Page 1 of Asher

PROLOGUE

ASHER

“You just ran into danger?Are you fucking kidding me, Haley? What were you thinking?” I gaped at her in disbelief, eyes narrowed. My lungs constricted at the thought of her running into that situation, making it difficult to breathe.

She could have been fucking killed.

He could’ve pulled a gun.

I could’ve lost her.

I rubbed the center of my chest as Haley’s eyes widened. I’d never spoken to her in such a harsh tone. She threw her arms out and paced between the two rows of hard blue chairs in the hospital waiting room.

“I don’t fucking know! I thought that my best friend was being attacked. That I couldn’t just wait to see what happened. That I had to help her.” Her breath came out in hard bursts. I moved toward her to pull her into my arms when Grayson stepped in, holding her close and whispering in her ear. My blood boiled as I ground my teeth together, resisting the urge to tear them apart. He was too fucking close to her. Haley nodded in response to whatever he said, eyes glistening. She glared at me but didn’t step out of Grayson’s hold. The sight was like a punch to the gut. “When I got there, he was on top of her. Choking her. She was almost unconscious, so I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a frying pan and whacked him on the back of the head. Noel and the other guy showed up right after that.”

If I weren’t so fucking pissed, I probably would’ve laughed. Of course, Haley would hit someone with a frying pan.

Cam pulled her from Grayson’s arms, and my body relaxed. My hands loosened from the tightly clenched fists. Mason tilted his head, assessing me.

“What is this? Musical hugs for Haley?” she joked voice tight. The whole situation was harder on her than she was letting on.

“You put yourself in danger to save her?” Cam whispered into her hair.

She shrugged against his hold. “Of course, I did. She’s like a sister to me. I love her.”

“You have no idea how much she means to me.” Cam crushed her against his body and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Haley laughed, pushing away from him. She placed her hands on her cocked hips. “If you think that was great, you’ll love what your girl did. She was a badass. His nose was broken and bleeding all over the place. She didn’t go down without a fight.” A proud smile twitched on Cam’s lips.

“He had more wounds than she did when we got there.” Noel, another cop, agreed.

The nurse interrupted. “Would you like an update?”

“Fuck, yes,” Cam sighed.

The nurse gave him a small smile. “Everyone okay to hear it?” She asked Grayson because, technically, he was Stephanie’s only real family. Gray nodded, and the nurse continued. “She’s awake and asking for Cam.”

Everyone in the waiting area released a collective sigh of relief.

“Take me to her.” Cam all but demanded.

The nurse quirked a brow at Gray. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Let me know how she’s doing.” Grayson slapped Cam on the back before tugging Haley back into his arms. Every time he touched her, I resisted the urge to rip his arms off.

I needed air.

I needed to clear my head.

Now that we knew Stephanie was okay and none of the guys would go to jail for murdering her psycho ex, I could step outside. I strode out the emergency room doors without saying a word, took a right on the sidewalk, and leaned against the brick wall of the hospital.

Dropping my chin to my chest, I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes.

“You okay, brother?” I opened my eyes and spotted Mason’s dirt-covered boots.

I lifted my eyes to meet his identical ones. Mason could always read me better than anyone, and I never lied to him. “Fuck no, I’m not okay!” I slapped my hand against the wall. “She fucking ran right into danger. She put herself at risk without thinking.” I scrubbed a hand through my shoulder-length hair, tugging it.

Mason cocked his head to the side, staring with one brow raised. “Do you honestly think she would do anything differently? Someone she loves was in danger.”

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