Page 42 of Asher

“I’m not sure. No one else was hurt, and he’s stable but his injuries were severe. Alex didn’t think he’d make it. His heart stopped during the flight to Germany. He lost a lot of blood. They used the defibrillator on him.”

“But he’s going to be okay? Right?”Please say yes.

Kelsey’s gaze was still on the floor. “The surgeon who worked on Asher said he’ll live.”

She was hiding something.

“Okay,” Marlowe breathed. “So why the long face? Is he paralyzed? Is that what you’re afraid to tell me? Is he blind? Talk to me. I can’t help if I don’t know what I’m up against.”

“I know. You’re as bad as Alex, always running to help others, even if it gets you killed. That’s what I’m afraid of, that you’ll think you have to save us instead of letting us save you. Asher isn’t paralyzed or blind, but he will need to be hospitalized for a while once he comes home.”

Marlowe waited. This conversation felt like one of those binding moments she’d read about in a romance paperback she’d come across once. A love story, where a man met a woman, and her life changed when he introduced her to his friends and family. Because they became her friends and family. Talk about impossible dreams, yet Marlowe was living it. Here, in this room, surrounded by Asher’s friends, women who worried for her. Who genuinely cared what happened to her.

“He saved Alex,” Kelsey semi-repeated, her voice hollow, as if she was only half there. “I’d be a widow if Asher hadn’t gone with Alex. If he hadn’t… I’d be…”

Marlowe froze when Kelsey stopped talking. The harsh reality of what Alex’s near-death would’ve meant slapped Marlowe’s hard head. Without Alex, Kelsey’s heart would’ve been forever broken. She’d never recover from the loss. She’d have to raise Lexie and Bradley by herself. She’d be alone. So alone. Yet there she sat on the edge of the tub, trying to console Marlowe, whileMarlowe had focused only on herself and her loss. Which was significant, but Asher’s sacrifice was not just about her.

He was a hero. A very lucky hero—if he was truly coming home. She shook her head at the magnitude of all that his actions meant, then latched onto her walker and shuffled over to sit beside Kelsey. She put an arm around Alex’s diminutive wife, who was trembling like a tiny moth caught in a trap. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. All I worried about was Asher and me, but you—”

“I could’ve lost him,” Kelsey cried. “I could’ve lost Alex. How would I ever tell Lexie and Bradley that their dad… That he wasn’t coming…”

Tears jerked out of her as Marlowe held on. There was nothing to be said. No platitudes. No Hallmark card sappy sentiments. Sometimes the most you could do for a friend in need was shut your mouth and just be there.

Kelsey’s breakdown didn’t last long. Too quickly, she shook it off and eased out of Marlowe’s hold. “Thank you. I don’t usually fall apart, but—”

“But you’re entitled to when the man you love is in harm’s way.” If that had been Marlowe breaking down, she would’ve cussed and kicked and whined a lot longer. She might have hit something—or someone. Ripping a long string of toilet paper off its roll, she folded it into a soft, cushiony handkerchief and handed it to Kelsey. “The men we love are not ordinary men. They’re heroes, aren’t they?”

Oops.Did that really come out of her mouth? Had she just told Kelsey she loved Asher?

Kelsey nodded, but didn’t respond to Marlowe’s profession of love, just kept dabbing her eyes and nose. “Alex only hires the best, and they become family. Them. Their wives and kids. Even their dogs, cats, and horses.”

“Alex told you who he went after, didn’t he?”

Kelsey tapped her earpiece. “Yes, we have a private channel, that’s why you didn’t hear him.” Her tummy lifted with another deep inhale. “Asher’s safe where he is. Wyatt’s with him, but that’s not the problem.”

“What is?”

“Alex believes Jamah is coming after us. That’s why we’re holed-up here in our safe room.”

“When did he tell you that?”

Another sigh escaped Kelsey. “Before he left. Alex suspected he was playing into Jamah’s hands, but there was no way to be sure. He couldn’t send anyone else to take him out. He had to go.”

“So he let Jamah believe he’d left you unguarded?”

“Yes, and Alex was right. Late last night, Jamah was spotted at Heathrow, boarding a private jet to Washington, D.C.”

“That’s why Harley, Walker, and Maverick are here, isn’t it? Jamah set a trap for Alex, and Alex set a trap for Jamah. We’re bait.”

“No, not bait. Not exactly. Our men wouldn’t do that to us. But we are Jamah’s targets, and Harley, Maverick, and Walker are our strong line of defense. That’s why they’re here. So while they fight for us, we’ll wait for them to do what they need to do. Alex says that’s what men were made for. Doing the heavylifting. Taking care of us women and children. Fighting for their families.” She scrubbed her hands up and down her biceps. “I hate just sitting and waiting.”

“Listen, girlfriend.” Marlowe never thought she’d be using that word, but there she was, doing what she was made for, comforting another woman in need. “Jamah’s a despicable piece of shit. Excuse my language, but he’s no better than what Alex cleans out ofWhipperand Smoke’s kennel.”

Kelsey smiled at Bradley’s adorable name for that big, bad German shepherd.

Marlowe continued. “Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve never seen braver, fiercer men than those who are fighting for their families, and that’s precisely what Alex planned. Jamah is a frigging narcissist. He thinks he’s smarter than everyone, but this time he’s made the biggest mistake of his life.”

“But—”

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