Page 140 of Secret Shifters Next Door

When he came back, I leaned over, trying to keep my voice low. “You know what you were saying about the stalkers being crazy?”

“Uh, yeah?”

I sighed and glanced around that bar to make sure no one was listening. “One of April’s stalkers ended up in Lilly Valley. And I do meanended.The guy’s dead.”

Eyes widening in surprise, Kris shook his head as if he was trying to clear it. “The fuck?”

“I know. It’s been kept pretty quiet. Lilly Valley doesn’t even have a newspaper anymore, so you probably didn’t hear anything about it. The guy was left outside my security firm.”

Kris stiffened. “Do you guys know who did that? The stalker is scary, but the fact that some psycho killed the dude and left him there like a trophy or something is scarier.”

I couldn’t get too deep into the details. There were some things Kris and Kellan didn’t need to know. “No idea yet. The cops are working on it. There is one thing you can help out with, though.”

“Name it.”

“Keep your eyes open. Any strange or new customers, anyone who’s asking lots of questions about April or me and my guys.Give me a heads-up if anyone like that makes themselves known. Got it?”

Kris lifted his fist, and I tapped it with my own. “Anything you say, brother.”

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. Kris calling me brother? That was something that hadn’t happened in years. It brought me back to a time of laughter and love—a time of my life I thought was gone forever.

I chatted with Kris for another couple hours and paid for the one beer, then headed out to the parking lot. I was shocked to see it was almost one in the morning. Before I could get into my truck, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw it was a text from April:

Heybab im nNeeda ride You come geet me?

I hadto read it three times to realize she was drunk-texting me and not trying to send some sort of coded message. I sat in my truck and laughed before heading to Tate’s house. Kris was helping Chelsea into his car when I pulled in. She looked pretty hammered, and if that was any indication, I’d have my hands full. I pulled into the driveway and saw Tate standing outside with Harley and April.

I could tell by the look on his face—a combination of exhaustion and humor—that Tate was stone-cold sober. Harley and April, however, were about three sheets to the wind. They were falling all over each other and laughing about something.

Tate gently took April by the arm and led her toward me. “April, Steff is here. Time to go home.”

“Oh, what a spoilsport. Big bad dragon is tired and wants to go to bed.” Harley pouted, swatting Tate’s arm playfully.

Tate looked at her and rolled his eyes. He glanced at me and grinned. “The wife can’t hold her liquor.”

“Looks like it,” I said, taking April’s hand.

April leaned into my chest. “I’ll have you know, me and my friend Harley are not drunk.”

The look on her face told me the opposite, but I agreed with her anyway. “No, babe. You are as sober as a priest on Sunday.”

“Ex-exactly.” She turned and waved to Tate and Harley as she got into the truck. “Bye, new friends.”

Harley and Tate waved and went inside. I closed April’s door and got into the driver’s seat. Seeing April so completely drunk was pretty funny. All her inhibitions were down, and she was enjoying herself. As I pulled out of the driveway, she leaned in and rested her head on my shoulder. “You know, girl talk is much more fun when the girls are awesome. I like those chicks. They’re cool as shit.”

I laughed again. “I’m glad you had fun. How much did you guys have drink?”

“We went through a few bottles of wine. No big deal. I’m already starting to sober up a little.”

“Could have fooled me.”

There was a long pause before April’s hand slid across my chest and squeezed my pecs. “God, you’re fucking hot.”

“Same to you, lady,” I said.

She slid her hand down to my thigh and massaged my leg. Every few seconds her hand went higher, closer to my zipper. I did my best to keep my eyes on the road, but I was already growing hard. I shot a look over to her. “You’re playing a dangerous game here.”

“I like danger. Only a little, though. Just enough to get excited about.”

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