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BR A E D Y N
“ONE BREAKFAST BURRITO with junior hot sauce at your service.” Dex slid the plate in front of Owen with a flourish.
I arched a brow. “Hot sauce?”
The last thing I needed was to kill a bunch of taste buds in my kid’s mouth before he even made it to third grade.
“Junior hot sauce. We’re working on developing his palate for spice. Right, O?”
Owen chomped down on the breakfast burrito, nodding enthusiastically. “Ish the best.”
Dex slid into the chair next to me as he deposited breakfast burritos on the table for us, too. “It’s just pico de
gallo. Stow your scowl, Hellion.”
I sent a mock glare his way.
Dex only laughed. “For you, I brought the new five–chili pepper blend Waylon has decided to home brew. If you try it, you’re taking your life in your hands.”
“Challenge accepted.” I dotted a few splashes on the end of my burrito and took a huge bite. I felt the heat almost instantly, but it also tasted damn good. “Is that…cinnamon?”
“Jesus.” Dex shook his head. “You have a mouth of steel.”
I grinned back at him. “Ask Kol when he wants to go head- to-head with me again.”
“I think his stomach is still recovering from last time.”
“Skylar’s still talking about it,” Owen said, taking a sip of
juice.
“How are the glasses feeling?” I asked.
It had been two weeks since the incident off Tree Creeks Canyon trail—two weeks in which nothing else had happened. There had been no threats. No calls. Nothing. We were still waiting on the test results from the lab on the clothing. Apparently, there was a backlog.
Our ragtag team of investigators was still working on our own, and everyone was pitching in. The entire crew from Compass was helping me filter tips from the line Ridley had set up for theSounds Like Serial episode, and Holly was running that ship with an iron fist. But I didn’t mind. She had everything labeled, referenced, and cross-referenced.
Dex and his brothers were running down everything they could on Nova and all the similar missing persons cases. So far, nothing had brought a break in the case. But that didn’t mean we stopped trying—or stoppedliving.
For the first time since Nova disappeared, I was finding balance. Maren was hard at work trying to secure my permanent sole custody of Owen. She said things were looking good, especially since I’d received a permanent restraining order for both Owen and me, and we hadn’t seen a single sign of Vincent around town. We were safe.
My fingers fell to the worn threads of the friendship bracelet Nova had made me. It wasn’t just dedication to finding Nova that I needed; it was dedication toliving—for me and her.
So we were. Which meant family dinners at Twisted Oak Ranch; milkshake stops at the Grove Griddle; hikes with Yeti, Dex, and Owen; and new glasses for my boy.
Dex had kept his word and helped Owen find just the right pair for him. They were a deep blue with a design along the sides that reminded me of something you might find inside a computer. Instead of going for something that would help
Owen blend in, he went for something that would make him stand out.
“They’re good,” Owen said, lifting his burrito. “And how’s my drip now?”
I frowned, trying to see if he’d dropped part of his burrito.
Dex choked on a laugh. “He means he looks good. Gotta keep up with the times, Hellion.”
My gaze narrowed on the man next to me. “Are you trying
to say you’re cooler than me?”
“You said it, not me.”
I couldn’t hold my glare. And God, I wanted to kiss him.
We were easing Owen into little displays of affection, but we needed to have a conversation with him before things went any further. And it was time.
My fingers laced through Dex’s under the table, squeezing. “Can we talk to you about something?” I asked Owen.
He instantly looked suspicious, then guilty. “Okay. I fed Yeti my broccoli at the table last night. But I really don’t like it. And trust me, I paid the price because her farts were the worst, and I’m the one she hangs with after dinner.”
Dex tried to cover his laughter with a cough, and Yeti lifted her head from her dog bed as if to say,Did you seriously just throw me under the bus?
I attempted to hide my smile but failed. “I wasn’t talking about your not-so-stealthy broccoli move.”
“You knew?” Owen demanded.
“Why do you think there weren’t any brownies for dessert?”
“Aw, man. Why is chocolate always the price?”
I chuckled. “It’s only fair. Balance is the key to life.”
Owen studied me for a moment. “If it’s not the broccoli, what is it?”
“Well, Dex and I wanted to tell you we’ve started seeing each other.”Seeing felt like such a cop-out. It was so much more than that.
“He’s sitting right there. I hope you see him,” Owen muttered.
Dex’s lips twitched. “Your mom means that we’re a couple.”
“Like boyfriend and girlfriend?” Owen asked.
Dex only grinned wider. “Just like that.”
Owen’s whole face scrunched. “Why the heck would you want to do that? Girls are gross.”
“Hey,” I clipped, affronted. “I’m sitting right here. And that isnot very nice.”
