Page 52 of The Last Strike

He cupped her cheeks and kissed her. “I hope you’re ready to lose, Abi.”

“Arrogance doesn’t look good on you, Asher,” she said, standing.

He laughed. “Let’s go find that dealer.”

Abi

Abi awoke covered in a thin sheen of sweat and still licking her wounds from last night. It turned out James Thomas was very good at blackjack—too good, perhaps. Asher and Abi were convinced he was cheating, but James had insisted they were sore losers. Either way, the Thomas Security bill had grown last night.

Asher had his arms and legs draped over her. He looked peaceful, so she stayed where she was, despite feeling like she was melting into the sheets.

Eventually, she couldn’t stand it and slid out from his arms.

Asher groggily opened his eyes. “Where are you going?” he asked, reaching for her.

“I’m a million degrees,” Abi said, pushing him away.

Asher laughed. “It is warm in here. What’s the time?” he asked, rolling over to look at the bedside clock. “Damn! It’s almost ten in the morning.”

Abi smiled. “You haven’t slept properly for days, Asher. If anything really urgent had come up, James wouldn’t have hesitated to wake you.”

Asher nodded, relaxing. “Correct. Sometimes he is very annoying.”

Abi giggled. “It’s his job. But I do think we should get up; I’d love a cup of coffee.”

“Me too,” Asher said, sitting up with a sigh.

Abi’s eyes ran over him. She’d spent all night in bed with him but still, in the morning light, his ripped abdomen impressed her.

He caught her looking and gave her a sly grin. “Later, Abi. That’s a promise.”

The tone of his voice did things to her. She would’ve climbed on top of him, except he’d thrown off the sheets and gotten out of bed before she had the chance.

Abi dressed, washed her face, and applied some tinted moisturizer. Asher came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.

“Last night was fun. It was a good idea to do something totally different. I actually forgot about all my problems for two entire hours,” he said, meeting her gaze in the mirror.

“It was fun, but I still feel cheated,” she said and he laughed. “I’m glad you got a night off, though. It’s okay to take a break, Asher. You can’t be expected to work every waking hour every single day. Leaders need some downtime too.”

Asher nodded and kissed the crown of her head, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror.

“I’m going to get dressed,” he said, before kissing her cheek and walking naked to the closet. She noticed he hadn’t actually agreed with her, but she supposed last night was a baby step in the right direction.

She returned her attention to the bathroom vanity and applied some light makeup.

Asher returned to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bathtub, scrolling through his phone while she got ready.

He put the phone to his ear. “James,” Asher said. He listened a moment and then nodded. “I’m going to have breakfast with Abi and then I’ll see you in the office.”

Asher ended the call and put the phone on the bed beside him. “Khalil has executed Grace and another ‘spy’—Samuel got a facial recognition match for an Adani citizen. The executions drew large crowds.”

Abi nodded. “Interesting that it was an Adani citizen,” Abi said. She wondered if he’d grabbed the first person he’d seen on the street, or if this person had actually been allied with Grace. “Is it a bad thing that the executions drew large crowds?”

Asher looked thoughtful a moment. “Honestly, I don’t know. It could mean many things but I think we can be confident Khalil got the distraction he wanted.”

Abi turned to him. “What are you going to do now?”

Asher’s eyes focused. “I think we need to start setting a trap for Khalil. My alliance of the kingdoms is not just for manpower on the field. I need to use it strategically. I think enough groundwork has been done.”

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