Page 19 of The Fated Mate Bandit

I love the way Lucas smiles, like he couldn’t be happier for my brother. “That’s wonderful.”

“Slade, you remember Lucas, my long-lost brother. Well, technically he’s a wolf shifter, but he’s an honorary member of our family.”

Slade reaches out his arms, with Chime still in tow, and gives Lucas a careful hug.

“And this is our daughter Chime,” Quin says, gesturing to her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Lucas tells Chime. “Do you like chocolate?”

“Yes!” Chime squeals.

“There are some peanut butter cups on the counter that you could have, if your dads say it’s okay.”

Quin rolls his eyes, but he’s still smiling. “You really are one of my brothers. Within two seconds of meeting my daughter, you’re already spoiling her.”

The inevitable chaos of my family takes over the kitchen. Link opens a loaf of bread and starts eating it out of the bag. Tin goes to get plates and glasses for everyone. Slade and Chime continue singing while he takes her over to the counter to find the chocolate. Sometimes this house feels horribly silent when I’m here by myself, and then my brothers show up, and they remind me of what this house could be if I had a mate and family of my own.

“Do you have cheese?” Link says, biting into two pieces of bread at the same time. “We could make grilled cheese.”

“Of course I have cheese. I always have cheese,” I remind him. I swear he asks every time he comes over. It’s probably because his fridge is always empty.

“Wait, wait. The whole reason we came over here was to have a conversation,” Coin says. “We can’t get distracted with chocolate and cheese.”

Link walks over to the fridge and opens the door. “Then have the conversation already. We’re all here.”

“Should we leave?” Slade asks.

“Yes. This should be a conversation for just the brothers. That can include you, Lucas.”

Quin folds his arms across his chest. “You said earlier that I didn’t need to be here, but now Lucas gets to listen to your secret? How does that make sense?”

Slade carries Chime out of the kitchen and into the living room. They’re still singing that silly bear song. As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chime so happy.

“You can stay if you want to,” Coin tells Quin. “But you don’t need to because you already know what I’m going to say.”

Quin narrows his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

The sound of the front door opening and shutting echoes through the house.

“It’s about Slade,” Coin says. “I… sort of bugged his car. Well, my car. I bugged the car that I lent to him.”

“You did what? Are you fucking kidding me?” Quin lifts his chin and glares at Coin.

“I told him about the bug. I was completely transparent from the beginning,” Coin argues.

“Oh, so that makes it okay? Why do you have to be so mean to him? He’s a good guy, Coin. I know you think he’s this monster, but?—”

“You’re right,” Coin interrupts. “That’s what I came here to say. I overheard some things with that bug that changed my mind about him. And I just wanted to say, any reservations we had about him before were wrong. He’s a decent man.”

Everyone is stunned into silence, including me. What did Coin hear that would change his opinion of Slade so drastically?

“Didn’t Slade kill someone?” Tin asks carefully.

Coin opens his mouth to answer, but Quin shakes his head.

“Slade… protected his brother,” Coin finally says. “I think his actions in that particular circumstance were justified, and I don’t think he’s a danger to Quin or Chime. In fact, I think they’re safer living out in the middle of nowhere with him there. He would do anything to protect the people he loves.”

If it was anyone but Coin, I’d be skeptical. But he’s far more paranoid than I am. If he thinks Slade isn’t a danger to Quin, then I believe him.

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