Page 55 of Fallout

“That’s right.” River set his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “We all needed to find something. Like Mitchell found me on the beach. Whether it’s God or people—or both. We need that connection. We need to be accepted.” His expression shifted slightly. “And Tessa would understand why you broke it off. If you tell her.”

Jasper wasn’t all that excited to dig up their history. “She’s good, isn’t she?” They were married. Maybe she didn’t need that closure. “If she isn’t, then you tell her. But maybe she doesn’t need the weight of my mother’s mental health or what I have to deal with. It wasn’t for her to carry.”

“So, you take the hit?” River asked.

Jasper shrugged. He’d always taken the hit, so why would he do anything differently this time? It changed nothing for him if Tessa knew that his mom had nearly killed herself over their engagement. Only if it helped her would it be worth it.

The server poured him more coffee, and he thanked her. He probably looked like he needed it.

“Can we talk now about how my sister is pregnant and neither of you told me?”

The edge in Blake’s tone made Jasper lower his mug. “I only found out a day ago.”

This whole breakfast was turning into a heavy morning, but it was long overdue as far as he could see. These guys had been in his life for years. If only Dakota could have come back from Last Chance County, where he’d gone for rehab and now worked in construction, and Liam could have taken a break from whatever federal case the taskforce was working.

Then the whole crew would be here.

But life changed. People moved on, created families the way Gage and Clare were doing—and soon River and Tessa. They’d pretty much all found religion as well. Jasper was open to the concept. More so now than even a week ago. Letting go of the rest of his frustration and anger couldn’t be a bad thing. Especially if it gained him the peace Blake seemed to have even in the middle of learning his sister had suffered a serious trauma.

And Gage, at least, had known about the pregnancy for weeks.

“Thanks for throwing me under the bus,” Gage said. “But Vanguard has their business, and being married to Clare doesn’t give me carte blanche to know everything they have going on.”

Jasper didn’t envy the guy being Clare’s sounding board and learning things that could potentially go against his oath to the police department. He could end up in the same sticky situation if things got serious between him and Destiny since she seemed to enjoy working so closely with Clare.

“My sister is my business.”

Jasper had no female relatives besides his mother, but he could empathize. “They’ve been taking care of her, and as far as I can see, Vanguard has done a seriously good job at it. She’s happy. She suffered, but in the weeks since she’s been back, Destiny seems to have settled.”

Gage said, “You still need to talk to her. If you have it in you to be supportive, then she’s going to need you to help her out. I’m terrified at the prospect of being a parent, and I’m not the one having a baby. Clare could go into labor at any moment, and she’s out working? But it’s what she needs to do. She’s not built to stay home and sit around. She needs to know the company she poured her life into is running smoothly, so she’ll be there. I’m not going to quit my job, either. That means we work it out.”

“But my sister is doing this herself.”

Jasper had seen Vanguard and how they operated. “She’s not alone.”

He would be there to help her as well, as often as she let him.

“Head’s up.” River motioned to the front door of the restaurant.

Two women stepped inside and scanned. One said something, and the door opened behind her. Clare came in between them, walking slowly. Destiny followed her while a handful of the Famous Ones tried to look like coming to a breakfast joint was normal for a bunch of women who looked like mercenaries.

Gage got up and gave her his seat.

“Thanks.” She blew out a breath. “I feel kind of blah.”

“That might have something to do with what we just learned.” Destiny glanced at Jasper. Blake had beaten him to her and now had his arm around her shoulders. Jasper smiled at them, and she gave him a mischievous look for a second. Then she told them about Brent Rammington and what he’d said about their shooter.

Jasper scraped his chair back and stood. “We still have April in custody. We need to go talk to her.”

April had planted that file in Vanguard’s system. If she knew the shooter personally, they could find him and put a stop to this. He might even be the kingpin—or he could lead them to that guy.

“Conversation over, I guess.” River pushed his chair in. “Back to work.” He clapped Jasper on the shoulder.

Jasper wanted a moment with Destiny but didn’t think he’d get it. At least not without her brother’s arm around her and everyone listening. He settled on asking, “Everything good?”

He saw a whole lot of something more in her eyes. He would make sure they had a chance to talk later, about anything or nothing. Maybe cook her dinner and watch a movie on her couch. He could show her his house and walk around the lake behind it.

Except that would lead to thoughts about her pushing a stroller. Him holding a dog leash. Walking together, rings on their left hands. Living life the way they should.

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