Page 108 of Burn It Down

Something I couldn’t stand to tell Aurora, or the others.

Or anyone.

The fact was, I was the one who’d brought Isobel into that twisted and depraved world.

I’d created the monster that she’d become.

Sure, she’d taken it and run a mile with it, instead of walking away like I had, instead of trying to become better, to redeem herself. But I’d still connected them in the first place.

And discovering that Aurora had made a connection with Carson’s and the other Head Infidel’s sons, it had been a shock, to say the least. I’d automatically gone to the awful idea of history repeating itself.

But the reality was that her connection with them wasn’t the same.

They weren’t the same.

Asher did hold some similarities to his father, and while it did worry me, he wasn’t fueled but the same things. He sought power for protection.

He was driven by love, something I was sure he struggled to reconcile, given the way he was raised and how I knew Carson Monroe to be.

“I can’t imagine you as a brunette,” I heard Killian comment to Aurora, as I tuned back into their conversation. “I mean, seeing your dad and then Asher telling us you used to have the same hair, I just can’t picture it.”

“You want me to revert back once this is all over? Is that what you’re getting at?” Aurora asked with an amused chuckle.

“No. No way. I like you the way you are. Everything just the way it is.”

A smile curved my lips. He really was a puppy with her.

Jonah laughed. “Damn, Pretty.”

“Of course you do,” Asher said.

“And you don’t?” Killian challenged.

“Yeah, I’d like to hear this,” Aurora said in a teasing tone.

“If you’re expecting something as sickly sweet as Kill’s dished out, you’re gonna be real disappointed,” Jonah said.

“Really?” Asher said. “After what I gave you—in my bedroom back home and in the shower here.”

“And what was that?” Killian asked.

“Another thing I’d like to hear,” Aurora said.

“My bad, you’re right,” Jonah backpedaled to Asher. “Princess, he can be sweet. I mean, not sickly sweet like Kill, but you’d be surprised.”

“This is a lot of pressure,” Asher grumbled.

“Isn’t that what you thrive on?” Killian challenged.

“You need another drag to calm your nerves?” Aurora teased.

“I’m good, sweetheart.”

“You sure?” Killian challenged.

“Watch it, or you’re gonna get that Asher Monroe glare coming your way, Pretty. Then a whole lot more.”

“I’m not worried.”

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