Naomi’s face pinched in sympathy. “Drugs?”
“Yep, the usual.”
“Poor kid.”
“Shitty parent,” Michael said. “But Penny’s got a good head on her shoulders. And she knows she’ll always have a place to stay with us.” He rolled toward the adjacent kitchen. “You two gonna hang here for a while?”
She glanced at Asher. “Yeah, for a while, I guess.”
“Great,” Michael said. “We all just had dinner and I sprang for that new superhero movie on cable, so everyone’s getting cleaned up before we settle in for that. Meanwhile, I’m on popcorn duty. Now that you’re here, you can help.”
Asher watched their easy communication, a bitter pang of jealousy welling up inside him. He knew Naomi and Michael were just friends, but their obvious affection toward each other made him feel like an outsider, like the intruder he was.
There was a time, not long ago at all, that his discomfort wouldn’t even have registered. Nor now, if the woman in question had been anyone but this one, that is.
While the friends discussed some of the other kids and speculated on who had yet to report in for the night, he glanced around at the comfortable, if modest, house. The large sectional had seen better days, but it was clean and tidy, like the rest of the cozy living room. A flat-screen TV was the obvious focal point of the space, but there were also bookshelves filled with easily hundreds of novels and non-fiction books, along with a small study desk with a computer on it.
Everything in the place had a sense of home and family—things Asher wouldn’t have been able to recognize or appreciate if he hadn’t met Ned Freeman all those years ago.
Things the kids who came to stay with Naomi and Michael probably wouldn’t experience if not for the generosity of both of them.
And the love.
Asher felt it as he listened to the pair talk. And then he saw that care in action a moment later, when the sound of lightly padding feet came up from the hallway.
“Penny!” Naomi’s face lit up with unabashed joy as the lanky blonde girl dressed in a long nightgown raced into her open arms.
Penny hugged Naomi close. “Michael said you were away for a while and he wasn’t sure when you were gonna be here.” The girl glanced at Asher and grew quiet, a wary curiosity stealing into her sky-blue gaze. “Who’re you?”
Naomi gave him an awkward glance. “Asher is . . . a friend of mine.”
“Hi,” the girl said, her arms still wrapped around Naomi.
Asher nodded briefly, and at the same moment several more kids strayed in from the hallway. Four boys, two of them dark-eyed identical twins, the others a short, chubby kid with a crown of bright red hair and a sullen, round-faced Latino boy. The kids stopped in their tracks and gaped at Asher.
“Who let the giant in?” This from one of the twins.
Michael smiled. “Guys, this is Asher.” He shot Asher a wry look. “Allow me to introduce the rest of the welcoming committee this evening. We’ve already heard from Max, and that’s his better-looking brother, Billy.” A joke, considering there was virtually no difference between them, but the other boy snickered even as Max playfully cuffed his shoulder. “The strong, silent one here is Juan, and that other little rascal is Tyler.”
“Are those tattoos on your arms?” Tyler blurted, pointing at Asher.
The spokesman for the twins, Max, gave the kid an eyeroll. “He’s Breed, genius. Those are dermaglyphs. A whole lot of them.”
Asher nodded at the boy. “I’m Gen One. That’s why I have so many glyphs.”
Juan perked up, a guarded curiosity in the glance that met Asher’s gaze. “So, you’re, like, an actual vampire?”
Asher smirked. “More or less.”
“Cool!” Tyler hooted, his young voice pitched high and squeaky. “Can we see your fangs?”
“When you’re hungry, do people look like food to you?” Billy chimed in.
“Guys.” Michael waved his hands at the group of kids in a corralling gesture. “We’ve got a movie to watch, remember? Maybe Asher will let you hooligans interrogate him later.”
“Aw, man!” The protests came mainly from Billy and Tyler as Michael shooed them to the sectional.
“Sorry about that,” Naomi said, giving Asher a gentle look. “I doubt they’ve ever seen someone like you before.”
“It’s all right.”
“Hey, Nay,” Michael called from next to the sofa, remote in hand. “You mind handling the popcorn while I get things cooking with the movie?”
“Sure.” She glanced at Asher. “Want to help?”
He knew about as much about making popcorn as he did anything else when it came to a kitchen, but he nodded and followed her out of the room. As much as he wanted to pretend he could keep his distance from her, she drew him like a magnet. And if her pull was this strong without the tether of a blood bond, how bad would he have it for this female if she truly was his?
He didn’t allow the thought to linger. It was pointless imagining, anyway.
This was where she belonged. If he hadn’t seen it before, he did now.
He stood back, watching her open the cabinets by rote as she collected a big box of popcorn, napkins, and several large bowls. “You’re happy to be home.”
“I am.” The smile she turned on him was unguarded, filled with pure contentment. “Do you see how special they are? And those five in there are only a few of the ones who’ll likely be coming to stay tonight.”
He nodded. “They all seem like good kids.”
“They’re amazing,” Naomi said. “They all have so much potential, you know? All they need is one person to give them a break. Just one fucking person to show them they matter, that they’re loved.”
He stepped closer, barely able to resist touching her. “Then those kids in there are luckier than most. They’ve got two people offering them a chance. Two people who care.”
