Page 286 of Secret Shifters Next Door

A few days later, my dad called and asked me to come over to hang out. I went over immediately. Dad had been so worn out and sick from the chemo treatment that he hadn’t been up to company lately. I had all the faith in the world in the doctors and nurses treating him, but I knew nothing was promised. I’d seen that with Liam. Going over to spend time with Dad seemed like a small thing, but if it gave me a few minutes with him, a few more memories, I’d gladly take it.

Baseball season had started a couple of weeks ago, and I found him in the big living room watching a Rockies game on the seventy-inch TV. I flopped down on the couch beside him.

“Hey there, kiddo,” Dad said as I nestled in against him. “How’s it going?”

“I’m fine. How are you feeling?”

He gave a lazy shrug. “I’m all right. The chemo didn’t hit me as hard this last time as it had that first time.”

“Good.” I patted his leg.

We watched the game in companionable silence, and I enjoyed it. No complaints, no arguments about the treatments, only a daddy and his daughter. I should have known it wouldn’t last.

Uncle Sam strode into the living room, everything about his posture screaming urgency. “Gio, we might have a problem.”

Dad muted the game. “What’s up?”

Sam shot me a nervous glance, looking like he was unsure of whether or not he should talk. Dad waved a hand at him impatiently. “Dammit, Sam, Ava knows what we do. She’s a child anymore. Unless this can incriminate her later, spit it out. Can it incriminate her?”

Sam sighed. “No.”

“Okay, then. Out with it, baby brother.”

“Fine. Luis got a call from two different guys. One is a local informant, the other is one of our own guys. They got the exact same story. They’ve started noticing some weird activity around town.”

Dad leaned forward, suddenly intense. “What kind of activity?”

“Suspicious-looking people hanging around, unmarked vans and sedans cruising around at odd hours of the night, stuff like that.”

“Feds?”

Sam shook his head. “Don’t think so. That’s the weird part. They aren’t watching us. They’ve been hanging around the security guys’ places.”

“Security guys?” Dad frowned.

“Yeah, that security firm in town. Blayne Walker and his friends. That place. These people are hovering around them.”

My body went rigid. The hunters? They’d returned? My thoughts went into overdrive, and Dad noticed something was wrong. He turned his gaze upon me. “Do you know anything about this?”

I bit the inside of my cheek and shook my head. “Nope.” I didn’t want to lie to my father, but it wasn’t my story to tell.

Dad stared at me for a long moment before turning back to Sam. “Tell all our people to be on the lookout. From everything I’ve heard, those are good boys. I refuse to let good people in my town get screwed with. Have our guys report in if they see anything strange going on.”

“Will do,” Sam said and turned to leave.

Dad waited until Uncle Sam was out of earshot before looking at me again. “So. Are you gonna tell me what you know? Or are we gonna keep playing this game?”

My shoulders slumped as I fell back onto the couch. He knew I was hiding something. If there was one thing my dad was really good at, it was knowing when someone was lying. That’s what made him good at his business. It also made him a pain in the ass as a parent. He’d be like a dog on a bone and keep pushing and pushing until I broke. He’d find out soon enough, anyway. If the hunters were staking out all of Blayne’s friends, then whatever they’d planned would be coming soon.

I ran a hand across my face. “So, there’s something going on with Blayne and his friends. They’re all shifters. They’re like Liam and Blayne. Well, almost the same. They’re all different animals, but you get the gist, right?”

Dad’s brow furrowed, but he nodded. “Okay. What else? What’s going on with them?”

“There’s areallyrich guy who hates them. He wants them dead. I honestly don’t know enough to give you all the details. It might be better if you talk to Blayne’s team about it. Let Tate and the others know there are guys sneaking around. They need to know.”

Dad pulled his cell phone out and dialed a number. “Mike? Hey, bro. Can you have Kyle get a hold of the guys at that security firm in town? Tell them I want to meet with them ASAP. Make sure they know it’s important. I can be there within the hour if they’re able…okay…yeah…sounds good. Text me whenit’s done. Bye.” Dad hung up, then looked back at me. “How bad is this? For real? Sometimes rich guys like swinging their weight around. Not all of them actually follow through on threats.”

I met my father’s eyes. “This won’t end pretty. That’s all I know.”

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