Her attention shifted back to Asher. The Alliance members were his friends and family, and he’d done as she asked of him. She reallycouldtrust him, but as that understanding dawned, she realized she’d already known it.
Deep in her soul, she’d been certain she could trust him from the very beginning. She’d been slow to come to that trust in her mind, but it had always been there.
And if he’d chosen to protect her and her mission, that meant she’d also gained some of his loyalty, and he’d put a whole lot of trust in her too.
“Why do you have such faith in me?” she asked.
Asher shrugged. “Why not?”
“You barely know me.”
“I know you’re proud, determined, fight against the demons, and the stone you’re carrying is real. I know you believe it can help and have been locating them for years because you think there’s a way for them to help destroy the demons.
“And I think you’re right. You’re getting these visions for a reason; they’re obviously true as they’re leading you to the stones and you saw the fall of the compound. This is important;youare important, and I will do everything I can to help you succeed.”
Brie’s throat constricted with each of his words. He was so sure of her, so certain she was on the right path when there were many,manytimes she doubted it.
“I also have a lot of trust in you, which you’ve earned. You could have left me for the Savages instead of taking me. You also could have left me in that jail cell. I probably wouldn’t have found you again, and it would have been an easy way to get rid of me.
“You could have left me there to deal with the mess of the Savage and most likely cop-killing charges once the other officers found us. And then, when he suddenly rose from the grave, there would have been a whole other problem for me to deal with, but you didn’t do that either. To me, all those things speak of trust, and you’ve earned it.”
Cabo grunted and gave a brisk nod before turning to face forward again. It took Brie some time to figure out how to respond. She kept trying to open her mouth and form words, but none would come.
She seriously doubted what happened between them in the woods was the reason he believed in her so much. He hadn’t been a virgin, so he wasn’t going to follow her blindly around because she was his first piece of ass. He wasn’t blinded by love or lust, and he still believed inher.
Other than Cabo and Zina, who she’d saved and changed, she couldn’t recall the last time anyone had such confidence in her. It must have been her parents, but their faith in her had gotten her mother killed and turned her father into a broken shell of his former self who unleashed a lot of misery on this world.
And that was also because ofher.
At first, Asher’s faith in her felt good and right, but as the reminder of her past came back to haunt her, it curdled any happiness she experienced over Asher’s words. Cabo and Zina had a lot of faith in her, but she’d already witnessed their deaths and saved them… Asher’s was still coming.
She hadn’t suspected she might be the cause of it, but now she did, and she might not be able to stop it. Then she reminded herself that she’d seen where his death would occur. She hadn’t recognized the place, but if she was with him when he went there, then all she had to do was take him away.
She knew it was never easy; fate had a way of twisting things to its own directive. Yes, she’d saved others before, but there were far more she hadn’t saved.
But she would figure out some way to beat it, because she would not let him die.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Asher layon the couch with one arm over his head and the other hand resting on his thigh, near his throbbing erection. The hush of the house stretched endlessly onward. The only thing breaking it was the clock ticking in the kitchen.
He listened to each of those ticks as he waged an internal war with himself. Ever since everyone in the house went to sleep, he’d lain there, debating whether to go to Brie’s room or not.
Cabo and Zina would be asleep by now, and maybe Brie would be too, but he yearned to hold her again. Though he’d already jerked off once, he was as hard now as he was before.
The thought of her was enough to arouse him, but when he recalled her smell, taste, and pleas for release, he became as taut as a wire about to snap. He didn’t bother jerking off again, it hadn’t done him any good the first time, and now the idea of it aggravated him.
He would never fall asleep, but he couldn’t go to her room. He was afraid he would push her away if he did. She had to come to him.
So instead, he lay in the dark and listened to the ticking clock mocking him with its endless countdown of the sleepless night. He wanted to pulverize something or take his frustration out on a Savage, but there were none of those around.
He was going to be in a fine fucking mood tomorrow.
Then, from somewhere in the house, the turning of a knob and the sliding open of a door sounded. Asher held his breath and didn’t dare to hope it might be her as a footstep fell on the hall carpet.
Whoever it was took three more steps, and then the scent of Brie hit him. Excitement pounded through him as he pushed the blanket aside and swung his feet to the floor. They’d stopped on the way home to buy him some clothes from a department store, so he wore a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and nothing else.
When she was almost to the living room, Brie hesitated in the hallway. She couldn’t see into it from where she stood, but she could smell Asher in there, and she’d heard him move.
