PRESENT

Voicemail. Again.

"Shit!" I slam my phone down on my desk, gripping my hair tightly.

Something is wrong here. Something is very, very wrong. It's not just that Asher hasn't answered his phone the last ten times I've called him, although that alone is weird as hell, but I can't shake the awful feeling in my gut. I can't tell if I'm being paranoid or if something is honestly wrong.

I check the time on my phone again. Asher isn't supposed to pick me up for another two hours so he could be busy doing something else but...this isn't like him. I could just be paranoid but I can't shake away what my gut is telling me. I know Asher and I know something is wrong.

My phone buzzes with an incoming call and I audibly gasp, reaching for it like my hand is on fire. Any shred of hope in my heart immediately deflates when I see it's not Asher. Instead, that hope deflated with dread because Greg is calling me. Somewhere in the back of my mind I think I already know what he's calling for and maybe that's why fear holds me back from answering, instead watching the call go on for a few moments.

Shit, shit, shit. Not picking up is not going to change the fact that there's something wrong. Snap out of it, Aria.

Before the call can die out, I quickly press the green button and bring my phone to my ear. It all seems like it's happening in slow-motion, as if the longer I can prolong this the more I can convince myself that everything is okay. That Asher is going to get me when work is done, that we're going to go home together and he'll make love to me in the same bed we slept in together as kids, that he's going to be safe in my arms and tells me he loves me even though he's a man that has trouble loving.

I'm already at the brink of tears when I make myself say in a rather shaky voice, "Hello?"

"Hey, darlin'." Greg sighs tiredly, like he knows the same things I know. My lower lip trembles as he continues. "I can't get a hold of Asher. He was supposed to meet me at my house some time ago and all of his calls are going to voicemail. Have you tried reaching him?"

My gut sinks painfully. Somewhere in the back of my mind I held out hope but Greg's words confirms that there isn't room for any. "I've been trying as well. It's the same for me. Voicemail."

No response. Instead there's a tense silence as both of us breathe heavily, wondering if we should voice what I'm sure we're both assuming at this point. I go first, not wanting to waste another second if Asher really is in danger.

"He's in trouble, isn't he?"

A few seconds stretch out before he speaks. "As much as I want to say we're reading too much into this, in Asher's world, going this long without contact usually means that yes, he's in trouble."

I lick my dry lips and ignoring how fast my heart is beating. "Any guesses?"

"Yeah. It's bad." He clears his throat pointedly and I brace myself for the bad news. At least, as much as I can. "You know how Mitch has been tracking Christian these past couple weeks."

And then my gut is twisting so painfully that I know I'm going to throw up. Because this can't be happening. This absolutely can't be happening.

"No." My voice cracks. "Don't tell me."

He hesitates. "I'm sorry to be doing this darlin'. Mitch hasn't seen Christian in two hours now and he's still trying to locate him."

"Oh, God." A sob escapes me and I smack my hand over my mouth. Just the though of Asher getting hurt, knowing Christian is out for blood...I feel like I'm dying from the inside out. "This can't be happening, Greg."

"Maybe...maybe it didn't." He sounds like he's trying to convince the both of us. "I called him an hour ago and told him Christian is AWOL again. Pryce knows what's happening. I told him to come straight here to my house."

My breath gets caught in my throat, a new burst of hope making it hard to breathe. "Yeah? Then maybe he's okay."

"Maybe." He sounds unsure. "But he should have been here by now. And...it's possible that he was sighted on the road by Christian or something. I don't know. Nothing is adding up here."

That last shred of hope bursts and my heart sinks again. I wrack through my brain trying to tie the obvious loose ends. Asher knew Christian is AWOL. Even if Christian sighted him he should have been able to drive to safety somehow. He could have called Greg if he was being chased like we did last time. Instead he's unreachable. Why would his phone be off if he was warned about Christian. He wouldn't do something that stupid. Did Christian even find him?

"It...it feels like we're missing something here." I can't help but wonder aloud.

"You're right. This isn't like Pryce. I can't figure out what, though."

Shit. I close my eyes again and try to think harder. What's missing here? What are some other possibilities?

