Page 71 of Elusion

“Oh shit,” Connor says over his shoulder. He glances between the coolers and the third cup Cate’s filling. “Hold this.”

And suddenly my hands are full of a six-year-old as he starts down the aisle toward the back.

I step forward, letting Cate continue her mission, and my eyes work their way to Callie. She bends over in front of an open cooler door, grabbing for something off the bottom shelf. The blond stops behind her. And the smack of his hand on her ass cracks through the store like a whip.

Oh. Fuck. No.

I jerk in their direction so fast that I almost drop Cate alongside the fruit snacks. The pulse pounds in my ears as she scrambles for ahold around my neck. I only make it a few steps before Callie rotates and slams her knee into the guy’s crotch. He growls out something, doubling over. Connor spins to face us, the breath he blows out puffing his cheeks. When I reach him, I try to set Cate down.

“No! I’m scared.” Her grip tightens on me. “Pick me up!”

I pull at her wrists to pry them away, but she buries her face in my shoulder. The next time I attempt to break her hold, she whimpers.

Fuck. I clench my jaw and force myself to straighten up with her in my arms. As badly as I want to destroy this guy, I can’t bring myself to further frighten her.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” the blond chokes out, hands on his knees.

“Can you seriously be asking me that?” Callie shakes her head and tries to walk away.

He grabs her wrist, and Connor and I start toward them, but she doesn’t need us. She rips her arm away and shoves him—hard. To keep his balance, he grabs at the shelf next to him and knocks over a selection of cheap gas station liquor. All the plastic bottles bounce, but a glass one shatters, wine spilling over the floor.

“Don’t ever fucking touch me again,” she hisses. “Better yet, forget you met me.” She walks toward us, pausing to take Cate from me and to grab one of the slushie cups. Her lips turn up for a second. “Let’s go.”

The bell dings as she backs out the door. I’m still where she left me, the temptation of finishing the job she started hard to walk away from. Connor pushes the hair out of his eyes and nudges me back a few steps until I voluntarily turn around. He snags the last two cups as I toss the twenty on the counter for the cashier.

“Three slushies and a bottle of merlot. Sorry for the mess,” I say.

The lady shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll make Brock clean it up.”

Just shy of the door, I stop in my tracks. Callie’s ex that fucked with her head.Heat spreads from my extremities to my core at the sound of his name. It might not be Callie’s father, but it is someone who’s wronged her. And, as expected, I want to beat the living shit out of him—no, I need to see him unconscious on the floor, bleeding.

I charge in the other direction straight into Connor.

“No way.” He drives me backward, the bell sounding as he forces me out of the building.

I throw him off, already on my way back in. His hand catches my shirt and slows me down enough that he gets in front of me again, blocking my path. But I have no problem going through him.

“Fucking move, Connor.” I step into him, forcing him to retreat a step.

“Or what? You’ll fight me too?”

He straightens up, exaggerating his three-inch height advantage, but his hard swallow betrays him. The chance I’ll accept his challenge terrifies the kid. I growl and head in the opposite direction of the building. No particular destination in mind, just putting distance between me and the piece of shit inside.

It takes a block to calm down enough until I trust myself to turn around. As soon as I do, it hits me.Where the hell is Callie?

Connor strong-armed me right past her car. Not only did she not come and stop us, but I never even saw her. I sprint back, and as I reach the parking lot, Connor’s exiting the store with those damn slushie cups.

“Where’s Callie?” I ask, rechecking the car.

He glances around, equally panicked. “I have no idea.”

I reach for my phone but stop when her infectious laugh floats through the air. A look of concern passes between us before we follow it around the corner of the building. It grows louder along with giggles from Cate. On our way past a weatherworn picnic table, Connor’s foot crushes an empty cup, and blue liquid trickles out into the dirt.

Our search ends behind the gas station. In the middle of the gravel road, they spin with their arms outstretched, staring up at a cloudless sky. They pause when they notice us but promptly resume their twirling.

“What the hell is happening right now?” I ask. “Are they frolicking?”

“Probably,” Connor says with a grin. “In case you haven’t noticed, my sisters are totally cracked.”

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