Chapter Three
Evelyn
Asher Cunnington was here.
I was frozen where I stood, shock and heartache and longing and shame washing over me in a tidal wave. Shock to see him again, heartache that I’d broken what we had, shame that I was here in the very place that got between us.
He looked good. Definitely some aging around his muzzle, softer lines around his eyes, but still the handsome bull I’d fallen in love with so long ago.
“I’m here for the Promnestride luncheon?”
I gripped the back of the chair in front of me. “This is the spot.”
He stepped in, letting the door close behind him and leaving us alone in the middle of the large room. “Are you one of the organizers now?”
His tone was lacking the judgment I was waiting for, but I knew that wouldn’t last for long. “No, I—”
The door opened behind him, Rufus appearing and walking through. He smiled at both of us. “Ah, it’s good to see you’re both here,” he said, closing the door and holding out his hand to Asher. “Mr. Cunnington, it’s so good to see you again.”
They shook hands, obviously familiar with each other, considering the history of the race. “Have you met Miss Tucker?”
Big, soft brown eyes looked back at me, and I refused to meet his gaze.
“We’re very lucky to have this tiny woman this year,” Rufus said, ignoring the way Asher’s shoulders stiffened, how his ears twitched. “It’s been a few years since our last human runner, and Miss Tucker is showing such promise. I think it’s going to be a great year.”
His pocket buzzed, and he pulled a pager from his jacket. “I need to check on the kitchen, but please, sit. Get to know each other. Maybe you’ll be the pair that gets to know each other best.”
I didn’t look up from the table when Rufus left. I didn’t want to see what was waiting for me on Asher’s face. He was looking at a hypocrite, and there was nothing I could do about it now.
“The runner?” His voice was low, tone careful.
I nodded.
Asher didn’t say anything for a long time, the silence in the room pressing in on me until all I could hear was the thud of my heart in my ears.
“It’s good to see you,” I said softly around the knot in my throat. “It’s been a long time.”
He pulled out the chair across from me, a larger one built to accommodate the breadth of a minotaur. “What made you decide to apply?”
The chair in front of me was different, the only one that looked like it at the table. Normal human proportions for the seat, arms, and back, but higher than normal to fit at a table for minotaurs. I climbed into it and scooted as best I could to sit at the table, too. “It’s a long story.”
“I think we have time.”
He was right, but I had nothing else to add. Shame was a rock in my gut, and to be confronted with the root of that shame right here made it hard to even breathe, let alone talk.
What if he, like everyone else I’d had the courage to talk to, didn’t believe me? I didn’t know if I would recover from that.
Thankfully, the door opened, another minotaur stepping in from the hallway. He was younger, broader, a gold ring glinting from his nostrils as his gaze swept over the room.
“A human runner?” he said, his eyes brightening in a way that made my stomach churn. “Well, hello.”
He beelined to the chair next to me, pulling it out and sitting while his eyes swept down my body and back up. Thank fuck I was already seated and there wasn’t much for him to see.
“So nice to meet you,” he said, leaning in. “I’m Gavin, and we should be well acquainted for when I win the race.”
Cocky. Full of himself. And from the gleam in his eye, disgusting. Sure, Gavin was attractive, but everything about his demeanor was gross.
“Don’t go writing checks just yet,” came a third voice, another minotaur walking into the room. He appeared a little older than Gavin, his green eyes taking in the room before he sat in the chair between Gavin and Asher. “It should be a good race.”
I recognized him, his black fur gleaming against the tawny color of his skin. Mason, the winner from last year. That’s how the race was set up, the three minotaurs being the previous year’s winner, a throwback participant—Asher, in this instance—a newcomer, which must have been Gavin.
Just great.
Thankfully, Rufus came back in and halted any further conversation. He smiled at all of us, taking the last chair available, and then it was the official start of the meeting.
My suitcase was waiting in my assigned room when I was finally able to escape. Already, I regretted being in this situation. Gavin was disgusting and sleazy, Mason was competitive and clinical, and Asher was an entire mess of emotions I didn’t want to begin to figure out.
I only needed to wait three days, get through the race, and then I would be free. I could leave and be gone and never worry about anything of this ever again.
A soft knock came from my door.
I checked the peephole despite knowing exactly who it was and opened the door to Asher standing there.
Damn, he looked good. Aged a little over the years, his middle softened a bit, but his shoulders were still broad, and his eyes were still kind.
“Can we talk?” he asked after a beat of silence. “The track is empty right now We could walk.”
I nodded, tucking my phone in my pocket and closing the door behind me. “I don’t know where the track is, though.”
I didn’t need to, as Asher led us straight there. The gym was huge, perfect for a bunch of athletes to be able to use, and the track was up on the second floor, lining the entire gym in a large oval. We took the stairs curving up, leaving the lights low as we started walking.