"I think we need to reach out to Hunter, darlin'." Greg interrupts my thoughts. "I know you know Pryce but so does he and right now we need help. We need to find Pryce ASAP. In this life, a lot can happen in just ten minutes of being off the grid, never mind an entire hour."

Oh, fuck. Nate. We still haven't told him about our relationship. I don't know why that came to mind while Asher's life is at stake but I guess I always imagined Ash and I telling him together. Now I'll have to tell him while his best friend is missing, the very same best friend that admittedly put me in danger by being with me when there's a killer on the loose that has it out for him. That should go well.

"You're right." I concede because he is. This is about to go so terribly wrong but I have to put on my big girl pants and deal with it. Asher's life is at stake, damn it. I'll handle Nate if I need to. "Should I call him?"

"Yeah. Get him to pick you up from work right now and drive to my house. Do you think you'd be able to leave early?"

"I can say it's a family emergency."

"Okay. Do that and stay in touch. I'll see you soon and we'll go from there."

"Thank you." I can't help but feel the need to say. This has to be the millionth time he's saved our asses all while putting his own on the line. I'm not sure where Asher and I would be without him. Dead, probably. "For everything, Greg. Thank you."

"Anytime." He says softly. "Just be safe."

"I will. Thanks." I whisper and end the call.

I take a deep breath, digesting everything that just happened in the last five minutes. Somehow I always knew something like this would happen. It was inevitable. Dealing with the fall-out of Asher's unresolved past. I knew it would be dangerous and tricky but I didn't realize just how much until we actually got to this point. Now that it's all happening I realize that Asher and I have been living in a bubble all this time, a little safe place with just the two of us. That bubble just popped and now the scary dark world is out to get us. It's terrifying and I want to cry and hide but I need to be strong for him. I need to make sure he's okay because we're a team.

I pull out my brother's number and call him with shaky fingers. I'm nowhere near ready for this but I have no choice. It's now or never.

"Hey, brat." He answers the call cheerfully. I close my eyes, pain gripping my throat. Freaking Nate. Always so happy, so positive, and I'm about to rip his world out from underneath his feet. After all he's done for me I hate that I have to be the one to do this.

"Nate." My voice shakes.

"Aria?" He immediately grows serious, his tone becoming protective. "What's wrong?"

And I say the very same words to him that I've been saying all my life. My twin. My partner in crime. My hero.

"I need your help."

***

Nate gapes at me, blinking slowly like he can't believe the words I've just said.

"You...you and Asher..."

"We're together." I repeat and clear my throat. I look around to where Greg and Mitch are talking among themselves in the kitchen and trying to locate Ash but there's no doubt they can hear our conversation. "We haven't been dating for long but...I've loved him all my life. And he's always loved me. I mean, fuck, Nate. You had to have noticed something."

"Well...I..." He sputters, clearly at a loss for words.

"Come on, Nate." I level him with a look. "All those times he beat up the guys that dated me? Always sneaking in my room late at night? We might have been scared to admit our feelings to each other but it was pretty obvious."

"No, you're right, it was." He reluctantly grumbles. "It's just...I think part of me always waited for you guys to finally get together at some point and it never happened. You were always seeing other people and then you flew to California and that was that. I guess I just figured I was reading into it too much and that his protectiveness was more brotherly than anything."

I cringe at his more than accurate observation. "Yeah. We were pretty dumb about it and I guess too afraid to acknowledge our feelings and then next thing we knew, years had somehow passed."

"So, what finally changed?" He asks quietly, hanging on to my every word.

I shift in my seat nervously. This is super weird. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be sitting down with my brother and talking about my feelings for our best friend. It gets complicated when Asher is a best friend to both of us because...well...it's just weird. "I don't really know. I guess a time in our life just came where we were finally on the same page about each other. There was no way we could ignore our feelings anymore. We'd dodged them long enough and finally reached our limit, I suppose."

"Makes sense." He mulls that over for a few beats. Then he laughs under his breath. "God, this is so weird. You and Asher...it's so right but I can't seem to wrap my head around it. All I can think about is the three of us playing together as kids, partying together when we got older, and now we're all settling down and you two have settled together. It's kind of bizarre, you know?"

