Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(41)

“Jesus,” Wylder muttered.

I shoved Mav off us. “You need a second job.”

He brushed invisible dirt off his U.S. Forest Service tee with the smoke-jumper logo. “Already got two. That’s enough for me.”

“Two part-time jobs,” I shot back. “You need at least double that to keep you out of trouble.”

It was true but not exactly fair. From late spring through early fall, Mav worked with the smoke jumpers, who had a station just outside of town. The rest of the year, he had to settle for the boring old Starlight Grove Fire Department. But he made up for the lack of action by seeking out every death-defying hobby he could find, from BASE jumping to whitewater rafting to free climbing.

A part of me wondered if all those hobbies and jobs that put him in the literal line of fire were part of him coming to terms with almost losing his life all those years ago. He’d come the closest. Maybe now, he needed to prove that he was no longer afraid.

Mav’s mouth twisted into a grin. “But then I couldn’t come spend time with my favorite brothers.”

“You mean mooch food off us because you just got off a shift?” Wylder asked.

Mav’s grin only widened. “I can do both. Now, tell me what you two were whispering about.” He scanned the bar, his gaze halting on Brae. “Wait, is that her?” He let out a low whistle. “No wonder you’re breaking all the rules.”

“I’m not breaking any rules,” I grumbled.

Wylder’s steady gaze landed on me. “No, just laws.”

I tried not to shift in place, knowing Wylder would pick up on any slight movement. Because he was right. I’d broken half a dozen already. But my silence gave him the answer he needed.

Wylder let out a curse. “Seriously, Dex? This is exactly what Kol was worried about.”

A muscle along my jaw started to flutter in a staccato beat. “And that’s not a little hypocritical? You know I use the same tactics in cases we work.”

“But they aren’t local,” Wylder bit out, his voice dropping low. “It won’t get us on local radar.”

“Me. I’m the one doing this. The rest of you bowed out. So if anyone pays a price, it’ll be me.” And I’d pay it. Just so I didn’t have to see that gutted look on Brae’s face ever again. The one that said she was totally and completely alone.

Tiny divots appeared in the hollows of Wylder’s cheeks, his jaw clenching tight. “You know it doesn’t work that way. Not for us. One of us gets on the radar, all of us do.”

“I’m not hiding from narrow-minded assholes,” I clipped.

“Boys, boys, boys,” Maverick cut in. “Let’s take a breath, okay?”

I didn’t take my gaze off Wylder. Instead, I gave him the truth, playing a card I knew would trump everything. “You didn’t hear her. How torn up she is about her friend. She’s had no one. No one helping her raise that kid except her friend. Nova might as well have been her sister. Her only family. And now, she’s been alone for a year, doing everything she can to find that sister. You might not want to take the risk of helping her. But I will.”

A feeling of rightness swept through me. I’d battled with myself last night—even this morning. Guilt had mixed with my need to help. But now, I knew. This was the right thing. The good thing. More, it felt a little less like I was hiding in the shadows. Which felt damn good.

Wylder stayed quiet, his expression going blank in the way I knew meant his brain was exploring every angle. I felt Mav’s gaze ping-pong between us as he waited.

Finally, Wylder scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Fuck me.”

Victory and relief washed through me.

Mav grabbed both of our shoulders. “Does this mean we’re in?” He sounded like a damn kid hopped up on too much sugar.

Wylder’s focus didn’t stray from me. “We’re helping. Just try not to get us arrested. Or exposed.”

I knew what that last piece meant. We didn’t need the world at large to know what we were up to. “I think we can trust her.”

My brothers stilled because they knew what that meant. Trust didn’t come easily for any of us. But Brae had proven herself again today. The way she met me in the shadows. How she’d shown me her shame in an attempt to soothe mine.

“I hope you’re right,” Wylder muttered.

A faint ringing had me seeking out the sound. I looked up to see Brae behind the bar, drying glasses. She held one in her hand while she fished out her phone with the other, a smile on her face as she waved to Travis, who’d just appeared at the hostess stand.

But the moment her eyes locked on the screen, everything changed. The rosy pink on her cheeks went stark white as if all the blood had drained from her face in an instant.

Glass shattered, the sound like an explosion in the empty room. And I was already running.





18





BRAEDYN





Blood roared in my ears as I stared at the phone. A name flashed across the screen that I hadn’t seen in over a year. Hundreds of days when I would’ve given anything to see Supernova appear. The photo of her, Owen, and me at a beach with ice cream cones, pure joy on our faces. Everything faded as I stared at the name.

Supernova Calling.