Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“At least the freak storm hit once Jessica was safe over the Atlantic,” Liam said, walking alongside Knox and Asher down the sidewalk.
The snow was tapering off, drifting lazily as if it was exhausted of blanketing the city.
Asher’s boots sunk into the white powder, the sidewalk not yet cleared, as the guys made their way to Asher’s mom’s home.
“Jessica would’ve told Mother Nature to go to hell before canceling her trip.” Asher reached into his jeans pocket for his phone, checking to see if Jessica had returned the text he’d sent earlier, even though he hadn’t received an alert. It’d been hours since he’d sent his message: I miss you.
She always replied to his texts, even when he sent dumbass messages to her when he was shit-faced. But this text was different. Something she wouldn’t expect from him without his words being swaddled in sarcasm.
“You still waiting for your sister to return your calls?” Knox interrupted his thoughts.
“Jessica talked, huh?”
“Barely,” Knox replied. “Only enough details so we can keep you out of trouble.”
No one other than Jessica and Luke knew about Asher’s past, about the man he’d been before joining the SEALs.
They knew he’d been a fighter, but that was it. Of course, he’d come close to going pro, and then he’d found himself staring at jail bars instead.
“Who is this guy your sister is with you hate so much?” Liam asked as they crossed the street.
“Not someone you’d ever want near your sister; that’s all that matters.” A burn of betrayal singed Asher’s words.
His once-upon-a-time-ago best friend was now hooking up with his little sis. What world was he living in? And how could he ever leave New York now? He had to keep Sarah safe.
“Thank God I don’t have a sister.” Knox shook his head. “You have any?” he asked Liam once they were outside Asher’s mom’s building.
They rarely talked about family. Asher had his reasons, as did Knox, but he didn’t know why Liam always remained tight-lipped about his.
“No, but I have three annoying-as-fuck brothers back in Sydney.”
“What’s wrong with them?” Knox asked, smiling.
“That’s a story for another day.” Liam rubbed his palms together once Asher used his key fob to enter the building.
“Man, I could use some home cooking,” Knox said once they’d entered the elevator. He lifted his chin and closed his eyes, taking a whiff of the air. “Especially since she’s a legit Italian.”
“Legit?” Liam laughed.
“You know, actually born and raised there,” Knox answered as they began to ascend.
“She’ll be happy to have the company,” Asher said once they exited and made their way to his mom’s place.
“What does your stepdad do, anyway?” Knox asked.
“Defense attorney.” He left out the part about how Bill had been his dad’s defense attorney.
“Good man to have if you ever get yourself in trouble.” Knox slapped him on the back.
“Yeah. He’s the reason I joined the Navy.” He hadn’t meant for the words to slip from his lips, but shit, there they went. He’d been hell-bent over the years to keep his past to himself, like a dirty secret.
Outside the front door, Liam’s gaze veered to Knox and then cut back to Asher. “I’m thinking we’ll need to hear more about this later.”
“Sure, you can read all about it when they print my obituary,” Asher said while he rang the bell, deciding not to use his key. He’d learned his lesson the hard way after walking in on his mom and Bill rolling around on the floor half-naked.
He cringed at the memory, but then his stomach folded in at the sight of his sister in the now-open doorway. “Sarah.” His brows slanted in. “Mom didn’t say you’d be here.”
She looked at Knox and Liam before stepping back to allow them entrance. “Yeah, she, uh, didn’t mention you’d be showing up either. Intervention, I guess?”
Asher didn’t budge. “Angelo’s not here, is he?”
Her mouth rounded, and she slipped out into the hall, a hand to Asher’s chest to try and push him back. She pulled the door closed behind her and folded her arms. “Mom and Bill don’t know about him. Please—”
“Do they know you and Greg split?” Anger flared inside of him at the idea of her getting mixed up with a modern-day gangbanger. No way had Angelo become a new man.
“Yeah, and it took all of my energy to prevent Bill from going to his safe for his gun.” She sidestepped Asher and extended her hand to Knox. “I’m Sarah. You must work with my brother based on all those muscles.”
Knox smiled and shook her hand. “Yeah, I’m Charlie, but you can call me Knox.”
“And I’m Liam.” He took her hand next and flipped it over to kiss the top. “Pleasure to meet you, darlin’.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Asher hissed.
Liam held his hands in the air with a knowing smile.
“You guys can go on in. I need a minute with Sarah.” He waited for the door to close as he gathered his thoughts, his heart pounding wildly, his lungs burning. “If Mom doesn’t know about Angelo, why does she think you and I need an ‘intervention’?”
“Because I told her we were in a fight, but I didn’t tell her why.” Her dark eyes pinned to his, defiance glinting in her irises.
He’d missed so much of her life. Even though they’d stayed in touch through emails and texts, maybe he’d been a shit brother. Maybe what she’d said to him last night had been right. He’d turned his back—not just on his past, but on her.
