Thirty minutes later, Asher entered her room as she came out of the bathroom with the last armload of stuff she had wanted to take. She dumped it all into the toiletries bag and zipped it up. "Ready?" She nodded, and he passed her a leather jacket before picking up her bags and leading her from the room.
"My team consists of me, four men, and one woman. The men will be joining us on our flight and road trip. They will be polite and professional with you and have been warned not to harm you. Given what I do for a living, they were chosen for their skill set, not their manners. You will either be with me or Les, who you will meet in a minute, at all times. Eric and Greg are fine, but you are not to be alone with Joe at all, ever. Unfortunately, his skill set outweighs the risks right now."
"And the woman?"
"You'll never see her. She works offsite, from her home, entirely off the grid. She's extremely agoraphobic and only interacts through phones and computers. She's a fucking genius with computers."
"Eric is the transport guy; there's nothing he can't drive or fly. Joe is logistics and planning. He monitors situations and makes sure we aren't found or caught. Les is second in command and in charge when I'm not around."
"I'm the boss, and my company is legitimate. It's used by government agencies and other less reputable organizations alike. As long as they pay me, I don't care what I'm asked to do, and as long as I pay them, my employees stay loyal to me and do what I tell them. Do you know why I'm telling you this?
"To remind me that I'm a means to an end and the only reason you're being nice and accommodating is, so I hold up to my end of our deal." She monotonously responded as he opened the door and led her to a black escalade.
"Exactly." He nodded, somehow both pleased and irritated that she understood him.
"Don't worry Asher; I'm just looking for some fun before it's over." Her voice was quiet as she took in the large man standing by the car. Asher glanced down at her; her odd choice of words made him frown.
"Les, this is Mina, Mina, Les." Asher passed her bags over to him.
"Mrs. Talbot." Les inclined his head at her.
"Please call me Mina, or if you insist on being formal, I was in the process of changing my name to Dione."
"Dione?" Asher raised his eyebrow."
"One of Saturn's moons." She said quietly with a shrug as she climbed into the back seat.
Asher gave a soft chuckle as he shut the door. He knew that; he was just surprised she did.
When they got to her condo, Les stayed in the car, and Asher went with her to get her things. Remembering her "It's all over" comment, he told her to put everything she wanted to take with her on the bed.
Mina shrugged and grabbed her pill bottles off the bedside table, throwing them onto the bed before heading into the bathroom to get her refills and a few toiletries. When she came out, Asher was sitting on the bed, typing the names of her medications into his phone. "What's Lyrica for?"
"Repeated strangulations have left me with nerve damage. It's for pain relief." She tossed what she was carrying on her bed and moved to her dresser, missing the brief look of rage on Asher's face before he got himself under control."
"Vyvanse?"
"I have ADHD; it keeps my brain quiet."
"Ramelteon?"
"Sleep aid." She returned with some clothes, hoodies, sweatpants, shorts, and t-shirts and grabbed her phone and charger from the nightstand. She checked and saw her boss had called. "Am I allowed to call into work?"
"You've already quit." He said absently as he read a text he had received. He had sent the names to Lexi and asked which was the most dangerous to overdose on, the signs of an overdose, and how to fix it.
"Right." She passed her phone and charger over to him. "We're going to need this."
He nodded and put it in his pocket. "I'll also be holding on to your medication. Myself or Les will make sure you get them as needed."
"Can I take my dosage now?" She kept her voice and face neutral as she returned to the dresser, got her bow and arrow necklace, and put it on.
When she turned around, he held the correct dosage of Lyrica and Vyvanse out to her. She took it and swallowed the pills. "Would you like to check?" She asked dryly.
"I doubt you'll give up your pain management and brain quieter to stockpile them." He met her gaze, and his eyes drifted down to her necklace. "What do the bow and arrow symbolize?"
"I'm a Sagittarius." She went to her closet, pulled out a bag, and began packing things. "And a fan of Hawkeye."
"The archer from the Marvel movies?" She nodded. "Why him?"
"Anyone who becomes that good at something has to put in a ton of effort and be passionate, consistent, and patient, traits I would have loved to have found in a man." She left the room, dropped the bag on the couch, and went to her spare room. Asher followed her in and looked around at the numerous sketches and paintings on the walls. "Am I allowed to keep myself occupied, or do I just sit quietly while you work?"
"You may keep yourself occupied." He leaned on the doorframe looking around at all the artwork as she pulled a few sketch pads and drawing pencils out and started making a pile on the desk. She pulled out a knapsack and put everything in it. "You have talent."
"I put in the effort." She shrugged and squeezed past him, adding the knapsack to the bag on the couch. Asher took a closer look at the artwork on the walls.
"Did you do these as well?"
"Yes." Mina went to the kitchen and found a reusable shopping bag which she filled with her favorite containers of tea, teapot, mug, and spoon. Looking up, she saw he was slowly making his way around the room. He stopped in front of a pastel drawing she had done of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse at night.
"This is talent, not effort." Asher studied it closely; it was incredibly well done, the blues and greys of the clouds. The way the light came from the lighthouse, the waves, it looked real, but he could see it was done with pastels.
"Take it if you want it." She shrugged. "I'm ready."
Asher hesitated for a moment but took another look at the artwork, and then he reached up and took it down. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it; I give them away all the time. Usually to charities to auction off..." her voice trailed off. "Do we have time to make one more stop?"
Asher checked his watch. "As long as it's quick."
"You might want to get Les up here to give us a hand then, and I need my phone."
After a phone call and a swift removal of her better pieces and they pulled up to the United Way office.
"Rebecca!" Mina called to a woman standing outside with a trolley. Rebecca smiled, waved, and came over. Les exited the car and came around to the back to open the trunk.
"Not that we aren't super grateful for all of these Mina, but is everything okay?" Rebecca was suspiciously eyeing the car and Les as she put the last drawings on the trolley.
"No, um, Derrick found me, and he's done much worse than just stealing my money, so I'm being brought somewhere safe until this is resolved."
"Oh, honey. I'm sorry." Rebecca hugged her. "If you need anything, you know how to find me."
"Thanks, Bec." Mina wiped some tears. "I'm gonna be unreachable, but I'll get in touch when this is over. I gotta go; say bye to everyone for me." She quickly got aboard the SUV. As they drove away, she hesitantly squeezed Asher's shoulder. "Thank you."
"Consider it payment for my painting."
Mina grinned. "We did leave that one in the trunk, right Les?"
"No. All the artwork was taken out." Les looked at her in the rearview mirror with a smirk.
"What?" Asher's head snapped around to look at them both. "Turn around!"
"Relax, it's here with me." Mina chuckled.
Les snorted and quickly stifled his laugh when Asher glared at him. "You're not funny."
"Les seems to think so." She smirked and leaned back in her seat.