Page 44 of Brutal Titan

Victoria

Glancing at my phone again, I note the lack of phone calls or messages. It’s ridiculous. I refuse to try again because the few times I’d gotten the nerve to call Elliot, it had gone straight to voice mail. I haven’t seen Asher since last night, so I have no clue if Elliot has said something to Asher or not, but I’d really like a heads-up before that happens. If he even plans on something happening again.

Heading downstairs, I hear my father’s voice boom across the room. “Where the fuck is he?”

Entering the kitchen, I see my mom cowered down, my father’s face beet red as he towers over her. Fear grips me as I hurry forward without thinking.

“Where’s who?” I ask timidly, stepping to the side of them as my dad keeps his glare on my mom, fear radiates out of her.

“Asher. Where is he?”

“I’ll find him,” I say, but my dad doesn’t respond. Although I promised to locate him, I fear the thought of my dad speaking with him while in such a rage. “Have you checked the gym? He mentioned getting up early for a workout.” Lie. But I can’t think of anything else to break the tension.

It works a bit as my dad looks to me, his anger fading slightly but not enough to put me at ease. “Run in there and check. When you find him, let him know I’ll be in my office waiting on him.”

I nod, watching as my dad stiffly walks out of the room, and my mom’s shoulders slump forward, her fingers pressing against her temples. “What’s going on? What did Asher do?”

“He didn’t do anything. Your father just needed to speak with him about some paperwork that’s missing from his office. I’ve reassured him that no one has been in there but he wants to ask Asher about it too.”

All that rage over some paperwork? “Do you know anything about it?”

Her eyes dart to mine, worry replacing the fear. “No. Of course not,” she says, pressing her hand against her chest as she steps past me before looking over her shoulder. “If you talk to Asher before I do, please tell him I need to speak with him first.”

Something tells me there’s a sinister reason for that. Why would she need to speak with him first if it’s just some misplaced paperwork that she doesn’t know anything about?

Quickly, I dial Asher’s number, but it goes to voice mail. Sending Quinn a text, I ask if she’s seen him but am even more nervous when she responds he was there last night but doesn’t know where he is now. I try Elliot’s phone again but it goes straight to voice mail. I dial Wade’s number and am alarmed when he says he hasn’t seen Elliot or Asher since yesterday.

What the hell is going on?

Running back to my room, I grab my key fob and head to the garage. Just as I step inside, the bay door for Asher’s spot opens. Sending a jolt of relief and fear through me.

Asher casually steps out of his car, slamming the door shut as I walk towards him. His scratched and bruised face causes me to gasp. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Asher! What the hell happened to your face? I just tried to call you … and Elliot and Wade and Quinn … I was trying to find you because Dad is fuming, and you were nowhere to be found.”

“What’s wrong with him now?” Asher asks, with disregard, more than likely because he hadn’t witnessed the same scene I just had.

“Something about missing paperwork, but Mom wants to talk to you first. Do you know anything about it or why she would do something like that?”

“No, and she wouldn’t.” He steps forward but I shift in front of him, blocking his sidestep.

“What happened to your face? Wade said he hadn’t seen you, but I never could reach Elliot.”

“His phone is out of commission.”

“You were with Elliot? Is that what happened to your face?”

“Yep. We had a snag in the rope while climbing. My face took the brunt of the fall.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yep. It was my reckless move and thankfully he came out of it unscathed.”

“Were you with him last night?” I already know the answer but what I can’t understand is if Asher was with Quinn, and Wade hadn’t seen Elliot, then where was he? And more importantly, why wasn’t he with me?

Asher gives me a curious look. “I picked him up early this morning, but he skipped out on Wade’s house last night because he had something to do. He bitched about not being late for detention all morning, so I’m sure he’s at school now.”