At that exact moment, she was violently bumped by a guy obviously having too much fun, since he reeked of booze. I steered her out of his way, annoyed.
“Stay with Claire.” I squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll look for her.”
She nodded, frowning. Claire looked to me, concerned, but I gave her a look that said later, and she nodded. It was easier for me, being at least twice their size, to push my way through the crowd towards the opposite side of the street. When I got there, though, I still didn’t see Asha anywhere.
I marched down the street. Vendors shouted out their wares as I passed, but still no Asha. The festival only stretched to the end of the Post’s main strip. Beyond that area, there were only a few people outside, all residents. I frowned.
Where the hell could she have gone?Maybe she’d slipped out the opposite side of the crowd and gone back towards the stables? I didn’t know why she’d do that, but she definitely wasn’t here.
As I started to go back, there was movement at the corner of my eye. I turned to see Zach Jameson, of all people, walking quickly from a nearby alley—almost running. Just seeing the guy again after what he’d done made my blood boil, but curiosity got the better of me. I ducked behind one of the nearby buildings to watch him.
He headed toward the woods, in a real hurry for a guy on his own. My instincts told me to follow him. I’d stay out of sight, and if it turned out to be nothing, no harm done. Otherwise…it was my job to investigate suspicious shit, and this fit the bill.
I resolved to pass the search for Asha onto Kimmy, then track Zach. But just as I was about to leave, a beautiful figure greeted him at the treeline. I could barely make out the woman from this distance, but she had long black hair and flawless brown skin.
Asha.
She grabbed Zach’s hand in an annoyed sort of way—a move that made me frown—and they disappeared into the trees together.
My gut screamed that something was wrong. Why would Asha be talking to this fucking creep? Holding his hand? Going into the woods with him alone?
I gave them a head start to make sure they wouldn’t see me, then followed out of the Post and into the forest. Moving silently, I took my rifle into my arms and followed their voices, though I couldn’t make out what they said.
They walked for a good ten minutes before stopping in a small clearing beside a big hollow tree. The brush was thick here, with long grass that gave me a good hiding spot to listen without being found. I crouched in the grass and listened hard.
“…utterly fuckingbotchedthis,” Asha was saying furiously. “You had one fucking job, Zach. And you couldn’t even do that right!”
“It was your stupid idea in the first place. I told you that your little stunts wouldn’t be enough to scare that bitch off. She’ll never hop offMadigan’s dick long enough to leave. I don’t know why you care so much; we don’t need her.”
My breath caught.
“C’mon, sugar,” he said in a way that made me want to barf. “You already said that sweet compound of yours will trade us for what we already got. Even a Wastelander like me can live the high life.”
Asha laughed bitterly, chilling my blood. “If you can manage not to fuck that up, too. No second thoughts, no mistakes. If you do this, everyone you know is dead. They will go to the Valley, and they will take everything, kill everyone. You get what that means? Because I do. I lost everyone, and if you’re not prepared to face that, I’m gonna leave you here.”
I tracked their movements, listening carefully to figure out their positions.
Zach scoffed. “The fuck do I care about who’s left there? I just wish I was there to see them kill McNeil and Madigan.”
I’d heard enough.
In one quick motion, I stood, aimed, and fired. Zach Jameson’s head snapped back, spraying blood on the grass, a bullet through his brain. Asha screamed and jumped back, but she didn’t have time to recover. I walked towards her, rifle trained on her, and she gave me a look of genuine fear. Good.
“Drop your gun,” I said, nodding towards Zach bleeding out on the ground. “Now explain to me why I shouldn’t do the same to you.”
Asha backed up a step, but I came closer, until the barrel of my rifle was inches from her chest. She reluctantly unclipped her pistol and tossed it on the grass.
“He threatened me,” she said in her best impression of damsel-in-distress, only she wasn’t a very good actress anymore. Not with a gun in her face. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“Cut the bullshit,” I said. “Explain. Or I’ll kill you, too.”
“You wouldn’t,” Asha replied, in an entirely different voice—full of the venom I was used to from her. “Claire and Kimmy would hate you.”
“If they’d heard what I just did? Doubtful. But sure, test me.”
She stared at me, and whatever she saw in my face obviously convinced her, because she sighed like she was resigned. Somehow, that only pissed me off more.
“Was selling us out your plan all along?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Lying to Claire? Playing with my sister’s heart? That all part of it?”
