Page 16 of Marked

“You a cop?”

“Federal agent,” I responded, holding out my hand. “Noah Anderson.”

He made no move to shake it, instead he threw me for a loop. “What are your intentions with my daughter?”

Stunned, I attempted to come up with a response that didn’t make me look like a territorial asshole. When that didn’t work, I opted for the truth.

“She’s mine.”

“We’ll see.” He hiked a brow.

“Mom. Dad. This is Noah Anderson.” Lanie returned to my side, curling her fingers around mine as she made introductions. “Noah, my parents, Percy and Iris Biggs.”

“Nice to meet you.” Iris grinned.

“You as well.” I dipped my chin.

“How about the two of you get dressed so we can explain why we’re here?”

“Don’t need clothes to have a conversation.” Her father shifted his steely gaze from our hands to his daughter.

“Oh hush, Percy.” His wife smacked his forearm lightly.

“What? It’s my house,” he grumbled.

“Welcome to Juniper Springs,” Iris rushed out, grunting with the effort it took to pull her husband back inside the house, then shut the door behind them.

“You look like you could use a hit or two from Dad’s joint.”

“Did that really happen?” I muttered, shaking my head.

Stumbling off the porch, I tilted my head to the sky, blinking rapidly as if it would somehow erase the images of the last three minutes from my brain. Sadly, it didn’t work.

“Yeah, sorry. They’re a bit much.”

“A bit much?” I huffed out a laugh. “Lanie, I just saw more of your parents than I’ve seen of you.”

She winced. “Point taken.”

Percival and Iris referred to themselves as minimalists, though I suspected they’d incorporated a variety of different lifestyles into the one they’d created for themselves. After working in corporate America for most of their lives, they reached their boiling point around the time Lanie turned nine. Not wanting to be ruled by money and greed, they—along with a number of their closest friends—quit their high-paying jobs in order to live off the land and off the grid. They sold most of their possessions, moving to the Rockies to build this small community from the ground up.

“It’s a way of life,” Iris explained. “By minimizing our distractions, we’re able to concentrate on what’s most important.”

The four of us were lounging in the living room, Lanie and I next to each other on a love seat, while Iris and Percy sat on a long sofa. Thankfully, they were fully clothed for our impromptu chat, though the way Percy glared in my direction made me feel both naked and afraid.

Now that I wasn’t avoiding eye contact, the resemblance between the three of them was clear. Lanie was a picture-perfect mixture of both her parents. She and her mother shared the same sandy-blond hair, while her hazel eyes were exact replicas of her dad’s.

Their home was simple; an open concept floor plan where every bit of space had a purpose. The furniture matched the paint on the light gray walls, which were bare and not littered with pictures or memorabilia like most. There were also numerous windows, which flooded the room with a significant amount of natural light. All in all, it was basic, yet beautiful.

“Family means more to us than anything in the world,” Percy concluded.

Lanie bristled beside me. I could feel the hostility vibrating through her entire body just before she sprang to her feet and began pacing back and forth. Ever since we knocked on their door, there’d been a hint of discord in the air. Initially, I’d chalked it up to nervous energy, but this was something else entirely.

“Unless you want to become a cop,” she spat, whirling around to level her parents with a glare, which had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “Then family doesn’t mean shit, right?”

After the warm reception we received, I never would’ve guessed their falling out was because of Lanie’s career choice. Her pacing resumed and I suppressed the urge—just barely— to go to her, to pull her in my arms,knowing right then she’d be more apt to punch me in the face rather than accept a hug. And my girl had a nasty right hook. Lanie was a firecracker when she was pissed, so the only way to survive unscathed was to stand clear of the sparks.

Iris went to her, halting Lanie’s steps with a gentle hand on her forearm. “That’s not true at all.”

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