Page 145 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Relief washed over Steff’s face. “Whatever you decide, I support you. If that means you move to California, then I’ll have to get a really good airline mileage card. Or I could move there with you and work remotely. Either way, I’m not letting you go again. I’ll be there every step of the way.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me.”

Steff pulled me close and kissed me. “This is how it was always meant to be. I love you—always have, always will.”

Warmth and happiness, love and desire, excitement and exhilaration all swirled within me. “I love you too, Steff.”

TWENTY-FOUR

STEFF

April seemed to have come down with something a few days ago. Chelsea had volunteered to hang out with her while I coached Aiden’s baseball practice. I wasn’t worried about April, but it was nice knowing someone was with her when I couldn’t be. And not being able to be around her for any amount of time made me angry.

She’d gotten fed up with the bodyguards Larry had tailing her, and had told him to send them back to LA. That suited me fine since I wanted our guys to take on that duty. Since the main issue was the hunters, Tate, Miles, and Blayne took shifts watching the house whenever I wasn’t there. Blayne was on duty today, so I was sure things would be fine until I was done.

I’d started picking up and dropping Aiden off before and after each practice, like I had with baseball camp. We both enjoyed the extra time to talk about baseball. Besides, I liked the kid. It also made me feel good that Kellan trusted me enough to play taxi for his son.

I’d just dropped Aiden off at Kellan’s house when an unfamiliar number called me. I frowned at the screen for several seconds. Wrong number? Or the hunters? Had Ryland found my number? Was he going to harass me now?

I took a deep breath and answered. “Hello?”

“Steffen?”

My heart lurched, and I was surprised it didn’t stop completely. Had I not had the phone on speaker, had both hands on the wheel, I might have wrecked the car. That voice… After so many years, I still recognized my brother’s voice.

“Steff, can you hear me?”

“Uh… Sean?”

“Yeah, it’s me. How’s it going?”

I clenched my jaw.How’s it going?

I don’t know, still living in exile for a crime I didn’t commit. How are you doing, big brother?I shook my head, trying to push the anger away.

“Fine. Why are you calling me?”

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end of the line. Clearly, the anger in my voice was obvious. The memory of what he’d done to me was probably percolating inside his head at that very moment. A thought occurred to me then, and a spike of fear jolted through me. “Mom and Dad? Did something happen?”

“What? No, no, they’re fine. It’s not about them. I called for, I guess you’d call it professional advice.”

“You were always a shitty baseball player, Sean. I can’t help you with that over the phone.”

“Not that profession. Your security firm. We’ve got a problem, and I think we need your help.”

Our firm was well known around the country and the world. It was even more well known in shifter circles. Most shifters kept low-profile jobs. None of us really ever ventured into industries that warranted a lot of background checks and questions. Not politics, not police or military, no doctors. But the four of us were an exception to that rule. We were known and respected for taking the chance with the business. Sean and his pack hadobviously heard of us, even though they were all the way out in Oregon.

“What’s the problem? I’ve got a lot to do today, and I don’t have time for bullshit.”

Sean sighed. “There’ve been some disappearances. Three or four members have gone missing over the last two months. We searched and asked around, but they’re nowhere to be found, and it’s been weeks since they were last seen.

“We thought it was only us, but my Alpha got a call three days ago from a wolf pack that they were having the same issues.”

My Alpha?Sean wasn’t the Alpha of our pack? Dad was past the age of retirement. I hadn’t kept tabs on my old family and had assumed Sean would have taken over. It looked like even after screwing me over like he did, he still hadn’t gotten what he wanted. A shameful part of me wanted to smile and rub it in. The adult part of me, thankfully, was in control. Instead of worrying about that, I focused on what he was saying, and every muscle in my body tensed. The hunters had visited my old pack.

“The Alpha didn’t want anyone getting worried, and he knew you were my brother and what you guys do. He asked me to call and see if you could help.”

“I guess your Alpha doesn’t know our history. At least he must not, if he thought I’d help you.”

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