Page 57 of Until Forever

“Son.” I keep my eyes trained on them.

JJ grips my wrists. “Yes.”

“Why don’t you take the cart and get your ice cream? As many flavors as you want.”

“Really?” His voice is cheerful, him unaware of what’s going on.

When I don’t respond, JJ maneuvers the cart away, looking over his shoulder once he’s a few feet from us. I nod, silently encouraging him to get going, moving slightly to the left so that I can somehow keep an eye on him and the two assholes at the same time.

“Cute kid. He looks just like you.”

“What do you want?” I seethe.

“Just a little chat,” Scar says with a shrug.

I tighten my fist, my nails digging into my palm. “About?” My nerves are forcibly still, and my mind races with ways to defuse the situation before shit can get out of control.

“It’s Jasper, right?” He nods rapidly and places his palm on my shoulder.

I slap his hand away, then put space between us, anger starting to boil over. An emotion I’ve worked hard to keep at bay because in the past trouble always followed me when I was angry. But I know scum when I see it, and they’re the epitome of it.

“Ooo. Someone’s a little worked up,” he taunts while glancing from me to his friend then back. “I guess I’ll make this quick then. Your old man owes me quite a bit of money, and—”

“And whatever business you have with my father, has nothing to do with me,” I snap, my jaw tight.

He clicks his teeth, his face twisted up, a telltale sign that he’s not happy with my choice of words. “And here we are thinking you’d help us out.” He glances at his friend again, slapping his knuckles into the guy’s chest.

“Why would I do that?” I frown and hold my head high, cracking my knuckles one at a time.

“A loan’s a loan, right? Family debt and all that,” he adds, waving a hand for emphasis.

I nod through a laugh, peering around him at JJ who’s still looking for ice cream. “What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Oh, come on. Be a sport.” He juts his chin at me. “He is your father after all, and judging by that watch on your wrist, you’re good for it.”

“Humph,” I mutter.

“What is it that you do? Cyber Security, right?”

The second guy crosses an arm over his chest, opening his mouth for the very first time. “Yeah, I think that was it,” he co-signs.

I snap my gaze back to him, my brows pulling tighter.

“We looked you up and learned that you’ve done a hell of a job cleaning yourself up. I mean, it’s impressive really. A troubled kid, dead mom,deadbeatdad, you did good for yourself.”

My chest tightens at the mention of my mother and the fact they know so much about me.

“You know, I don’t blame you. Getting the fuck out of this Podunk town and away from your piece-of-shit father.” He smirks. “I mean, here you are, all these years later, visiting him, raising your little family, and still your old man is bringing you down. And I would say I know what that’s like, but I don’t. I’ve actually got a pretty awesome father myself.” He inches closer, leaning his mouth up to my ear. “But you see, in my line of business, when money is owed, I expect to collect,” Scar whispers.

I peek over his shoulder, spotting my son as he makes his way back toward us, the biggest smile on his face. Sucking air into my lungs, I turn slightly so that I’m looking this jerk dead in the eye. We’re in a public space, and no matter how tough they act, they’re not stupid to cause a scene in the middle of a grocery aisle.

“Wow. That was a…mouthful. Pretty convincing even, good job with that. But, um, none of this is my problem, sorry to make you waste that little speech.” I wave a finger at him.

I can see the heat rising off of him, his jaw ticking, and chest puffing out. My guess is not many people deny him what he wants. Well, joke’s on him, I’ve met tougher fools in my life, many I probably should have feared, but he’s not one of them.

“Now, if you’d excuse me, fellas, I’ve got some place to be.” I step around them, intent on meeting JJ halfway, wanting to keep him as far away from this as possible.

Before I can get far, the quieter of the two grips my arm, his other hand resting on his hip. I follow the length of his arm, my sights landing on the chrome handle of his gun. I yank away, glancing between them, my pulse drumming in my ears as my mind thinks of ways to disarm him if I need to.

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