Page 15 of The Last Strike

Asher nodded, exhaling a long sigh. He lifted his eyes to the city again—to everyone who needed him to win the war. He knew he should use it as motivation, but more than anything it overwhelmed him and his chest tightened.

Abi gently squeezed his hand and he looked to her. The confidence in her eyes—the certainty and belief—gave him hope. He leaned in, kissing her forehead, letting his lips linger.

“What can I do to help?” Abi asked.

He paused for a moment, thinking it through. “We need to work out how to safely get more supplies to the men at the border. I don’t want the convoys too close to the battlefield—for their own safety and so our supplies don’t get destroyed. But I need to get them there fast, because our soldiers need food, water, and medical supplies to keep fighting.”

He saw the determination in her eyes, it was like someone had flicked a light switch.

“This I can help with,” she said with a nod. “For IFRT, we smuggled supplies to villagers that helped us. I have some experience with this,” she said, her voice sounding far away but Asher could see her mind working, the ideas already churning.

“In fact, I have an idea now,” she said, moving to stand but then stopped. “Do you need me?”

Asher smiled despite his foul mood. “No, you’ll be more helpful to me solving that problem than consoling me. I’ll wallow in my misery on my own for a few minutes ... then I have to get back to work.”

Abi grinned. “You’re allowed to have a minute,” she said, repeating her earlier words. “But then dust yourself off and get back to it. Adani can be beaten, Asher, it’s just that no one has dared in the past. That changes now.”

She leaned in, cupping his face and pressing her lips to his.

It felt so good and for a fleeting moment he forgot all of his problems. It was a moment of peace in a world of chaos.

He smiled as he watched her walk away. He doubted many of his decisions, but falling in love with her was not one of them. It was one of the only decisions he knew with absolute certainty to be right.

“You look at her like your father looked at your mother,” Jesse said, taking a seat beside him.

Asher turned to him, his smile widening. “Like a love-struck fool?” he joked.

Jesse laughed. “Exactly. Or rather, like a man who has found his soul mate.”

Asher’s eyebrows lifted. “You believe in soul mates?”

“Sometimes people just have a bond that can’t be broken, and despite all of their challenges, they make it work,” he said, looking at Asher. Asher knew he was referencing both his parents’ troubles—most likely their struggles with infertility and the affair—and Abi and Asher’s difficult beginning.

Asher nodded. “Are the teams ready to go?”

“James and the team left a few minutes ago. He’ll notify us when they land in Adani and are in position. They’ll be going in at nightfall,” Jesse said.

“How is Alistair doing?” Asher asked, thinking of his brother again.

“Sore but alive. The surgery went well—the bullet thankfully missed all major organs—and he’s awake and recovering. He’s in good spirits,” Jesse said with a nod. “Your mother is there with him and his son. We’d still prefer you didn’t visit at this stage—especially while James is in Adani. We don’t know how King Khalil will retaliate, but retaliate he will, and it won’t be long until he does.”

Darkness seeped into Asher’s soul, fearing a sarin attack on Santina. He suddenly had more empathy for Luang’s decision, even though ... He shook his head. It was done now, and they would need to get Reed out and then devise another plan.

The thought exhausted him.

“I’m tired already,” Asher admitted quietly. Jesse was one of the few people he could be vulnerable with.

“You’ve barely slept in days—that’s why you’re tired. You have the fight in you, Asher, but it’s going to be a long road ahead. When you’re too tired to keep going, remember your father. Use his death to fuel you. Something good has to come from it,” he said, his eyes far away.

Asher’s phone beeped and he drew a sharp breath.

Samuel had sent him a link with the caption:You need to look at this now.

Asher tapped it and realized it was a live stream—of Khalil positioned in front of a painting of the Adani flag. It was the exact same setting Asher had used for his press conference declaring war.

“Adani, we are fighters and we will fight to the end. As you have heard, the Adani Royal palace was attacked. But, King Asher did not succeed! His attempt was weak, just like Santina. Weak, pathetic ...a total failure,” he said gloating. “And now ... now, I have a gift for you. This man tried to poison our water supply.”

Asher sucked in a breath as the camera turned to Reed, bound to a chair, bruised and bloodied. Guilt lashed at Asher’s heart like a wild wind.

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