Kimberly woke a little after ten and wasn't surprised to find herself alone. Even if she and Asher hadn't gotten to sleep until almost four in the morning, he wasn't the type to stay in bed past dawn. "Big ol' tough guy" she said with a yawn as she got out of bed and prepared to start what was left of her day. As she showered, she stretched her muscles that were mildly sore from the unaccustomed activity. Pain or not, she felt great. Whole, which was odd considering she had never felt anything was missing. Asher was an interesting man. Tender in bed... which she wouldn't have expected, but still tough. Just like the last time they had been together. He had held her through the night. Every time she had awakened, he had been right there, his arms around her. She told herself that it didn't mean anything. That it couldn't mean anything. They hadn't know each other long enough for it to mean anything. Y

Kimberly breathed deeply. "It's just so hard to believe." she said. "He is my dad's close friend. They have known each other for a long time. He trusts Christopher. Why would he even do something like this in the first place?" Asher stood and pulled her to her feet, then drew her against him. "Let's not jump into conclusions. The important thing is you and your dad are safe. As far as I am concerned, the job isn't over until I'm sure that you are going to be all right" Kimberly relaxed into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "So you work for me now?" she asked playfully. "I remember one time you told me that you worked my dad and not me" Asher grinned. "Yeah I work for you" he said. "When did that switch happen?" she asked "A couple of days ago" he replied. "When are you going to let me start paying you?" she asked. 

Kimberly,Please. I'm desperate to get in touch with you. Please call me as soon as you read this. It's your father. He's had a heart attack and he is near death. Kimberly stared at the email for several seconds before panic set in. She scrambled for a piece of paper and a pen, then quickly wrote down the phone number. When she had it, she ran into the control room and picked up the phone. "Please enter your authorization code" The computerized voice confused her. She punched in Christopher Keane's number, only to hear the instruction again. "What?" she demanded, then remembered this was Asher's safe house. The regular rules didn't apply. She hung up the phone. "I have to know" she murmured as she scanned the room for some way to find out the truth. She couldn't find her phone. There were only blinking cursors on various computer screens. How could she —

Kimberly drank some water from the faucet and returned to the bed. Asher would probably have recovered from the sedative, but that wasn't going to be much help to her. Sure, he could trace her to the hospital, but then what? Alex was probably going to kill after getting what he wanted from her. She accepted that. If not today, then soon. The thought of death scared her, but that really made her want to pound her hands against the walls and scream was the thought that Asher would never know she was sorry to have misjudged him. He would live the rest of her life aware that in the heat of the moment, she hadn't trusted him. "I was a fool" she whispered into the silence. "I should have trusted him. I should have remembered that that Alex would do anything to lure me out. I should have known you were on my side" Worse, she should have listened to her heart. Over the past couple of days, she had been feeling things for A

She was living on borrowed time, as well but somehow that mattered less. If he killed her this second, she would have only two regrets. First, that she wouldn't be around to help those adorable kids anymore, and second, that Asher would always believe that she hadn't trusted him or cared for him at all. ----------------------------Kimberly rode the elevator in silence, then stepped out in the elegant foyer and asked for Damon Forbes. "I'm sorry" the lady they spoke to told her. "Mr Forbes is on vacation. Did you have an appointment?" Kimberly turned to Christopher. "Did you make an appointment?" she asked him. He nodded. "Paul Nelson is handling the transaction" "Then Mr Nelson" Kimberly said. "Of course. I will tell him you are here" she waited politely for their names. Christopher put his arm around Kimbe