Asher: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 3)

by Nyssa Kathryn

“I’m glad you had the strength to fight.” Mason’s voice drew Lexie’s attention back to him. “I’m going to check in on Jobs and Red. I’ll keep you updated.”

  “I want to be there,” Asher added quickly. “To question the assholes.”

  Lexie swallowed. She could just imagine what the “questioning” would entail.

  “We also need to finish our other discussion.”

  This time, Lexie shook her head. “You don’t need to speak in code. I know you’re talking about Sage. And like I said, it wasn’t her.”

  Mason shrugged. “Then we won’t find anything incriminating.”

  Find? What exactly were they planning to do? Before she could question him further, Mason turned and left.

  17

  “Sure you want to do this?” Asher asked, climbing out of the car. The cool night air brushed his face as he quietly closed the door.

  Mason stepped out of the driver’s side, while Bodie exited from the back.

  “There’s a leak,” Mason said firmly. “And we need to find out where.”

  They’d parked a street away from the inn where Sage was staying. The intention was to climb in through the back window of her room, not drawing any attention to their visit.

  At almost nine on a Wednesday night, they knew the likelihood of having onlookers was slim.

  Even though Sage’s stay in town was only temporary, she had begun seeing some local patients. Mondays and Fridays she worked at the hospital to see those patients.

  Tonight, the men had received word that one of her patients was rushed to the ER. Shylah had told Eden, not realizing he and the team would take advantage of her absence to search her room under the cover of night.

  “I can’t believe we didn’t catch either of those other assholes who kidnapped Lexie,” Bodie growled.

  Asher’s body immediately stiffened at the mention of the men who got away. He didn’t need reminding.

  “They didn’t leave so much as a trail,” Bodie continued.

  “They were good,” Mason agreed. “It’s damn annoying they got away but we’ll get them.”

  Hell yes they would. If nothing else, they knew the assholes would be back.

  Asher also knew that from this moment on, he couldn’t lose focus for a moment around Lexie. They were no doubt watching. Waiting for him to screw up so they could take her.

  Not gonna happen.

  Bodie turned to Asher as they silently drew closer to Sage’s room. “How did Lexie feel having a couple of babysitters?”

  Asher grimaced at the memory of how he’d left her. “How do you think? I was about ready to go cuff the woman to the bed.”

  “I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time.” Bodie laughed, dodging a hit from Asher.

  “When Lex found out Shylah and Hunter were going to stay with her tonight, she suspected what I was doing. She’d make a fine detective.” He looked over at Mason. “She’s pretty adamant that Sage is innocent in all this.”

  Not slowing his pace, Mason kept his eyes straight ahead. “Then we won’t find anything in her room.”

  Asher shook his head. Mason had been adamant for days that Sage was hiding something. He called it a hunch but the man was bordering on obsessive.

  Nearing the exterior of room seven, Mason tested the window, letting out a curse as it slid open easily. “The woman doesn’t lock her window.”

  Bodie raised his brows. “Seems like that’s an indicator of innocence right there.”

  “Dangerous ignorance, more like it,” Mason grunted as he lifted himself through the window.

  Asher and Bodie followed closely, pulling the window shut behind them.

  Splitting up, the three men each went to different sections of the room. Asher went straight to the bed, Bodie to the lounge area, Mason to the bathroom.

  “How’s Lexie doing with recovering from the kidnapping?” Bodie asked as they searched.

  “She’s so damn strong.” And that was Asher downplaying it. She was a warrior. “She’s been having a hard time dealing with what happened on a psychological level—vivid nightmares, trouble sleeping—but the woman would rather walk over hot coals than admit that to me.”

  “That’s Lexie. Never one to show any weakness.”

  That was her weakness. Her one and only, as far as Asher saw it.

  “All her most recent test results have been coming back healthy. Baby just keeps sucking up all of Lexie’s nutrients at an alarming rate.”

