I’m in.
I send the message. Pocketing my phone, I exhale, watching the stars blink overhead. Six months in Dubai. Maybe by the time I get back, I’ll have my head on straight.
CHAPTER 14
MIA
The safehouse feels colderwith Asher’s withdrawal. It’s not something that’s obvious—he still does his job, still mans the security feeds and checks the locks—but it’s different. I count the days in my head. He leaves in five days. Five days before I never see him again.
The girls notice first.
“Why doesn’t Agent Asher play with us anymore?” Emma asks at breakfast, poking half-heartedly at her cereal. “Did we do something wrong?”
I force a smile, smoothing Emma’s wild curls. “Of course not, baby. He’s just busy.”
Ella frowns. “He’s always busy now.”
I don’t have an answer for that.
At night, Asher takes the late shift, volunteering for perimeter duty instead of bedtime stories. At meals, he sits at the farthest seat, barely speaking. When the girls tug at his sleeve, he ruffles their hair but doesn’t stay.
One evening, Emma follows him to the front hallway, her little fists clenched at her sides. “You don’t love us anymore,” she accuses, her lower lip trembling.
The pain in Asher’s eyes is instant, but he masks it quickly. He crouches, meeting her gaze. “That’s not true, bug,” he says, his voice gentle.
“Then why don’t you play with us?” Emma demands.
“I’m just making sure you’re safe,” he answers, and it’s not a lie. But it’s not the whole truth, either.
Emma sniffles. “I miss you.”
I can’t take it. The lump in my throat swells, and I have to leave before I lose it in front of them.
I escape to the laundry room, gripping the edge of the counter as tears prick at my eyes. I don’t understand why it hurts so much. Maybe because I’m watching it all happen again. Someone coming into my daughters’ lives, making them feel safe, and then pulling away.
I don’t hear the door open, but I feel his presence behind me. “Mia.”
Asher’s voice is soft, but I can’t face him right now. I shake my head, pressing my palms against my eyes. “Don’t. Just… don’t.”
A long silence stretches between us.
Then, quietly, he says, “I didn’t mean to hurt them.”
My chest tightens. “Then why are you?”
More silence.
I turn around, but Asher is already gone. Something is definitely off with him, and I need to figure out what it is. I follow him, eventually tracking him to the security room, the glow of the monitors casting sharp shadows across his face. His hands are folded over his stomach as he leans back in the chair, unreadable, distant. But I know the tension when I see it. The kind that coils inside you before you do something you know you’ll regret.
“The girls miss you,” I say.
“They’ll adjust.” He doesn’t even glance at me, eyes locked on the screens like they hold the only thing that matters. “It’s safer this way.”
Safer.
That word gnaws at me.
“What do you mean?” I step closer, trying to see his expression.