"It is." I agree, happy he's opening up about his feelings. "It's a big adjustment. We didn't give in to it right away, either. I mean we felt that shift between us as soon as I moved back but we fought it off for this exact reason. It was just bizarre. But...I guess it was meant to be."

Nate blows out a breath and leans back on the couch, thinking. I glance over at Mitch and Greg who are still talking. They're using all of their connections to find Asher so they told us to sit back while they figure it out. In the meantime, I've been catching Nate up to speed.

"Things are going to be different now, huh?" Nate asks quietly and I look back at him. His expression is mostly content but a little somber. I soften with sympathy. "For years you and I shared so much. We even shared a best friend. Now it's going to be the two of you with me in the background."

"No." I shake my head, setting my hand on his knee. "No way, Nate. You and Asher are brothers before anything. Of course things will be different but this isn't going to take away from your friendship. I would never let that happen. You two idiots need each other."

He chuckles, arm going around my shoulder and pulling me into his side. I rest my head on his shoulder and seek the comfort only he could provide me. "Yeah, that's true. I wish he trusted me enough to tell me this himself."

"He does." I insist. "Just...with everything going on and realizing us being together would put my life at risk, he didn't want to involve anyone in his life. That's why he wouldn't be with me in the beginning, either. But we couldn't stop it from happening, Nate. Please don't blame him."

"I don't." He sounds curt. "But I'm fucking pissed that he pulled you into this mess without telling me. I could have helped him and instead he put the two of you in danger. What the fuck was he thinking?"

I wince. And there it is. It was inevitable that Nate would be pissed off about that and as my brother he has every right. I know that.

"I mean, fuck. Both of you could have died. Didn't he realize that? By some miracle you're okay and now he's missing and for all we know he's..."

"Don't say that." I whisper harshly. "We'll find him. And when we do, you can fight it out like a bunch of meatheads but that won't change the fact that we love each other and we're going to be together. Okay?"

"I'm definitely going to kick his fucking ass." He grumbles and he looks genuinely pissed. I squeeze his knee and he looks down at me, expression softening. "But I'm happy for you guys. He treats you well, right? He's my brother and everything but you know how much of a manwhore he is."

"Was." I correct, not at all offended. "There's a lot of things I questioned about my relationship with Asher but his loyalty was never one of them. You know he's loyal to a fault, Nate. That's why he's never been in a relationship before. He'd rather stay single than cheat. He wasn't going to get into a relationship with anyone he knew he couldn't commit to."

"Yeah, suppose you're right." Nate runs a hand through his hair, smiling wryly. "Never thought I'd see the day that fucker settled down. With my sister no less. That's fucking gross."

"Get over it." I roll my eyes but I'm grinning because I know he approves and that matters to me more than anything. "It's for life. Even Dad told Ash that I'm his one, whatever that means."

"What?" Nate looks down at me incredulously. He looks more floored about that than when I told him Ash and I are together. "No fucking way. Dad said that to him? You're his one?"

"Yeah." I eye him, wondering what's gotten him all riled up.

"Jesus." He balks. "That's some serious shit. Fuck. This is for life, huh?"

"That's what I've been saying." I point out. "What the hell is a one, anyways? You guys are acting like it's a life or death term or something."

"It is." He says simply without elaborating. "You know how pinky promises mean the world to you and Ash? A girl being your one is more serious than that."

I feel my brows go up. When he puts it like that, I actually get it. Maybe I should ask Dad about it one day.

"Fuck!" Mitch smacks the counter loudly and I jump, turning to him. Nate tenses and stands up.

"What's wrong?" He demands.

I stand too and join him, sobering up. For a moment there things felt normal. I was just a girl talking about the man I loved with my brother. It was so mundane and I can't help but think about how many times I took life for granted when it was boring. I'd prefer that over this nightmare any day.

"We can't find him." Mitch tugs at his hair impatiently. "I know all of Christian's go-to spots in the city. I've been watching him for weeks. I can't find him or Asher. Where the fuck could they have gone?"

"There's no way they went out of the city, right?" Nate supplies.

