Page 1 of When Autumn Arrives

Chapter one

Parker

Bickering came from the common area, pulling me from a good night’s rest. Despite the late night, with Thea closing the bar, I slept better than I had in a very long time, snuggled up to the warmth of her, pressed against the softness of her sweet body.

I groaned, not wanting to open my eyes. Not wanting the bliss to end.

Because Thea and Hendrix were arguing over something just beyond the closed doors. I wasn’t sure what it could be. Hen wasn’t a jealous man, so it wasn’t that we had been together without him last night. He’d never hold that against her, or me.

I tossed the covers off and slithered out of bed, then rooted around for my clothes. Thea and I passed out almost immediately when we came upstairs. We had been exhausted from opening the bar and the intense fuck session from earlier that night. Our clothes had come off in a haste to get in the shower and go the hell to sleep.

I found my shorts under the bed and decided that was enough to venture out into the wild jungles of whatever the fuck was happening beyond the bedroom door.

Then I headed for the living area, bracing myself for whatever I was about to walk into. Thea’s head snapped in my direction at the loud thudding of the heavy door shutting.

Tears flooded her golden irises when she made eye contact with me, and though her demeanor screamed anger, she just seemed… sad. Her arms were crossed, a clear defense to keep herself blocked off by Hen, and her jaw was clenched tight, teeth grinding.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my gaze falling on Hendrix.

He was sitting on a chair at the dining table, backward. He draped his arms over the back as he sprawled his legs around it. He came off as cool and collected, but I know beneath his laid-back demeanor was a demon waiting to be unleashed.

Hendrix always took loyalty to the extreme. It was one of the only things that bothered him—that could be considered a deal breaker, even more so than Calder’s inability to trust.

He didn’t like being made to feel stupid, and he certainly didn’t like not being able to trust someone. This argument had to be about that. Had Thea done something to deem herself unworthy of his trust?

“Tell him,” Hendrix ordered, his voice low and cruel despite the false smile plastered on his lips.

Thea chewed her bottom lip, her head shaking. “You don’t understand, Hen. There are three sides to every story, and what you’ve found…” she scoffed. “You’re just running with one police report, and that’s not fair.”

“Found? What?” I made eye contact with Hendrix. We had agreed a background check wasn’t necessary. That Thea was hiding—or running—from something, but it wasn’t our business. Had he done one anyway? Behind my back? What drove him to do that?

“Tell. Him,” Hendrix repeated through the brittle silence.

“Fuck off.” Thea uncrossed her arms, hurrying toward the door that led out of the bar. “You need to leave, Hendrix. Now.”

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, heading for Thea.

She opened the door, standing beside it while she glared at my best friend, my other partner. A man that knew me better than I knew myself at times. I didn’t know what was going on, why Hendrix was confronting her, or why she was so defensive. And I didn’t want to leave, but if she was kicking Hen out, then she was kicking me out, too.

“Thea,” I said, reaching her in a few strides. I placed my hand over hers, removing it from the doorknob, and closing it. “Talk to me, nabi. What’s going on? Explain it to me.“ I used that sweet, soothing voice I did whenever the people around me were on the verge of breaking down.

It seemed to help calm her, and I continued, pulling her against my chest, letting her rest her head right over my heart. The dam broke, and tears fell while I stroked her back, shushing her while I glared at Hendrix over her head.

Whatever was going on wasn’t okay. Thea was holding onto dark secrets and forcing her to tell us wouldn’t work. Hendrix had to know that, didn’t he? He had to feel even just a glimpse of remorse for upsetting her.

I took in his facial features, but I didn’t see any hint of emotion. His wall was up, and Delta Force training was in place. Nothing would get in, not until he had the truths he desperately wanted and needed.

He cleared his throat, then stood from the chair. “I ran a background check on Thea.”

“The fuck, bro?” I practically growled.

But for him to be confronting her, he had to have found something, and I needed to know what it was.

“Thea?” Hendrix said. “How did you get a liquor license with this on your record?”

“With what on her record?” I asked, suddenly becoming protective. Two seconds ago, I was on Hendrix’s side. Now, I wanted to string him up for upsetting her. Fuck, what was this girl doing to me?

“She was charged with child endangerment with a deadly weapon. Shot out the tires of an ex-boyfriend’s car while he was driving away from her home.”

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