When she lifted her head, she met Cabo’s gaze as he watched her with concern and sad resignation. She wasn’t known for her ability to trust others, but she wanted to help him. In all honesty, they could probably use the help too.
She refused to let Cabo and Zina come with her when she went for the stones. It was safer for them to stay away but risky for her to be alone. But how could she trust someone she barely knew, and how did she know Asher was telling them the truth?
“How are we supposed to trust you?” she asked. “We just met you.”
“True, but why would I lie about this? And we both know I’m not the enemy; you wouldn’t have tried to save my friends and me by warning us about the compound if you believed that,” Asher replied.
That was true. She may not easily trust others, but she trusted her premonitions. Cabo and Zina were here because of that. Her visions led her to them, and they were her family. Her visions had never failed her, but sometimes she worried she would failthem.
“If you get in my way or screw this up, I swear I’ll kill you,” she told him.
Asher smiled grimly at her. “You’re probably strong enough to do so, but I highly doubt you will since you don’t smell like a Savage.”
Brie scowled at him. “You’re not helping your case for freedom.”
Asher held up his hand as high as the ropes would allow and held up his four fingers while keeping his thumb tucked against his palm. “Scout’s honor, I’ll behave.”
Brie refused to admit he looked adorable doing it, especially with his still sleep-disheveled hair falling across his forehead. She couldn’t remember the last time she noticed a guy, but she struggled to stay focused on the conversation when he smiled at her like that.
“What are you doing?” Brie asked and waved at his hand.
Asher shrugged. “It’s something the humans do.”
“It’s only the first three fingers, not four,” Cabo said. “How do you not know that?”
“Hunters lead different lives,” Asher replied. “Things have changed since we started working with the Alliance, but we weren’t exactly known for being modern.”
“I thought she was bad,” Cabo muttered and nodded toward Brie. “You might be worse.”
Deciding to ignore Cabo, he smiled at Brie again. “So am I in?”
Brie hesitated before sighing. She didn’t have to tell him everything, and if he stayed with her, she could keep an eye on him. “For at least some of it.”
From what she’d seen in her vision, she wasn’t what got him killed, but she couldn’t become the catalyst for it either. And none of what she’d seen about this stone resembled the place where his death occurs.
She’d have to watch and make sure she didn’t stumble onto the pathway leading toward his premature demise. She hoped she’d be able to prevent it from happening.
“So, what’s going on?” Asher asked as he lowered his hand.
Brie closed the notebook, rose, and tottered over to him as the van swayed down the highway. When she settled next to him, she realized letting him in on this might have been less of a mistake than getting this close to him.
Brie tried to ignore his enticing scent, but it was impossible when he leaned toward her. His shoulder brushing hers sent a little thrill of excitement down her spine as his breath warmed her neck and cheek. If she turned her head, their noses would be nearly touching… so would their lips.
She couldn’t move as anticipation and excitement warred within her. She yearned to feel his breath against her lips, and lean a little closer….
Brie shook her head to clear it of her wandering musings, but his heat was making it difficult to concentrate on anything as her heart raced.What is happening here?
She didn’t have an answer for that, but she’d never ached to touch and kiss someone as badly as him.
Forcing herself to focus on the problem at hand, she shifted so they were more side by side and set the notebook between them. It wasn’t much of a barrier, but at least it was something.
And it gave her something to focus on other than the way the stubble lining his chin made him more enticing. If she ran her fingers over it, she would feel the roughness against her skin before pressing her mouth to his chin—
Stop it!She scolded herself.Just stop it.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Asher studiedBrie as she flipped through the pages of her notebook. A lock of her dark hair had slipped free of its ponytail to fall across her cheek. He caught himself from reaching out to tuck it behind her ear. Not only would she shut down and push him away, but she’d probably punch him in the face.