"No. Even if they got the earliest flight, they couldn't have been out of here in less than two hours."

"What if they drove?"

"We put out on APB on both their cars. Haven't heard anything back from the guys who are on watch for us."

"Maybe they went somewhere Christian's never been before?" I ask. "Since Christian figured out he was being watched, he probably went somewhere you weren't familiar to."

"That's what I've been thinking. But where would we even start looking if that's the case? They could be anywhere."

Shit. I feel tears of frustration well up in my eyes. Think, Aria, think.

"Nate? Any ideas?" I ask him.

He shakes his head glumly. "Called all the guys and his house. He's not there. Not at the gym. I'm stumped."

I feel desperation clouding my head and I can't seem to think straight. I'm so out of sorts that I can't find it in me to be logical about this. It feels like I'm missing something but I don't know what.

"C'mon, Ria." Nate grips my shoulders. "You know him better than any of us. Where would he go?"

"I don't know." The first few tears slip out and Nate curses, swiping them away and pulling me into a hug. I hold onto him for the strength that I no longer have. "I can't think about anything except if he's alive or not."

"Hey." His voice is soft but firm. "Ash is one deadly motherfucker. He can hold his own. I have no doubt that wherever he is, he's raising hell. Stop thinking about what happens if we don't make it in time and start thinking about what happens if we do. He's going to be so happy to see you. Probably kiss you right in front of me and I'll have to barf in a corner or some shit. And then I'll beat his ass because that's what we do and we'll all go home. The three of us against the world, Ria. Just like always."

I nod, his words finally getting through to me. He's right. I need to have faith that Asher will be okay just how I'm sure Asher has faith we're going to be there for him. We can't do that if I don't pull myself together and make it happen.

"Okay." I pull away and focus on my breathing, clearing my head. "Give me a minute. Let me retrace my steps."

"That's a good start." Greg nods. "Have you seen him at all today?"

"Yeah. He stopped by my office earlier. We..." I trail off, realizing the next part is definitely not something I'm about to say out loud. Instead I clamp my mouth shut while my cheeks grow warm.

"Oh, come on." Nate wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Seriously?"

"These two are something else." Mitch presses his lips together, clearly containing a laugh. "Nobody in our motel got any sleep the night these two stayed over. We ran out of earplugs."

"Mitch!" I stomp my foot angrily while embarrassment makes all the blood rush to my face.

"Dude, that's my sister." Nate glares. "I have no interest in hearing what my best friend does to her behind closed doors. Fucking disgusting."

"Focus." Greg demands but I swear his lips twitch slightly. Any other time I might have laughed because, admittedly, this is kind of hilarious.

"So, you saw him." Greg redirects the conversation and I sober up again. "Then?"

"We talked for a bit. He kept me company. Then he had to leave because I had a last minute client and..."

I suck in a startled breath as it finally clicks. The missing piece. Trisha. Robbie. Somehow through my worry for Asher, I completely forgot about his involvement. How I managed to overlook that I'm not sure, but I couldn't focus on anything except Asher's safety. Now it's all flooding back and it brings everything together. Asher talked to Trisha once he found out she'd been hired by Robbie. I'm almost certain he asked her where Robbie lives and went to pay him a visit. What this has to do with Christian I still don't know but it's a start.

"Oh my God." I hold a hand to my chest. My heart is beating so hard I'm convinced it might pop out of me. "I think I know where he is."

Everyone immediately straightens up and turns to me.

"You sure?" Greg asks.

"There's no doubt." I fumble for my phone through my bag and scroll through my contacts.

"Who are you calling?" Nate asks curiously.

Shit. Nate. I've dropped enough bombs on him today and this is just another. But I have to warn him or he's likely to lose his shit.

"You know my client, Trisha? I mentioned her a few times?"

"Yeah?" He's confused as hell, clearly trying to work out what she has to do with anything. "She's been giving you a tough time lately, right?"

"For good reason." I pause, nervous as hell to tell him the truth. There's no telling how he'd react. "She actually wasn't an abuse victim. She was hired by someone to prove that I was a fraud because that's what they told her."

"Who the hell would do something like that?" His brows pull in together, more angry than confused now.

