Page 56 of Chasing Shelter

I gripped the wheel, my fingers so tight the material covering it squeaked in protest. I had to walk away. For many reasons.

I threw my SUV in reverse and backed out of the driveway. I scanned the street, looking for any sign of Jasper. There was nothing. No cruel glare or man with a cigarette dangling from his lips. No scar slicing beneath an eye as he scowled.

I hit the phone button on my steering wheel. “Call Gabriel.”

He answered on the second ring. “Everything okay?”

“He’s following me.”

Gabriel cursed. “There anything I need to know about?”

“Are you wondering if you need to help me bury a body?”

“Don’t say that shit on a recordable phone line.”

My lips twitched. “Love your conspiracy theories.”

“They’re always listening,” Gabriel shot back.

“You realizeweare thetheyin that statement, right?”

“Just tell me what happened.”

I adjusted my grip on the wheel as I made the turn onto Cascade Avenue, my gaze still searching for any sign of the man who’d once been my father. I was attuned now, components of my alert system flooding back, even after twenty-some years of disuse.

“I went to the feed store with Ellie?—”

“Wait, you went to thefeedstore with Ellie? The one you hate going to because Keely’s always dragging you in there and begging for a bunny or a ferret?”

I shifted in my seat as if that would ease my discomfort. “Ellie found a dog. It wasn’t in the best shape, so she decided to take it in.”

Gabriel chuckled over the line. “Of course, she did.”

I ignored the fact that my best friend was clearly getting to know my neighbor. “Jasper wasn’t there when we went in, but he sure as hell was when we got out.”

“He approach?”

I shook my head as if Gabriel could see me. “No. Just stared.”

“Wants you to know he’s watching.”

But it wasn’t just that. “He wants me to know that he can get to me. Meandthe people in my life.”

“The peopleclosestto you.”

“Ellie isn’t that, Gabriel.”

“You sure about that? You two seem thick as thieves lately.”

“She’s my neighbor, and she’s going through some stuff.”

Gabriel was quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Maybe you both could use each other. Ever think of that?”

“Could you stop playing matchmaker for five seconds and focus on the issue at hand?”

“Sorry. You want to apply for an order of protection?”

I mulled that over. “Not sure that’s the play.”

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