Page 28

Charlee

Once we’re dressed, we work out for a few more hours until Zane calls out to us that dinner is ready. That’s like music to my stomach. I’ve worked up an appetite. On the way up the stairs, a thought occurs to me.

“You don’t think they heard us, do you?”

Asher presses a quick kiss to my forehead and tugs on my hand. What he doesn’t do is answer my question.

When we walk upstairs, Axel has the table all set and food served.

He hasn’t said anything yet, so I’m holding out hope there’s a chance they didn’t hear us in the basement.

He gestures for me to take the seat at the table across from him, and Asher sits to my right.

Everything smells so good that I don’t waste time digging right in.

I don’t remember a time when I was ever this famished. It isn’t until I’m through my second mouthful that I realize I’m being stared at and no one else is eating.

“Hungry, Princess?”

Asher asks.

“You worked me pretty hard.”

I shrug and take a mouthful of the greens on my plate.

“I bet he did.”

Axel flashes me a blinding smile and I choke on the bitter taste filling my mouth. It’s official; I am not a fan of collard greens. Nopales all the way for this girl from now on. “You all right there?”

His eyebrows pinch together.

I manage to grunt out a scratchy, “Fine,”

and wash down the rest of the collards with my glass of water. Axel balked at the fact that I wanted just water, but after the workout Asher put me through I needed the hydration.

Heat floods my face as I feel Axel’s stare burning into me.

I knew they heard us.

Most people wouldn’t even bring it up.

Not Axel.

Nope. I’ve discovered he’s the one who likes to find out what your buttons are and push them constantly. Rather than be embarrassed, I decide to take the opportunity to find out more about them.

“Were you a cook in the military?”

“How did you know I was in the military, Hellcat?”

Axel cocks his head to the side at my question. “My big brother spilling all our family secrets?”

“It was a guess.”

I shrug. “Kelsey’s older brother has a similar tattoo to the one on your arm.”

The second I mention my friend’s name, the food in my stomach turns. I’ve been so distracted with what’s happening that I haven’t had a chance to ask about her. There’s no missing the way Axel’s demeanor changes at the mention of her name either. “Have you talked to her?”

“No.”

His eyes shoot to Asher before coming back to me as his hand clenches into a fist. “I haven’t.”

“We were both Navy Seals. We joined together after our parents died.”

The mood in the room changes the moment Zane mentions their parents. Somberness floats through the air around us like a black cloud and he must see the questions burning behind my eyes because he answers them. “They were killed by a drunk driver coming home from their anniversary dinner.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

A pang of sympathy settles deep in my gut. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine, Hellcat.”

Axel tries to reassure me, but his smile is forced.

“My mother drowned in our family pool when I was thirteen.”

I feel the need to let him know that I really do understand their situation. That’s the only explanation I can think of as to why I reveal what I do. “My father ended up marrying one of the girls he met at college my freshman year.”

“Ouch. That’s brutal, Hellcat.”

Axel’s face is relaxed, but there’s no missing the sympathy in his gaze.

“That must have been hard to deal with being so young.”

Asher watches me closely like the mention of my dad’s death is going to have me falling apart. Little does he know I’m much stronger than that. One meltdown is all I’ll allow myself before I push through. Anything less and my father would be disappointed.

“It was. She was a very good swimmer, so it’s always made no sense. When I asked my dad, he said she was drinking and hit her head on the side before she fell in.”

Quiet surrounds us as we pick at our plates. I have a feeling I’ve hit a sore subject and made dinner awkward for everyone.

Zane takes pity on me and breaks it. “The cameras are done for. When the storm knocked out the power, it fried the whole system.”

Asher tells him he’ll take a look later and the rest of dinner isn’t as deep of a discussion as it began, and for that I’m grateful. Instead of being the one in the hot seat, I listen and watch them interact with each other. The conclusions I come to are fascinating.

The three of them couldn’t be more different. Asher is the oldest and the protector in the family. Axel is the typical goofball baby brother, while Zane is still a bit of a mystery to me. He appears to be more of an observer and the voice of reason, but he’s also harboring secrets of his own—secrets that reflect the bit of darkness behind his eyes.

