“He’s welcome to stay as long as needed,” the assistant said. “I’m sure he’ll be relieved to hear that we were able to get a hold of someone.”
“Of course. Please, tell him not to worry.”
As she ended the call, Asher appeared in the open doorway of the bedroom. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe nothing.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t feel like nothing to me.”
She knew what he was referring to—the blood bond that had evidently alerted him to the concern that was forming into a cold ball in her stomach. “One of the boys, Tyler, is waiting at the medical clinic in the city for Michael to pick him up. He’s been sitting there for more than an hour.”
Asher frowned. “It doesn’t seem like Michael to leave a kid stranded like that.”
“No. It doesn’t. He told Tyler he had some banking to take care of and run some errands.” She tapped Michael’s number on her phone and shook her head when the call went directly to messages. “Asher, I need to use the truck.”
A dark look came over his features. “Not a good idea, Naomi. Not when I can’t be there with you. I don’t like it.”
She strode up to him and pressed her palm to the side of his tense jaw. “I know you don’t, but I can’t leave that little boy waiting all alone. He’s been abandoned by people he’s trusted all of his short life. I’m not going to be one of them.”
She didn’t need the benefit of a blood bond to know that Asher was two seconds from refusing. Not that he had much choice. The truck was his, but she knew he couldn’t deny her the use of it when it came to one of the kids.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” she promised him. “Michael gets distracted sometimes. He’s probably trying to do ten things at once and will fly into the clinic parking lot around the same time I get there. Anyway, it’s not like it’s the middle of the night—”
“No,” Asher muttered. “It’s the middle of the morning, when I can’t spend more than ten minutes outside these four walls without incinerating.”
“I’ll be fine.” She went up on her toes and kissed him, holding his dubious gaze. “I’ll call you along the way, and as soon as I hear from Michael and make sure Tyler’s home safe I’ll come right back home.”
The light in his eyes changed as she said that word, home. His stern face softened, if only marginally. He speared his fingers into her hair and brought her back to his mouth and kissed her, unrushed and deep. “You call as soon as you reach the city.”
“I will.”
She gathered her phone and the keys to the old Chevy and raced out the door.
Several times on the hour-long drive up to Vegas she called Michael’s phone but only got his voice mail. Each unanswered call made her concern grow colder, edging toward real worry that something had gone wrong with the payment from Moda.
Or, worse, that Michael ran into trouble.
There was no sign of his van in the clinic parking lot when she pulled in. Once inside, she was greeted by a distressed Tyler, slumped into one of the waiting room chairs with tears streaking down his freckled cheeks.
“Hey, buddy,” she said, hurrying over to him and hunkering down in front of him to ruffle his shock of red hair. “I’m sorry you had to wait so long. You okay?”
His sweet little face was pinched, nose swollen from crying. “Where’s Michael?”
“He probably got stuck somewhere running errands. I’m not sure, but we’ll find him.”
Tyler frowned. “I thought you guys forgot about me.”
“Never,” she assured him earnestly, shaking her head. “Never, ever. You hear me?”
He nodded stiffly and she took his hand as he got to his feet. With a wave to Sheila behind the glass reception window, she collected her sniffling charge and escorted him out to the nearly empty parking lot.
“Isn’t this Asher’s truck?” Tyler asked as she helped him into the passenger side.
“Yes, it is.”
“Where is he?”
“Back at the ranch, sweetie. He wanted to come with me to get you, but he had to stay inside.”
