Page 27 of Chasing Storm

Elijah glances up at me. I give an indifferent shrug, and Teagan begs. “Please?” Her hand presses against her heart. “It would be an honor, especially after all you’ve done for us.” She holds out her hand to the other man. “I’m Teagan. I believe we met at Elijah’s.”

“Yes, ma’am. My name is Simas.”

“Well, Simas, please join us for a Christmas celebration.”

They both thank Teagan for her hospitality, and she ushers them inside, introducing them to Sean and my mom. Elijah better not think about my mother in any romantic way. Sean knows Elijah and offers him a guarded handshake along with Simas. We’ve only known Elijah as the leader of Devane’s Deviants. This whole other person is new to us. Elijah kisses the top of my mother’s hand, politely saying what a pleasure it is to meet her. I roll my eyes at the comment. A pleasure, my ass. Like everyone else, Elijah is clueless about what happened to my mother.

Teagan nudges me and whispers, “Maybe Elijah and your mom…” and bobs her eyebrows.

“He better not.”

Her face falls into a frown right when the doorbell rings, and I raise my voice when I say, “Look through the peephole first, Teagan.”

“Why? Are you afraid I might invite more people to the party?”

She smirks at her own comment but does as I say before pulling the door open for Erin. They embrace, tears fall, and manyI missed yousare said. I take the bags from Erin’s hands so they can continue their…whatever it is.

From the kitchen, I notice Elijah’s arm resting on the back of the couch behind my mother. He’s giving her all his attention while Sean and Simas are at the bar. Annoyance drills into my bones. Yeah, he bailed me out, but I’m working off the debt and my mom isn’t part of the deal. If he even so much as touches her, I’ll get more than one punch in, and he’ll wish he never helped me.

With my eyes locked on Elijah and my mom, I take out the items from Erin’s bag, unaware of what they are. Teagan and Erin enter the kitchen, and I break eye contact to say hello to Erin.

“Thanks for inviting me, you guys.”

I tilt my head at her. “Glad you could make it.”

Teagan suggests I be social while her and Erin chatter on about lost time and so on. I nod to Simas while making a drink, slugging half of it down before topping it off. My mother is laughing at something Elijah said, and I tighten my grip on the glass.

Sean’s eyes shift from Elijah to me and he says, “They’re just talking. He hasn’t said or done anything inappropriate.”

I shake my head from the frustration building inside. My body hasn’t stopped being on alert. For a month, I looked over my shoulder to protect Teagan and me, and I’m still responsible for hers and my mom’s safety. The constant weight of danger lurking in the shadows snuffs out any possibility of relaxation. My mom and Teagan are my top priority, so I’d rather be the one carrying the burden than them. As much as I dismiss James, I’m not stupid enough to think this is over. He's out there somewhere, and he’ll be coming with an artillery of chaos.

Sean breaks my thoughts as he says, “This is nice.” I cock an eyebrow at him, and his pinky glides in a line across the room. “Celebrating the holidays. I can’t remember the last time my family celebrated.” I gesture like it’s no big deal. He bumps my shoulder. “Listen, grump. You should be happy about this party. Not too long ago, you didn’t have your mom or Teagan,andyour life was in danger.”

“I know. And I am.”

He barks, “If this is you happy, I’d hate to see you not having a good time.”

“I’m bothered by Elijah, that’s all.”

Sean leans his back against the bar. “He saved your ass, Joe.”

I swallow down the guilt and embarrassment, remembering Elijah’s words about giving Teagan space. My guess is this also applies to my mom. If she’s interested in Elijah, I don’t have much of a choice but to accept it.

As if she could read my thoughts, my mom approaches, kissing me on the cheek, and asks, “Why are you unhappy?”

“I’m not.”

She’s nodding. “Yes, you are. Your frown is longer than a clown’s.”

I laugh at her comment. “A clown’s?”

Her hand pats over my heart. “This is our first Christmas since you were eight, Joey. I want you to relax and enjoy it.”

My arm drapes over her shoulders, and I let out a weak response. “I know.” I give her a little squeeze. “I saw Elijah talking to you and…”

Her head shakes with laughter. “While you were focused on our conversation, you missed his eyes wandering over to Teagan’s friend Erin. I might have been locked away for years, but I can detect when a man has his sights on a woman.” She points toward Erin. “And that man wants her.”

This draws my eyes to Elijah, sitting on the couch, blatantly staring at Erin. He doesn’t hide his interest, and she catches him. When Teagan busies herself, Erin gives him a flirtatious smile and a wave. He pats the couch next to him. With Teagan busy unwrapping food dishes, Erin makes her way over to him. A blush spreads over her face.

---