Page 111 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Miles? Hey, it’s Steff.”

“Well, yeah, that is what the caller ID said.”

“Okay, smartass. I need a friend and you were the first person I thought of.”

“Sounds important. What do you have going on?”

“Remember the other day when I explained how I was going to try to get April to reject me?”

“Oh, yeah, the dumbass plan that will more than likely result in your death? I think I remember something about that.”

“That’s the one. Look, I’ve had… I don’t know, a change of heart.”

Miles laughed. “I figured you’d smarten up.”

“Right, now I have to win her back. Plus, that hunter Ryland is sniffing around, trying to get into her pants from the looks of things. What do I do, man?”

There was a several second pause before Miles said, “I think I have a plan. Get some sleep. Your first big game is tomorrow.”

I let out a breath of relief. Miles was the one you could always rely on to have a plan or vision. He’d been the one to first suggest opening a security firm. I’d never gone wrong following his lead.

“Thanks, man. I can’t explain how much it means to me for you to have my back.”

“That’s what brothers are for, Steff. Get some sleep. I’ll get you more info tomorrow.”

“Good night,” I mumbled, and hung up.

Brothers? My mind drifted back to my own brother. The person who should have been my closest ally and friend. He never would have done anything to help me, wouldn’t even have contemplated the idea of sticking his head out for someone else. He’d be the first one who’d want to see me fail. Thankfully, now I had three true brothers. My guys would go to the ends of the Earth for me, as I would for them. It was something to be truly grateful for.

I undressed and slid into bed, punching my pillow until it was just right, then I relaxed. My bear was more content than I’d felt in a long time. My own nerves were less frazzled. In the dark, as I waited for sleep, I finally understood how strong that curse was. Hopefully, whoever the curse hit next, whether it was Blayne or Miles, they weren’t crazy enough to attempt what I’d tried.

ELEVEN

APRIL

Aiden’s first game was that. He’d invited me to come watch it, like, five times, and there was no way I was going to miss it. Plus, both my brothers and Chelsea would be there. The baseball game would be fun, and cheering on Aiden would be the highlight of my day, but I needed some girl talk with my sister-in-law. After the disaster of a date I’d had with Ryland last night, I needed to unload on someone and see whether I could salvage whatever may or may not be there. He was a really nice guy—cute and smart—but that weird disgust I’d felt when he kissed my cheek needed to be talked out. Maybe my subconsciousknewhe wasn’t a good fit. Or maybe something else was at work. Either way, I hoped Chelsea could help me sort through it.

Steff would be there, obviously. I really didn’t want to see him after the strange shit that had gone down last night. Accosting me while I was on a date while being on a date with someone else? That was just strange. Then the bear thing? At least he was coaching, and I wouldn’t have to interact with him. He’d be too busy making sure the kids were doing a good job. At least, he had better be.

I dressed in sneakers, a T-shirt, and shorts. It was the simplest ensemble, and it was glorious. I was getting used to nothaving to get dressed up. It was one of the things I enjoyed most about being back home. Getting dressed up every now and then for a special occasion was fun and sexy. Doing itall the damn timewas draining and sucked the fun out of it. Since becoming a model, my life had been nothing but dressing up, spending hours in the makeup chair, and having jewelry worth millions adorning my body. The jewelry was, of course, on loan, so I had the added stress of making sure nothing got lost or broken. It was exhausting.

Before I headed out the door, my phone buzzed again. It was the fifth time this morning. Glancing at the screen, I saw it was another unlisted number. I sighed and blocked it. I’d have to get a new number again. I didn’t know how, but my number kept leaking to fans. After all the issues with stalkers since the story broke, I couldn’t take any chances. After I blocked the number, I sent Larry a text to let him know what was happening. Within seconds, he responded:

I’m on it.I’ll have a new number for your phone within the hour. Sorry about this, kid. I’m working on something else. I’ll give you a call in a few.

I frowned,wondering what he could be working on, then stuffed my phone into my pocket and headed out the door. The drive was short, but I still had a hard time not glancing around. Stalkers or someone had found my number. Who was to say they hadn’t found out where I was living? It was unlikely, but not impossible.

At the ballpark, I had no problem finding my family. All I had to do was look for the two blobs of bright red hair that were my brothers. Kellan, Kris, and Chelsea all sat in a line and waved to me as I walked from the parking lot.

Before I could walk up and join them, Larry phoned. “April? I have good news.”

“I hope so, I could use some,” I said, holding a hand up to my family, letting them know I’d be a minute.

“Got final word from our lawyers. No worries anymore. No interviews, pictures, or recordings from Luca. The cease-and-desist order went through twenty minutes ago. I didn’t want to call until I had confirmation that he’d been served.”

It was like he’d taken the weight of the world off my chest. It was a relief to know that I didn’t have to worry about Luca running his mouth or selling a sex tape or something.

Larry continued, “With any luck, you’ll be able to come back home in a month or two. It won’t be long before there’s another scandal, and the media will turn their lenses toward that. People will move on.”

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