“Cynthia.” Asher’s words rumbled in his chest under my ear. “I would love to repair our bond.” My heart sprouted wings and flew high. “Okay. Okay, great.” He held me, and I held him back. After a moment, I asked, “How do we repair it exactly?” He paused a moment, as if thinking. “We could st
When I tilted my head the other way, he gave the opposite side equal attention. “Asher…” “Guide me, Cyn.” “Take my shirt off.” His large hands slipped under my shirt at the waist and slowly lifted it up and up and up. I leaned forward, and he pulled it over my head. He tossed it over his sho
The next morning, I woke up snug in Asher’s arms. My body was pleasantly refreshed. I felt lighter than I had in a very long time, as if much of the weight I had been hauling around had suddenly been cut loose. I was still in danger, but Asher… Oh, Asher… I turned in his embrace to look up at
He hesitated. When I pressed, he said, “You won’t like it.” “Tell me anyway.” “Lamar didn’t tell the police about the website, he told us. Almost like he was afraid of something worse than jail time.” Asher was right, I didn’t like it. “What could Lamar be afraid of? Joseph?” I asked. “Sin
The investigator had beady eyes, but they were piercing. He watched me like he read my thoughts, or like he was just waiting for me to trip up and trap myself. “Who are you?” I asked, pretending I didn’t know. “An investigator from the Official Research Facility on Projection.” He didn’t offer a
She was already there when we arrived, though she couldn’t seem to sit still. She had ripped her napkin to pieces on her placemat. Her eyes darted nervously around the restaurant. We introduced ourselves as we sat across from her at the table, but she wouldn’t give her name. Asher knew it, presuma
Asher When I had told Cynthia of my plan to visit Lamar, her entire face had paled and her breath went quiet. It took the rest of the evening to get her to smile again. I had to reassure her many times that I would be going to face him alone. I wouldn’t want to have gone at all, if he wasn’t our
Lamar was in jail. He couldn’t hurt her. She didn’t need our protection. Eventually I made my way back to campus. Unfortunately, I didn’t get far before Joseph himself approached me. We were in a crowded quad. I couldn’t attack him without many dozens of witnesses. And knowing what I now knew,