enough to drive him crazy and it was stupid to dwell so hard on that. He wasn’t being fair to Bethany. It was obvious she was freaked out by that night and the fact she’d had a threesome with him and Ash. He couldn’t assume the worst about her and be suspicious before he ever gave her a chance. Their relationship would be doomed by jealousy and mistrust before it ever had a chance to get off the ground.
“Jace?” Ash asked in a quiet voice. “Why’d you let it happen, man? I don’t get it. You have to know I would have understood. I would have been surprised as hell, but I would have absolutely backed off. I’d never let a woman come between us.”
But Jace had. Hell, he’d put Bethany between them because he’d been desperate and he’d seen her waver. He’d been so afraid of having her walk away that he’d hastily agreed to something he was vehemently against.
It hadn’t been fair to Bethany and it sure as hell hadn’t been fair to Ash.
“I fucked up,” Jace said in just as quiet a voice. “It was completely my fault. I thought at the time it was what I had to do. Before I could step in and put an end to it, she agreed. And once she agreed, I didn’t feel like I could say never mind, we’re not having a threesome, but oh by the way, I still want to take you home and fuck you. And then she seemed to have second thoughts and I panicked because I didn’t want her to walk away. It was all so goddamn fucked up and it got out of control before I could fix it. And I regret every single minute.”
Something flickered in Ash’s eyes and he went silent. He settled back in his chair and looked away.
“Is this going to change things?” Ash finally said. “Between you and me? You sound like Bethany’s going to be around a long time. What does that mean for us because of that night?”
Unease crawled over Jace’s skin. If only he could go back to that night, he’d never say a goddamn thing to Ash. He’d have never brought Bethany to his attention. And he damn sure would have never fucked her with Ash.
And now Ash was voicing the same concerns that Jace had himself. This was huge. He could not let his relationship with Bethany ruin his relationships with the people who meant the most to him. But neither could he let her go. He had to make this work, which meant handling the entire situation as delicately as possible.
“All it changes is that you’re not sleeping with her again,” Jace said with more confidence than he felt. He hoped to hell he wasn’t deluding himself. “I’m sure the first couple of times that we’re all together will be awkward. But it’ll only stay awkward if we make it that way. You’re both in my life, man. I’m not choosing between you. I hope to fuck I never have to. All we can do is make sure it doesn’t become an issue. But I need your help. Your . . . support.”
Relief simmered in Ash’s eyes. “You going to name your first kid after me?”
“Jesus. Now who’s moving fast? Pump the brakes, Ash. I’m not marrying her.”
“Yet,” Ash muttered.
“There’s a hell of a lot we have to work out,” Jace said in a grim voice.
“Anything I can help with? You asked for my support, but man, you gotta know you have that. You’ve always had it. That’s not going to change.”
Jace hesitated for only a moment, relief buzzing through his blood like potent alcohol. Then he related the entire chain of events involving Bethany from start to end. When he finished, Ash’s face was contorted into a fierce scowl.
“Motherfuckers,” he swore. “They beat up a helpless woman because her asshole brother borrowed money he had no way of paying back? And the little bastard hung her out to dry? Jesus, my family may be batshit crazy but they’ve never sicced a bunch of street thugs on me.”
Jace snorted. “Not yet, anyway.”
A glimmer of amusement lighted Ash’s eyes. “True. Give them time.”
There was a lengthy pause. Silent understanding.
“I don’t like you getting involved. I know some people. I can get them on it. Make sure the assholes get their money and a message not to fuck with Bethany again,” Ash said. “That is, if that’s the way you want it to go down. I assume you want that debt paid.”
“You know people?” Jace said incredulously. “What the hell, man? What kind of people do you know who would handle a situation like this? And yeah, whatever it takes. I want the debt to go away. Not because I give a fuck about her asshole brother but because I want Bethany safe and I want her removed from any possible situation that threatens her.”
Ash shrugged. “Never know when you might need these kinds of people. They owe me a favor anyway. I gave them good stock tips. And I comped their stay in one of our hotels.”
“I’m not even going to ask . . .”
“Better that way,” Ash said cheerfully. “Not people you’d invite to Thanksgiving dinner anyway.”
“I’m getting that,” Jace muttered.
Ash’s expression became more serious. “How much money are we talking here?”
“Five thousand.”
“That’s all?”
Jace sighed. “It’s a fortune to Bethany. As she said, it may as well be a million. She was going to fucking peddle to raise the cash.”
It still scared the hell out of him to think what could have happened if Kate hadn’t called him the day Bethany wandered into the shelter. Or what would have happened if Bethany hadn’t gone back. That she could even now be on the streets and vulnerable to God knew what . . .
“Fuck,” Ash bit out. “Jesus Christ. Peddling?”
“Yeah, that pretty much sums up my reaction.”
“She needs a fucking leash,” Ash muttered.
“Figuratively, she’s going to have one,” Jace said calmly. “She’s not going anywhere without the men I hired to protect her and when she’s not with them, she’ll be with me. Hopefully once you arrange for her debt to be paid that threat goes away. But I still have to address the issue of Jack.”
“Well, and it doesn’t appear that she’s sold on the idea of you two as a couple yet,” Ash said dryly.