8. Asher

CHAPTER 8

ASHER

T he shattered glass crunches beneath my feet as I stare down the barrels of the guns pointed at my face. My heart is a wild thing in my chest, fear and adrenaline surging through my veins like battery acid.

But I don't cower. I don't beg. Instead, I lift my chin and meet the cold, dead eyes of Declan's enforcers with a defiance I didn't know I possessed.

"We're closed," I say, my voice steady despite the tremor in my hands. "I'm going to have to ask you gentlemen to leave."

The bigger of the two, a mountain of a man with a scar bisecting his left eyebrow, barks out a harsh laugh. "Oh, we ain't going nowhere, princess. Not until we've delivered a message from the big boss man."

He takes a step forward, the muzzle of his gun never wavering from my head. I swallow hard, my mind racing, searching for a way out, a way to survive the next few minutes.

But before I can so much as twitch, the roar of an engine shatters the tense silence. Tires screech against asphalt, a car door slams, and then...

"Asher!" Liam's voice, raw and ragged with terror, with a fury so deep it shakes the very foundations of the earth. "Asher, where are you?"

The enforcers exchange a loaded glance, their free hands creeping towards the holsters at their hips. And I know, with a bone-deep certainty, that if Liam comes through that door, if he sees me like this... it will be a bloodbath.

"Liam, no!" I scream, desperation cracking my voice like a whip. "Stay back, don't..."

But it's too late. The door flies open, the bell above it giving a mocking jingle, and Liam is there, his gun drawn, his face a mask of barely leashed violence.

Time seems to slow, the moment stretching like taffy as Liam's gaze finds mine across the ravaged diner. I see the emotions flicker across his face like the frames of a film reel - shock, rage, a fear so potent it steals my breath.

And then the world explodes into motion and sound, into blood and bullets and the sickening crunch of bone.

I don't remember moving, don't remember thinking. I only know that one moment I'm standing frozen, helpless, and the next I'm swinging the baseball bat with every ounce of strength in my body, a scream tearing from my throat like a battle cry.

The bat connects with the back of the bigger enforcer's head with a dull, meaty thunk. He crumples like a puppet with cut strings, his gun clattering to the floor.

I don't stop. I bring the bat down again, and again, my vision blurred with tears, my heart a jackhammer in my chest. Dimly, I'm aware of Liam grappling with the other enforcer, of grunts and curses and the sharp retort of a gunshot.

And then there's silence. A terrible, ringing silence, broken only by the rasp of my own rasping breaths.

"Asher." Liam's voice, soft and shaken. "Asher, baby, it's over. You can stop now."

I blink, the world coming back into focus. Liam stands before me, his hands held out in a placating gesture, his eyes wide and haunted in his too-pale face.

I look down at the bat in my hands, at the blood and hair matting the smooth wood. A sob hitches in my throat, and I let it fall from my nerveless fingers, stumbling back until my legs hit a chair.

"I killed him," I rasp, bile rising hot and sharp in my throat. "Oh God, Liam, I killed him."

Liam is there in an instant, his arms coming around me, pulling me into the solid warmth of his chest. "Shh," he soothes, his lips pressed to my temple, his heart a rapid tattoo against my cheek. "You didn't, sunshine. He's just knocked out. You did what you had to do, to protect yourself. To protect us."

I cling to him, my face buried in the crook of his neck, great, shuddering sobs wracking my frame. He holds me through it, murmuring soft nonsense, his hands stroking soothing circles over my back.

"I'm so sorry," he breathes, his voice thick and choked. "Asher, fuck, I'm so sorry. I should have been here, should have protected you."

I shake my head, drawing back to look at him, my vision blurred with tears. "This isn't your fault," I say fiercely. "Liam, you can't... you can't take the blame for your brother's evil. For his choices."

Something flickers in his eyes, a pain so deep it steals my breath. "If I hadn't brought you into my world," he starts, but I cut him off with a press of fingers to his lips.

"I chose this," I remind him, my voice steady despite the tremor in my bones. "I chose you, Liam. For better or worse, in sunshine and in shadow. And I will keep choosing you, every damn day, no matter what Declan or anyone else throws at us."

A shudder ripples through him, his eyes squeezing shut, his brow coming to rest against mine. "I can't lose you," he rasps, the words like shattered glass. "Asher, if something happened to you because of me, I'd..."

"Nothing is going to happen to me," I vow, cupping his jaw in my palms, holding his gaze with the force of my conviction. "Because we're going to stop Declan. We're going to end this, once and for all. Together."

For a long, stretched moment, he just stares at me, his eyes searching my face, looking for any hint of hesitation, of doubt. He won't find any. My path is clear, my purpose crystallized into diamond-hard resolve.

I will stand by Liam's side, will fight with him, for him, until my last breath. Until the bloody end of the world, if that's what it takes.

Because he is mine, and I am his. In life, in death, in whatever waits beyond. Always.

