Asher popped his head up and grinned at her. “I thought I was faking it so well.”
Cabo muttered something Asher didn’t catch, but the big man didn’t look happy.
“We can keep him restrained and watch him if he’s in the van,” Zina said.
“And if he somehow fucks this up?” Cabo asked.
Asher decided not to take offense to Cabo’s doubt of his abilities. He was feeling a little doubtful of himself right now, but it was impossible not to when he was bound on a couch and a prisoner of these three.
“I won’t fuck anything up, but I’d be less likely to do so if you’d tell me what’s going on,” Asher said.
As he’d expected, they didn’t respond to his statement. Cabo and Brie’s faces were stony as they stared at him, but Zina’s smile told him at least one of them found him charming. Now he had to win over the two hard-asses, which would be easier said than done.
And one of those hard-asses was cuter when she was angry. He wondered if she realized that. Probably not, and he doubted she would appreciate him telling her.
“I might be able to help you,” he offered.
“You can’t be much help in ropes,” Brie said.
“Then take them off. I’m a hunter, I’m strong, and we’re fighting for the same thing.”
“You’ll get yourself killed,” Cabo muttered.
Asher glared at him. “I nearly took her down, and she’s quite clearly a purebred vampire.”
Brie scowled at him. “Only because I was trying not to hurt you. I have no idea what we might encounter where we’re going.”
“I didn’t want to hurt you either.”
In the ensuing silence, the distant shriek of a blue jay pierced the day. Asher had been listening to the morning for a while before the three of them started talking, but he’d heard nothing but the wildlife. There were no children, no husbands or wives calling goodbyes; he hadn’t heard a single car pass.
The air was crisp and fresh, but beyond Brie’s peony scent, the mustiness of the house, and the laundry detergent clinging to his pillowcase, he detected the metallic aroma of rocks and pine trees. Even if he hadn’t already seen the mountains, that scent would have confirmed it.
Wherever they were, it was about as remote as it got. If he broke free of his bindings, he could run through miles of forest before encountering civilization again. He was okay with that, but he’d much prefer for them to let him help, so he could find out what was going on.
“This is such a mess,” Brie muttered.
“Then let me help you fix it,” Asher offered.
Brie tugged at her hair again as she tried to decide the best course of action. They couldn’t keep him tied up until she found the rest of the stones. They could probably leave him somewhere at some point, but then she’d constantly worry about the Alliance showing up at her door.
The idea of letting him help made her inwardly cringe. How could she possibly trust someone she barely knew with something this important?
However, her visions had led her to him, which meant there was a reason she kept seeing him all the time. A reason why he’d become a part of her life. Her visions had led her to Cabo and Zina too. She’d been hesitant about them at first, but she didn’t know what she would do without them now.
Her visions were far more insistent about this man than they ever were about Cabo and Zina. Still, it wassomuch to trust someone with.
“You guys are mad at me, but I’m not the one who tossed me in the van,” Asher said.
“You’re the one who chased me,” Brie retorted. “I’m not sure if you know this, but it’s not exactly polite ordecentto chase a woman through the streets. It kinda makes you a sociopath.”
“Or extremely curious why you warned me away from the compoundbeforeit was attacked.”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“He had nine lives; I’m sure he came back.”
Brie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Despite her irritation with him and this whole situation, she couldn’t help noticing how handsome he looked with his hair all disheveled and that endearing grin on his face. She had no doubt he was aware of how good-looking and sort of charming he was.