“I owe you a…lot of apologies,” I said, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.
He didn’t say anything to that, but his body seemed to ease slightly.
“Obviously I was young, but that’s no excuse for the things I said to you. Or what I accused you of.”
He hummed low in his throat. “You didn’t know.”
“But you did, and I didn’t listen. Refused to listen.”
His hooves clicked dully against the laminate. “Is that why you applied this year? Because you know more about the race?”
My phone rang, interrupting both of us. I pulled it out of my pocket, heart sinking when I saw the name that flashed over the screen. Killian.
“Hey,” I said, answering the phone and holding it up to my ear, waiting for whatever was going to come from him. “Did you land safely?”
“Can you check the grocery list?”
My hand shook as I shot Asher a pleading look, then put Killian on speaker and looked through my photos. I just knew he was going to do this. “Is there something you need?”
“Just tell me what’s on the list.”
Asher tensed, whether from the anger in Killian’s tone or the fact that it was another man, I didn’t know, and I didn’t have the energy to try to figure that out.
This was Killian’s way of making sure I was still home because he didn’t believe the location app he’d forced me to download. Which was smart of him, considering that phone was still at home, plugged in next to the couch, with the calls forwarded to the new one I’d managed to get a month ago.
“Eggs, butter, milk, ham, our normal veggies—”
“Which veggies?”
I swallowed a sigh. “Lettuce, mushrooms, carrots, kale, broccoli, and green beans.” When he said nothing in response, I continued. “Chicken breast, rice, protein powder, cottage cheese, the high-fiber wraps you like, and raspberries.”
The silence that came from the other end of the phone could have meant anything. I’d read that stupid list word for fucking word, including with the additional food he’d tossed before leaving so he’d know if I hadn’t been eating at the house.
“Are you in the mood for something specific when you get home?”
“Let me know if there’s anything you want to add,” he said, ignoring me completely. “I’m going to place an order for delivery in a couple days.”
Of course, because I wasn’t allowed to leave the house.
“Be good,” he said, his disgusting voice making me wonder what I ever saw in him in the first place, and then he hung up.
The silence in the gym was loud, almost oppressive. There was no explaining away the tone in Killian’s voice or the way that my own voice was docile in a way I never used to be.
“That sounded like a Lander,” Asher finally said, not looking at me as we continued walking. “Killian?”
“Yes.”
“I’d heard you started dating him a few years back,” he continued. “You’re still together?”
I blew out a breath. “Unfortunately.”
“He’s why you applied?” Asher’s eyes were piercing when he turned them on me, pinning me in place. “You need the prize money to get away?”
I nodded.
“Is that all?”
“Yes. I’ve already packed up everything I can’t leave behind. I just need the cash to get out of here.”
He studied me, his thoughts hidden. “This seems like an extreme step.”
“Six months ago, he found my getaway stash while I was at work,” I confessed. “I came home and…” I shuddered. The rest of that week had been a nightmare I never wanted to revisit. “I’ve only been able to sneak out when he’s been gone on work trips.”
Asher nodded, continuing our trek down the track.
The silence we fell into was different from the first one, lighter and more natural.
I had a lot I could tell him, whole stories about how I was a different person from the woman he’d dated, how my life had changed in ways I never wanted, but I didn’t feel it was necessary.
He was always more rational than I was, always took the time to think things through before responding, even when he was emotional.
How different my life would have turned out if I had learned that lesson from him while we were together.
“We have to get you out of that,” he finally said.
I refused to acknowledge the leap in my heart at his use of ‘we’.
“I only came here so they would stop contacting me,” he said. “I’ve been avoiding this part of my contract for a long time.”
Because of me. Because the first time they’d contacted him about competing again, I lost my damn mind and threw him out.
“I had no interest in winning when I agreed to this,” he continued. “In all honesty, I don’t know how many returning competitors are serious. I think we all do it just for the fun and let the younger ones win.”
A ball of lead was starting to grow in the pit of my stomach.
“Mason has a decent reputation, and he’s a good bull.” Asher spared a glance at me before turning back to the track. “I don’t know much else about him, but he’ll help you out of town if you need it.”
That was the same feeling I got.
“I don’t know anything about Gavin, other than he’s young and cocky and flirts with everything under the sun.”
Again, the same thing I thought, though I didn’t like how Gavin looked at me earlier. The lead grew heavier, almost making me nauseous.
“They’ve obviously been training more for this than I have, so it’s going to be a tough competition, but”—his nostrils flared as he blew out a breath, the ring falling back to his fur after all the air was gone, and the look he pinned me with was heated and vicious—“if anyone’s going to fuck you in that maze in front of the crowd, it’s going to be me. ”