"Okay," he says at last, his voice rough and raw. "Okay, Asher. We do this together. No more hiding, no more secrets. We take the fight to Declan, and we end this fucking nightmare."

Relief crashes through me, dizzying in its intensity. I surge forward, claiming his mouth in a kiss that sears and consumes, that feels like a vow inscribed in fire and flesh.

He meets me with equal desperation, his tongue delving deep, his hands fisting in my hair. We cling to each other amidst the ruin of the diner, glass and blood crunching beneath our feet, the future a yawning chasm before us.

But I'm not afraid. Not with Liam by my side, his strength and his love a shield against the darkness.

We're in this together, come what may. And Heaven help anyone foolish enough to stand in our way.

The safehouse is a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of town, all corrugated metal and rust-eaten doors. Finn and a handful of Liam's most loyal men are waiting for us, their faces grim, their eyes hard and watchful.

Liam keeps me close as we move through the cavernous space, his body angled to shield me, his gun a constant weight in his hand. I can feel the tension thrumming through him, the coiled readiness for violence that lives under his skin.

It should scare me, should make me recoil. But all I feel is a fierce rush of love, of pride. This man, my man, would raze cities to keep me safe. Would paint the streets red with the blood of those who dared to threaten what's his.

And God help me, but I glory in it. In him, in the savage beauty of his devotion.

We gather around a battered table strewn with maps and blueprints, Finn laying out the plan in clipped, efficient tones. It's a good plan, a smart plan, utilizing all the evidence and allies Liam has spent weeks gathering.

But it hinges on a crucial element. A linchpin without which the whole thing crumbles.

Me.

"Absolutely not," Liam snarls when Finn suggests it, his fist slamming down on the table hard enough to rattle the guns laid out on its surface. "Asher is not fucking bait. End of discussion."

"Liam." I keep my voice soft, soothing, even as resolve hardens in my gut. "It makes sense. Declan's fixated on me, on using me to hurt you. If we dangle me out there, let him think he's got a clear shot... he'll be so focused on that, he won't see the trap until it's too late."

Liam rounds on me, his eyes wild, his face a mask of anguished fury. "I won't risk you," he grits out, his hands flexing at his sides as if aching to haul me into the shelter of his arms. "Asher, I can't . If something went wrong, if Declan got his hands on you..."

I step into him, molding my body to his, my fingers twining in the short hairs at his nape. "He won't," I murmur, holding his gaze with all the love, all the certainty in my soul. "Because you'll be there, Liam. Watching over me, keeping me safe. I trust you with my life, with everything I am. Do you trust me?"

He makes a low, wounded sound, his forehead dropping to rest against mine. "You know I do," he rasps, his eyes squeezing shut, his hands coming up to clutch at my hips. "More than anything, sunshine."

"Then trust me now," I breathe, brushing my lips over his in a soft, sweet promise. "Trust us , Liam. We're stronger together than Declan could ever be alone. He's got guns and goons, but we've got something he'll never understand."

Liam's eyes open, locking on mine, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Oh? And what's that, sunshine?"

I grin, fierce and bright, my heart a drum, a beacon, a fucking supernova in my chest.

"Love," I say simply. "The kind of love that moves mountains and alters fate. The kind of love that's worth fighting for, worth dying for. Declan can't touch that, Liam. Can't even fucking conceive of it."

Something eases in his face, the lines of tension and fear smoothing into a kind of awed tranquility. "No," he agrees quietly. "No, he fucking can't."

He kisses me then, deep and slow and so tender it brings tears to my eyes. I pour everything into that kiss, every ounce of trust and devotion, every bright scrap of hope.

It feels like a vow, like an oath sworn in blood and breath. Like the first step down a path I'd walk with him into Hell itself, and never once look back.

"Alright," Liam says when we finally break apart, his voice rough but resolute. "We do it your way, sunshine. Together, like always."

I beam at him, my heart so full it feels like it might crack wide open. "Together," I echo. "No matter what."

He squeezes me close, just for a moment, his lips brushing my temple. And then he's turning back to the table, to the waiting men, all traces of softness locked away.

In his place stands the Enforcer. The cold-eyed killer, the devil in a black denim jacket.

My devil. My love.

My fucking ride or die.

"Let's go over it again," he orders, his voice a low, deadly rasp. "And this time, leave nothing out. By the time we're done here, I want every angle covered, every contingency planned for. Declan don't get to walk away from this, you hear me? Not fucking this time."

A ripple of assent, of grim anticipation, goes around the table. I stand at Liam's side, my spine straight, my chin high.

Ready for whatever comes. Ready to end this, once and for all.

Even if I have to walk through the valley of the shadow to do it.

Because with Liam beside me, with his love and his strength and his unwavering faith...

There's no shadow I can't face. No darkness I can't overcome.

We're a force to be reckoned with, he and I. And Heaven help anyone foolish enough to stand in our way.