Page 166 of Lock Up the Darkness

“You don’t look like her,” Olivia said. “You look like your father. The spitting image.”

“Still,” Asher said. “He might consider Aurora an extension of his property.” He broke mission and walked to Aurora, reaching out and cupping her cheek. “I won’t let him lay a hand on you, just like I promised. Do you hear me, sweetheart?”

As he tried to comfort her, I took in Olivia watching them curiously. Studying them like the sharp mind she clearly was. Like Revenant.

Then she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a flash drive and held it out to him. “Take this.”

He eased from Aurora and turned to her. “Just like that?”

“Her dad would want me to do whatever I could to keep her safe in his stead. With her already a target of Carson, doing this is the only way. But you do this with help. Mine. Look this over and come to me. You’ll find a better way to contact me than this roundabout route you were able to replicate, embedded into the drive. Given the skills you displayed with cracking Revenant’s security and codes, you’ll manage this easily.”

My earpiece buzzed and I heard Asher’s and Aurora’s follow suit.

I tapped it to listen to the transmission and Jonah’s voice came down the line.

“Did Aurora tell you, or what?”

Asher looked at her, still shell-shocked, and answered down the line, “Something got in the way. What’s the situation?”

“Thought I spotted movement through the trees. Told you to get out as a precaution. Now it’s worse. It’s confirmed. Incoming of a dozen.”

Gunshots sounded, jolting us. Asher and I exchanged a look.

“Are you hit?”

“No. Give me some credit. That was me, fuckers. Holding them off, but there are too many. They’re headed for the house, gonna hit in two minutes. Get out now.”

“Received. Retreat. Meet us at the car.”

“Hell, no. Not leaving you.”

“Jonah—”

“No, Asher. This is the one time I’m defying your orders. To keep you alive. I’m not leaving you.”

“Fuck,” Asher grunted. He told Olivia, “We have company.”

She reacted with all that training at her back and pulled a Beretta, then cocked it, all in a split second.

“No,” Asher said. “Go with Killian and get out of here.” He eyed me. “Head to the safehouse. We’ll create a diversion so they don’t follow. We’ll meet you there when the coast is clear.”

I looked at Aurora, not liking the state of her right now.

“Stick to the plan,” Asher warned me. “I’ll take care of her.”

I swallowed hard, then snapped into action. “Let’s go,” I told Olivia.

“I can help you.”

Asher shook his head. “You’re too valuable an asset to be put at risk. If you take a hit—”

“Everything could be over before it’s begun,” she finished for him, nodding.

As we headed for the door to sneak out the back route, I looked back to see Asher telling Aurora he was going to keep her hidden in the basement until the battle he was about to rage alongside Jonah was over.

I winced, then headed out with Olivia.

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