Chapter 174

Chapter 174
Arabella's POV

I sat in Alexander's SUV, watching trees zip by and trying to ignore how fucking tense everyone was. My fingers kept tracing over my phone screen where Asher's text still showed:

[Come to the club. Bring Arabella.]

"He seriously didn't say anything else?" I asked, probably for the fifth damn time.

Alexander's jaw clenched as he drove. "No. Just what you saw."

I looked back at Lucas sitting next to Alice's car seat. Thank god she was knocked out, her little fist wrapped around her bunny's ear. Tristan sat behind Alexander, face blank as he stared out the window.

"Asher's never this vague," I muttered. "And why the hell meet at the club? Why not just come to the house?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Lucas said, all serious instead of his usual joking self.

My stomach twisted into knots. After those videos of Wesley got dropped yesterday, I was waiting for shit to hit the fan, but Asher's text made it sound way worse than just gossip.

When we pulled into the club parking lot, it was pretty much empty - no surprise since it was morning. Alexander parked near the back door and turned to me.

"Stay close," he said, squeezing my hand before getting out.

I unbuckled Alice, trying not to wake her as I picked her up. Having her warm little body against mine helped a tiny bit as we walked to the entrance.

Alexander punched in the code and the door swung open.

I spotted Esme right away, messing with bottles behind the bar. When she saw us, her face lit up and she came right over.

"Ara!" she said, hugging me with Alice sandwiched between us. "So good to see you here! You look great."

Some of the tension eased off my shoulders. "Thanks, Esme. Good to see you too." Seeing a friendly face felt good when everything else was so up in the air.

Esme looked down at Alice, who was starting to wake up. "Asher's waiting for you in the back. Want me to watch this little one?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes, please." 

"She just ate before we left, so she should be fine for a while," I said.

Alice's eyes fluttered open, confused at first, then happy when she recognized Esme. Her tiny hand reached straight for the colorful tattoo on Esme's arm.

"Come on, princess," Esme cooed. "I just made apple tarts. Let's see if you want to have a tiny taste."

I watched them head to the kitchen and took a deep breath. When I turned around, Alexander was watching me, his face softening for a second.

"She'll be fine with Esme," he said, taking my hand. "Don't worry."

"I know." I tried to smile but couldn't quite pull it off. "Let's get this shit over with."

Walking through the empty club felt weird. Our footsteps echoed in the quiet. The place was built for noise and crowds - the emptiness made everything feel worse.

"Whatever it is, we'll handle it," Alexander said quietly, rubbing my hand with his thumb. That simple touch grounded me, reminded me I wasn't alone in this mess.

My heart started pounding as we got closer to the back room. Whatever had Asher so worked up was bad enough that he couldn't wait to tell us.

Alexander pushed the door open without knocking. Right away, I spotted Asher sitting alone on one of the leather couches. His coffee sat untouched, probably cold by now. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his usually perfect appearance was a total mess.

"Jesus, Asher, you look like shit," I blurted out.

Asher tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes. "Morning to you too. Thanks for coming." He pointed at the seats across from him.

"What's so damn urgent that you look like you haven't slept in the night?" Alexander asked from behind me.

I sat down and felt Alexander join me, his arm wrapping around my shoulders. Tristan stayed standing, leaning against the wall, while Lucas took the chair next to me.

"Is there danger?" Lucas asked directly.

Asher's answer made my stomach drop. "Sort of."

I leaned into Alexander's side as Asher took a deep breath.

"About those videos that went out last night..." Asher started.

"What's wrong?" I asked, twisting my fingers in my lap. Those videos had exposed Wesley's secret life - his male lover and all his lies.

Asher looked straight at me, his face full of regret. "I was gonna wait a few days to tell you this. Wanted to give you guys some peace. But shit's moving faster than I thought."

He kept his eyes on mine. "Frank put a bounty on you."

My blood turned to ice. Frank - Wesley's father. I pressed closer to Alexander without even thinking.

Lucas broke the silence. "How much?" His voice was tight.

"One million. Alive," Asher said grimly.

I felt Alexander go stiff beside me, his voice dropping dangerously low. "What the fuck do they want with her?"

Asher shook his head. "Not clear yet. Could be revenge. Could be they want to use her as leverage."

My mind filled with horrible thoughts, my hands starting to shake. Someone wanted to capture me - to take me away from my family, from Alexander, Lucas, and Tristan. Away from my baby.

"How far has this spread?" I asked, my voice shaking no matter how hard I tried to control it.

"Still just certain circles," Asher said. "But it'll spread fast."

Alexander didn't waste a second. "We need to beef up security. You don't go anywhere alone from now on." His arm tightened around me.

Lucas nodded. "I'll call Damien and Liam, have them up the patrols."

Tristan finally spoke from his corner. "I'll handle the surveillance. No stranger gets near our territory without us knowing."

The fear squeezing my chest eased a little at how quickly they responded, how certain they were that they could protect me. But underneath that, I felt a deeper fear: this wasn't over. Whatever Wesley and his fucked-up family had planned was just getting started.