Owen shook his head. “Not moms. Moms are awesome.
But girlfriends?” He shivered. “It’s a total ick.”
Dex’s whole body shook as he tried to hold back his laughter. “Well, I’m gonna let you in on a secret. In a few years, you’re gonna feel a whole lot different about that.”
Owen shrugged, lifting his burrito. “It’s your life.”
I gaped at my kid as he went back to his breakfast and then turned to Dex. “Why did it just sound like he thinks you’re ruining your life by dating me?”
Dex let his laughter free but leaned in and tugged my chair to him. “Don’t worry, Hellion. I like a little life-ruining.”
And then he kissed me. It wasn’t over-the-top, just one of those nice and easy ones that felt like a lazy Sunday morning.
It was my new favorite pastime, trying to identify all the different kinds of kisses Dex gave me. I constantly changed my mind about the top three. But today, this one led the pack.
“Sick,” Owen complained. “And I don’t mean the good
kind.”
I straightened. “Owen…”
“Hey, you guys can do whatever you want, but I’m trying to eat here.”
I shook my head. “You might see some kissing.”
Owen’s nose wrinkled.
“But on the upside, I’ll be around more for video game tournaments and pizza-making competitions,” Dex offered.
Owen mulled that over. “I guess that’s worth some gross
kissing.”
“I’m so glad,” I said wanly.
Dex reached over and squeezed my neck, his thumb hovering over my pulse point. “Take the wins where you can get them, Hellion.”
Owen watched us a little more thoughtfully as he toyed with the edge of his burrito. “Does this mean…like maybe one day…Dex would be my dad?”
My heart lurched, and then it was as if a phantom fist squeezed it hard. “It’s a little early—”
“Anyone who gets to be your dad will be the luckiest guy in the world,” Dex said, cutting me off. “If one day it’s me?
I’m gonna be over the moon and brag to all my brothers.”
One corner of Owen’s mouth kicked up. “I am pretty cool.”
Dex reached over and ruffled Owen’s hair. “The absolute
coolest.”
My heart melted on the spot.
“HEY, BRAE,” Wylder called over the throng of the bar. “Is there any way you can stay late today?”
There was pleading in Wylder’s hazel eyes, and I knew why. We were slammed. There was some sort of tour group in town, and they’d decided the Boot was the place they needed to stop for a late lunch.
“Sure. Let me just text Dex.” I slid my phone out of my back pocket to type out the message. Owen had a playdate with Skylar after camp. Apparently, friends who were girls were fine. It was just girlfriends that were gross. And I was still salty about it.
ME Wylder needs me to stay a little late. That okay with you, bodyguard?
Because even though all had been quiet, Dex was still driving me to and from work—and anywhere else I wanted to go. I appreciated his care, but I also didn’t know how much longer we could keep this up. Especially when he’d started a white-hat consulting project for a large tech company.
DEX Your body is definitely worth guarding.
My mouth curved as my cheeks heated.
“Now that’s a sexting smile,” Aidan called as he passed
with a tray.
“It is not,” I shouted back.
“Sure, Delicious. Whatever you say.”
I shook my head and went back to my phone.
ME You’re getting me in trouble at work.
DEX Good. I’m just wrapping up a piece of this project. Be there in about an hour, and I’ll wait at the bar until you’re ready.
He’d taken to doing that, too. Just coming in thirty minutes or an hour before I got off to shoot the shit with his brother and the rest of the staff. But I’d feel his eyes on me from time to time, the warmth of them. It was our little routine, a slice of normalcy amid the mayhem. And I loved it.
ME See you soon.
I ended the text with a kissy face emoji and went back to work. I chatted with the tourist group who was on a West
Coast tour from Charlotte, North Carolina. And for the first time, I felt like a real local, sharing my favorite spots for shopping and eating. I bussed tables and slung food and knew I’d sleep like a baby tonight.
“B, baby,” Aidan called from the other side of the bar.
“Yeah?”
“We’re out of napkins. Can you grab them?”
“Sure thing,” I hollered back.
I slid my tray onto the bar and turned for the back hallway. We were so packed, there was a line at the women’s bathroom. But the hall cleared after that. I passed Wylder’s office, a smile tipping my lips at the memories I had of the space, and headed for the stockroom.
But before I could reach for the doorknob, a hand landed on my shoulder. Just as it did, something sharp pricked my low back.
“Keep moving. Straight ahead. You look behind you, you make a sound, I’ll punch this blade in your kidney and leave you bleeding out on the floor.”
The world went a little fuzzy as adrenaline flooded my system. Panic, fear. That voice. I didn’t need to look behind me to see who it was. I knew.
