Page 163 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Uh… yeah. It’ll be great,” Aiden said, but his tone suggested that nothing would ever be fun again.

It was strange. He’d bounced back so quickly after the kidnapping that we’d all thought he’d put it behind him like nothing had happened. I rethought that now. Maybe it had only taken a while for the gravity of the situation to sink in.

Mom and Dad left, and I sat on the couch with Kellan. It was almost like sitting with a stranger. My brother sat, hands clasped between his legs, looking like the world was going to end at any minute.

“How are you holding up?” I asked.

His eyes darted over to me, and he chuckled humorlessly. “I’m scared, April. I’m absolutely terrified to let Aiden out of my sight. Even with family. Kris and Chelsea offered to have him over for a sleepover two nights ago, and I refused. It was all I could do to let Mom and Dad take him now.”

“I thought that might be part of the problem. Aiden looked a little down from the looks of it.”

Kellan winced. “That’s my fault. He didn’t seem to understand what happened. It was like he moved on so fast… I tried to make him understand. I think I scared him.” Kellanslapped the top of his head. “I didn’t even make him scared of the damn kidnappers. He’s scared of me now. I don’t know what to do.”

I flinched when he struck himself. This was not like my brother. I’d never seen either of my brothers harm themselves. Self-harm was something I was well acquainted with. It ran rampant in the modeling world. From eating disorders, body dysmorphia, mental health struggles—the whole shebang. My brother shouldn’t be doing harming himself.

Kellan continued to rant. “I’m screwing up at work. I forgot to order beer this week. I own a fucking bar, April. How the fuck did I forget to order the damn beer?”

I scooted over and put my arm around his shoulders. “Kellan, it’ll be okay. The cops are going to take care of it. If not them, then Steff and his friends. You can’t keep beating yourself up over what happened to Aiden. You’re going to be fine. All of us will be.”

Kellan shook his head ruefully. “I’m being such an asshole. I saw what happened to your ex-boyfriend on the news. I’ve been meaning to check on you. I haven’t even had time to call or text Steff. Are you okay?”

I took a breath. He at leastsoundedmore like my brother. He was trying, and I was glad. It meant he hadn’t fully succumbed to fear and hopelessness.

“The whole situation is just insane,” I said. “I never would have believed in a million years that Ryland could do something like this. He hid it well.”

Kellan rubbed his face. “Sick piece of shit. So twisted, sending that box to you.”

It was like the oxygen got sucked out of the room. I stiffened in sudden fear and confusion. Box? How did Kellan know about the box? We hadn’t told anyone about that. Only the cops, Steff,and his friends knew anything about that. My parents didn’t even know. So, how the hell did Kellan know?

The anxiety and shock made me dizzy, but I hid my fear as best I could. As casually as I could, I lifted my arm off my brother’s shoulder and stood. Without looking at his face, because I couldn’t trust myself to not show my emotions, I stepped toward the kitchen.

“I’m getting some water. Do you want a drink?” I called over my shoulder.

“Nah. I’m good.”

All I could do to answer was nod. I turned the corner and leaned against the counter, hidden from Kellan’s sight. I was shaking all over. I didn’t understand what was happening. The only people who could possibly know were in one of two camps. Camp number one: me, Steff, and his friends. Camp number two: the hunters. Nothing else made sense. I stood in the kitchen like a caged animal, not knowing what to do.

Could Kellan know someone in the police department who had given him the information? That seemed incredibly unlikely. If the LVPD hadn’t let the info leak to the media outlets who were probably paying six figures for any insider information, there was no way Kellan could have dug it up. Plus Kellan had, not more than a minute ago, said he hadn’t spoken to Steff. How then? How did my brother know what the hunters had done? Unless…? No. I shoved the idea out of my mind before it could even take hold.

I snatched a cup from the cabinet and filled it with ice and water and walked back to the living room. Kellan was sitting on the sofa, his fingers flying over the keyboard on his phone screen. Taking a seat on the ottoman in front of him, I took a sip of water to calm my nerves. He was deep in concentration on whatever he was typing. He still looked like my big brother, like the same man who had always watched out for me andprotected me. There was no way he was dangerous. No way he could be involved in what was going on. There had to be another explanation.

While he kept texting, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and dialed Steff, then I put the phone down on the seat next to me. I turned it to make sure the speaker was pointing toward Kellan.

He finished typing and glanced at me sheepishly. “Sorry. Had to send that. What were we talking about?”

I took another drink and did the best acting job of my life. “The box. The one that Ryland sent.”

“Oh, damn. Right.”

I nodded. “It was really traumatizing. More proof of how twisted and sick Ryland really is.” I put my hand on Kellan’s knee. “I really think he may go back on his word about not hurting Aiden. He’s the type to do anything to get what he wants.”

Kellan’s face, already pale, went almost completely white. The look of terror and realization on his face was enough to make my skin crawl. With a trembling voice, he said, “Do you really think he’d go back on his word? Even with something so important?”

“I do.” I forced myself to maintain eye contact, hoping that Steff had answered and was listening. “You and I both know what he put in that box. Someone who could do that? There’s no way he can be trusted.”

Kellan froze, as still as a statue, staring back at me. Then he leapt up so fast that I had to jerk back, spilling my water on my thigh. He paced the room like a caged animal, wrapping himself with his arms. It looked like he was trying to hug himself or keep his body from flying apart. I knew that my gut feeling had been right. There was something seriously wrong here. Something that couldn’t be easily explained.

“Kellan.”

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