Page 98 of Descent

How am I supposed to know? She died when I was three. If not for pictures, I wouldn’t even know what she looked like.

My eyes come to Asher’s, helplessly shaking my head. We continue to stare at each other for several seconds before we both seem to share the same thought at once.

“The man from the party,” I gasp.

“Clark Lewis,” Asher says, his jaw clenching tightly.

“Lewis? Dane’s dad?” Liam asks.

“Yeah,” Ronan answers. “What about him?”

“At the engagement party, Asher and I were leaving and this man stopped me. He called me Giselle and told me how I looked just like my mother. It was clear he knew her and….it couldn’t be him, right?” I ask, turning to face Asher.

He stares at me before shaking his head and stepping up to me. He presses a lingering kiss to my forehead before pulling away.

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.”

Vincent’s fingers are flying across his phone before he nods.

“Got the Lewis address.”

“I’m driving,” Ronan says, as he presses a kiss to the top of my head and grabs his keys.

Vincent leans in, placing a quick peck against my lips before he follows after Ronan and Asher.

“We’ll stay here,” Wesley says as he looks from Liam to me.

“Wait, where are you guys going?” I ask, though I’m met with the sound of the front door opening and shutting.

“To get him, babygirl,” Liam says as he winds his arm around my waist.

“And do what?” I ask.

He gives me a heavy look as Wesley speaks.

“To get answers.”

“But what if he hurts them? He’s clearly dangerous! We have to help them. We have to—”

“Babygirl, breathe. They are more than capable of taking care of him.”

“Are you sure you understand who you’re dating, little one?” Wesley asks. “Vincent is one of the most cold-hearted Eliminators that the Brethren has ever seen. A task no one thought he’d be able to achieve, seeing as his parents were full-blown psychopaths.”

“And Ronan,” Liam adds on. “He’s all responsible and in control now, but he wasn’t always like that.”

“He wasn’t?” I ask.

“Fuck, no,” Wesley laughs solemnly. “Ronan has had a tough life. You see how fucked Christopher is, can you imagine what Luther was like? Ronan had a lot of anger growing up, a lot of skills. He might be just as dangerous as Vincent, at least when it comes to protecting you.”

“And you should have seen Asher when we were sent on a job a while ago,” Liam says hollowly, a shiver running through him as he does. “I’ve never seen him so…empty. Like he tucked the real Asher away and became this dehumanized killer.”

Liam shuts his eyes and shakes his head as Wesley reaches out for my hand, gripping it in his own as he squeezes.

“Trust me, they will be just fine. It’s Lewis you should worry about.”

I do my best to ignore the way my stomach flips when he squeezes my hand and how my heart begins to race, when he shows no sign of letting go.

“Why is that?” I ask softly.

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