Page 38 of Outside The Wire

My phone rang and I hit the button to answer on speaker, distracted by thoughts of Holly’s sweet lips and the feel of her body pressed against mine.

“Asher?”

My woody instantly vanished at the sound of his voice. “How the fuck did you get this number?”

“Did you really think you could hide forever?”

“If I wanted you to find me, I would have given it to you.”

Chase sighed on the other end of the line. “Things are falling apart here. We need you.”

They needed me. It was laughable at best. I’d already given all I could. I was happy now. I had nothing left of myself to give the company. That guy was gone. But who I became was someone I could live with. I liked this guy. He was carefree and happy. There were no demons to contend with, no one chasing him and vowing to kill him. This guy was just a regular man.

“I can’t help you.”

“You can. You just refuse to.”

“Chase, what you need is someone who works in your field. I no longer do that shit.”

“You could.”

“No, I really couldn’t.”

“You’re trained.”

“That doesn’t mean I do it,” I argued. I really didn’t need to be arguing about this when I should be concentrating on the roads.

He sighed heavily. “Asher…it’s Cash.”

“Don’t—”

“He’s gone off the rails. He fired Kavanaugh?—”

“I don’t care.”

“He left Eva?—”

“Stop telling me this stuff.”

“He killed Rafe!”

I jerked the wheel to the side of the road, ignoring the blaring of the horn from the vehicle behind me that I cut off. I pulled into a gas station and shifted into park. “He did what?”

“You’ve been gone for too long, Asher.” His voice was solemn as he took a deep breath. “Rafe went to rescue his sister. That’s what all this shit has been about. Long story short, he sacrificed himself for her, and he couldn’t get out. He was being burned alive and Cash couldn’t reach him. He pulled the trigger and put a bullet between his eyes.”

I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel and closed my eyes. Fuck, that was really bad. Cash had to be spinning out of control. Just like me. But I couldn’t get pulled into that life again. There were too many days when I wanted to eat a bullet or I was too drunk to function. I just knew that if I went back there, it would start all over again. I wasn’t strong enough.

“Chase…I can’t do it,” I croaked out. “I wish I could. I—I can’t get pulled into that life again. I won’t survive.”

“You’ve never tried.”

“Because I already know the outcome.”

“There are things we need to discuss. Things that can’t be talked about over the phone.”

He wanted to come out here. I was already shaking my head, though he couldn’t see me. “No. Not a fucking chance.”

Silence filled the line for a good minute as I waited for him to argue with me, for him to tell me he was coming anyway. But it never came.

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