Page 146 of Shadows of You

I loved my family, but sometimes I wanted to kill them.

“It’s a littleloudin here,” I told her.

Cady giggled. “We’re having fun.”

“Yeah, Mr. Grizz,” Grae called. “You should try it sometime.”

I shot her a glare and moved through the throng of people. There was only one other person I wanted to see. I pinned Holt with a stare, and he instantly rose from the spot on the couch. I lowered myself and Cady to it.

“Mr. Grizz, we invited Heather to play at recess, and she wasnice.”

My brows lifted, a bit of anxiety swirling in my chest. The last thing I wanted was that kid hurting Cady.

Charlie scrunched up his face. “She wasn’t that bad. She doesn’t like frogs, though, so we can’t be best friends.”

Lawson chuckled at that. “It’s good to have priorities.”

“But also to give people second chances,” Aspen said, ruffling Cady’s hair. “Proud of you, Katydid.”

She smiled as she clambered off my lap and called to Charlie about getting out her new game.

I turned to Aspen. My hand lifted, ghosting across the deepening bruise on her cheek. “You should be resting.”

Her beautiful mouth curved. “This is way better.”

Something shifted in my chest. Gratitude for my interfering, nosy family. That they made my girl feel loved and cared for. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her forehead.

“Oh, schnitzel,” Grae muttered. “I’m going to cry.”

Caden chuckled and pulled her tighter against him in the overstuffed chair. “Gigi.”

“It’s the freaking hormones,” she muttered.

Wren laughed. “Welcome to my world.”

My dad looked around the room, surveying its occupants. “What’s the latest?”

It was then that I realized he was checking for kids. None of them were here. Cady and Charlie had taken off for her room, and I guessed Luke and Drew were playing video games in Aspen’s tiny office at the back of the house.

Lawson frowned, his gaze shifting to Aspen. “Not good.”

She stiffened next to me. “What?”

I wrapped an arm around her. “The victim was Tyson Moss.”

Aspen sucked in a breath.

“Who’s that?” my mom asked.

Wren sent her a worried look. “One of the podcasters.”

Lawson kept his focus on Aspen, something in his expression telling her to brace herself. “We need to consider the possibility that someone who likes killing came here because of their fascination with John’s case.”

“Oh, God,” Aspen whispered.

“Hey,” I said, cupping her uninjured cheek. “None of this is your fault.”

“People are dead,” she said, the words barely audible. “Animals, too.”

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