Page 122 of Ashes of Honor

Surprising myself, I added, “Come on. Let’s dance. You missed your chance being a dick last time.”

The smile he gave me wasn’t a smirk—it was something warm, real. His hand slid to my shoulder, his fingers giving me a light squeeze as he pulled me toward the center of the room.

“I do owe you a dance,” he whispered into my ear, the tickle of his breath sending a tickle down my spine and twisting my core. “But for a very different night. One I want us to remember forever.”

His hand rested against the small of my back and he pulled me closer, staring down at me with an overwhelming amount oflove. And for once, I didn’t think about anything else. Just this. Just us.

The night airof Monterey Compound was cool against my skin. A rarity for the month of July. I took a slow drag then let the smoke settle deep before I exhaled, watching it curl up into the dark sky. Out here, in the green space between Prescott’s quarters and Compound Hall, I could almost feel stillness.Almost.

The crunch of footsteps shattered it. There was no need to turn around. I knew who it was.

I groaned, grinding the blunt against the concrete to snuff it out. “Hi,” I said flatly, not bothering to mask my irritation.

“This stays between the two of us,” she said, voice carrying the same amount of irritation she only saved specifically for me.How special.

My eyes flicked to the small bump now visible beneath her shirt. Riley’s child. Hisson. My godson … That had to be killing her. I wasn’t sure how Riley had managed to convince her, then again, all bets said she spent her free time praying I’d never make it back—save the argument for something that mattered.

I forced a sharp exhale through my nose. “Everything has always stayed between us,” I replied. “I have no interest in straining a relationship with Riley over something I should’ve solved on the mat back when I had the chance.”

Yasmin’s eyes narrowed, her lips curled into a bitter smile. I was done being the bigger person with her. Riley had asked me to do my best and I had. If she wanted to act like some childunable to experience simple character development, then that was on her.

“When you come back, are you going to bury him like you buried Prescott? Will you abandon Riley’s grave the way you left his? Jax’s?” She was so smug—so intent on hurting me and for what?

Literally, for fucking what? I was a general, I owed her no sympathy for the outcomes of my job, a post her boyfriend held foryearswithout incident. A position he’d been proud to hold—one appointed to him by Riley himself. All I’d done was sign the dotted line.

I’d granted her space when she’d asked for it, apologized when it was due—profusely—shown her respect when none was due, and overall tolerated her. Yasmin had never shown me the same grace. And now, she’d gone too far.

My body went still. That fire I’d been trying to smother erupted. Slowly, deliberately, I turned to face her, my voice dropping to something deadly—yet calm. “Do not,” I said, every word carved from stone, “say their names again unless it’s to thank them for the fucking walls keeping you alive or to share a memory worth hearing. Do you understand?”

Yasmin scoffed, but I stepped into her space, forcing her to meet my eyes.

“You’re pregnant. But you won’t always be. I’m going to ask you again: Are. We. Clear?”

She held her ground for a second, her jaw tight, before her gaze dropped to the side like the coward she was. Had always been. She’d had a chance to confront me when there had been a chance to fight. But she hadn’t, because as tough as she acted, Yasmin knew that when it came to me, she would always lose.

“Then you’d lose Riley’s loyalty for good,” she muttered, but the heat in her words had fizzled into something weaker.

My gaze swept over her, letting the silence drag before answering with a smile. “Would I?” I said finally, cool and deliberate.

I stepped back and pulled the blunt from my pocket and lit it again with a flick of my fingers. The flame flared, reflecting in her hooded eyes. I took a slow drag, watching her, savoring the sweet, earthiness of it.

“Riley’s a soldier,” I said as I exhaled, smoke spilled out with the wind, blowing it away from her face. “He understands the law of The Pit.”

I took a few steps away, pausing long enough to tilt my head back toward her, my voice sharp and deliberate. “Besides, I thought I already killed him.”

I didn’t spare a second glance. Let her choke on whatever words she had left.How dare she? How fucking dare she dig her claws into wounds that never healed?Yasmin’s words had almost cracked something in me, something fragile buried so, so deep, but I wouldn’t let her see it. The smoke curled around me as I walked away, clinging to me like the ghosts of the ones I loved—the ones I’d failed—pressing down on me with every step.

Tomoe

Leaving wasn’t supposed to be this hard. I’d told myself that it wouldn’t be, had made my peace with it. After all, the people I cared about most were coming with me. There wasn’t much I was leaving behind—just walls and furniture, a compound that smelled like drying concrete and damp earth. And herbs. And food. And terribly stale tavern beers. Like home.

That wasn’t true though. That wasn’t all I was leaving behind. Now there was more than material items. Emma. Olivia. Luke. Hal. Elie. Luna … they would all remain, and the future wasn’t set. There was no guarantee we’d all see each other again.

We were already behind schedule. The sun had cleared the horizon an hour ago. Goodbyes were hard. The troops didn’t mind. It bought them all precious seconds with their loved ones. Elie and Emma worked to draw it all out—the worst offenders by far. They swore to Amaia up and down that they would do what it took to keep The Compound safe. The over-the-top hand gestures and declarations were nothing but a show, a way to keep us here for if only one more moment. I’d miss them. Emma had made this all particularly bearable when everything else was crumbling around me.

Then there was Yasmin. Her goodbye with Riley had been almost painful to watch. They didn’t say much; they didn’t need to. The way Riley hugged her, how he watched her growing stomach …

I’d been cornered shortly after that, and though I didn’t care for her or her shitty attitude, I let it slide.

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