They spent most of the morning in bed, cuddling and napping. They got up at eleven and got ready to meet the FBI agent. Asher had told the guys to take the day to themselves and leave one of the SUVs for them. On the way to the tavern, Mina made sure he was okay with her telling the truth
"Yes, tell them exactly what happened." Asher smiled at her. "Don't worry about us; I've got that covered."
"If you're sure Asher."
They pulled in a little early and found a booth in the back. They weren't waiting long when a man with short blonde hair approached the table. "Asher Christianson?"
"Depends on who's asking." Asher leaned back and placed a calming hand on Mina's knee as it bounced.
"Noel Batten." He nodded. He was dressed in jeans and a hoodie and looked nothing like a fed.
"Have a seat."
"So, according to your tech genius, we're after the same thing."
"No. You're after Draco. I'm after a serial killer who wants to sell women to Draco to cover his debt."
"Yes, Derrick Talbot." Batten nodded. "You're girl Friday sent me a complete rundown of everything." He looked at Mina. "You're looking for him for Draco."
"And warning the woman he's planning to sell that their lives are in danger as we do."
"So this is Mina Talbot then."
"It is." Asher nodded.
"The one you kidnapped."
"To find Derrick. Our contract says we turn her and Derrick over to Draco."
"But you don't intend to do that."
"No."
"Why not?"
"She's become important to me." Asher shrugged. "But she can tell you herself what's been going on."
"Well, Mrs. Talbot?"
"Mina." She said calmly. Asher was rubbing his thumb over her knee in circles, helping her stay in the present and not sink into a panic attack. She took a deep breath and started at the beginning, explaining about Derrick, his abuse, and how she left, then Asher taking her. She said she made a deal with Asher, and now they were trying to stop her sisters-in-law and nieces from being trafficked."
"What was the deal with Asher?"
"It's irrelevant." Asher said abruptly. "It's no longer in play. I refuse to turn her over to Draco, and she can stay with me as long as she wants."
"Right." He studied them both, noting the unconscious way they leaned toward each other. "So what do you think we should do here?"
"I think you should let us continue to hunt for Derrick. When we have him cornered, I'll have Friday get in touch with you with a location, and you can arrest him for the murder of three women and the human trafficking of his wife, and the attempted human trafficking of his relatives. He will turn states evidence to save his skin and help you bring down Draco."
"I spoke to Holt. He said he worked with you before and you always deliver, for a price. I'm assuming this is the case this time?"
"Yes." Asher nodded.
"Standard contract?"
"I'll have Friday get it to you." Asher nodded. "Just so you know, we already stopped Draco's men from taking an eighteen-year-old girl back in Michigan two days ago. They may need some protection."
"I'll see what I can do." Batten nodded and accepted the address from Mina. "Do you know where this Derrick guy is now?"
"We don't; just know who the next person on his list is. We're hoping to get to them before Draco's men."
"Okay, so you continue following up on Derrick, and we'll continue to follow up on Draco. We'll stay out of your way so he doesn't suspect anything. I do have to ask, though. Mina, are you sure you want to stay with Asher?"
"Yes, I want to stay with him. I'm helping him bring down my ex-husband, and it's helping me process things."
"Okay. In that case, keep in touch." Batten stood up and walked away. Asher looked down at her.
"Well, we have all afternoon; what would you like to do?"
"Um. There's a hiking trail nearby that takes you up to a waterfall. Can we do that?"
Asher smiled at her. "If that's what you want to do, let's get some food to go and hike to the waterfall."
As they started up the trailhead, Mina slipped her hand into Ashers. "Can I ask questions? You know a lot about me; I don't know much about you."
"Ask whatever you want."
"What do you do when you aren't working?"
"I don't have a lot of downtime. I work a lot but shut the business down for three weeks in the summer and two weeks over Christmas, so the guys get a break. I generally fly to Hawaii and spend time on my boat that I keep there."
"And do what?"
"Sail between the islands, fish, take pictures, and uh." He cleared his throat. "Journal."
"Sounds peaceful."
"I'll be heading down the last week of July; you're welcome to join me."
"Yeah?" She grinned at him. "You'd give up your downtime and take me with you?"
"It would still be downtime. I could teach you to sail, and you could be my photography model."
"That does sound like fun; not sure how great of a model I'll be. Do you dance?"
"No, I don't dance." he chuckled. "You'd make a great model Mina, you'd just have to act naturally, and I'll take pictures when you aren't looking.
"Might be the only way that would work. Do you watch movies?"
"I enjoy movies. Sci-fi and thriller mostly."
"Like animals?"
"As long as I don't own them."
"Me too." She nodded in understanding. "Do you want kids?"
Asher paused. "No. I had a vasectomy."
"So when you asked if I was on birth control…?"
"It was to make sure you were on something because when I went back for my follow-up, I still had some sperm motility, I'd have a less than 2 percent chance of getting you pregnant, but that's still a chance."
"That's fair. "She nodded.
"Why did you have a hysterectomy?"
"Partially because I was terrified Derrick would get me pregnant, but it was also medically necessary. I was having awful cramps and heavy periods. I went to the doctor about it, and they started by irrigating my fallopian tubes. They tied my tubes and did an ablation, which basically burnt off my lining in the hopes it wouldn't grow back, but my period came back even worse, so they finally removed the uterus. I had extensive issues, my surgeon actually said I was a hot mess inside." She grinned at the look on his face. "Too much information?"
"No. Just to clarify so I'm sure I understand, they made you undergo three procedures when one would have fixed everything the first time?"
"Yeah, but it was minimally invasive to most invasive. They were hoping a lesser procedure would fix it."
"Right." Asher shook his head as they entered a small clearing and came upon a beautiful waterfall. Mina smiled happily and pulled out her phone, taking picture after picture from every angle and position possible. She climbed to the top of a pile of boulders and when she was done she crouched and held her hands out to Asher. He lifted her down with a smile and held her close to him. "So beautiful." He murmured as he dropped his head to kiss her.
Mina eagerly kissed him back wrapping her arms around his neck, then burst into giggles as her stomach growled loudly.
"Alright." he chuckled. "Let's get some food in you."