CHAPTER FOURTEEN #2
Forcing himself to move, Asher stepped in front of Natalie, placing himself between her and Kyle. He hoped the guy wouldn’t be stupid enough to put his hands on her, but Asher wasn’t willing to take the chance.
Kyle paid him no attention other than a fleeting glance. He watched Natalie intently, his head cocked to the side. “You look familiar. ”
Relaxing her defensive posture, Natalie tried to push past Asher, but he held his arm out across her chest, holding her back.
Kyle snorted. “He thinks he needs to protect you.”
Asher refused to rise to the bait. “You need to leave. Now.”
“You heard him,” Natalie said when Kyle didn’t move. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
She was fire and ice, calm and wrath, and Asher didn’t doubt she would go to battle with this stranger to protect him.
Tucking his hands into his pockets, the picture of ease, Kyle backed away. “It was nice to meet you, Miss Stone.”
“I can’t say the same,” she quipped back.
Kyle flinched, but recovered quickly. “You have my number,” he told Asher. Dipping his head, he nodded toward the yellow piece of paper on the island. “Don’t take too long to think about it.”
Watching his retreating back as he strolled out of the kitchen, Asher let out a long, shaky breath. The questions would come now, questions he didn’t know how to answer. Questions he didn’t want to answer. He should have known better than to think he could outrun his past.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Asher shook his head .
“Okay.” Taking his still-outstretched arm, Natalie steered him toward the nearest island barstool. “Do you want me to set Maddie on him?”
Despite his racing heart and trembling limbs, Asher chuckled. “She is a little terrifying.”
Natalie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.”
He wasn’t. Nothing about this was even close to okay.
~
Cameron found his sister waiting on the porch when he arrived at Asher’s house, her hands clasped together, squeezing so hard her knuckles had turned white.
“Where is he?” Cameron demanded, bounding up the front steps. “Is he okay?”
“He’s in the library.” Her eyes flickered toward the open doors. “He says he’s fine, but…”
“I know.” Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her tight, hoping the contact would help calm him as much as it would her. “Thanks for calling me.”
“Of course, but you should know, he didn’t want me to.”
He’d have been more surprised if it had been the other way around. “You did the right thing,” he assured her. “I’m glad you were here with him.” With a kiss to her temple, he released her and stepped back. “Go home, Nat. Get some rest. I’ll call you in a little while, okay?”
“Okay. Call me,” she insisted, although he’d just promised he would. “I don’t care what time.”
After promising her again that he would call, he finally managed to convince her to go home. Once she had disappeared down the drive, he hurried into the house and bounded up the stairs to the library.
Every light burned, even the lamps, the amber glow gleaming off the polished bookshelves.
Entering slowly, he cast around for Asher, frowning when he didn’t see him.
He almost turned to leave, making a mental checklist of other rooms in the house to look in, when he noticed the balcony door standing slightly ajar.
Crossing the room, he jogged up the three carpeted steps that led to the French doors, then paused on the threshold to take a deep breath, steeling himself.
Asher probably wouldn’t talk to him about what had happened.
He might even try to push him away, maybe tell him to leave.
Cameron knew he wouldn’t mean it, and he promised himself that no matter what Asher said, he wouldn’t run.
The sun hung low in the sky, a hazy circle of yellow through the blanket of clouds. The promised rain hadn’t reached the city yet, but it wouldn’t be long now. The temperatures hadn’t cooled much, but he still found Asher sitting on the wicker loveseat with a blanket over his lap .
“Hey,” he said, keeping near the door, afraid Asher would bolt at any sudden movement.
“Hey,” Asher returned, but he continued to stare out over the railing, his eyes wide and unfocused.
“Want some company?”
Asher blinked, and even that much movement seemed to take an extraordinary amount of effort. “Not really.”
Nothing I didn’t expect . “Are you hungry?”
Asher sighed, the sound pained and weary. “This was a mistake,” he said. “I can’t do this anymore.”
If Cameron was being honest with himself, he’d anticipated that as well, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. “Are you hungry?” he tried again, ignoring the ache in his chest. “I can order a pizza.”
Asher finally turned to look at him, his beautiful golden eyes completely devoid of emotion. “I think you should leave.”
Inhaling deeply, Cameron held the breath for a count of three, then released it slowly. “Well, that’s not going to happen. So, pizza? Yes or no?”
“Jesus, you just don’t give up, do you?” His tone didn’t match his words, though. He didn’t sound angry or exasperated. He sounded…hopeful.
“Nope, not when it comes to people I care about.”
“Well, you should.” Settling back against the cushions of the loveseat, he stared out over the balcony again. “Go away, Cameron. I don’t have anything to say to you. ”
“Is this a private pity party, or should I be expecting guests?”
Asher finally snapped. “Get out!” he bellowed, his chest heaving with every breath. “I don’t want you here.”
Cameron didn’t flinch. “Fine. I’ll be in the guest room if you need me.”
“I donated the bed.”
Cameron shrugged. “I wasn’t going to sleep.” He wanted to shower, change out of his work clothes, then maybe order that pizza. “Come find me when you’re ready to talk.”
Slipping back into the library before Asher had the chance to argue, he headed straight for the doors, but slowed when he passed Asher’s favorite armchair.
He shouldn’t do it. His fingers twitched at his sides.
It would be a huge breach of privacy, not to mention trust. He really shouldn’t even be considering it.
With a quick glance over his shoulder, he grabbed Asher’s cell phone from the end table and shoved it into his pocket.
He promised he wouldn’t leave. He never said anything about not calling for reinforcements.
Waiting until he’d made it to the kitchen, he retrieved the cell phone, relieved to find it unlocked, and scrolled through Asher’s contact list until he found the name he wanted. Luke answered on the second ring.
“Hello, dahling . ”
Cameron jerked his head away from the phone and frowned at it. He was still frowning when he brought it back to his ear. “Uh, Luke?”
“You’re not Asher.”
“No, this is Cameron. Hey, are you busy right now?”
“I’m not.” For once, he spoke with completely seriousness. “What happened?”
Cameron bit the inside of cheek, debating how much he should reveal. He needed help, though, and Luke needed to know what was going on to give it to him.
“Do you know a guy named Kyle Anders?” The quiet stretched on for so long, Cameron checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. “Hello? Luke?”
“Cameron, love, darling, cupcake, tell me exactly what happened.”
“The first night I went out with Asher, Kyle showed up at the café. It was awkward and tense, but we left, I didn’t think much about it. Then, he showed up at Asher’s house today while my sister was here, and well, Asher hasn’t left the library since it happened.”
“Okay, just stay there.” He could hear Luke moving around in the background. “I’m on my way. If Kyle comes back, under no circumstances do you let him inside that house. Got it?”
“Yeah, no shit. Who is this guy? ”
“I’m sorry, buttercup. That’s not my story to tell.” A door closed. Muffled footsteps thudded at a clipped pace. “Just hang tight. I’ll be there soon.”
The call disconnected, leaving Cameron feeling like he’d just been waylaid by a tornado. Setting the phone down on the island countertop, he pulled his own cell phone from his pocket. He didn’t even realize who he intended to call until he heard the voice answer on the other end of the line.
“Hello? Cameron?”
Suddenly, he could breathe again. “Nico, I need a favor.”