Page 49 of Overstaying His Welcome

Jared’s primary role was to watch over the front to keep the business side of NightShade away from the security division. His ability to distract people worked great. They’d often leave the area with a bit of gossip, maybe a snack, and a smile having forgotten they were even trying to snoop on us.

Once he was gone, I took a deep breath and let it out. Chance took my hand, smiling at me and giving me the courage to forge ahead.

“I was born Bruno Conti. My mother and father never had a good marriage. Somewhere along the way, he decided beating her was his favorite pastime. She stayed with him despite this. I’m not sure why, though after years of helping people like her, I’ve realized it’s somewhat the norm. When he eventually tried to come after me, she fought him off and killed him. We wenton the run after that, her fear of getting caught and us being separated making her take off.

“After a bit of time, she slowed our travels down. We wound up settling in a small town, where she found herself entangled with another abuser. This time around, she didn’t make it out alive. Left with that man alone, I did what I had to. Once he was out of the picture — an accident if you will — I got swept into foster care.

“As you can imagine, that went about as well as it could go. The family was nice enough, but my grief at losing Mom and the desire I had to find justice for others had me running. I stayed on the streets, making connections until I had enough resources to create NightShade. Along the way, I met Chance. What was supposed to be one night turned into several. We kept things secret because it made more sense. As time went on, it didn’t make sense to confess what we were.

“But now we’re here. And secrets that big take time to deal with. I understand if you’re all upset. On top of lying about Chance through omission, I didn’t tell you about my brother either.”

“Brother?” Chance interrupted.

“Oh, good. We’re not the only ones out of the loop.” Cohen’s tone was bitter. I’d seen the look in his eyes earlier. The hurt there would take time to heal. I hoped he let what I had to say next help.

“Yes, my brother. I found out my mother had donated her eggs at one point to get some extra money. She was young enough to do so, and the payout kept us afloat longer than a traditional job. My half sibling lives in Bellport and is a better hacker than Memphis.”

“HEY! Take that back right now!”

I ignored Memphis’s protests. “He’s also an adorable Little without any form of self-control. I kept him a secret because ifI didn’t and any of you reached out, he’d be a tornado tearing through the office the first chance he got. I’ve told him it’s for his safety, which is also true. He’s defenseless in a way we aren’t.”

“A brother,” Chance whispers again. “When can I meet him? I need to make sure he likes me if we’re going to be related.”

“You’re getting married?!” Cohen shouted.

“Not yet. I did propose though,” Chance replied, oblivious to the tension in the room.

Before any of us could say anything, Cohen stormed out of the office. Godric followed him with a resigned expression on his face.

Chance squeezed my fingers. “Did I do something to upset him? I can wait until they’ve met him first if that helps. I won’t cut the line.”

His easygoing attitude about this made me love him even more. I couldn’t go another second without telling him so.

“I love you, Chance Sheppard.”

“I love you too,” he replied with a wide grin.

“As much as I’m loving the love here, I think we should talk about what Arick and I were working on earlier. Your story fills in some of the gaps we’d seen. Hopefully you can tell us the rest.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re digging into your past. If Lune called you Bruno, then he has to be from that time, right? No one in your current life knows that. And even your driver’s license and such has been updated.”

I blinked at him, not realizing how right he was until the words settled in my brain.

“Yeah, that’s true. I guess it’s a good thing I decided to confess everything.”

“Now it’s time to break things down a bit more,” Memphis said, grabbing a chair and pulling it over. “Arick, can you grab our laptops? I have a feeling we’ll be here for a while.”

“Someone order some real food then, please. He’s going to crash if all he’s had to eat were doughnuts.” Chance’s plea was met by several agreements.

They went about planning out food while Memphis and Arick came to my bedside, their gazes alert. It was time to dig into the heart of this Diestro Lune problem, which meant dropping into the past.

Well, shit.

CHAPTER 15

CHANCE

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