Page 131 of Chasing Shelter

“Can I have a minute with Linc?” I asked.

Arden stood, but when she did, she stepped in front of her fiancé and bent. She took his face in her hands and kissed him. It wasn’t gentle; it was a reminder. “Love you, Cowboy.” And then she started for the house.

I took a seat on the steps beside Linc but gave him space. I didn’t speak right away. And I was right not to.

“She told you, didn’t she? About Bradley.”

My throat worked as I swallowed. “She did.”

Linc muttered a curse. “I failed her. In so many ways.”

“You got her here. Where she needed to be. You gave her the courage to break free. Just because you weren’t the first person she opened up to doesn’t mean you didn’t help her in infinite ways.”

Linc slowly lifted his head and turned to me. Even in the dark, I could see the pain in his eyes. It reached out like a living, breathing thing and punched me right in the gut.

“You don’t get it. I left. When I graduated high school, I ran. Left for California. I was so desperate to get away I didn’t care that I was leaving her with that monster.”

I knew he was talking about Philip Pierce. A different sort of monster.

“He manipulated her. Did the same shit Bradley was doing. I know it because I lived it. Cruelty and punishments if you didn’t bend to his iron will. He’s the one who forced her into that relationship with Bradley. He’s the one who took away all his attention and bastardized affection when she tried to leave the first time. And I wasn’t there to protect her.”

Tears glistened in Linc’s eyes, and I reached out, gripping his shoulder hard. “Fuck that noise. Ellie told me how much you were in her life. How often you called and visited. And when she was strong enough to leave, where did she go? Straight to the place she felt safest. You.”

His shoulders shook as he let the tears go. “I want to fucking kill him.”

“Trust me, I know.”

Linc looked up then, the tears fading. “You love her?”

Fuck.

It was a question I purposely hadn’t asked myself. Maybe because I was afraid. Maybe because I wasn’t quite ready for the truth. But looking at the torture Linc was wading through now, I knew truth was theleasthe deserved.

“She changed what love meant. I don’t think I understood untilshe came into my life. What it could truly be. She’s made me a better father. A better brother. A better son. She’s made me a better man. And I will do everything in my power to be a good steward of that love. To honor it. To protect it. To protecther.”

“Fuck,” Linc muttered. “Now I know why Cope was so pissed he couldn’t punch me.”

That startled a laugh out of me—the last sound I’d expected to make. “I can give you a free shot if it’ll make you feel better.”

“It’s no fun if you’re letting me have it.”

Another chuckle sprang free. “Sorry?”

“You should be.”

My phone dinged, and I pulled it out of my pocket.

Gabriel

Meet me out front? Want to go over a plan of attack.

I got why he went for the text. He didn’t want a bunch of law enforcement personnel pouring into my house while Ellie was so raw. And I appreciated his sensitivity. It was one of the many things that made him such a damn good cop.

“You need to go?” Linc asked.

I pushed to my feet. “Gotta get a planning brief from Gabriel.”

Linc stood. “Fill me in after? I’m going to check on Ellie.”

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