My teeth grind. "Then I'll volunteer for forest cleanups if I need to. Plant trees. Pick up trash. There are other ways, Darius, ways that don't involve you."
I turn back to the window, shutting him out.
He exhales slowly, a measured sound, and says nothing more. The silence stretches, thick and heavy, filling the car all the way back to Asher's house.
Home. Where a storm in the form of Kayden is waiting.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kayden
I watch her get out of the car, and all I want is to flip the damn thing with that smug bastard inside and set it on fire. Watch him scream while it burns.
"Don't," Asher says without looking at me.
He knows me too well.
But fuck, it's hard to hold still when she walks up like nothing happened. She looks fine, calm, composed, like she didn't just rip our trust to shreds.
I lean against the porch railing, jaw clenched. Asher's at the door, arms crossed, pretending to be a statue, but I know better. He's just as wrecked inside. We both are. We've been played.
The car rolls away. I don't take my eyes off until it disappears from view.
When Sage reaches us, Asher speaks first, voice measured and controlled. "Are you all right, Sage?"
She nods. "Yes. I'm fine."
She steps inside and tosses over her shoulder, "Lay it on me. I know you've got some things to get off your chests."
"You don't say." I slam the door. The patch on the arrow hole rattles. "Unless you were kidnapped or having a psychotic break, you've got a whole lot of explaining to do, sunshine."
She runs a hand through her hair, already exasperated. "Not kidnapped. Not crazy. I had to talk to him, and I did. That's all."
I move toward her on instinct, but Asher steps in, holding out a hand. Always the damn mediator.
"Youhadto?" he asks, voice low but lethal. "So it's true. You planned this…meeting?"
"At the event, Darius promised a truce if I spoke with him. I took the chance. And now we have that truce. It's secure. We can move freely again. No more attacks." She tries to sound steady, diplomatic, but her voice wavers, and it only pisses me off more.
"Oh, howsweet." I laugh bitterly. "Wining and dining with your ex-fiancé while we're tearing our hair out wondering whether we'll find your body in a ditch. Not that I can grow gray hairs, but fuck, you're trying your best to push me there,wife." I spit the word like a curse.
Asher's calmer, but colder. "You didn't tell us."
Her voice is small. "I knew you wouldn't let me."
"You're damn right we wouldn't," I growl, stepping past Asher. "He could've done anything. You walked right into his hands."
"But he didn't," she fires back, eyes tired, voice fraying. "He kept his word."
"Oh, fantastic. Let's throw him a parade. Invite him over for afternoon tea and a pity fuck since he's apparently so trustworthy," I snap.
Her head jerks up, green eyes blazing. "Stop it, Kayden. I did this for all of us."
"No," Asher cuts in, quiet and sharp. "You did this without us. That's not the same."
She sags, as the guilt catches up to her.
"And what about you?" she asks, turning to Asher. "You watched the bar behind my back. Didn't tell me either."
