Page 3 of Jake

“I know. You wouldn’t do that to me. But what if you just don’t know about their ties?” She couldn’t help the tears that pooled in her eyes, but she blinked several times to keep them from falling and turned away so Matt wouldn’t see them. He’d seen her break down far too often recently. She didn’t want to add to that.

“You’ll see soon enough.” Her cousin didn’t dismiss her fears. “But I’ll be there with you, just in case, as will all the Kings. All you’ll need to do is yell and one of us will come running. You know we’ll all stand behind you.”

“I know. And I appreciate it.” Heather forced herself to take a deep breath and push away her worries. She was more than fifteen hundred miles from Mitch and his crew, there was no reason to think they would follow her this far. It wasn’t like she’d taken anything of theirs or even that she knew anything of value. Only that she had been bartered to pay off a bet.

Heather didn’t know how much money Mitch owed, and she didn’t care either. She was not about to go with those men, men she didn’t know and had no reason to trust. Given the fact that they’d let Mitch barter her body to pay off his debts made her trust them and him, even less.

“I know. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the help you’ve given me.”

Matt waved one hand in a dismissive gesture.

“No. I know you think it’s nothing but it’s not. It’s a big deal to me. You’ve given me a place to go when I had nothing, a place to stay where I felt safe. A shoulder to cry on when it all got to be too much. You’ve helped me when no one else would.”

His gaze flicked to something or someone behind her, then he nodded, as if he knew whoever it was, reminding her they were in public. She didn’t need to air her problems, nor her insecurities to the world like this.

“I’ll always be here for you, Heather, you know that. You’re family.”

“And I thank you for that.” She gave him a quick hug then pulled away. “Take your time, I’m going to go wander through the gift shop and try to pull myself out of my funk.”

“Okay.” Matt smiled at her as she turned away, but caught her hand and pulled her back until her back hit his chest. “Remember what I told you,” his voice was soft, “you’re safe here.” He kissed the top of her head, reminding her of the way he’d done exactly the same thing when she’d been six.

Heather nodded and forced herself to walk away. She knew her mood would only drag him down and make him worry about her. She didn’t want to do that.

“Heather?” an unfamiliar voice called her name while she was wandering through the small gift shop, looking at things she wouldn’t mind having, but wasn’t willing to spend her meager cash on, and she would never ask Matt.

She looked up, half afraid of who might be calling her name, and hoping it was one of the Kings of Destruction and she just didn’t recognize his voice for some reason. The face that greeted her was one of the last she expected to see.

“Aaron? What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in what? Ten? No, it’s been longer than that. Twelve years?”

“It is you.”

A smile spread across the face she hadn’t seen since when? Junior year in high school. She and Aaron had been good friends, and she’d hoped for more, but he hadn’t seemed interested, then his family had moved away, and she’d lost track of him. She’d never seen him again. Well, until now.

“What are you doing this far north? I didn’t think you’d ever leave the coast.”

The grin on Aaron’s face made her want to move closer. Somehow, she knew there was no way he was involved with Mitch. They had never known each other. Mitch had moved to Mobile to go to University of Southern Alabama, even if she hadn’t met him for several years. But that had been years after Aaron had left Alabama.

“I didn’t plan to, but life happens.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “How have you been? Is this where your family settled?”

“I’m good. No, we went to California, then to Texas. Now my parents are in Florida, but I haven’t been down to see them in a couple of years.”

“How did you end up this far north, or are you just visiting?” She glanced around, hoping Matt wouldn’t think Aaron was just some stranger bothering her.

“I moved up here almost a year ago. I live a couple hours away in Wyoming now. What about you?”

“I’m kind of in between places.” She noticed for the first time he was wearing a leather vest like Matt wore. She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed it before. “I’m staying with my cousin Matt for a while.”

“Matt?” Aaron repeated, tilting his head back as his eyes rolled back in his head, as if he was looking for the information written inside his skull. “I don’t know if I ever met him.”

“I don’t know that you did. He’s several years older and didn’t live in the area, so I didn’t see him often.”

She didn’t say that when she had seen him, she’d been that annoying little cousin who wouldn’t leave the older kids alone. Now she could see how clingy and irritating it must have been to the teenagers, but thankfully Matt had never made her feel unwanted.

“Heather?” The concern in Matt’s voice made her smile.

“Looks like you’ll meet him now though,” she said to Aaron before turning to her cousin. “Hey. You’ll never believe this. I ran into an old friend; one I haven’t seen in at least ten years.” She stopped at the surprise on Matt’s face, wondering what was going on.

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