I lick my lips and ignore the curious stares of Greg and Mitch who clearly have no idea what's going on. "It was Robbie. He's out of jail and he meant to get to me through Trisha. He planned to kidnap me but when he started acting shady and Trisha realized I take my job seriously, she came clean."

The absolute rage on Nate's face actually makes me take a step back. His face contorts like I've never seen it and I nervously glance at Greg. Greg is watching him like he doesn't recognize who he is and is cautiously walking over to us, sensing Nate is about to lose his shit.

"Robbie?" Nate demands. His voice is cold and deadly. I flinch. "That fucker is back? And he tried to...what the fuck?"

"I know." I put my hands on his chest, trying to calm him down. "And I immediately told Asher. I called him. Then he wanted to talk to Trisha and not even a minute later Trisha left my office. I haven't heard from Asher since."

"He went after Robbie." He states. "Probably asked Trisha where Robbie lives."

"Yes. He has to be there. He was just as angry as you are."

"I'm going to fucking kill that fucker!" Nate kicks the couch hard enough that it slides back a considerable distance.

"Hey!" Greg barks and comes up behind Nate, wrapping his arms around him before he can do any more damage. Nate struggles against Greg's hold, trying to fight his way out. "Cool it! This isn't about to help Pryce. What's going to help is for you to pull your shit together and help us find him before something bad happens. Calm the fuck down, Hunter. Now."

Nate finally stops struggling and looks down at the floor, breathing hard. Greg holds him while he continues to calm himself down and tosses me a wary glance.

"Since this Robbie character is somehow involved, mind telling me who he is?"

I look away from him, shame engulfing me. It's humiliating that I once let a man put his hands on me and I don't like talking about it, to say the least. "Ex-boyfriend. He...he used to abuse me. It was bad."

Total silence. I wince a little when I look up and find everyone's eyes on me. Nate's are full of anger and hurt, Greg looks mildly shocked and equally angry, and Mitch is full-blown scowling and shaking his head in disgust.

"Hate fuckers like that." He supplies and I'm grateful because for a moment I was wondering who he felt disgusted with. "I don't blame you guys for wanting to kill him."

"I guess we should have the first time around." Nate bites out. "I thought I did the right thing by sending him to jail and now he's back. How the hell did he get released so early?"

"Parole for good behaviour." I shrug, not knowing what else to say.

"Christ." Greg sighs deeply. At this point I just feel bad for him. I doubt he expected to deal with any of this when he was pursuing his dreams of being a boxing coach. Guilt tightens my chest and I smile apologetically at him. "Find out where he lives and let's go there. If Pryce didn't already take care of the little fuck, then Mitch and I will."

"What do you mean?" My eyes widen in alarm.

"Don't worry about that. He'll get what he deserves if he hasn't already. Just find him."

His words calm down Nate considerably and Greg finally lets him go. Nate says something to him too quietly for me to hear but the two shake hands, growing serious. Meanwhile, I hold the phone to my ear and wait for the call to go through.

"Hello?" Trisha picks up.

"Trisha. Did Asher ask you where Robbie lives? Did you tell him?"

There's silence on the other end and that's all I need to know.

"Shit." I meet everyone's eyes and nod, conforming Asher's whereabouts. They immediately get into action, gearing up and barking out orders to each other.

"I didn't tell him anything." Trisha tries and I immediately cut her off.

"Trisha. Please. By now I can see through your act and it's really important that you tell me where Robbie lives. He's a dangerous man and Asher's life is at stake. Please."

She must hear the seriousness in my voice because she immediately relents. "Okay. But just for the record he didn't want me telling you."

"Well, he can be really stupid sometimes."

Trisha snorts and then gives me the address. I immediately repeat it to Greg who puts it in his phone and signals for us to get a move on. I thank Trisha, end the call, and then we're off.

And hopefully we're not too late.

__________________________

A/N

*cue heart attack*

I'm freaking out for Ash! Dying to see if he's okay or what's happening to him! Who else?

Also, I will forever love Nate and Aria's relationship. Their talk about Ash was definitely needed before we moved on.

Please VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)