50. Asher

My alarm beeps incessantly, forcing me out of a heavy sleep.

Man, I had no idea how desperately I needed it. I must have full-on blacked out, my body desperate for some recuperation after so many nights of stress and worry.

Not that the stress wasn’t still lingering last night, but having Lani in my bed made all the difference. Doing it all slow and intimate like that before going to sleep probably helped too. I was as relaxed as I could have been, and my body took advantage of that and threw me into a nighttime coma.

Hitting the snooze button, I roll over with a sleepy yawn, about to pull Lani into my arms… except she’s not there. When I find the empty mattress beside me, my eyes ping open and I sit up with a start.

“Lani?” I call toward the bathroom, but there’s no response.

Scratching my bedhead, I shake off the last of my sleepiness and fling the covers off me. I’m still naked, so I throw on a pair of boxers before walking out to the man cave in search of her.

She’s not there.

And she’s not in the kitchen or the dining room.

She’s not playing pool or darts. She’s not watching TV or curled up on the patio with a book.

I even go upstairs to check the bathroom in case she didn’t want to wake me with a shower, but when I get there, Liam is walking out the door, giving me his fresh-faced morning smile.

“Hey, man.”

I grunt at him, running back downstairs to check my room for a note. But I don’t see anything. The man cave is empty, with zero evidence of her even being here last night.

“Great,” I mutter, trying not to let my annoyance get the better of me.

But what the fuck?

Why’d she just take off without saying goodbye?

Unplugging my phone, I press her name on my screen and figure a text can be ignored. But not a fucking phone call.

She makes me wait five rings before finally answering.

“Hey, babe.”

She sounds nervous, which puts me on immediate alert and probably makes my words a lot snappier than I mean them to be. “Where are you?”

“Um…”

“Why’d you just take off?”

“I didn’t want to wake you.” I hear the catch in her voice, and my eyes narrow as I stalk to my closet and start pulling out my clothes for the day.

“Where are you right now?”

“Well, I…” She tuts. “The thing is…” She sighs again, and now my internal alarm system is going nuts, because Lani does not struggle to articulate herself. Ever.

“Boo,” I grit out, struggling to keep my emotions in check. I have no idea why my insides are raging, but something is off. “I need you tell me what’s going on.”

“Okay, fine, but I’m safe.”

“That’s not helping.” I shake my head. “Why do I need to worry about your safety right now?”

“You don’t.” Her tone gets sharp. “That’s what I’m saying.”

Snapping my eyes shut, I fist the shirt in my hand and squeeze the crap out of it. “You don’t tell someone you’re safe unless you’re worried they think you might not be. Where are you?” It’s impossible not to raise my voice.

She pauses, then clears her throat. “I’m at the football frat… trying to find some kind of evidence.”

“You… What?” My eyebrows pop high. “You’re there?”

“Yes.”

“Right now?” My voice pitches as I put her on speakerphone and start throwing on my clothes with an urgency that no doubt looks comical.

“Yes. I just said I was here.”

“With all those guys? By yourself!”

“Asher, seriously, I’m fine.”

“If even one of them tries to touch you,” I growl, wrestling with my belt buckle, which is being a stubborn ass and not finding the correct hole. “Put them on the phone!”