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Her broken questions through the door had driven the knife deeper. When she’d opened the door he knew it wasn’t for his benefit. It was because she was hurting and scared and she didn’t want to be alone.
Zara nodded in answer to Gregor’s question but she didn’t move. Asa couldn’t get up without her participation so he didn’t move either.
After a few minutes, she let him go and started to unfold her body.
His muscles tightened as they fought against pulling her back into his arms. Cold air swirled in the gap between their bodies and he helped her get to her feet.
Gregor took her hand and led her out of the bathroom.
Asa followed, though he felt less needed than he had a minute ago.
She sat down on the couch, her tan complexion paler than he’d ever seen it, her golden eyes downturned and flat. She wrapped her arms around her middle and shivered.
Asa shed his flannel and handed it to her. She put her arms in the holes and pulled it tight around her even though she didn’t look at him once.
Gregor’s eyes bounced between the two of them but he didn’t say anything.
Asa had heard all about Gregor, the world’s greatest assistant. But this was their first time meeting. Which sucked for a lot of reasons.
“Have you heard from…?” Asa asked, not wanting to say the names in case it made her start crying again.
Gregor shook his head once and the door to the apartment opened.
All of them looked that direction as Cas and Devan entered.
Zara made a noise that was half-shout half-sob and threw herself at the enormous bodyguard.
Cas caught her, one big palm on the back of her head. He smiled the smallest, sweetest smile as he returned the embrace.
“We’re okay,” he said.
“What happened?” Gregor asked immediately.
Cas took a big breath and waited for Zara to let him go. “We should sit.”
Zara returned to the couch next to Gregor. Asa stayed standing near the opposite wall, unsure he be welcomed on the couch.
Cas took a seat in a chair that creaked under his size. Devan slid onto a stool at the breakfast bar and Asa noticed she was wearingdifferent clothes than she had been earlier. His eyes flicked back to Cas. So was he.
“Lyle Kramer is in police custody,” Cas said.
Zara sucked in a short breath. “Was he?—?”
Cas nodded. “He was at Lincoln Park when we arrived.” He cast a glance toward Devan whose expression was more impassive than usual. “We easily overpowered him and waited for the police.”
Asa heard something in his voice and he wondered…
“Tell me all of it,” Zara said, voice stony. She’d heard it too.
Cas swallowed. “He’d gotten in through the French doors in the upstairs bedroom. We found him in the closet. We believe his plan was to hide until you’d fallen asleep. He…fought us and was injured in the process. His wounds weren’t fatal.”
Zara touched her lips with her fingertips.
“There’s more.” Cas took another breath. “His clothes had been soaked in kerosene. He had brought enough accelerant to burn down the house. We think that was his backup plan. We searched through his personal items and found the Lincoln Park address in a text two days ago from a number we’re still tracking down.”
Cas’s gray eyes flicked to Asa’s for a beat and he knew exactly why. It wasn’t Shelby that had led him to her.
“If those pictures hadn’t gotten leaked…” Zara said, her expression clearly working out the math of the day. Her gaze landed on Asa. “Then we would have been home when he broke in.”
