Page 120 of Burn It Down

I chuckled.

Asher slapped his hand to his heart. “You wound me, sweetheart.”

“In your cold, black heart?” Killian said, laughing.

“Aww,” Aurora said, stroking her hand over Asher’s chest right above his heart. “It’s not cold. You just hid it well.”

He stroked her fingers on his chest. “Not anymore.”

“You do need a therapist, though,” I spoke.

He stilled for a moment and I watched his eye twitch. “What?”

“You heard me. You need to see somebody. Those meds you’re on… for one, you shouldn’t be without the proper supervision of a doctor. And there are other reasons too, which you well know.”

“What meds?” Aurora asked, concern furrowing her brow.

Oh, right, in all the craziness, we hadn’t actually gotten around to telling her. I’d informed Kill after it had come up during our search for Asher via that pharmacy connection.

Despite Asher’s look, I told her. I fucking had to. Not just because it was full disclosure between all four of us now, but because I needed her to work her magic on Asher and get him to see how bad this was, how much he needed to make a change where his mental health was concerned.

When this was all over, I didn’t want him in pain anymore. And this, him getting properly treated, would be a necessary step to making that dream for him a reality.

“Oh my God,” Aurora breathed.

Asher pulled away. “When this is done.”

“What?” I asked, not sure if he was going where I hoped.

“When this is over and done with, I’ll see to it.”

What? “Really? Just like that?”

“Not just like that. I’ve been considering it for a while. But I couldn’t trust it. You know how well Carson has me monitored. That’s why I had to get those meds covertly without any medical records to worry about reaching him. But when he’s gone, when we’re free, and when I don’t need to be at the top of my game for every single second of every goddamn day, then I can fix what’s broken with me.”

“You know I’m gonna hold you to it, yeah?”

He smiled at me. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“Then, good, I’m fucking relieved, brother.”

Intensity flared between us at my words, between all of us, bringing it home just what would actually be possible once this was over, once we took down those motherfuckers once and for all.

Fucking anything.

Whatever we wanted.

We’d never had that before, that choice, options. We’d been locked in a their-way-or-the-highway version of living for so long.

And soon the world would be wide open for us.

A phone ringing cut through it all too soon, interrupting our basking, and then Kill was pulling his out of his hoodie.

He frowned as he swiped it open, his whole body tensing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He held it up to show us all.

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