Page 115 of In Case You Didn't Know

Before I can pull her against me, my phone buzzes from the nightstand, cutting through the silence. I slide out of bed and reach for it, the screen glowing in the dark.

Brad’s name is written in black.

Stepping into the hallway in only a pair of shorts, I answer quietly, pulling the door closed behind me.

They’ve been working all night. That’s what he said they’d do when he pushed me out of his house to go pick up Francie.

“Keep it normal. Don’t let anybody think you know we have a breach,” he’d told me. “We don’t want them to panic and hide.”

“What’s up?” I murmur, looking at the clock on the hallway wall. It’s past midnight. They all need to go home and get some sleep.

“We’ve found them,” Brad says. “The mole. We know who it is.”

FRANCIE

A pair of soft lips press against my mouth and I groan, my eyelids fluttering open to see Asher leaning over me. He’s fully dressed, in a suit and tie. And from the way his hair is damp he’s showered too.

“What time is it?” I murmur. The room is still dark, but I have no idea whether that’s due to some expensive blinds, or the fact that it’s not morning.

“Just before one.” He brushes a lock of hair out of my face. “I have to go to the office. Go back to sleep.”

I sit up. “Is something wrong?” I ask him.

He hesitates. Then lets out a soft breath. “Brad’s found something. He wants to take me through it.”

“And it can’t wait until morning?” My stomach tightens at the expression on his face. It’s tense. Like he’s trying not to boil over.

“No.” He shakes his head. “What time are you leaving for Virginia?”

“Eleven,” I tell him, trying not to show my nervousness. Yes, I love my brothers but I’m so scared they’re going to take my revelation poorly. “Will you be back before then?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” His phone vibrates. It’s only when he pulls it out that I realize it’s an old flip phone. Not a smart phone, just a handset that can make calls and send texts. He looks at whatever is on the small screen and winces. “My driver will take you to Virginia.”

“It’s okay. I have a ride.”

“I’d rather know you got there safely,” he says.

I force a smile onto my face, because he seems so different from the man who opened himself up to me only hours ago. “It’s fine. I’ll text you when I get there.”

He nods, but the crease in his brow doesn’t ease. He leans down to kiss me again, slower this time, his lips lingering like he’s trying to memorize the feel of mine.

When he finally straightens, I lace our fingers together.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I’m worried about him. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come here.”

I’m a distraction. I know that. And he has so much going on.

“I’m fine,” he says a little too fast. “Just need to deal with this shit.”

The breach. I open my mouth to ask him about it, but then his words from earlier in the night flash back into my memory.

I want to lose myself in you.

Everybody makes demands of him. His employees, his family, and whoever is trying to ruin his business. I don’t want to be that person. Yes, I want him to talk to me, but if there’s one thing I know about this man it’s that he’ll open up when he’s ready.

So I swallow the questions I have about what’s going on and nod.

“I’ll call you tonight,” I say instead. “To give you the low down on how my brothers take it.”