I’d cut the guy’s throat, and he’d screamed at the same time. The noise it made had Asher and I giggling to the point of tears, even as we’d been sprayed with blood.
“Do the impression,” Asher says.
I grin. “It’ll wake up your girlfriend.”
“True.”
We watch the show for a little while, laughing at the wrong turns the police made, the suspects arrested then released. The victim was painted as a family man with strong religious ties to the community. The guy was a fucking arms dealer, and he stole from the wrong client.
Finally, I speak, keeping my voice low. “So, is that what Ella is? Your girlfriend?”
Asher looks at me. With the blinds closed, the only light in the room is the TV, and it reflects the side of his face.
“I don’t know.”
I watch him. “You realize this won’t end well. You can’t tell her the truth.”
He tightens his hold on her. “Maybe I can.”
“Asher,” I say quietly. “You want her to be scared of you?”
He’s quiet for a few minutes, gazing at the TV butclearly not taking anything in. Ella cuddles into him in her sleep and lets out a little sigh.
“I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her,” he whispers. “We have to protect her, Gable.”
Protect her. That’s not our job. We’re hired to remove life, not preserve it.
And that’s what I want to say. I want to remind Asher that this life was an outlet for every fucked-up aspect of our upbringing, and that hasn’t changed for me.
But maybe it has for him.
Maybe the fire to take out our trauma on everybody else has gone out for my brother. And that’s a good thing, right? He’s looking beyond death. Beyond the killing.
But he’s also leaving me behind in it all.
“It’s okay, y’know,” Asher adds, focusing on Ella as he runs his fingers through her hair.
I watch him. “What is?”
His eyes meet mine, and his smile is small. “I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, Gable.” He looks back down at Ella, and I do, too. Her lips are parted slightly, her breathing low and steady. “This job … it’s such a fucking mess, but there’s one thing I know for sure. Ella doesn’t deserve to be caught up in it all.”
I take a breath, swallowing my pride and letting my love for Asher take the lead, because I may not like the girl, but he’s right. She’s innocent, and if we have the resources to keep her safe…
“Then we’ll protect her.”
His gaze snaps to me. “Really?”
I nod. “Together to the end, right?” I hold out my fist, and he grins, bumping his knuckles against mine.
“To the end, brother.”
As the familiar,delicious smell of coffee drifts from the coffee machine, I watch it with greedy eyes and wait. We all finally slept until about an hour ago, and now it’s closing in on lunchtime. Asher’s low tones from the bedroom means he’s on the phone trying to figure out who tried to kill Ella last night. She’s in the shower, using up all the hot water like a selfish animal.
When the coffee is finally ready, I pour myself a cup. I slept surprisingly well, given that the demon neighbor wriggles in her sleep, but I have a feeling I’ll need more than my fair share of caffeine to put up with her today.
The bathroom door opens, and I turn as Ella steps out in a towel.
I pause the cup at my lips, my gaze dropping down her body. The towel reaches mid-thigh, and for a short girl, she has surprisingly long legs. Her toes are painted pink, and she clenches them when she catches me staring. When my eyes meet hers, she’s glaring at me.