She bobbed her head tightly, holding his gaze. “Michael and I can’t save them all. We won’t be able to save them all, and when I think about that it kills me inside.”
“You’re doing what you can, Naomi. That’s more than a lot of other people would do. Including those kids’ parents.”
“I know. That’s the really awful part, isn’t it? Parents who won’t, or can’t, straighten themselves up even for the sake of their own children. As much as I love my mom, the fact that she chose someone like Leo Slater over me time and again hurts worse sometimes than losing her to death.”
She turned away, busying herself with a package of popcorn. Asher moved in close and reached out to stroke the side of her face. “Your mother wasn’t as strong as you are. You were stronger, braver than her even when you were that eight-year-old girl begging her to stay.”
Naomi swiveled her head toward him, hauntedness in her dark gold eyes. “I hate that you saw me like that.” She swallowed hard, then exhaled a soft curse. “I hate that you know how afraid and hurt I was. I’ve spent my whole life pushing that hurt down, trying to deny that deep inside I’m still that terrified, angry child. And now you . . . you’re the one person I can’t ever hide from, Asher. I can’t ever be strong around you because you’ve seen me at my weakest.”
“No.” He curved his fingers around her bare nape, her satiny black ponytail brushing the back of his hand. “You don’t have to hide or pretend to be anything. You can be weak or strong and it’s not going to make a difference to me. You’re always going to be the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever known.”
She drew in a breath. “Asher, what I said to you today, before we came here—”
“You were right,” he said, cutting her off at the pass. “You don’t belong to me. You belong here, with these kids. They need you, Naomi. Michael does too.”
For a long moment, she only stared at him, her gaze searching. “What about you? Tell me what you need.”
“I need to know you’re safe. That you’re happy.” He pulled his hand away from her before he gave in to the u
rge to hold on any tighter to something he didn’t deserve. “I need to know Slater and those who serve him can never hurt you.”
“That’s all?”
“It’s enough.” He stepped back from her, putting her out of his reach. “I promised to protect you until we’re certain Slater can’t hurt you. That’s what I intend to do. Then you can resume your life here and I’ll go back to mine.”
She went utterly still, silent. God help him, her gaze looked so bleak he felt as shamed as if he’d just struck her. For an endless stretch of time, neither one of them spoke or moved or even breathed.
Bare feet slapped the linoleum behind them. Then Tyler’s squeaky voice demanded, “Where’s the popcorn, you guys? The movie’s about to start!”
“It’s coming,” Naomi said, greeting the boy with a happy smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Why don’t you give me a hand now that you’re here? You can open the packages for me and set out the bowls.”
She turned her back to Asher and hastily got to work with Tyler at her side.
Asher faded back into the other room without her notice.
When the corn was popped and brought out from the kitchen, Michael started the movie for the eager group of kids. They were all piled into the living room, each of them gravitating to a certain seat. Max took the recliner, with Naomi on one end of the sectional where Michael had parked his chair. Penny was nestled up close to Naomi’s other side.
“Is Asher sleeping here tonight?” Billy asked from his spot at the other side of the sofa.
Michael chuckled. “Not tonight, buddy. Asher’s got his own place.”
Now Penny turned a curious look on Naomi. “Is that were you’ve been?”
She nodded. “I’m staying with Asher for a little while, but I’ll be back soon.”
“Oh.” The girl shrugged. “You gonna watch with us or what?”
It took a second for Asher to realize she was talking to him. “Yeah, sure.”
She patted the space beside her and offered him a tentative smile which he was certain had everything to do with her trust in Naomi and her taste in friends and nothing to do with him personally. He made his way over and sat, careful not to encroach on the girl’s personal space.
Still, she stiffened involuntarily in a way that made him feel queasy as he tried not to think of all the reasons why she might have to fear him, least of all the fact that he was Breed.
The first few minutes as the credits rolled were spent in awkward silence, all of his awareness centered on Naomi’s unblinking, stoic face as she stared at the large screen. Soon enough, they all got lost in the movie. Asher never watched TV or movies, but there was something comforting in the shared silence within the room, nothing but rapt faces and the rhythmic crunch of popcorn being stuffed by the handfuls into tiny mouths.
At some point, Penny relaxed, sagging against his shoulder. Her soft snores vibrated through his arm as she nestled against him as innocently as a kitten. He watched her for a moment, and when he glanced up his gaze collided with Naomi’s tender regard.
“You should take her,” he murmured. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached down to move the child close to Naomi. As soon as his fingers touched Penny’s bare arm, he was buffeted with the immense force of her memory—transported from his seat on the big sectional to a dusty floor beneath a small bed as he peered through a torn pink bed skirt. Terror clutched him, sucking all of the breath from his lungs.
No, not his lungs. Penny’s.
Her terror seeped through him like acid.
In an instant, her memory imprinted itself on him before he could pull away.
He was here. She could hear him, mouth-breathing. Could smell the stench of whiskey and sour sweat pouring off him. The only question was whether he was too drunk to think of looking under the bed or if he would—
Fear closed around his heart like an icy fist as dark shoes entered her room. The bed skirt fluttered and a pair of watery gray eyes peered through the darkness.
