Page 1 of From the Shadows
Chapter 1
People called him Diego Ramirez.That wasn’t his name, of course. If you asked him, he couldn’t even remember what he’d been called all those years ago. Didn’t matter, though. He wasn’t that person anymore. Hadn’t been since… that night.
“Yo, D! Wanna watch the game with me?”
Diego peered over at the hunter’s seven-year-old mascot, Jeremy, who bore the same last name as Diego, as he sat there with those big brown puppy dog eyes of his. He fluttered his lashes and gave a beseeching look, but….
“I can’t tonight, Jerm. I have something I need to do.”
Jeremy’s face crumpled, and Diego could see tears at the corners of his eyes. He hated to disappoint the kid. He’d stay if he could, and they’d sit on the couch with a big tub of buttered popcorn and scream at the players, all while throwing stray kernels at the enormous television. It didn’t matter who was playing—it only mattered to Jeremy that they did it together.
Though Jeremy enjoyed being with any of the rest of the team, he seemed to gravitate toward Diego. What would he do if he knew the truth of how he came to be here with them?
“Oh? I can help.”
Only he couldn’t. No one could. This was Diego’s burden, and he’d face it alone. Like always.
He ruffled Jeremy’s hair. “Appreciate the offer, little man, but this is a solo project. How about we do something tomorrow?”
Jeremy brightened at the promise of tomorrow. “Sure! Okay!” He coughed and his cheeks pinked. “I mean, you know, if you wanna.”
Diego smirked. Jeremy was only a kid, but he had the attitude of a twenty-year-old and tried to look cool at every opportunity.
“I wanna,” Diego promised. “Gabe is going to be here tonight. Maybe he’ll do something with you.”
That brought a frown. “Gabe only wants to read. The last time I asked him to do something with me, he made me sit here and read to him. I couldn’t even pronounce half the words.” He gave a shy smile. “But when I finished, he picked me up and hugged me, saying I’d done great.”
Of course he had. Everyone in the group tried to pump Jeremy’s self-worth up. They all knew why Jeremy was here, and they’d agreed to do whatever it took to get the kid to grow up happy and healthy. Gabe was responsible for most of Jerms’s education. He usually tricked him into reading or playing some kind of math game. He even had Trivial Pursuit on the Nintendo Switch that they’d all play together, when they weren’t out on assignment.
They needed to figure out a better way, though. Jeremy couldn’t be left alone, but if the entire team was called out, then there would be no one to watch him. They’d run into the problem of everyone needing to go on a mission more than once. And having to ask someone from another group come in to babysit? Well, it’d had mixed results. Jeremy would be surly after being left with someone he didn’t know and insisted he could take care of himself.
Yeah, that wasn’t about to happen.
“Tomorrow, you can choose what we do.”
Jeremy grinned. “Anything?”
“Within reason,” Diego answered. “No strip clubs until you’re eighteen.”
“Strip clubs?” Jeremy’s brow wrinkled and his pug nose followed suit. “Why would anyone want to do that?”
Spoken like a true kid. “You’re right. What was I thinking?”
“What if we all play Uno?”
It was a supreme effort to keep from groaning, but Diego did it. It wasn’t that he didn’t have fun, but whenever they played a game, Jeremy cheated, and did it without any finesse at all. “Sure! That sounds great.” He bent and hugged Jeremy. “I’ll be back in a while. Remember to?—”
“Mind Gabe, I know.” He huffed. “It’s not like I’m a little kid.”
“I know you’re not. You’re almost grown now.” Another hug, and this time Jeremy reached up and hugged back, almost desperately. Diego would move heaven and earth to ensure that Jeremy could stay a kid, at least for one more day.
“Be good, Jerm.”
His blush deepened to crimson. “Love you.”
Diego hurried out of the house. He couldn’t let Jeremy see him fall apart. That wouldn’t be good. He went to the garage, opened the doors, and let his gaze drift over the available vehicles. Tonight he wanted speed. Once he finished with what he needed to do, he would hit the track their employer had outside his mansion and let loose.
“Lemme guess,” Sparks said. “You’re taking the Chiron.”
