Max put his hand on her shoulder, his face suddenly compassionate. “I truly believe from everything my men have told me, that Asher would want you to know. But I truly can’t tell you. His life—in fact, all of the team members’ lives—depend on secrecy. You’ve got to believe we’re taking care of him. Kane assured me he will make it.”
I’m not going to hit him.
I’m not going to scream.
I might cry.
Leland Hines came back down the stairs from inside the plane. “Eden, you need to get onboard. He really can’t tell you anything. Let me help you.”
She gave one last pleading look to the big man. “I’m begging you.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Max said gently.
“Come with me, Eden,” Leland said as he touched her shoulder. She slowly limped up the stairs and onto the plane.
“God, you have the hardest head in the entire damn world.”
Asher winced, but he refused to bend over like his body was aching to do. Really, he shouldn’t have yelled.
“You’re the stupid ass who climbed up a muddy hill when he just got out of a hospital,” Lawson said as he continued to sit on the dilapidated sofa with his boots propped up on the handmade coffee table.
“In my opinion, Ash, that makes you the one with the hardest head.”
Asher looked around the cabin. It looked like Lawson had made himself at home. “How long have you been here?”
“Just four days. I was going to go home in two days, but I was into this book.” He held up a biography of General George C. Marshall. “It’s my final book on generals.”
That took Asher a moment to process. Maybe all wasn’t lost. Still…
Lawson set down his book and grabbed Asher’s duffel off of his shoulder. “You really are a stubborn son-of-a-bitch. What the hell were you thinking coming up here? You know I have a satellite phone. You could have gotten ahold of me. Hell, I just saw you two weeks ago, for God’s sake. If you wanted to talk to me again, you could have just asked if I was okay, or waited until I was back at Pendleton. What do you want?”
“It’s a twofer.”
Lawson helped him to the couch. Unfortunately, Asher kind of needed a little bit of help. He felt like shit.
“Okay, let’s get number one out of the way, then we can focus on number two. There’s tomato soup on the stove.”
Asher gave his brother a sideways glance. It was a step up that he wasn’t sucking down pea soup. Lawson grinned at him.
“Food first,” Asher said. “I’m starving.”
On the small little stove, Lawson managed to whip up grilled cheese sandwiches and pour out some tomato soup for both of them.
“If you were like Maman, you would have made a Croque Monsieur,” Asher teased.
“You know, if you don’t like it, I’ll eat your sandwich,” Lawson said without heat.
Asher laughed before changing gears and becoming serious. “So, how are you dealing with Xavier’s death?”
“Suicide, Ash, suicide.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Law shot up from the table.
“I fucking hate it. I don’t understand it. It makes me mad. I’m so goddamn mad at him!”
He clenched his fists.
Ash looked at his younger brother, whose pain killed him. Worried him.
“And this week?”
“I’m trying to cope. I figured some away-time, other than deep-sea fishing, might help.”
“Yep, that was a fucking bust, wasn’t it?” Asher laughed. He pushed at Law’s chair with his foot, and his brother sat back down.
Lawson rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know. This was all I had. I might be mad, but I miss him, too. I was planning on seeing you next. Been talking to Kane, knew you would be getting out of the hospital tomorrow. Figured I could bunk in your spare room and act as a nurse for a week.”
“Just how much leave do you have?”
“A fair amount.”
There was that twinkle. Ash was happy to see a Lawson smile. “At least I don’t get myself shot so I can get time off. That’s a bit extreme, Brother. Shit, you were in the hospital for almost a month.”
“Well, speaking of time off, I have a proposition for you. I want to crash a wedding. I would love to have a wingman.” Law gave him a double-take.
“Screw that, you just want more time trying to convince me to go to a shrink.”
“Like I said in the beginning, it was a twofer.”
“Are you planning to object?”
Asher picked up the dishes and put them in the sink. “Nah, I’m after one of the bridesmaids.”
“Okay, I’m in. Where is this wedding taking place?”
“Boise.”
“When?”
“In four days.”
Chapter 17
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
“What did you say?” Samantha asked her maid of honor. Eden had no idea how Sam was able to keep her voice calm.
“I love him, and he loves me. Don’t tell me you didn’t know something was wrong, he’s been going out of town every other week for the last six months. Didn’t you put it together?”
Eden had been listening to the maid of honor prattle on for over five minutes about the depth of her and the groom’s love for one another. She was close to throwing up, and she couldn’t stand Sam looking so shellshocked.
“Sheri, it’s time for you to leave,” Eden said to Sam’s cousin.
“No, not until Samantha says she won’t marry Kevin.”
Eden had had enough. Not hair-pulling enough, but enough. She grabbed Sheri’s arm and pulled. “You’re outta here. Go get your man and leave.”
“But—” Sam started to say
