Fast Burn (Burned Duet 1)

“You’re welcome. But still leave your keys. Jax said you have a shift tonight, so you won’t have long between school and when you have to leave.” He was right, but I hated that he was right. I didn’t want him to know how little I had. But in the grand scheme of things, did it really matter?

“Okay then.” I grabbed my backpack and placed it on my lap to fish for my keys as Asher pulled into the school lot

and headed right for the main doors. I stared out of the windshield and grinned as Leo’s face came into view and chuckled as he frowned at the truck, looked away, and then back again, mouthing something.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh,” Asher said softly.

Butterflies took flight in my stomach and I glanced over at him. “You haven’t?”

“Nope.” His lips lifted into a grin, but as soon as it was there, it was gone again. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel harder. “I need you to distract me right now, Elodie.”

“I…what?” I frantically looked around, trying to search for Asher’s sudden change in mood. Leo was making his way to the truck with a confused look on his face, but behind him and leaning against the wall was Knox. He stared at the truck, his face a mask of nothingness.

“Shit.” I undid my belt and leaned over the center console. “Ignore him.”

“It’s takin’ all of my strength not to get out of this tru—”

My door flung open and Leo asked, “What are you doing here, Uncle Asher?”

The atmosphere in the truck slowly dissipated, and Asher’s gaze connected with mine. In the blink of an eye, he concealed his anger now that Leo was here, and it made me wonder if he did that often. He’d been open with me, but now his walls were firmly in place, and I knew all about slamming my walls down so no one could see the truth shining in my eyes.

“Dropping Elodie off. She had some car trouble.”

“Oh,” Leo answered. “You coming in, then?” he directed at me.

“Yeah.” I gripped my backpack harder and started to shuffle out of the truck. I placed my keys on the seat behind me. “Thanks, Asher.”

“Anytime,” he replied, and I pushed out of the truck completely, closed the door behind me, and didn’t look away as Asher turned to face Knox, gave him a death stare, then drove away, leaving me and Leo behind.

“Well, that was weird,” Leo commented, but I couldn’t bring myself to reply to him. Instead, I spun around and walked into school, intent on getting this day over with.

Chapter Thirteen

ASHER

“I don’t wanna brag or anything, but I think I should win 'best big sister of the year' award.”

I grinned at the sound of Belle’s voice and pushed up off the floor where I was trying to piece together the old bed that had been in the apartment. Jax was on his way to grab a new mattress for it, but in the meantime, the frame was like a damn puzzle.

“Didn’t think you’d get here so fast.” I stood and wiped my hands on the front of my jeans. I’d messaged Belle this morning after dropping Elodie at school and tried to give her a small amount of information, while also asking for anything she could donate like bed sheets or throw cushions—she always had a mountain of throw cushions lying around.

“Well, when your brother gives you half of a story, you make it here super fast to hear the rest of it.” She placed several bags by the front door and raised her brow. “Now”—she planted her hands on her hips, looking every bit like our mom—“want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

I pushed my hand through my hair, not sure where to start. I couldn’t tell Belle everything because Elodie still had secrets, but I at least had to tell her something.

“Okay, so you know Leo’s friend, Elodie?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I do.”

“Well, erm…” I blew out a breath as I tried to piece it together in my head. “She works for Jax. I’ve spoken to her a few times. And she does dance lessons across the street too.”

“You’re stalling,” Belle sang with a smile on her face. It was no secret she enjoyed watching me squirm.

“I’m not.” I glanced around the small apartment. I’d tried to do the best I could with cleaning it, but it was now an empty space. The main door opened right into the living room, which also had an open-plan small kitchen attached, and off this room was one bedroom and an en suite. It was tiny, but it was enough for Elodie.

“So basically, she’s had some things going on, and her mom is addicted to drugs, and they got kicked out, and her mom left her to fend for herself, and I found her sleeping in her car last night, and—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Belle held up her hands. “Slow down there, lil bro.” She slowly dropped her hands as she took a breath loudly. “Start from the beginning.”