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“How do you know where I went?”
He smirked. “I know everything you do. Did you think I was just letting you walk around without keeping tabs on you?”
A sinking feeling filled my chest. He knew I’d lied, and there was no way of getting around it.
“So, you’re stalking me? Really mature.”
“What did he tell you, Winter?”
“Why don’t you just ask him?”
“He’s conveniently out of town. You need to tell me.”
I wet my lips. This was it. I was out of options. “Check my bag — by the door.”
He got up and grabbed it. It was the same one I’d been carrying yesterday. He dug around for a moment and then pulled out the photo, his whole body freezing as he stared down at it.
My mouth was so dry I could barely swallow. “Asher…” I started.
He stared up at me for a long, blistering moment, and my heart wrenched free of its bindings. I could see all his fear and hope. The betrayal he’d always felt at being rejected before he’d even been born. It all came to the surface.
“Ash! Untie me,” I pleaded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I brought it here to tell you.”
He appeared undone. Alarmingly unlike himself. He was in shock. The impulse to put my arms around him was so strong, I fought hard against the bonds on my wrists. He was imploding and he was all alone. He took a step forward, his dark eyes a sea of turbulent emotion, then swiveled on his heel and walked out the door.
It slammed behind him, and the sound of the key in the lock was loud inside the quiet cabin.
“Asher!” I screamed, but there was no response.
Outside, I heard the sound of his motorcycle starting up and then roaring away, quickly fading into the distance.
Four fucking hours it took until Beckett and Eve showed up. I lay there on the couch, the fire crackling merrily beside me, the door locked, no one around for miles to hear me shout. If I hadn’t been so panicked, I might have had a great nap. Instead, all I could think of was Asher out there, hurtling down the highway to see his father, all alone. Whether that was what he wanted or not, I wished I could have been there with him.
When the door unlocked, I forced myself into a sitting position. “Is someone there?” I called out.
Eve stuck her head around the door. “Winter! You’re here. I didn’t see Ash’s bike outside.”
“That’s because he’s not here. Can you untie me?” I asked quickly.
Beckett snorted. “And Asher has the balls to tell us not to kiss in front of him, while he’s leaving his girlfriend hog-tied in the cabin.”
“I don’t even want to ask what kind of game you two were playing,” Eve muttered, taking a sharp knife to the ropes at my wrists and ankles.
I sprang up as soon as I was free. “I need to get back to town. Can you give me a ride?” I asked Beckett.
He looked between me and Eve. “Sure, but what’s the rush? Isn’t Asher coming back?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Beckett decided not to question me further. I must have looked as panicked as I felt. Instead, he simply led the way to his truck. He quickly unloaded the bags of food so Eve could get settled and then started driving us back to town. I didn’t think about telling Eve the news about her father right now. Finding him was Asher’s thing. He could decide when to tell his sister and mom. I just had to find him.
“What’s going on with you two?” Beckett asked.
I chewed my lip. “Nothing. Something — I don’t know. He’s upset right now, that’s all I know for sure.”
“You’re worried about him?”
I turned to Beckett. I didn’t know him well, beyond the regular Dunes country club bullshit that kids of members went through together. He was Asher’s best friend. Right now, he was staring at me like he’d never really seen me before.