  “Well, it is your kid,” Bodie joked as he searched Sage’s suitcase. “You always have been a greedy fucker. I mean, when we first opened Marble Protection, you didn’t give any of us so much as a chance with Lexie.”

  Straightening, Asher narrowed his gaze. “That’s still the case, asshole.”

  “Lexie was always Striker’s,” Mason said from where he stood searching the bathroom cabinet. “Never a doubt.”

  Damn straight she was.

  Ten minutes of silence passed with all three men combing through the room. So far, Asher had found nothing. Nothing but normal everyday necessities.

  It made Asher feel like an invasive prick for going through her things.

  “Found something,” Bodie called, causing both Asher and Mason to shift their focus to where Bodie stood beside the couch. Walking over, Asher saw he held a small black bag in one hand and an unzipped couch cushion in the other.

  Mason visibly tensed beside Asher. “Open it.”

  Dropping the cushion, Bodie stuck his hand in the bag. The first item he pulled out was a wad of cash.

  Asher cursed under his breath. That was a lot of money. Too much for any average person to need to have on hand in cash.

  Bodie turned the wad of cash over in his hand, studying it. “This has got to be ten thousand at least.”

  Mason kept quiet, attention glued to the bag.

  Dropping it to the couch, Bodie stuck his hand back in, this time pulling out a gun.

  Mason reached over and took the weapon. Checking it out, he swore under his breath. “It’s loaded, and the safety isn’t on.”

  Did the lady have a death wish? No sane person left a fully loaded gun in a bag without the safety on.

  “Maybe she has it for protection and doesn’t even know how to use it,” Bodie suggested.

  All three men tensed at that idea. In the wrong hands, guns killed people. Only those trained in how to use the weapon should have one in their possession.

  Next, Bodie pulled out what looked like a burner phone.

  “Looks unused,” Bodie remarked, chucking it down.

  The last item was a picture. The three men leaned in to have a closer look at the image. It was of a young girl and boy, both of whom looked to be about ten, sitting on a step with their arms around each other.

  Bodie frowned. “Do you think that’s—”

  “Sage,” Mason finished.

  Asher leaned a bit closer. “The boy?”

  Bodie cocked his head to the side. “Friend? He looks too different to be a brother.”

  While Sage had fair skin, blue eyes, and light blond hair, the boy boasted more of an olive complexion, with brown eyes and hair.

  Mason took the photo and studied it closer. “We’ve never actually seen a picture of her twin brother so it could be him. Twins don’t always look similar.”

  “That would be easy for Jobs or Evie to look into.”

  Asher’s gaze darted back and forth between the items they’d uncovered. “It’s her go bag that she doesn’t want anyone to find.”

  Bodie’s brows furrowed. “Why not use the safe?”

  “It would take too long to get to.” Mason lifted his gaze to Bodie. “Didn’t find anything in her suitcase?”

  Shaking his head, Bodie began placing the items back in the bag. “Nothing to arouse suspicion.”

  “I still don’t think it’s her,” Asher said quietly. “She has a secret, but I don’t think it’s that she’s working with Project Arma.”

  “Agreed.�
�� Bodie nodded.

  Mason was already walking back to the bathroom. “Let’s put this place back together.”

  Asher noticed his body was tense. He also hadn’t commented on his opinion of Sage’s innocence.

  Spending the next few minutes putting everything back the way it was, the men stilled as footsteps sounded from the other side of the closed door. Light footsteps.

  A woman’s footsteps.

  All three men immediately moved to the back window. Bodie exited first, followed by Asher. Mason just managed to slip out before they heard the sound of the door opening.

  With no time to close the window, the three men hurried behind a nearby car.

  After a moment, Asher poked his head up to see Sage glancing through the window. There was no way she would be able to see them, not through the darkness. But they could see everything…right down to the worry in her eyes.

  Guilt hit Asher hard. His gut told him this woman needed help. If she had a hidden enemy, they had done nothing tonight but increase her fear.

