Page 139 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Hey, did you talk to Harley about April coming over?” I tried not to sound too uptight.

“I did. I told her it should be fine.”

“I’m sure it will be. It’s only…”

“You’re scared as shit to have her out of your sight?”

I chuckled and glanced over at April. “Basically, yeah.”

“I get it. I was the same way with Harley, remember? You even had to go grocery shopping with her. It’s tough, I understand that. But you have to remember that you can’t always be there. You’ve got to let her live her life. Plus, I’ll be around. April will be as safe as the rest of my family. You can count on it.”

“I know, I know. Okay, I’ll tell her.” I nodded to April. “Ladies’ night is a go.”

April squealed and clapped her hands together. “Yay!”

I drove April over to Tate’s. Since the women were going to be drinking, I didn’t want her to get behind the wheel. With everything else that was going on, it was the dumbest way to get in trouble.

“We’ll probably be done late. Is that okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m a night owl. Give me a call whenever you guys finish up. No problem.”

I dropped her off at Tate’s a few minutes later and drove around town. The surface part of my mind said I was doing it to relax and kill some time. The more instinctual, deeper portion of my mind was looking for anything out of the ordinary. I cruised through downtown, eyeballing every single person to try to figure out if they were hunters.

At one point, I even opened my window and leaned out enough for my face to be visible. If any hunter were out and about, they might react if they recognized me, but after an hour with no success, I decided to go do something else uncomfortable.

I pulled into the parking lot at Kris and Kellan’s bar. It was Friday night and the lot was full. Kellan and I had buried the hatchet and were quickly on the road to becoming friends again. It helped that I’d trusted him with an earth-shattering and dangerous secret. Coaching Aiden had helped us get close enough to reconnect. Kris… well, that was more difficult. He was more open to me being around and wasn’t giving me venomous glares anymore, but I wanted to try to make up with him. He’d also been my best friend, and only reconciling with Kellan wasn’t enough. I had to reconcile with Kris.

I stepped into the bar and was surprised by how busy it was. It had been the same way a few weeks ago, but I’d thought that was only for April’s welcome-home party. Obviously, Kris and Kellan had done a good job of marketing the place, and it seemed like they had a full bar every weekend from the looks of it.

Kris was behind the bar but hadn’t spotted me yet. Still on edge, I scanned the room. I didn’t see Ryland or any of the other hunters who had been outside Harley’s house last year. Deciding it was as safe as it could be, I found a stool at the corner of the bar.

Finally noticing me, Kris nodded at me and continued pouring drinks and opening beers for the people waiting.

After he was done, he came over and leaned closer to me so as to be heard over the crowd. “What can I get you, Steff?”

“I’ll take a beer. I’m playing DD for your sister tonight.”

Kris rolled his eyes and chuckled as he grabbed two ice-cold bottles from a cooler below the bar. He handed me one and took the other bottle for himself. He waited for me to take my firstdrink before speaking again. “I’ll tell you this. I’m not going to ask any questions. My sister is a grown woman and can make her own decisions. She’s chosen to forgive you, and so has Kellan. I trust them more than anyone else in my life, barring my wife. If they’re good, then that’s good enough for me.

“All I ask is that you don’t break her heart again. For her sake, yes, but also for mine. I don’t know that I could survive seeing her broken like that again. Do you understand that?”

I did. I could feel and hear the pain in his tone, and I nodded. “I promise I will never hurt her like that again.”

I held up my bottle to him. After a moment’s hesitation, Kris lifted his and clinked it against mine. In that instant, it was like all the years of pain and anger evaporated. The bitterness and shame, the hurt and agony were gone. It was the type of reconciliation only possible with people who had been as close as we’d been back then. My heart swelled with the thought of getting two of the best friends I’d ever had back.

We caught up between Kris helping customers. I told him about the security firm and playing pro ball, he told me about taking over the bar and meeting his wife, Chelsea.

“She’s at the little get-together at Tate’s house, too. Harley met her at the nail salon a few weeks ago and they got friendly. Chelsea was surprised to find out Harley’s husband was your business partner. Small world, right?”

I grinned. “Small town, more like.”

“True. I’m happy she’s out enjoying herself. Happy for April, too. All that stalker stuff had her pretty shaken up. She’s pissed about the whole world knowing her business, sure, but that along with a bunch of people trying to force their way into her life is more terrifying. She showed me some of the emails and messages. Those people are freaks. From the stuff they said in those messages, it’s like they think they know her. Like theyalready have relationships with her. They are totally out of their minds.”

“She showed me. Fuckers are scary.”

“Right? Anyway, I think being back home has done her a world of good. Hang on.”

Kris went to get an order for a group of ladies. While he worked on their drinks, I thought about what he’d said. He had no idea about the incident a few nights before. The thought of keeping that secret from him was not pleasant. Especially when that secret involved Kris’s sister. Plus, if anyone could be trusted to keep his mouth shut, it was Kris.

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