Page 73 of The Desperate Warrior

“Sure.” She smiled at Nikki and Asher. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course,” Asher nodded.

Brock led Jules into the kitchen. “That was Leroy Gilcrest on the phone,” he announced as if he’d known that she was aware of his every move. She was aware, but that was beside the point. “I got some disturbing info.”

Jules tensed. “Did he locate Steve Randall?”

“No.”

She swallowed her disappointment.

“Do you remember how Asher Winslow told you he was already signed up for the cooking class?”

“Of course. He told me that the day he heard me telling Mindy about it in the break-room.”

“He lied. Asher signed up for the class the day after he talked to you in the break-room.”

She blinked. “Are you sure?”

“That’s what Leroy said. He got the info from the lady in charge of scheduling the classes.”

“Well, maybe Asher wanted to get to know me and used that as an excuse. That doesn’t make him a criminal.” She liked Asher and wanted him to be all that he appeared.

Brock’s jaw tightened. “I don’t trust him.” He switched gears. “Don’t you think it’s odd that he didn’t call the police after someone broke into his house?”

She considered the question. “Yeah, a little, I suppose. But you didn’t think it was necessary to call the police after I got the photo in the mail,” she pointed out.

“That’s because I knew I could handle the situation better than the police. Asher Winslow doesn’t have my background or connections.”

“True,” she conceded.

“It sounds fishy to me that his security system was supposedly glitching.”

“Maybe, but it’s certainly possible. I don’t know why he would lie about his house getting broken into.”

“Yeah, it seems strange that he would.”

“Earlier, Asher and I were talking to Bree and LouAnna about everything that has happened with Steve Randall. I told them about getting the photo in the mail.” She made a face. “I hope that was okay.”

He wasn’t the least bit fazed. “Sure, it can’t hurt for them to know that.”

She was glad they were both on the same page. “I kept waiting for Asher to tell everyone how his house got broken into, but he didn’t say anything. And he had a strange look on his face … almost like he was hiding something.”

“I knew it,” he punched out.

A giggle rippled through her throat as she stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his chest. “Down boy. Just because Asher might be hiding something doesn’t mean that he’s a bad person.”

“Why are you defending him?” He eyed her in a steely challenge.

Her voice went silky soft. “Brock Ellis, there’s no need to be jealous. You know I prefer G.I. Joe over Ken dolls.”

He looked horrified. “Please don’t compare me to a doll.”

She laughed. “So, did Leroy uncover any other dirt on Asher? Does he leave the toilet seat up or forget to floss?”

“This isn’t a joke,” Brock growled. “Leroy tried to reach out to Asher’s ex-fiancée. He couldn’t get her but spoke to her mom,who said that Claire was devastated when Asher called off the engagement. Something happened between Asher and Claire. Whatever it was … Claire won’t talk about it, not even to her parents.”

Jules frowned. “That’s ... interesting. Asher told me that he and his ex-fiancée broke up because they were going in different directions. He made it sound more like a mutual thing.”

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