Page 85 of Cruel Debts
ASHER
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty,"I muttered against the top of Trinity's head, relishing the feel of her in my arms, in my bed, unguarded and trusting. "We're going on an adventure today."
Liam spent more time in the gym than out of it, and there was something going on between Hawke and her, so it was up to me to make sure she didn't waste away in here. And it just so happened I needed to scope out some outdoor range shot locations. So a hike would be a good opportunity to get her out of this place and into the wild.
Fresh air. Sunlight. Maybe not excitement, but activity outside of these four walls.
She buried her head into my blankets and groaned. "No, Asher, not yet." Her toes found my calves, and I tried not to shiver at the chill of them against my warm skin. "Still tired."
"No can do, Pretty Bird," I sighed, wishing I could give in to her.
She spent every night in my bed this week. Liam wasn't thrilled with it, but he wasn't saying anything about it, either. Plus, I was older. Not by much, but by enough. I dared him to try and stop me from doing what I wanted. This crew wouldn't be a crew if it weren't for me building it.
"What the hell are we going to do at the crack of dawn?" She popped her head up from under the blankets and stuck her nose against my throat, humming softly to herself as she inhaled my woodsy soap smell. "Please tell me it's nothing stupid."
"A hike," I say calmly, tugging her against me tighter. "Unless you don't want to leave the house. I can think of other things to do with you." Like finish what we started last night. Or start something new. Or piss off Liam by being handsy in the common areas. Or poke fun at Hawke and order takeout since he was on a cooking strike, and I didn't feel like making anything.
"I'm up, I'm up," she grunted, rolling out of my arms and out of reach with a huff. "Where are we going?"
"You'll have to wait and see," I told her, pleased that I could surprise her with something I enjoyed for once. "You'll love it."
"Asher?"Her voice was weak, but it carried to me even from ten feet away as I tried to find the most solid path up the cliff-face to the peak. "Are you sure about this?"
"Sure as rain in the jungle," I told her with confidence, my eyes scanning the wall of rocks. I poked one and watched the minor cascade, then sighed. "If I could just find the solid handholds, we'd be in business."
She mumbled something suspiciously likeit'd be nice if there was a set of stairs,and then huffed a sigh, following me closely.
I let my attention return to the walkway. "We might have to go the long way around."
I'd never heard a more audible gulp in my life. "The long way? As opposed to what?" Her eyes scanned the wall of rocks, and she shivered. "The dangerous way?"
"Pretty much." My shrug was contemplative, and I marched around the edge of the wall, where I found myself on a wider, less steep path that circled the dangerous rock face and curved up the rest of the mountain. "Oh, look—this is easier. Let's go this way."
Trinity, to her credit, kept up with me quite well, for a girl who didn't get much exercise like this. But there was something in her mannerisms that had me wondering what she was hiding. Because she was hiding something, of that there was no doubt.
But what?
"How much further, Asher?" Her voice sounded pained as we rounded the last switchback, and the clearing at the top came into view.
"We're there," I murmured, taking her hand to lead her to the edge. "Check out the view."
Almost instantly, her hand clenched around mine, and a soft, pitiful whimper left her lips. Mistaking it for shock and awe was my first mistake.
Letting go to reach for my phone was my second.
"Asher!" She lunged for my arm, knocking my phone loose in the process, and I watched with frustration as the damn thing spiraled and skittered across the path and right off the edge of the cliff, plummeting to its death who knew how many of hundreds of feet below us. "Shit."
Shit, indeed.
"That had all my contacts in it," I growled, frustrated beyond belief. "And notes I took that haven't backed up yet." My eyes skimmed the tree line, judging how far it could've gone without assistance. "And now it's gone."
"I'm sorry," she whimpered, and for the first time this whole trip, I looked at her.Really looked at her.
"Are you okay?"
Trinity was three shades paler than she normally was, which was concerning and very unhealthy-looking. Her pallor was pale, and the freckles on her face stood out as a backdrop to her paleness. An accent to her blue eyes, and those stunning pink cheeks. But now, there was a lack of color in her skin. A concerning level of absence of it, in fact.
"Trinity? What's going on?" I knelt down in front of her and dragged her hands in front of her, the phone long forgotten. "Talk to me, Pretty Bird."