  Sage shut her window, the lock sounding through the night. Bodie and Asher started slinking away, only to realize Mason wasn’t following.

  Asher turned his head to look at Mason. “Coming, Eagle?”

  “I’m going to stay. Listen in until she falls asleep. Make sure she’s okay.” Mason didn’t take his eyes from the window as he spoke.

  Bodie placed a hand on his shoulder. “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  One unyielding word.

  Asher and Bodie left Mason and headed back to the car, knowing that once their friend had decided something, that was it. There was no changing his mind.

  * * *

  “Tell me again what my baby daddy is up to tonight,” Lexie said to Eden as he helped Shylah put away the dishes.

  Lexie sat at the kitchen island feeling like a fat blob. No one would let her help.

  She knew most people would love to be waited on hand and foot, but not her. She had been spending all day, every day, sitting since being kidnapped. Or lying. But always immobile.

  There was pent-up energy inside her that she needed to use.

  Eden shrugged. “Not sure.”

  The man clearly did not care in the least that his ambiguous answers were driving Lexie mad.

  Shylah swiped the big man with the pan she was drying. “We know they’re searching Sage’s room at the inn.”

  At Eden’s continued silence, Lexie rolled her eyes. “The poor woman is helping us, and you guys are invading her privacy.”

  This time, Eden stopped to look at Lexie. “Project Arma has proven that they’re not an organization to mess with. Someone told them about your pregnancy. We do what we have to do to protect our own.”

  Their own. That felt nice. Like she was important. Special.

  Then reality hit. He was probably referring to the genetically enhanced baby in her belly.

  Lexie shook her head. “Project Arma could have already wired this place and Marble Protection. They could be listening right now.” She ignored the uneasy knot of tension that the thought left in her stomach.

  “We do weekly sweeps of our homes and Marble Protection, so it’s not possible. Plus, we have a fantastic sense of smell and can usually tell if someone has been in our home.”

  Lexie pursed her lips. “You guys are just fantastic at everything, aren’t you?”

  “Pretty much,” Eden responded with a hint of a smile.

  Lexie huffed her annoyance. She appreciated that he was trying to protect her from any information that may stress her out, but could really do with the old Eden right about now. The one who didn’t smile or joke and just said it how it was even if it upset people.

  Pushing away from the kitchen island, Lexie headed to the couch. “I’m going to watch some TV.”

  And by “watch TV” she meant stare at the screen and aimlessly flip through channels.

  Plonking down with the remote, she began pressing buttons all the while not really seeing what was on the screen. A moment later, Shylah came to sit beside her.

  “Are you okay?”

  No. She felt guilty. Guilty that Sage was suspect number one when she was trying to help her.

  Taking a breath, Lexie turned her head to face her friend. “I don’t think it was Sage who passed on the information. She’s a good person. The first time I met her, she was protective of my rights and privacy. Would an undercover Project Arma operative really care about a pregnant woman like that?”

  Shylah nodded. “I agree. I’ve run into her a couple of times at the hospital. She’s lovely. Don’t worry. The boys will figure it out in their own time.”

  “I hope so.”

  Shylah cocked her head to the side. “Is something else bothering you?”

  Jeez, she was transparent.

  Lexie pulled at a piece of thread that had escaped the cushion on her lap. “Eden said that none of the places are wired.”

  “That’s true.”

  A moment of silence passed before Lexie looked up at her friend.

  Concern entered Shylah’s eyes. “What is it?”

  “I have this sick feeling that it might have been my mother who told them.”

  Saying the words out loud made the sick feeling increase.

  Lexie and her mother had never had a great relationship but if the wrong person asked Gwen for information, there wasn’t much the woman wouldn’t do to get her hands on money to feed her addiction.

  Sympathy showed in Shylah’s eyes. Lexie hadn’t told her or Evie about her alcoholic mother or their dysfunctional relationship. Heck, Asher hadn’t even known less than a month ago.

  “Have you called her?” Shylah asked.

