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Surprise gripped hiency--in her tone He leaned forward, his gaze narrowing at her

"You want out What does that mean exactly, Brittany?"

"I want away from them," she said shakily "All of them"

"What the hell did they do to you?" Ash de Imore than usual You kno they are, Ash I’ve always envied you so much You tell them to fuck off and you’ve made your oay All I’ve done is marry a man my mother wanted me to, try to ot nothing in the divorce and I was okay with that I just wanted out But I have nothing without Mom and Dad’s help And I don’t want it anys I’m thirty years old and what do I have to show for "

The desolation in her voice hit Ash deep He knew exactly what she meant It could have easily been him in this same situation His brothers certainly were He didn’t like the shadows in her eyes and the beaten down look she currently wore Astheir mother, he’d take that over this whipped-puppy look she now had

"What do you want to do?" he asked quietly

"Is it pathetic that I don’t know? I don’t even knohere to start I cao to My friends aren’t friends when the chips are down They’re ood, but I can’t count on them for real support"

"I’ll help you," he said in an even tone "Jace owns an apartment that Mia used to live in, and more recently his fiancée lived there But it’s e there I can probably buy it froet you situated somewhere else"

Her eyes widened in shock

"Do you have a job?" he asked

She flushed and dropped her gaze

"I’ so I knohat kind of help you need"

She shook her head "No I’ve been living with Moood at?"

"You could be good at a lot of things," Ash said "You’re set out there in the real world"

She nodded slowly

"I can get you a position in one of the hotels, but Brittany, you need to know It would be a real job with real responsibilities I can pull strings to get you hired, but if you aren’t doing the job, you don’t get to keep it Understand?"

"I understand and thank you, Ash I don’t knohat to say We--I--have been horrible to you" Tears filled her eyes as she stared earnestly back at Ash "They hate you because they can’t control you And I’ve let the to do that any to hate me too"

Ash reached across the desk and curled his hand around hers, squeezing reassuringly

"You don’t need the and smart You can make it on your own You just need a little help to do that But be prepared You’re going to have to be strong Our mother is a bitch, and she won’t hesitate to use every weapon in her arsenal on you as soon as she figures out what you’re doing"

"Thanks," she whispered "I’ll pay you back soain "The best thing you can do for me is to live your own life and don’t let theain I’ll help I’ll do what I can to shield you froth on your part as well I’d like to think we could actually be faain"

She curled both her hands around his, her eyes shining as she locked gazes with him "I’d like that too, Ash"

"Let me call Jace and see where he stands with the apartet you into that one, we’ll have to take a look at what else is out there Do you need et your stuff from Mom and Dad’s?"

She shook her head "I packed everything My clothes and stuff I ht it with me My suitcases are in the reception area here I took a cab to your office Wasn’t sure what I was going to do if you refused to see et your bags For tonight I’ll put you up in our hotel I’ I’ll work on that today and also set up an account for you and deposit enough cash to get you through to your first paycheck Take a few days to settle in and then co lined up for you"

She rose and then was suddenly around the desk, throwing her ar fro on to her so she didn’t fall, and he returned her hug

"You’re the best, Ash God I’ve missed you I’ht to kick et what you’re doing for me Never"

The fervency in her voice fest to be over Who would have thought today would bring his sister into his office for a fa to believe this one Although it would be teeks before Gabe knew anything

Jace would likely think he’d lost hishis sister out But Ash couldn’t just turn his back on her Even if it hat his family had done to him Brittany was still his little sister and perhaps this would be a new page for theeiven hiranted A solid family unit People who had his back People who loved and supported him unconditionally

He had that with Gabe and Jace and now Mia and Bethany But he’d never had it with his own blood Maybe Brittany would change all of that Even if they’d never be one big happy family, he and his sister could at least have a relationship

"I’ll have my driver take you to the hotel I’ll ask Eleanor to have his She’ll also call over to et there You’ll need to go to the bank to set up your account I’ll have Eleanor help you out with that too But for now take it easy, try to get some rest and tomorroe’ll ently when she hugged hiain She hastily wiped at a tear as she turned away