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I burst into tears, covering my face with my hands. “So much has happened.”
Billie sits next to me and places her hand on my back. “Harp, what can I do? Want to punch Asher?”
“Hey!” he says.
“He can take it,” Billie tells me. “Just one hard punch, anywhere you want. I’ll make it up to him later.”
“Do I get a vote?” he asks.
Billie shakes her head and smiles. “He deserves it for giving me hell for years. I’d suggest below the waist.”
Laughter spills out of me, and it’s the first time I’ve cracked a smile since earlier today.
“Ah, there’s my bestie. Now, want some coffee? I’ll order pizza and Chinese, and we can have a buffet while we wait for Brody to arrive,” she says.
I study her. “You’re not concerned.”
She shakes her head and gives me a soft smile. “Not at all.”
“Okay. I’ll take coffee,” I tell her, then turn to Asher. “You’re safe.”
“Thank fuck,” he tells me.
“For now,” I add.
Our bags are on the floor, and I stand, walking to Brody’s to dig inside it. Right on top is his cell phone, turned off. That means he has no way to reach the outside world, and the thought of that makes me spiral again. I hold it in my hand while Billie watches me from the kitchen as the beans grind.
“What is it?” she asks.
“His phone,” I tell her. “I guess that explains why he’s not answering.”
Minutes later, Billie returns with a steaming mug of coffee, placing it carefully in my hands as she settles beside Asher. The chemistry burning between them is impossible to ignore. I watch how Asher naturally holds her close to him, along with the way Billie’s eyes soften when she meets his. They’re perfect together, and I’m so damn glad they ended up together.
“What?” Billie asks as I blow on the steaming liquid.
I smile. “You’re totally meant to be together.”
Asher smirks, and they share a silent conversation. “It was inevitable.”
He presses a gentle kiss to her temple, leaning back comfortably as Billie’s fingers intertwine with his. An ache spreads through my chest.
Asher stands, bending over to slide his lips over Billie’s. “I’m going to grab my laptop from your place. I’ll be right back, okay?”
Billie nods and watches him as he moves to the door. The two of us are alone, and I don’t even know where to begin.
“What is going on with Mia? What happened?”
She starts at the beginning, explaining how they went to lunch together, and when they returned, someone took her. Billie hasn’t been to work since it happened and is lying low, staying at Park Towers because they have the best security in the city due to who lives here.
“I feel guilty, like this is all my fault,” Billie confesses. “He wouldn’t have targeted you if it wasn’t for me.”
“And he wouldn’t have targeted Mia if it wasn’t for me,” I tell her. “I’m so sorry. I allowed the vampire in. He would’ve killed me, Billie. Women are missing because of him. Handfuls of them. I’m so scared.”
The color drains from her face. “What?”
“You didn’t know?” I ask, studying her.
She shakes her head as the realization of what we’re dealing with etches across her face. I can see her anxiety rising. We sit in silence, watching the flames lick up the side of the fireplace. I’m lost in my head, and the only thing that pulls me out of it is a knock on the door. I nearly jump out of my skin as Billie stands to answer it. She looks out the peephole, then swings it open, allowing Asher in. He stops, gives her a sweet kiss, then continues to the kitchen.