Page 19 of Blood of Vengeance

Flinch held me in place for a moment, staring down at me from behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses. Or at least, that’s what I assumed since the glasses covered his eyes. I felt his gaze, though, so the assumption felt safe.

Finally, he gave my hip a smack and focused on Zed. “I’m riding behind you and Chiggy.”

Zed nodded once. “Daylight’s burning.”

Flinch herded me toward where he’d parked his bike, still talking to Zed. “Give me twenty to get her back to my place. I’ll need a prospect to babysit.”

“You’ll have one,” Cutter said.

Before I could even be insulted by the whole babysit term, Flinch picked me up and set me on the back of his bike. He leaned in close, caging me with his arms.

“Keep that pretty ass right there.”

He strode across the gravel lot to where Cutter stood, both men obviously involved in what looked like a serious conversation. Flinch shook his head twice before finally giving Cutter a nod. Something had been decided.

Flinch returned without delay, those mirrored glasses still blocking his eyes from me. I felt his attention, though. Knew he had me locked in his view from the second he’d turned around. The man had a stare that carried weight, and I felt it for sure.

“What was that about?” I asked once he reached his bike.

He grunted a non-answer and slipped a leg over his bike, settling in front of me on the seat. “Making sure you’re safe while I’m busy, is all.”

“Had to get the right babysitter?”

He laid his big hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze. “Exactly. Now hang on.”

I did as I’d been told, hanging on as he drove me back to his place. Once parked, he helped me off the bike and led me inside. He seemed rushed, as if he really wanted to be somewhere else. Which I guess he did. He had to ride along with my father’s body.

“Shower,” he said as he walked right past me through the living room. “Sand can irritate your skin—best to wash it off.”

“You trying to take the place of my father now?”

He turned, pulling off his sunglasses, those ice-blue eyes practically setting me on fire with the intensity of his stare. “No, but I’ll be your daddy anytime you want, so long as you’ll be my good girl.”

Well fuck, I’d walked right into that one. I swallowed hard, fighting to keep my hands from trembling. To keep myself calm and collected. To not jump the man right there in his living room. That comment wasn’t fair—I hadn’t been ready for it. That wouldn’t happen again.

With a huff and an eye roll to hide how much his words had affected me, I headed for the bedroom to shower and change. My dad’s warning—never trust a shifter—was practically a chant in my mind.

Ten minutes and a clean pair of shorts with a tank top later, I walked out of the bedroom to find the house empty. No sign of the man who owned the place other than the lingering of his scent. I simply couldn’t escape that, it seemed.

I walked through the entire house and even checked the back porch, not noticing the empty driveway until I’d circled back to the living room. He’d taken the truck and left. Just as I’d told him to do, but still.

My chest ached, and my stomach turned for inexplicable reasons.

“He could have at least said bye,” I whispered to the empty house.

I had just walked back into the kitchen—hoping to find some sort of snack—when the rumble of a truck pulling into the drive made me stop. I was almost too afraid to look, knowing it could very well be my babysitter and not Flinch. But then the man I had wanted to see opened the front door and strode into his house.

“You good?”

A simple question leading to what could have been a complicated answer from me, but just knowing he hadn’t left without saying goodbye settled something inside me enough to nod in the affirmative. Was I good? No, but I was better knowing he had come back.

“Truck is yours,” he said, handing me his keys. “Give me your phone.”

“What?”

“Your phone.” He held out his hand. “Unlock it and give it.”

I did as he’d instructed, still somewhat confused as to the demand. He tapped something onto the screen then held my phone close to his. Oddly enough, the lock on the front door beeped.

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