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Grasping my chin, he growls, baring his teeth. "Don't play with me, River Blue," he says in a low, no-nonsense voice like a possessive idiot.
I snort. "I guess I'll have to let my other boyfriends down easy." I roll my eyes when they all tense and grunt, ready to shout their outrages.
Asher rolls his eyes, forcefully removing the big lug's body from draping over mine. "She gets it. You pissed on her enough. Let's go." Asher drags me around the car by my arm and throws open the passenger's side door. Without a word, he grabs me by the hips and puts me in the seat, only pausing to put my seatbelt on.
"Let's go home," Asher grumbles, jumping into the third-row seats and lounging with his eyes closed. "Don't kill us with your driving," he quips with an easygoing grin.
Rad snorts. "You're the asshole who gets us stuck in ditches and mud puddles. K at least drives like an adult."
Asher frowns as Kieran pulls out of the drive and heads down the miles-long curvy road with one destination in mind—home.
"I'm not that bad," Asher grumbles, throwing an arm over his eyes.
"Worse than bad," Callum quips with a twinkle in his eye, ducking as Asher's hand wildly swings for him and misses. “You always stop in the middle of the road! Remember that squirrel you hit? Or the mailbox? Or the… Ah!”
"Shut it," Asher playfully barks, leaning over the bench and taking Callum's head hostage with an evil grin. "What should I do to your lover boy, Little Brat?" he asks with a big wolfy grin, squeezing his arm around Callum's throat with a laugh.
"Asshole!" Callum grunts, trying to shove him off.
My heart squeezes in my chest at the lightness surrounding Asher like a halo draping over him. This whole vacation, he's held back, and then yesterday, something burst through, and he allowed himself to let go of whatever was holding him on the sidelines, introducing the real Asher. The one who had been shoved down into the pit of his misery. The man who brightly smiles at me now as if the sun reflects off him, producing a halo hanging over his head.
"Nothing," I say, turning to watch as he knocks Callum's head to the side with a slight shove and snorts at me.
For the rest of the six-hour trip, we joke, nap, and stop for snacks until we're back in Central City as dinner hits residents' tables.
“Home sweet misery,” Asher grumbles, sitting up with the same frown he’s always worn, scowling at the world as it passes. “Take us home. I’m sure the devil will want us there ASAP,” he grumbles, swiping a hand down his sleepy face.
“We’ll take you home, Pretty Girl!” Rad says as we pull into Callum and Rad's driveway.
“Thanks for this,” I say, leaning over and kissing Kieran on the cheek. “I’ll see you later?"
His lips roll together, and he nods, bringing his lips to mine.
"Definitely," he murmurs, kissing me again before letting me go on my way, and I step out into the fading sunshine with a groan.
Asher hops out of the back, stretching his arms above his head and exposing his stomach. I bite my lip, imagining the delicious things he did to me yesterday against the table, getting lost in my thoughts. Before I climb into Callum’s car, Asher grabs me by the arm, pulling me into him.
Wrapping his arms around me, Asher secures my head against his chest without saying a word. My heart squeezes when he hugs me tighter. It's like something sits on his tongue, ready to be said, but he kisses my head and lets me get in the vehicle. Even as we pull away from Callum's house and they get into the Tahoe, I feel him. His stare. His hug. Something shifts, turning sideways inside me. What was that all about?
Rad rambles away from the front seat on our way back to the center of Central City, pulling into the parking lot of my apartment building. I stiffen when chaos unfolds in front of me. People sit outside on their porches, and some wander around the crowded parking lot, watching the spectacle playing out.
My eyes widen when an ambulance, a fire truck, and police vehicles surround the parking spot located in front of my apartment. My. Apartment.
With shaky hands, I get my phone from my pocket, scrolling through the multitude of missed messages and calls I received in the last thirty minutes. Bile burns in the back of my throat.
“What the hell?” Rad asks, throwing the passenger’s door open and opening mine. “Is that?”
My heart sinks into my ass when Ma’s body is wheeled out of the apartment on a stretcher. A paramedic straddles her, pushing into her chest repeatedly as someone holds a bag to her mouth, pumping air into her lungs.
“River!” I turn toward a teary-eyed Ode, covering her mouth with her hand.
“What the hell happened?” I ask in a raspy voice, not processing the scene before my eyes.
“We don’t know yet, baby,” Korrine says, swallowing hard as I lean into her open arms. Her hug settles the anguish beating down on me and the guilt crushing my heart. “We checked on her last night, and she said she had the flu and wanted to be left alone. I went over about an hour ago, and she was barely responsive.” Tears stream down Korrine's face when she pulls away, patting my cheeks with affection. "Follow the ambulance to Central Memorial," she says, nodding as they close the doors and take off out of the apartment complex parking lot at a high rate of speed.
Rad immediately jumps into action, holding me in his arms, and guides me back to the car.
“Let’s go to the hospital, Pretty Girl. We’ll see what’s going on,” he says in a small voice.
