Page 12 of Asher

“And this is Ezekiel Levin. Grandmother worked with him a long time ago. They loathed each other, and the story is that she killed him one day when he wouldn’t take his feet off her desk. Nobody ever found his body.” Zac’s tone is completely unconcerned, conversational, even, just as it was when he told me about his grandfather’s cousin. But Annie and Sid go silent, and my gut freezes. He can’t be serious?

“Ah, ha ha. That’s an… interesting story.”

Zac shrugs. “Yeah, I’ve always liked it. Nobody could ever prove anything, of course.” He moves on to the next image, leaving me blinking in shock and overflowing with questions.

The rest of the tour introduces a few other people Damaris supposedly hates, including Andrew Turner, Alistair’s work colleague. I’m starting to feel edgy now, wondering if I’ll make some stupid misstep and incite my hostess to murder me.

The big room we enter is full of people—some of them I recognize, like Jesse and the council members, but a dozen or so more are strangers to me. They’re standing around with drinks in hand, chatting and mingling, and beyond them is a wall of windows looking out at the alps. The encroaching sunset paints the peaks in fiery colors, and for a moment I’m captivated by the stunning view.

“Dr. Smythe,” a now-familiar voice says, and I drag my gaze from the vista to focus on Damaris. “I hope Zac’s been looking after you.”

I muster a smile. “Good evening. Your house is beautiful. Zac showed us your gallery—I’d love to speak with you about it sometime.” Although preferably only with witnesses present.

She gives me nothing except a flat stare. “Come and meet some more of my family.”

With Sid and Annie trailing three “safe” steps behind us, she introduces me to her son and daughter-in-law, her daughter, and her other son’s girlfriend. They greet us warmly, but then as the conversation picks up, they take their cue from Damaris, and I start getting outsider vibes again. This is going to be a big problem. Damaris has a lot of influence in the village, and if she continues to make it clear she’s not receptive to our presence and our research, others will also close us out. Lucifer Sam has asked me to help prepare the village for other species to move in, and I’m going to need Damaris’s support.

I just need to find a way to get it.

“Is your other son here too?” I ask her. His girlfriend is, so I’m assuming he’s around. Maybe I can win him over before Damaris can make her position clear, and he can convince her how awesome I am. Or something.

“He is. Somewhere,” she says. “Oh, and meet another of my grandsons. Asher.” She taps the arm of a tall demon with his back to us, and he starts to turn.

Something niggles in my brain. I’m looking at the back of his head, but there’s…

His face comes into view, and my stomach flips.

It’s my one-nighter from Zurich. Damn.

Oh, well. It’s a little awkward, but we’re both adults. Maybe he’s the ally I need? I start to smile, prepared to make a joke along the lines of “fancy seeing you here,” but his expression goes from pleasantly neutral to shocked—dare I say horrified?—in a split second.

“What are you doing here?” he gasps.

“Uh,” I stutter, not sure what tack to take.

Damaris looks between us. “Do you know each other?” She draws in a sudden breath. “Wait… Garrett?”

I turn to her expectantly, waiting for her to finish her question, grateful for the distraction, but she’s staring at Asher. “Is this your Garrett?”

HisGarrett? Did he tell his family about me? After one night of casual sex where we didn’t even exchange last names or phone numbers?

That’s… disturbing.

“Well,” he begins instead of immediately saying no, and she must take that as a yes, because she rounds on me with bright eyes.

“Why didn’t you say? Oh, this is a wonderful idea! A trial year in the village to see how you like it, and you can help us fix everything the way you need it to be.”

I swallow and desperately try to think of something intelligent to say, wondering what the ever-loving fuck he’s told her. But then she frowns, her face turning stone-cold terrifying in an instant, and I have to fight the urge to step back.

“But Asher, you just asked Garrett what he was doing here. Did you not know…?” She looks between us again, clearly waiting for an explanation.

“This is amazing,” I hear someone whisper behind me, but I’m too scared to take my eyes off Damaris to see who.

Fortunately, Asher chooses that moment to recover from his stupor. “Grandmother, I’ll explain everything, but first could I have a moment with Garrett? Thank you.” He doesn’t wait for an answer, just takes hold of my elbow and hustles me toward a doorway. Annie and Sid stare at me wide-eyed as we pass them. They’ve never seen me in such an unprofessional moment.

The room we enter has a long dining table in it, but there are no people, and as soon as Asher closes the door, I round on him. “What the fuck is going on?” I don’t usually swear when I’m working, but if ever a situation warranted it, this would be it.

“I’m sorry,” he says immediately. “I’m so, so sorry. But I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

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