Page 154 of Chasing Shelter

“No!” Keely protested, instantly running for Ellie and taking her hand. “I need my bestie there.”

Luca frowned. “I thoughtIwas your bestie.”

Keely shrugged, her fishtail braids swinging with the movement. “I can have lots of besties.”

Luca’s little face pinched at that, and I fought a laugh.

“We can all go,” Kye offered. “And we’ll stay together.”

Before I could answer, my doorbell rang. I frowned. Everyone who might casually stop by my house was already here. I wiped my hands on a kitchen towel and started for the door. “I’ve got it.”

I took a second to look through the peephole, and my frown only deepened at the unfamiliar man on my front porch. Opening the door, I took him in. He looked to be somewhere in his early thirties, and everything about him was a study in opposites.

Tall and broad like he could’ve been a linebacker in college but wearing wire-framed glasses. Light brown hair in a haphazard disarray, and a few days’ worth of stubble on his jaw, not to mention tattoos bleeding out onto his hands. But the messenger bag hanging at his shoulder had more of a business bent to it.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“Hey, Trace.” The man spoke the words like we knew each other. My frown deepened.

“Do I know you?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He ran a hand through his hair and then extended it to me. “I’m Dex.”

My eyes widened a fraction. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expectingof the hacker who had the occasional vigilante bent, but this wasn’t it. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Anson’s actually inside.”

A grin spread across Dex’s face as he glanced over my shoulder. “Shit, I probably should’ve called. I can get single-minded when I’m on a project. Are you having a party or something?”

“Just an impromptu brunch, and you’re welcome anytime. Come on in.”

Dex patted his stomach. “I think it’s been a while since I consumed anything other than a Redline.”

“What the hell is a Redline?” I asked.

He sent me a sheepish smile. “Energy drink. Fuel of computer geeks everywhere.”

My steps slowed. “Wait, how did you know where I lived?”

Dex winced. “Hacker, remember?”

“Jesus,” I muttered.

“Dex,” Anson said with a massive grin as we headed into the living room. “What are you doing here?”

Dex froze. “He’s smiling. Why is he smiling? It’s freaking me out.”

“He smiles now. Don’t worry, he’s not a pod person or anything,” I assured him.

Anson pulled Dex into a back-slapping hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“You, uh, too,” Dex said, clearly still uncertain what to do with this updated version of Anson.

As Anson let him go, Dex’s expression shifted, making me realize something I should’ve noticed earlier. “You have something.”

48

ELLIE

Gone werethe happy voices and laughter of a few minutes ago. Instead, a nervous energy filled the air as Dex pulled out his laptop and pulled up God knew what. If it was another bombshell of information, I wasn’t sure I could take it.

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