“I will not let whoever this Vesper is near you,” I said. And for the first time, I realized how absolute the promise felt.
Outside, the crunch of tires faded as Becket’s truck headed down the orchard road. Another engine idled farther away. The sound was too quiet and too patient. My entire body stilled.
Harmony’s eyes met mine. “You heard that too?”
I nodded.
Footsteps followed. Slow. Careful. Deliberate. Then a voice called out.
“Eric, are you out here?”
Asher.
I opened the cabin door. “What are you doing out here?”
“I should be asking you that question,” he said, walking up to the door of the cabin. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you guys were staying out here too.”
Relief hit me with an edge of irritation I could not quite shake.
Harmony exhaled shakily. “You scared the living daylights out of me,” she said to my brother.
“He scares everyone,” I muttered.
“Sorry, I stay in the cabin two doors over, Dad was looking for you. You didn’t answer your phone, so he tried the orchard walkie-talkies and you didn’t answer there either.” He paused and watched us carefully. “You guys good? You seem a little edgy,” he asked as his gaze flicked between Harmony and me.
“Just fantastic,” I said.
“Dad told me to check the cabins. Didn’t mean to intrude.”
That was Asher. Half drifter, half wild card, and entirely more loyal than he wanted anyone to realize. He studiedHarmony with a look that told me he sensed more danger than we had admitted.
“You want something to do?” I asked him.
He frowned. “Maybe.”
“Watch the road.”
He blinked. “Why?”
“Because someone has been on this property who shouldn’t be here. Seems Harmony has a stalker and we don’t know who it is. But they are trying to send her a message.”
His posture sharpened instantly. Asher could drift through life like nothing mattered, but the moment a threat appeared, he always snapped to attention. He gave a small nod and headed toward the orchard entrance.
Harmony watched him go. “He doesn’t even know what’s happening. Maybe we should tell him more, so he knows what he’s dealing with.”
“No, for now we keep things between those of us who need to know. Asher is a competitive MMA fighter. Whoever tries to get past him won’t,” I said. “Besides, he’d do anything for those we care about.”
“Am I one of those people?” she asked with such hope in her green eyes, it sucked my breath.
“What do you think, Sunshine?”
Her breath trembled and warmth spread through my chest, cutting through the cold coil of fear. Outside, Asher moved steadily down the gravel path with his shoulders squared and his steps deliberate. There was always more to him than he ever allowed anyone to see. He would get his story one day.
But this moment belonged to Harmony and me, and the danger surrounding us was no longer circling at a distance. It was here.
CHAPTER 25
Harmony