After dinner, we head upstairs and call it a night. I make to go back to my room, but Asher pulls me into his. We shower and fall onto his bed. Both of us are exhausted from the day and fall asleep in minutes.

Over the next couple of days, things shift between us. Gone is the fear and hate I’ve felt for him. I’m not sure when or how it even happened, but I no longer have the desire to run away. Between Asher comforting me over the loss of my father, to him sharing his own demons with me, we’ve grown much closer.

Our days have been spent walking around the property, and if he’s too busy doing other stuff I’m not yet privy to, I spend my time with Axel in the kitchen showing him some of my favorite childhood dishes. It’s a stark contrast to how things started and I’m enjoying the change. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to dwell on the death of my father. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that this was their plan all along.

The nights have been spent together in Asher’s bed, having tons of salacious sex and sleeping in until Axel decides we’ve been there long enough and threatens to join us unless we come downstairs into the land of the living. I’m asleep in Asher’s bed when a pained grunt wakes me. He’s thrashing against the blankets and saying “no”

over and over again. Watching him struggle is like a stab to the heart. Sweat dampens his forehead as he continues to fight his demons.

“Asher. Wake up!”

I shake him as hard as I can, but it turns out to be a mistake. His hands shoot up and wrap around my throat, squeezing. I choke and gasp for air as my hips thrust forward in a sad attempt to buck him off of me, but it’s no use. I’m helpless.

Pressure builds behind my eyes the longer I’m deprived of oxygen. My hands slap at his to wake him, but he’s stuck so deep inside his nightmare there’s no pulling him out of it. Blackness swallows my vision, threatening to pull me under. Desperation kicks in and I scrape my fingernails along the tops of his hands, drawing blood.

Asher’s eyes snap open and the moment he registers what’s happening, his hands drop away. Ragged breaths leave him as his gaze locks with mine.

“Fuck!”

He punches the headboard hard enough to crack the wood in half. His knuckles split open and blood drips down onto the mattress next to my head.

I push him away and stumble out of the bed, needing to put some space between us. My heart pounds against my chest as I reach for my throat with shaky fingers and rub away the slight burning sensation that lingers.

“I hurt you.”

It’s a question, not a statement. He sits up on the edge of the bed and runs a hand over his head. His blue eyes darken the second they land on my neck. It’s as if he’s still seeing his hands wrapped around it and I swallow down the lump I feel forming in my throat.

“No, but just…”

I hold up a hand and try to gather my thoughts as to what the hell happened, but when I look over at him what I see has my stomach plummeting.

There’s a far off light in his eyes and he looks so lost. I feel if I don’t try to snap him out of it, he’s going to shut down and take off on me again.

My hands come to his face as I close the few feet separating us and stroke the sides of his cheeks, begging him to come back to me. “I’m scared, Asher, okay. Let me have a minute to process all of this. I’m not leaving, but I can’t lie with you if I have to worry about you attacking me in your sleep.”

His eyes meet mine and the pain behind them has my heart splitting in two. “I could have killed you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Not this time.”

“It was just a bad dream.”

I refuse to believe he’d hurt me intentionally. Maybe the Asher I first met would have, but not the one I’ve come to know these past few days.

“No, it wasn’t.”

He shakes his head. “And that’s the fucking problem.”

I want to ask him about it, but the wall that slams down over his eyes has my lips staying firmly pressed together.

“All right, break it up, you kids.”

Axel pops his head inside, breaking our connection, but Asher never moves his gaze away from mine.

“Fuck off, Ax. Or I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Just thought you’d want to know you have a friend over. Should I tell him you’re busy? I mean, it is almost noon, but I’m sure he can wait.”

Axel continues to taunt Asher and I have to fight back a laugh. Somehow I get the feeling that as the youngest, he does this a lot.

“I’ll be right down.”

“You sure? I can always wait here in case you need any help.”

Axel’s footsteps only make it past the threshold before Asher’s voice stops him.

“Ax.”

He doesn’t find his brother anywhere near as amusing as I do.

“I’m going.”

Axel puts his hands up and heads back the way he came.

Asher pushes off of me to a standing position and holds his hand out to me. “Come with me?”

For the first time since I’ve been here, he gives me a question and not an order. That’s the only reason I curl my fingers around his and allow him to lead the way. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.