Page 158 of Chasing Shelter

Keely gripped my hand tighter. “I’m a little nervous.”

I crouched so we were eye level. “You want to wait for now? We can try it later.”

She shook her head. “No, I want to do it. I just…my tummy’s flip-flopping.”

“Mine, too,” I admitted. “But you know what? That’s gonna make it more fun. And your braids are going to fly when you’re on this.”

That had her grinning again. “Like unicorn hair.”

“Just like.”

The roller coaster cars came to a stop again, and Cope and Luca hooted and hollered from the other side. We waved to them as we climbed in and buckled up. I gripped Keely’s hand as the cars lurched out of the makeshift station.

We climbed higher and higher until we reached the peak. “Here we go!” I yelled to Keely.

She let out an ear-splitting shriek as the coaster dipped down, and I had no choice but to join her. We laughed and screamed the whole way until the cars made it back into the station.

Keely leapt from the car, holding out a hand for me. “That was the bestest ever! Can we go again? Can we?”

I laughed as I climbed out. “I bet we can.”

As we started down the winding exit path, something hard jammed into my back as someone grabbed my shirt. “Make a sound, and the little bitch gets it.”

49

TRACE

Kye grabbedmy shoulders and shook me from behind as he laughed. “You’re looking a little green just watching.”

I shrugged off his hold, scowling. “You know they assemble and disassemble these damn things countless times every year, right? Then they cart them around from state to state. The fact that I don’t want to ride around in one of those tin cans just shows I have some sense.”

Rhodes grinned at me. “Never been a risk-taker, but we love you anyway.”

Anson wrapped his arms around my sister and pulled her gently against him. “Not everyone’s as much of a daredevil as you are, Reckless.”

A familiar figure caught my attention behind them, and the moment his gaze locked on me, an ugly smile twisted the man’s lips. Rainer Cruz. Jasper’s best friend and the one person who might be darker and more twisted than my father.

“Well, lookie here. We got a real live traitorous pig,” Rainer said as he ambled up. He tried to appear as if he didn’t have a carein the world, but I could see otherwise. His blond hair had turned a dull gray and was patchy in spots. His teeth had yellowed the way Jasper’s had, and he was far too skinny to be healthy.

I knew the look—the impact of drugs over years and years of use. I would’ve felt bad for the man if I didn’t know what evil lived below the surface.

Kye stepped forward, his shoulders straightening. “Keep moving.”

Rainer snickered. “Jas told me you had a bodyguard. Still can’t fight your own battles, pipsqueak?”

I waited for his barbs to land, but they didn’t. Nothing caught hold beneath my skin and ate away at my insides. Because I could see how ridiculous Rainer’s statement was now. The same as my father’s had always been. I’d been a twelve-year-old kid, scared out of my mind, and had asked for help. I’d reported a wrong I’d seen—one I’d been forced to participate in. It didn’t make me weak. It made me a survivor.

So, instead of clapping back or rising to the bait, I simply smiled at the pathetic man opposite me. “It’s good to see you, Rainer. Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

Rainer’s expression turned to confusion as he simply stared at me, clearly unsure how to respond. Anson snickered.Heunderstood the game I was playing by throwing Rainer off and confusing the man.

The moment he heard Anson’s derisive sound, Rainer’s eyes narrowed. “You got somethin’ to say?”

Anson sent him an easy grin. “Nope. Just enjoying the show.”

Rainer’s brow lifted, and he seemed to realize something. “You’re that freaky psychic, ain’t you?”

Rhodes slipped an arm through Anson’s. “Baby, you didn’t tell me you could see the future. Why haven’t you given me the winning lotto numbers yet?”

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