I’d heard it whisper countless pretty lies. I’d heard it sling subtle insults that made me doubt myself. I’d heard it make promises it never meant to keep. And I’d heard it say countless cruel things as he told me he wanted nothing to do
with our child.
Vincent.
“Finally, she fucking listens. I guess I should’ve shown you some goddamned force years ago. Maybe you would’ve learned to obey.”
He thought he could scare me, terrify me into following him out the back door so he could hurt me or worse. But he was wrong.
My gaze jumped around the hallway, looking for something, anything.
“What’s the matter, Braedyn? Cat finally got your fucking tongue?”
I saw it then. The fire alarm. If I pulled it, people would come running toward the nearest exit, and at least half would head for this door. It wasn’t a weapon, but it was something.
“Answer me, goddammit.” Vincent pricked the knife into my side. Not deep but enough that I let out a pained yelp. “I guess she can speak. I like the sound of your pain better than your voice anyway.”
“What do you want?” I croaked as I counted the steps to the fire alarm. Ten? Twelve?
“I’ll tell you what I fucking want,” he snarled. “I want you to go out that back door and sign away all your parental rights on that bastard boy.”
Vincent had lost his grip on reality. He thought paperwork at knifepoint would hold up in court? But just the fact that he’d thought it had me worried. Or he could be lying.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, keeping my voice low and as gentle as possible. “You’ll get in trouble. I have a restraining order—”
His hand fisted in my hair. “I fucking know you have a restraining order. The family lawyer told my parents, and they cut me off, you toxic little cunt.”
I sucked in a pained breath.
“You thought you could leaveme? You’re nothing compared to me. I had to teach you a lesson. Remind you I was right there, watching. That you always belonged to me.”
Fear rippled through me in hot waves.This was why he’d left those taunting messages and made those dozens of profiles to stalk me. Because I left?
“But you never learned. You gave birth to that bastard and tried to ruin my life. Well, you’re not getting away with it. We’re going to fix it. You’re going to sign those papers, and my parents will welcome me right back into the fold when I give them their grandson.”
“Hey, Little Badass,” a voice called from behind us.
Crap, crap, crap. Maverick.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want help. I did. But Mav getting caught up in this wouldn’t spell good things.
I didn’t answer; I just kept walking as Vincent kept a hard grip on my shoulder.
“Brae, wait up!” There was no cheerful amusement in his voice now; there was only hardness. A command.
“Keep walking, or I’ll gut him and then you,” Vincent
snarled.
“Stop!” Maverick yelled.
Vincent whirled me around, placing me in front of him and pointing the knife directly at my rib cage. “Back off. I know you think you’re playing the hero, hotshot, but you’ll only get her dead. And then how will you feel?”
Vincent knewexactly who Maverick was, down to his job and every button to press. That only added to the panic coursing through me.
Maverick’s eyes always seemed lighter than his brothers’, as if the mischief in them turned the gold brighter somehow.
But now? Now, they were a stormy shade, the dark green almost engulfing the gold. “Let. Her. Go.”
Vincent laughed, the sound ugly and cutting. “Now why would I want to do that?”
“Because if you take this any further, that precious, pampered life of yours is gonna get ruined.”
It was then that I realized Mav knew exactly who Vincent was, too. Dex must’ve shown his brother a photo after Vincent showed up. Another line of defense.
Vincent scoffed and pressed the tip of the blade into my skin. “There’s something you should know, smoke eater. The kind of money my family has? It gets me out ofanything.”
And that’s what he truly thought. That because of his parents’ wealth, he could do anything he wanted. He could treat human beings like property or trash. None of it mattered.
Fury blazed through me, fueled by heartbreak, humiliation, endless sleepless nights, and questions from my son about why his dad didn’t love him. I let all of that wash through me and remembered the self-defense class I’d taken at my local YMCA in Oakland.
I slammed my foot down on top of Vincent’s. Those pathetic, little loafers didn’t give him any sort of protection.
He howled in pain, his body contorting. The blade sliced along my side, and white-hot pain burned, but I didn’t let it stop me.
Whirling to face him, I brought my palm up in a strike that ended with a satisfying crunch. And then Vincent dropped like a marionette with its strings cut.
Maverick raced forward, kicked the knife away, and rolled Vincent to his stomach while yanking his hands behind his back.
“My nose! She broke my fucking nose!” Vincent wailed.
“Apparently, you didn’t learn your lesson at the broken balls,” I snapped.
“Hey, Little Badass. Enough with the trash talk. Call the cops,” Maverick gritted out.
“Okay, okay.” The cops. That was a good idea. Pain flared in my side, and when I touched it, my fingers came away
coated in red.
Oh shit.