  Lexie was grateful she didn’t pry by asking why she suspected her own mother.

  “I tried her number, but she didn’t pick up.”

  By “tried her number,” Lexie meant she had called about a dozen times. No one answered. Not a single call.

  Shylah lifted Lexie’s phone from the end table and handed it to her. “Want to try again?”

  No. Yes. She had no idea whether she actually wanted to know. Or how she would react if her suspicions were confirmed.

  Taking the phone from Shylah’s fingers, Lexie quickly scrolled until she arrived at her mother’s number and pressed call before she could talk her way out of it.

  Popping the phone to her ear, she didn’t need to wait long.

  Turning to Shylah, she frowned. “The number’s been disconnected.”

  Shylah’s brows rose. “Is that normal?”

  “She’s had the same number her whole life.” So no. Not normal in the slightest.

  “Maybe Wyatt or Evie can look into it?” Shylah suggested.

  “Hmm.” Lexie nodded absently. “Maybe I’ll give it a week and if I don’t hear anything, I’ll let them know.”

  Shylah bit her lip, clearly wanting to say something but hesitating.

  “You think I should say something now?”

  Shylah gave a small shrug. “You have this bad feeling, plus she didn’t answer your call and now the line is disconnected. There’s no harm in having one of our resident tech gurus have a quick search.”

  Dang it. Shylah was right. “I’ll talk to Asher when he gets home.”

  “Good idea. And don’t overthink it before then,” Shylah pressed.

  Yeah right, that was like asking a starving man not to eat a loaf of bread that was sitting right in front of him. Impossible.

  “My mother and I don’t have the best relationship,” Lexie admitted.

  That was the understatement of the century.

  Shylah gave a small smile. “I know all about that. I try to talk to mine as little as possible. Heck, once a year often feels excessive.”

  Lexie turned to her friend in surprise. “No way? I pictured you growing up in a house with a white picket fence and perfect family. There was even a puppy in my made-up Kemp family.”

  Shylah snorted. “My family
is far from perfect. Unless you think an overcritical, overbearing mother and an absentee father is perfect.”

  Lexie leaned back against the sofa, still facing her friend. “My mother’s an alcoholic.”

  “Okay. You win.”

  Lexie couldn’t stop the laugh. Her mother being an alcoholic was in no way funny. But sharing her far-from-perfect family history felt good.

  18

  Reaching across the table, Asher swiped another piece of pizza.

  The pizza was good. Really good. But what Asher enjoyed the most were the soft moans of pleasure coming from Lexie beside him every time she took a bite of her own slice.

  Fuck. If they were at home, Asher would have already dragged the woman to the bedroom and made love to her until he heard that moan a hundred times over.

  Looking around at his brothers, he knew that wasn’t an option right now.

  Unfortunately, the pizza would have to quench his hunger until after their family dinner. Shame it didn’t dampen his arousal. Not even a bit.

  “You guys are going to eat me out of house and home,” Bill chuckled as he placed another two pizzas on the round table.

  “Don’t pretend you don’t love it,” Kye bellowed from across the table.

  “Bill, not only are we funding your next holiday with all this pizza we’re buying, but the ladies will be flocking in when they see us from the window,” Bodie joked, earning laughs from around the table.

  “In your dreams,” Lexie said, shaking her head. Although Asher could see a hint of a smile on her face.

  Leaning down, Asher touched his lips to her ear. “I know what’s in my dreams,” he whispered, enjoying the rosy pink that tinged her cheeks.

  Swatting him away with her hand, Lexie gave Asher a full smile. Damn, but the woman was breathtaking.

  “You keep your mind out of the gutter, Asher.”

  Kissing her cheek, Asher straightened before he did something he’d regret, like throw her over his shoulder and cart her off to the closest bed.

  To be fair, he wouldn’t regret it. But something told him Lexie wouldn’t appreciate it.

  “I’d like to know about those dreams,” Bodie interrupted from beside Asher.