Page 35 of Asher

BOOM! BOOM!The building shook like a son of a bitch when the two laser-activated explosive charges below took care of the incoming problem. By then, Asher knew the layout of the room behind the door and precisely who was in there.

“Boss,” was all he had to say to get Alex’s attention.

Alex dropped to his knees alongside Asher as debris rattled below. With an impatient flick, he pulled his readers out of his chest pocket. Leaning into the screen, he finally saw what Asher needed him to see. “Son of a gawddamned bitch.”

Asher sat back on his haunches. “Yeah. That.”

Chapter Sixteen

China and Persia finally arrived around dinner time, and with them came two gorgeous men, both polite enough, but as stiff and unsmiling as a couple gargoyles. China and Persia could’ve passed for sisters. Both were obviously pregnant. China wasn’t far along, but poor Persia looked ready to pop. They were both in what seemed to be the official uniform of most Americans: jeans and t-shirts. Persia’s shirt was baby blue. China’s was bright yellow with ‘Save your horses. Ride a Cowboy!’ emblazoned in dark red across her voluptuous chest.

The moment Marlowe saw their long, thick, dark hair and radiant complexions, she ran her fingers over her bare head, embarrassed and worried her new friends would tell on her. That she’d had lice. That she’d shaved her head. Fortunately, Judy had dolled up her baldness with a light-blue headband that looked like a mini-turban. Kelsey said it enhanced the color of her eyes. Libby had dabbed a smoky eye shadow around her eyes, and for once, Marlowe looked almost pretty. Not as beautiful as these women, but Libby doing that helped her appear, well, more American.

“Uncle Maverick! Uncle Walker!” Lexie yelled.

“Excuse me,” China groused, one hand on her hip “You’re excited to see Uncle Maverick, but not me? Am I invisible, little girl?”

Lexie’s eyes widened. “No, I can see you, but you can turn invisible? Really? Can you show me how to do it?”

Persia elbowed China as she headed for the sofa. “You walked right into that one. Ignore grouchy Auntie China and come sit with me, Lexie.”

“Carefully,” one of the men growled.

Lexie ran pell-mell into Persia’s open arms and snuggled beside her. “Aw, Uncle Walker, I always careful of Aunt Persia,” she scolded, blatantly patting Persia’s baby bump. “She’s got a tiny baby in this here tummy, and Mama told me how her baby got in there and how she’s gonna get it out. Want me to tell you how?”

That got a chuckle out of everyone, and now Marlowe knew who belonged to who. Walker, with Persia. Maverick, with China.

“No, munchkin. I already know how, but thanks.”

Walker was edgy, lean with piercing blue eyes that looked through Marlowe. Maverick was just as tense. Wearing a dusty cowboy hat, dark-blue western shirt with a black yoke, and jeans, he stood a titch taller than Walker. They both walked like bow-legged gunslingers from those old Western movies. Without asking, he hung his hat on a hook behind Kelsey’s front door and turned to survey the room.

Walker crouched at Lexie’s feet. “You’ve got a smart Mama, don’t you?” he asked kindly, which surprised Marlowe, considering how irritable he seemed before. Her previousassessment of him changed. He wasn’t the hardass she’d thought he was.

“Ah-huh. Mama’s the smartest lady in the whole world” —Lexie spread her arms wide— “cuz Daddy says so.”

Walker tipped his head to the little cherub. “Well, you tell your daddy he’s right. Mommies are the smartest people in the world. You listen to her, don’t you?”

Lexie’s chocolate curls bobbed. “Ah-huh. I always listen cuz if I don’t, I have to sit in the corner. And think about my ak-shuns.”

“Rules have consequences, don’t they?” Walker asked as he stood.

“Ah-huh, and if I say a bad word, she puts soap in my mouth.” Lexie looked up at him, her lips pinched in a pout. “That’s mean, huh? She shouldn’t do stuff like that, should she?”

Walker’s belly muscles twitched with a suppressed laugh. “Nope. Not mean, at all, munchkin. Your mom wants what’s best for you. She loves you, and you shouldn’t be saying naughty words, should you?”

“No,” Lexie huffed. “Daddy says that, too.”

“So be a good girl.”

“I am.” Again with a dramatic sigh.

After a curt, “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” which Marlowe knew not to be offended by, Walker’s sharp eyes returned to canvassing the place, like he and Maverick were looking for something or someone. Which was ludicrous. The only people here were the ones who’d been here all day.

These guys were hunting, that was what they were doing. Opening doors, as if someone was going to jump out at them. Cocking their heads, as if they heard something they didn’t like. Being extra aware, like hungry predators on the hunt. That made Marlowe hyper-alert and nervous again, darn them. She hadn’t worried since she realized Kelsey, Libby, and Judy all carried pistols tucked into hidden holsters at the small of their backs. Very smart.

After all she’d seen and lived through in Afghanistan, Marlowe firmly believed women should be armed and capable of defending themselves. Females were the most assaulted, most often raped, and most likely to be murdered of the genders. Self-defense was a common-sense solution, especially in this world gone batshit crazy. Females absolutely needed to protect themselves from stronger, larger, meaner males. If not armed, they needed martial arts training, and they should be taught that when they were little kids.

Oh, crap.She was doing it again. Wincing, Marlowe mentally climbed down from her opinionated high horse. After what happened in that stinking cave, she was a great one to talk. Self-defense training was now her number one priority, and she knew just the man for the job—if Asher was still talking to her when he got back. Marlowe couldn’t blame him if he wasn’t. She had been harsh with him, while he’d only ever been considerate, calm, and kind with her. Somehow, she’d turned into a bully, yet Asher remained cool, calm, and gracious. Self-effacing, that was Asher.

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