Page 71 of Shadow

“Not yet.”

“Not yet?” She stared at him. At his gray-green eyes, the calm in them despite the burns and the smoke and the explosion. “Asher, if Draven knows where we are⁠—”

“He doesn’t.” Asher’s voice stayed level. Certain. Absolutely sure.

A beat fell between them. She frowned.

“Trust me. If Draven knew, it wouldn’t be a car bomb in the middle of the night. It would be clean. Professional. And he’d get the job done.”

Right.

“We stay,” Asher said from the doorway. “For now. We’re still safe here.”

Daphne wanted to argue. Wanted to demand that they pack up immediately and disappear into the night.

But looking at Asher—at his burned hands and his steady gaze and his absolute certainty—she found herself nodding.

His presence did that. Made her feel safer than she should. Made her trust decisions she wouldn’t normally trust. Made her believe that as long as he was standing there, everything would be okay.

“Okay,” she heard herself say.

He opened the door. Paused. Looked back at her with something softer in his expression. “We’re a good team,” he said.

She blinked at that, weirdly waiting for a “honey dumpling” at the end of his sentence.

Instead, he left her with a wink and headed outside.

And what was she supposed to do with that?

Daphne drew in a deep breath, then headed into the master and knocked on the reinforced door. “It’s me. You can come out.”

The deadbolt slid back with a metallic click.

Destiny emerged first. “What happened?”

“The storm brought down a tree on the neighbor’s car. It caused a fire.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Mark Sullivan. He’s going to the hospital. He’ll be okay.”

Destiny’s hand went to her chest, diamonds on her wedding ring catching the light. “That poor man. And Renee—she must be terrified.”

“She’s with him. He’ll be fine.”

Roger stepped out, dark eyes still wide. “Are we safe?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure? Because if Draven⁠—”

“Draven doesn’t know where you are. This was an accident. Bad luck. Wrong place. That’s all.”

Please let her not be wrong.

“Go to bed. Both of you. I’ll be watching the monitors all night. Nothing’s getting past me.”

Destiny nodded slowly. Touched Daphne’s arm briefly. “Thank you.”