“After you left, Angelo told me what happened back in the day.” Her eyes lowered to the floor as if she couldn’t stand to meet his gaze.
“He told me he was the one who’d assaulted that guy, but you took the fall and ended up in jail.
” Her fingers swept to her collarbone. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? ”
“Would it have mattered?”
Her eyes jerked up to find his. “Yes. Maybe I wouldn’t have blamed you for leaving. I wouldn’t have been so pissed at you for disappearing not too long after Dad . . .” She dropped her words, her throat catching with emotion. “You’re happy doing what you do?”
He wrapped a hand around the nape of his neck and eyed his sister, trying to understand he was now looking at a woman instead of a kid. “Yeah. I’m doing what I was meant to do.”
She gave a light nod. “Then you should know I’m finally happy, too. Angelo makes me happy. Despite his faults, I finally feel like I can be me.” She paused for a moment. “You don’t have to like it, but it won’t change the fact I want to be with him.”
“You don’t know him like I do.”
She took a small step back. “I know him a lot better than you do. And people do change.”
“He’s a criminal, Sarah,” he said as steadily as possible. “He’ll hurt you in one way or another. I promise.”
“Fortunately for me, it’s not for you to decide.” She turned and opened the door, and he caught her arm.
“Please. Think about this.”
“I already have. I’m sorry.” She disappeared inside, leaving him in the hall with his thoughts.
He dragged his hands down his face, and a frustrated groan left his mouth before joining everyone in the dining room.
His mom wiped her hands on her apron. “There’s my boy.” She reached up to squeeze both his cheeks before planting a kiss on the left, and then the right.
“Mama,” he said, a touch of embarrassment lacing his tone.
“I’m thrilled you’ve finally brought some friends.” She shifted her focus to the long, oval table lit with candlesticks in the purposefully dim room.
Ambiance. His mother had a thing about setting the mood for every one of her meals.
“Turn that thing off!” she called out to Bill in the other room.
Asher entered the living room and found Bill watching the news.
“Hey, Asher.” He rose from his leather armchair, but Asher couldn’t reply.
His stomach dropped at the sight on the TV, the headline: Berlin Under Attack. His heart stammered, yet his pulse raced. “What’s going on?” He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned up the volume.
“There was a shooting followed by an explosion in Berlin a few hours ago.”
“Fuck. The Brandenburg Gate.” Asher reached into his pocket for his phone and dialed Jessica. Pick up, damn it. Her line went straight to voicemail.
He called again. Nothing.
“Someone filmed everything on their phone before the blast. Looks like a woman and officer were shot by a lone gunman. Then the guy dropped a bag and dragged another woman away with him, just before the explosion.”
Asher slowly lowered his phone to his side as his booted feet strode toward the screen. The footage wasn’t great, but it was a blonde with the gunman . . . a blonde with the same build as Jessica.
Her face wasn’t visible, but . . .
“Liam! Knox!” Their names roared from his lips. “There’s been an incident in Berlin.” He checked the time on his phone when he’d sent his text earlier to Jessica and compared it to the report on the news. “I can’t get ahold of Jessica, and—”
Liam entered the room and caught sight of the TV. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
Asher faced him and held his phone in the air.
“Have you ever known Jessica not to answer a call from us?” His muscles bunched tight as bands of tension grabbed hold of him—everything inside of him in gridlock.
“What if she was the woman taken?” He pivoted back toward the screen and observed the footage play over and over again.
“Let’s get to the office and make some calls,” Knox said. “I’m sure it’s not her, but we’ll all feel better when we know for sure.”
Asher’s phone rang. “It’s Luke,” he said, numbness hijacking his body.
“What’s wrong?” His mom, removing her apron, entered the room alongside Sarah.
“I, uh, have to take this call.” He brought the phone to his ear.
“Director Rutherford needs to talk to us over a secure feed,” Luke cut straight to the point. “Can you meet me at the office?”
“This is about Jessica, isn’t it?” Asher asked, his voice low and barely audible.
There was a moment of silence. “What do you mean? What about Jessica?”
Shit. “You haven’t seen the news?”
“No.” More silence. “What the hell aren’t you telling me?”
Asher hung his head and squeezed his eyes closed, not sure how he’d level Luke with the news.
Jessica was their person. Their go-to. Their rock.
Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera all rolled into one amazing woman. A woman none of them could live without.
“There was a shooting. And an explosion. In Berlin.” Vivid scenarios percolated in his mind, one worse than the other. “Someone was taken. It may have been Jessica.” He heard his words—his fragmented thoughts. He’d be broken until he heard Jessica was okay.
“No,” Luke whispered over the line. “No,” he said again, and the line disconnected.
Asher knew exactly what Luke was going to do. Look for answers. He needed someone to tell him Asher was wrong.
But deep in his gut, Asher knew. Jessica was in trouble.