Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(26)
I dunno. It’s kind of funny.
Me
Your lack of tech know-how is truly terrifying to me. Where did I go wrong?
Kol
Fuck off, computer nerd.
I laughed but took pity on him and changed the group name back to what it had been before: Hot Sauce & Hot Goss.
Maverick
Second-best group name, but I’ll take it. This text is to tell Orion that his brother has returned from his sentence with the FBI and that his presence is required at family dinner tonight.
No texts came in for a moment, and that earlier worry intensified. Orion had ended up the most changed after that night nineteen years ago. He’d paid the highest price. And it had been to save the rest of us.
Orion
Working.
Orion had a gift when it came to mapmaking. His creations were infinitely unique, no one exactly like the other, and their uniqueness was only matched by their intricacy. So, it was no wonder people paid high into the six figures for each one.
Maverick
You’re always working, asshole. But you also have to eat. So stop whatever project you’re on for an hour and come see your family. If you don’t, I’ll let Dex hack all your devices and turn every alert to the Hannah Montana theme song.
Me
I’m not your weapon, Mav.
Wylder
And don’t diss “The Best of Both Worlds.” It’s a bop.
Kol
You’ve been watching reruns with Skylar again, haven’t you?
Wylder
Miley Cyrus should’ve gotten an Oscar for that performance.
I barked out a laugh.
Me
You should start a letter-writing campaign.
Wylder
Maybe I will.
Orion
If you shut up, I’ll come for an hour.
Maverick
VICTORY IS MINE.
Me
I think it’s actually Miley’s.
Maverick
I can share the crown with her.
Orion
Turning off my phone.
And he would. Silence was Orion’s preferred state of being. No music. No talking. And certainly not the sound of his own voice.
Working alongside the Behavioral Analysis Unit on case after case, I’d gotten to know shrinks who had unique insights into the human mind. Some of them were snobby, thinking us techies were beneath them. But others were good people. And my friend, Anson, had been the best.
He’d given me more than my fair share of psychological education. And as I put the pieces together, I realized that all of my brothers and I had a version of PTSD. But Orion’s was the most severe. Now, any stimuli could end up being too much for him.
A shout—sharp and fast—caught my attention. I instinctively looked out the window, expecting to see Brae and her son. The shout had sounded like the little boy—Owen. I’d heard Brae call him in for dinner. But I didn’t see him anywhere now. Brae either.
And it was quiet. Too quiet.
I didn’t wait. I grabbed the Taser I’d stashed behind my computer and strode out the back door.
Unease slid through me as I crossed the open space between the two cabins. Everything was still. Not even a breeze rustled the tall grasses at the edge of the creek.
My fingers tightened around my Taser, and for a second, I wondered if I should get my 9mm from the gun locker in my SUV. Even thinking of retrieving the weapon had nausea rolling through me. Because those weapons killed. I knew that better than most.
Taser. That was good enough. Protection without fatality.
But a million what-ifs swirled in my mind as I crept closer to cabin number two. Each possibility was worse than the one before, the price of all the dark places I’d investigated over the years. I reached the side of the cabin, pressing my back to the wall and listening.
Wind. A bird. Rustling.
I stiffened, poised for whatever might come. The sounds moved closer. I didn’t wait.
I surged around the corner, only to be hit square in the chest. The impact stung and then instantly exploded, soaking the front of my shirt with…water?
My gaze dropped to my now-soaked tee and then met the jaw-dropped Brae standing in front of me. Her hand flew to her mouth, her amber eyes wide. She was soaked. Her blond hair was stuck to her face in places, mascara ran beneath her eyes, and her white T-shirt was plastered to her body, her nipples pebbled, pressing against the fabric, and— Shit.
I jerked my focus upward just as Brae dropped her hand from her mouth.
“I’m so sorry. I thought you were Owen. I didn’t—” She shook her head. “What are you doing here?”
The scowl came to my mouth on instinct. “I heard a scream,” I gritted out.