Page 120 of Chasing Shelter

The parking lotat the elementary school was packed, and I had to find a spot across the street and down a block. But I couldn’t be mad about it. The fact that so many people would show up for a Wacky Hair Day parade in the middle of the afternoon on a workday said something about our community, the businesses that served it, and the people who lived here.

I caught sight of Cope’s ridiculously over-the-top SUV I used to catch him speeding in every time he was home. Now, it sported a booster seat in the back and a sticker for Luca’s youth hockey team. I couldn’t help but grin. Sutton and her son had changed him in thebest ways. None of us had realized the guilt and demons Cope had been carrying until she came along and helped him heal.

A phantom pressure built in my chest as an image of Ellie at my kitchen counter flashed in my head. I pulled into the last possible spot on the block and hopped out of my SUV, itching to see her, to pull her to my side and feel the heat that was uniquely hers.

Beeping the locks, I jogged across the street and headed toward the school. As I reached the elementary parking lot, my heart lurched. A familiar figure stood on the sidewalk with a cigarette dangling from his lips, making the scar on his face look deeper, more brutal. Jasper’s shoulders were stooped, but there was an angry bent to his jaw.

It took everything in me to keep my temper in check—a temper I knew I’d gotten from him. I stalked toward the man. He turned at the sound of my footsteps and pulled the cigarette from his mouth. “There’s my boy.”

His teeth were yellow with age and lack of care, and everything about him looked hollow. But all I could see were our similarities. The eyes. The jaw. What lay beneath it all.

“I’m not your anything.” I said the words, so badly wanting to believe them all. “What are you doing here?”

Jasper’s smile stretched wider, making his scar deepen. “Heard there was a kids’ thing here today. Never got to meet my granddaughter. I think today’s the perfect time, don’t you?”

I moved so fast Jasper’s eyes widened in shock. My palms hit his chest, shoving him back. “You stay the hell away from my daughter. She willneverknow the kind of monster you are.”

A hand gripped me hard by the biceps, tugging me back and creating distance. “Don’t,” Kye clipped, his voice cold. “I know it’s tempting as hell, but he’s not worth it.”

“Pretty sure that was assault,” Jasper yelled, brushing invisible dirt off his flannel.

“Pretty sure you tripped over your own two feet,” Kye shot back, turning to face him, the worn and scarred leather jacket pulled taut across his broad shoulders as he glared down at Jasper. “Here’s the thing,Jas. Can I call you Jas? My brother likes to play by the rules.It’s important to him to color in those law-and-order lines. But me? I don’t give one single fuck about that. If you take one step toward my niece? I will end you. And not a single person will miss your sorry ass when you’re gone.”

There was no denying that Kye and I had a different sort of bond than the rest of our siblings. We’d come from the harshest upbringings. Dealt with the worst sort of demons, thanks to the situations we’d been raised in. But it had been worse for Kye. It also gave him a justice trigger.

If anyone in his orbit picked on, bullied, or tried to harm someone weaker in any way, Kye wouldn’t stand for it.

Jasper spat on the sidewalk, barely missing Kye’s beloved motorcycle boots. “Brother. You two ain’t related in a single way.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Jas,” Kye growled. “I’d do anything for him because what bonds us is far more powerful than anything you’ll ever understand. But go ahead. Test me.”

Jasper should’ve been pissing himself. A smart man would’ve. Kye’s six-foot-five, broad form was covered in tattoos from neck to fingertips, and those who didn’t know who he really was crossed the street when they saw him coming.

But Jasper wasn’t a smart man. His ego and temper always got in the way. He turned to me, eyes narrowing. “Always gettin’ others to do your bidding. Cops. Teachers. This goddamned trash. But they won’t always be around. Best remember that. You took from me, and you better be damned sure I’m going to return the favor.”

Before I could say a word in response, Jasper stalked off down the street. Kye didn’t whirl around, his movements were slow, but the tension radiating off him was worse. His amber eyes flashed a brighter gold. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me he was out?”

My jaw moved back and forth, the joint popping with each direction switch. “I was dealing with it.”

“Yeah, sure as hell looks like it,” Kye spat.

I ran a hand through my hair, tugging on the strands. “Gabriel’s had eyes on him as much as possible.”

“Not good enough.”

No, it wasn’t. “Gonna have to file a restraining order.”

Kye scrubbed a hand over his thickly stubbled cheek. “You know a piece of paper isn’t going to do a damn thing for someone like that.”

This was where Kye’s and my journeys parted ways. I believed in the system. I knew it was far from perfect, but it had helped me when I needed it most, and I needed it to help me here. Kye? He stayed as far away from rules and regs as he could get and didn’t trust the system in any way, shape, or form.

“We catch him breaking that restraining order, he goes back inside,” I told Kye.

He looked at me for a long moment. “I hope like hell it’s not too late.”

I did, too.

35

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