Page 27 of Hartley

“Sheldon,” Jordan growled as he climbed the stairs.

“What? You can’t expect me not to bust on them for behaving like children.”

“I know,” Oleander began. “If you take Shel and me to amini golf course, you’ll see real competition. Then we’ll be even so you can pick on us too.”

Sheldon smacked Oleander on the arm. Nothing too hard, just enough to get his attention. “Why would you tell them that?”

“Because I want to beat you at mini golf for the eighty-fifth time.” Oleander faced us and thumbed toward Sheldon. “He sucks at it, and it drives him crazy that he can’t beat me. One time, he threw his club, and it took out the spinny thing on the mini windmill.”

“The spinny thing?” Sheldon mocked.

“You know what I mean.”

“It was already loose. I just nudged it the rest of the way.”

Oleander barked out a laugh. “You didn’t nudge it. You clipped one of the blades right off. My dad had to drive there with his credit card because we didn’t have enough cash on us to cover the repair.”

“Yeah, and I had to work it off for weeks by mowing your yard.”

Another grin from Oleander. He looked at Forest and me. “I used to sit on the back patio and sip lemonade while he mowed.”

“I flipped him off every time I pushed the mower in front of him.”

They kept bantering back and forth as Forest and I laughed at their antics. While Sheldon and Oleander weren’t related, they acted like brothers. It was the levity we needed and added to Forest and me having fun.

This wasn’t an exciting trip. It was one that had to be done so we could take stock of the house and make sure there weren’t any necessary repairs that had to be immediately made. It was also a chance to show Jordan where I grew upand where Vail spent a good amount of his childhood. This was our past, and we were bringing Jordan into it. It wasn’t glamorous or what others would covet, but it was ours, and I wouldn’t trade the life we had with our grandfather. He showed us unconditional love and what it meant to be a family.

13

JORDAN

The joy on Hartley’s face had a smile forming on mine. I worried this trip would put him and Vail in a somber mood, but Forest was able to lift it. To watch Hartley and his brother race around the house like they were teenagers, being competitive, I had a bit of worry that Hartley would fall or get hurt, but when I saw how happy he was, the concern melted away.

That was until Hartley unlocked the door to his grandfather’s home and went in first, before Sheldon or Oleander could beat him to it. The moment Hartley stepped over the threshold, the hair on my arms stood up. I pushed past my guards, shoved myself in front of Hartley, and drew my gun, which I’d grabbed before I got out of the SUV. Technically, it was one of Raiden’s guns, but it was in my hand, so I was calling it mine.

“Jordan, what the hell?” Hartley asked, trying to walk around me.

“Shut up,” I growled. Never had I said those words to him, but I couldn’t face a threat with him talking. My focus had tobe on the room in front of me. There was someone here. I could feel it.

Without a word, Oleander and Sheldon went to my left as I sidestepped into the living room, bringing Hartley with me, keeping him at my back. Knowing how my other guards operated, Vail and Ava were still safely outside and currently being protected. If there was someone in here, there could be more out there. I wasn’t taking any chances, and they knew not to as well.

“I’m in here,” a muffled voice came from what I assumed was a coat closet.

Sheldon slid into view from the other room, with Oleander behind him. They worked in perfect synchronization. Sheldon opened the door, and Oleander had his gun pointed at it.

“Out,” Oleander barked.

A man of average height with a beard that could use a trim, which matched his unruly deep brown hair, stepped out with his hands in the air. “I mean no harm,” he said. His voice was steady. Not the tiniest bit of a tremble to it.

“If you mean no harm, then you wouldn’t hide in the fucking closet of a home that’s not yours,” I seethed. My eyes went to Sheldon, a warning clear in them as Oleander searched the man for weapons.

“He wasn’t here this morning, sir. Ollie and I swept the home then locked it. We handed the keys to Hartley when we picked you up. There was no sign of anyone ever being here.”

I couldn’t stop from grinding my teeth. Sheldon and Oleander wouldn’t put my men in danger, but this shit was unacceptable. It wasn’t all on them though. Not when none of us got to Hartley before he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Not when I didn’t give the order to have the homeswept when we arrived. Or when I didn’t insist on going in first.

Oleander circled the man, his gun on him, while Sheldon came up alongside him.

“Who are you?” Sheldon asked in his calm voice. In this, I’d let him lead because I was a second from blowing this man’s brains out for being here.

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