Page 44 of Chasing Shelter

“Good idea. I’m going to make the rounds in town and do the same.” I hated the idea of Ellie looking over her shoulder constantly, worried those assholes might show up again. She’d been through enough lately. She deserved to feel safe.

Gabriel pushed to his feet and headed for the door. “You might want to stop by The Mix Up on your rounds.”

“Why?” I called.

“Heard your girl got herself a job.”

“She’s not my girl,” I growled.

But I couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted that. It wasn’t like Ellie could cook. Maybe she simply needed the money. I didn’t know what she’d done back in New York. Which just told me how little I knew about her. But I knew Linc well enough to be sure he would’ve offered to help her out for as long as she wanted or needed.

Shoving my chair back, I stood and slid my phone into my pocket. The din of the bullpen greeted me as I stepped out of my office, officers running down leads or taking calls. The only one not working was Will. I tried not to let that annoy me but failed.

The fact that he’d put his name in the hat against Beth for a promotion just amplified that annoyance. It was as if he thought hispresence alone was a gift to the station. The moment he saw me leave my office, he stood. “Need backup, Sheriff?”

“Shouldn’t you be working on finding that vehicle like I asked?”

Will’s lip began to curl, but he fought it back. “I got some feelers out. Just waiting to hear back.”

I’d just bet he was. “Then start your patrol. You’re on traffic in thirty anyway.”

His blue eyes flashed with an angry heat. “Whatever.”

He’d never get the promotion. And unless he had a real wake-up call, he wouldn’t last long in this station. You needed to be a team player here. And that was the last thing Will was. He wanted glory and excitement. But law enforcement was a hell of a lot of paperwork and tracking down endless leads until you struck gold.

Beth rolled her eyes as I passed, a phone pressed to her ear as she took notes. Beth had what it took. I knew it wasn’t always easy for her, but she handled working in a male-dominated field like a boss. She called assholes on their behavior and never let their BS get her down.

I saluted her as I passed, mouthing, “Godspeed.” She struggled not to laugh.

Stepping outside, I took a deep breath and let the mountain air move through me. When I was a kid stuck in that godforsaken cabin miles outside of town that smelled of rotting food and things I hadn’t been able to identify at the time, I would sneak out at night just to breathe. The cold mountain air had been my only comfort. The one thing that’d felt like it could wash away everything I was living.

I grabbed hold of that air again and didn’t let go. It was the one constant when my world was spinning out of control. And then a single sentence blew it all to hell.

“Well, if it isn’t the little traitor.”

Hatred and disgust dripped from a voice I hadn’t heard in twenty-four years, not since the day they’d locked him up when I was twelve. My birth father was only supposed to be inside for eight years, but that had become twenty-eight when he killed a fellow prisoner two years in and attacked a guard. How he’d managed to get out early was beyond me.

I stared at the man opposite me. He was a stranger and the person I knew best all at the same time. And I knew him best because I’d memorized every mood shift and anger tell. I knew when he would snap even before he did.

But he was smaller than I remembered. When I was a kid, he’d towered over me, this looming evil force. Now, he looked stooped, his skin sallow from all the years he’d spent without a constant source of daylight. It made an angry scar beneath his eye stand out all the more.

“What’s the matter, traitor? No hug for your old man?”

Blood roared in my ears as I let his words land. “What do you want?”

One corner of his mouth kicked up, making the scar deepen. “What? I can’t stop by for a little family reconciliation? See my son at his fancy new job?”

That was the last thing he wanted. What Jasper wanted was to threaten. Intimidate. But I wasn’t twelve anymore, and he didn’t have free rein over me.

“Parole offices are a town over. I’m sure you’ll be needing to check in.” I kept my voice even despite the war of emotions playing out over their battlefield.

Jasper’s eyes narrowed on me. “You’d best watch your tone, boy. Looks to me like you’ve got a lot to lose. Adorable little girl. Hot piece of ass living next door, too. It’d be a shame if anything happened to either of them.”

The lunge was instantaneous. Had someone not reached out and grabbed me from behind, I likely would’ve snapped my father’s neck. I had no doubt.

“Shit, T. It’s what he wants,” Gabriel ground out as he tried to keep me from getting to Jasper.

The man who used to be my father tipped his head back and laughed. “Good to see you, traitor. Can’t wait for our next visit.”

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