“There you are, Penny-girl. Whassamatter? Come out and give your step-daddy a kiss goodnight.”
Asher rolled to his feet, powered by pure, unadulterated rage. Penny stirred, blinking up at him sleepily from her peaceful drowse. Somehow, as he looked into that little girl’s eyes, he managed to keep his voice even.
“Sorry. I’m not really into the movie after all. I need to get some air.”
He stalked from the house onto the porch and sucked in great gulps of warm Nevada air.
When the door creaked open a few minutes later, he expected to see Naomi. He had his apology lined up, but he paused when he realized it was Michael.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” Asher replied brusquely. “All good.”
Michael nodded, his concerned gaze steady. “It’s hard to process sometimes, even for me, and this has been my normal since before my accident. Some nights when a new kid comes through, I lie in bed so full of anger and pain for what they’ve endured. They don’t even need to say the words a lot of the time. When you’ve known pain, you know how to see it in them.” Michael stared out into the night, his hands resting lightly on the wheels of his chair. “Nay’s so much better at all of this than me. She never lets them see her anger for what they’ve gone through—the rage that comes along with this work. I, on the other hand—” He glanced back at Asher with a wry look. “Let’s just say there are a lot of times when it gets so heavy I need to walk away for some air too. Or roll, as the case may be.”
Asher chuckled. “You do just fine, from what I’ve seen tonight.”
Michael gave a dismissive wave. “Anyway, that wasn’t the reason I came out here. I just wanted to thank you. For helping Naomi. She’s the most loyal, selfless person I know. Impulsive and hotheaded, too, but I probably don’t need to tell you that.”
Asher felt a grin tug at his mouth. “Just a few of her finer qualities.”
Michael nodded. “My friend is independent as hell, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need someone to lean on now and again.”
“She’s got you,” Asher pointed out.
“Not what I’m talking about. I guess what I’m asking is, does she have you now too?”
He didn’t know how to answer that. Part of him wanted to reassure the man who loved Naomi like a brother that nothing would ever happen to her so long as Asher was breathing. But he didn’t know how he could make that promise when he didn’t have the right to feel so protective of her, so possessive.
“I will keep her safe,” he vowed solemnly.
Even if that meant keeping her away from himself.
CHAPTER 17
They drove for nearly an hour in awkward, strained silence before Asher finally spoke.
“We’re going to need some gas before we get back to the ranch.”
He gestured to a dimly lit gas station with an attached convenience store, the only sign of civilization they’d seen for countless miles on this stretch of I-15. As they pulled off the deserted road and into the rundown station in the middle of nowhere, Naomi thought back to something Asher had told her.
“Is this the place where you first met Ned?”
He gave a curt nod and killed the engine. Some of her enthusiasm to be sitting in the very spot Asher had been fifteen years ago dimmed at the way he hardly acknowledged her. In fact, he seemed vaguely annoyed by the idea that she knew something about his past. As if after everything they had shared before, now she was trespassing.
He was drawing away from her emotionally, returning to the stony loner she’d met that first night in the desert. She supposed she had no one to blame but herself for the abrupt change in him. After all, she was the one who’d tried to pretend there was nothing between them when it seemed like he had intended to stop her from going to see Michael and the kids. She had felt cornered and her hackles went up. Now, she wasn’t sure how to take back what she’d said. If he even cared one way or the other.
“Asher—”
; “This won’t take long,” he said, climbing out of the truck.
She sat back against the old leather seat and waited as he fueled up. A few moments later, the gas cover thumped closed and he rapped on the driver’s side window.
“I’m going to pay inside,” he said through the glass. “Be right back.”
She nodded and watched him walk toward the station. The young woman standing behind the counter was watching him too. Tall and curvy in her low-cut tank top and layers of Vegas showgirl-heavy makeup, the platinum blonde barely concealed her interest in the muscled male prowling with preternatural grace across the empty station lot.
She turned on a big, flirty smile as Asher stepped inside and approached the register. They spoke for a few seconds while he pulled some cash out of his back pocket and handed it to her.
Naomi didn’t like the sharp jab of possessiveness she felt to see Asher conversing with another woman when he had hardly uttered a dozen words to her since they’d left Michael’s house. Frustrated, she turned the key in the ignition and started scanning for some music on the radio. There wasn’t much to choose from, just an old country station that sounded like it was being broadcast from out of a tin can.
“Screw it,” she said, turning it off and slumping back to glance out the front of the truck.
Asher was gone.
And so was the pretty cashier.
Naomi’s stomach dropped, cold and heavy as a rock. Where were they? She didn’t want to think about why they had both disappeared so suddenly, nor did she want to acknowledge the hurt and suspicion that was taking up residence in her breast.
A few moments later, she spied Asher’s head and shoulders towering over the top of one of the aisles. While he stalked out of the place and headed for the truck, the cashier went back behind the counter adjusting the strap of her top.
Asher got in without a word of explanation.
Naomi watched him put the truck into gear and turn back onto the road. “Everything all right?”
He nodded. “Good to go. We should be back at the ranch in less than twenty minutes.”