When Asher and Joe returned to the campsite, Les and Eric were waiting for him, looking a little guilty. "What happened?"
"She wanted to go for a run. So Eric went with her..." Asher raised his eyebrow, and Les held up his hands. "You know damn well I don't fucking run Asher. That was not part of my duties."
"So what happened?"
"Okay, in her defense, she didn't take her meds first." Eric said quickly. "But she just came to a stop, and when I asked if she was okay, she said no. She was considering running away. She didn't do it, didn't even try. I think she was testing to see what would happen, and then she said she needed her meds and came back without complaining."
"What does her medication have to do with anything?"
"People with ADHD have issues with impulse control and decision-making. We make decisions impulsively and don't think about the consequences until they happen. Our brains move too quickly to recognize bad decisions. The medication slows it down and allows you to think."
Asher nodded. "She's taken it now?"
"About an hour ago." Les answered and handed him the keys. "She drawing." He paused. "I spoke to Draco while you were gone. Right now, she's worth four million to him. He said he'd reconsider when we got Derrick, and he sees our final bill."
"So basically, he needs to be in the last place we look."
"Basically, yeah. But I didn't try to negotiate with him. I gave him a reason for asking and got his number. I'll put another call in after we're done here and give him your offer of removing your fee."
Asher nodded. "Thanks Les."
"No problem... We can't turn her over to him Ash. He knows she goes catatonic when handcuffed. Apparently, there are a lot of men out there who will pay good money to molest and abuse a woman who's a living doll."
"She goes catatonic?" He was thankful he had removed the bracelet so quickly now.
"That's what Derrick told him."
"Jesus fuck." Asher took a deep breath, closed his eyes, willing the rage to go away, and made a quick decision. "Reach out to our FBI friends and see if Draco is on their radar and how much they want to bring him down."
"Ash..." Les felt a moment of panic. "That move will alienate a lot of business."
"Not if we're careful." He thought about it for a minute. "Reach out to Lex and have her contact the FBI. No one knows about her."
Les grinned. "If you say so, boss." He had been against taking this job from the start, but the bonus Asher offered on top of the regular pay had convinced him. He always provided five-figured bonuses when they dealt with criminals and called it his morality tax.
Asher grabbed the groceries and brought them into the RV. As Les said, she was sitting at the table drawing. She looked up, saw it was him, and returned to her drawing without saying anything.
He put the groceries away and sat across from her. "Have you eaten?"
"Not hungry." She selected another pencil and pushed a sheet of paper toward him.
"What's this?" He frowned as he picked it up.
"The locations where Derrick may be hiding."
"You want out of our deal?"
"Yes."
Asher leaned back and stared at her, anger, hurt, and fear warring inside him. "Was it not satisfying enough for you?"
A small smile crossed her face, and she shook her head. "No, it was."
"Care to explain then?" Asher was pissed. He had been looking forward to more.
"They told you about this morning? That I was considering running?"
"Yes."
"I didn't have my music to keep my brain distracted, Eric didn't talk to me, and I realized I was running with my kidnapper. Not away from, with. and that I was fucking and sharing a bed with you like you never came in and completely fucked my life up, and all I could think about was running."
"After I got my meds and my brain calmed down, I realized that yeah, you guys kidnapped me, but you were hired to do it because of Derrick, and by withholding the information, I was dragging this out longer than it needed to be. So find him, turn me over, and I'll handle things from there."
"And just how do you plan to "handle things"?" The anger that exploded out of Asher surprised him, and he reached out and grasped her hand, flipping it over and pulling up her sleeve to reveal the scar. "This way?"
"If that's what I have to do, yes." She didn't flinch, and they stared at each other.
"No." Asher took the list and stood up. Then, moving over to the stove, he turned on the burner and caught it on fire. "I have a goddamn plan, and you aren't fucking it up."
"I'm sorry?" She stared at him. "Burning the list doesn't mean the deals back on."
"If you don't want to fuck me anymore, that's fine. That's your choice. I'll fucking move to the other RV if that's what you want. But I told you I was working on getting you out of the deal, and I need time for that." He threw the burning paper into the sink, came over, and leaned over her, one hand on the table and one on the back of the bench behind her. "I told you last night you belong to me, and I don't let go of what's mine."
"Asher..." Mina felt heat curl in her stomach and closed her eyes as her body reacted to his words and proximity. She thought it was just something he had said to her in the moment. Even Eric saying he doesn't share what's his hadn't made her think he was serious. She had made the deal hoping to get more time to make an escape plan while having a little fun. When he grabbed her chin and told her it was rude to interrupt, she had been instantly obsessed with the idea of fucking him.
"The deal being off doesn't make me want you any less. If anything, I want you more, so decide Princess. Am I moving to the other RV or not?" Asher waited anxiously. He would regret burning the list if she asked him to move to the other RV, but he had done it to prove a point. He could see the flush rising up her chest and neck and knew she wanted him. His only question was if that was enough.
Mina opened her eyes and met Asher's and was surprised when she saw hurt and fear, not anger in them. "No." She heard herself whisper. "You're not."