He acts aloof, but Hunter is as much a father figure to Gable as he is to me. He’s the only one, apart from each other, who has never let us down.
“Ella’s clean.”
He looks at me. “Seriously?” I nod, and he exhales. “Shit.”
A single word that sums up what could have been the biggest mistake of our lives. Killing someone totally innocent.
“So, what now?” he asks.
I’ve been thinking about that since the call with Hunter. The entire walk to the store, I agonized over what to do about Ella fucking Gibson. She’s in danger, regardless of why, and even if I didn’t care about her, I couldn’t walk away without doing anything.
She’s become our responsibility, whether we like it or not.
“Nothing changes,” I say. “Whoever hired us thinks we’re still trying to kill her, so we have time, which means we focus on the hard drive for now. Once we have it, we should know who wants Ella dead, and Hunter said he’ll try to fix it.”
“And if he can’t?”
“He will.”
“But what if he can’t, Asher?”
Hunter DeLuca doesn’t know how to fail. Once he sets his mind to something, nothing stands in his way, but Gable is right. There’s always a chance that this is far bigger than even we can deal with. To bypass the agency with such ease, to offer the kind of money they are, then this might not be simple. Far from it.
I run my tongue across my bottom lip, tasting chocolate and memories.
“Then we take her.”
Chapter 15
Ella
ASHER: Still awake?
My gaze flicks from my phone back to my computer screen, the clock in the corner reading almost three AM. My music is still blasting in my ears, so I tug my headphones off.
ME: Yep! I’m in a good flow. Why are you up?
Groaning, I stretch, wiggling my toes and finally placing my laptop aside. I’d love to say that my writing spree is all natural, but I know I’m distracting myself from the conversation with Asher earlier.
He’s leaving.
Leaving, and probably never coming back.
He’d always said his visit was temporary, but I also didn’t think I’d enjoy spending time with him this much. I didn’t think I’d miss the random guy I met in Barnaby’s apartment, but now I can’t imagine days without him.
It fucking sucks.
ASHER: Got a lot on my mind
I sigh, not knowing what to even say back. Is it me he’s thinking about, or the mystery reason Gable needed him?
ASHER: I don’t want to leave
My heart clenches.
ME: Can’t freelance computer guys work from anywhere?
ASHER: It’s more complicated than that
