Page 62 of Marked By Shadows

“We stumbled on something.”

“We did,” he agreed.

“What do we do about it?” What could we do? Would the police find anything? If we pointed them in that direction wouldn’t they just suspect us?

“Trust the police for now.” He laughed, but it wasn’t a funny laugh, it was a pained one. “Never been a fan of the police, you know.”

“Your brother is one.”

“Right? That’s been a mess. I see him. Know how he thinks. Know he’s not a bad guy. He takes care of people, but he sees a lot of the world as bad. Assumes guilty first. They have to sometimes to stay safe.” He let out a long breath and sat back, perching in my lap, still half on his knees to remain balanced. “First year out of the academy he got shot by a ten-year-old boy. Was a gut shot. Should have killed him. I was overseas so didn’t hear until like a month later. Was so mad. Told him he needed to find a new job. He said he would if I would.”

“But neither of you did. It’s not your fault he’s in a dangerous job any more than it’s his fault you were.”

“Yeah,” he said, but didn’t sound convinced. “I’m home now. Was thinking maybe he could work the shop instead.”

“And drive us both nuts by being there all the time? Helovessolving stuff. Have you seen him during some of his cases? Yes, he’s stressed, but man, when Lukas is on the hunt, he’s like a fucking bloodhound. Don’t ever sit down and watch True Crime with him. He’ll bitch the whole time about the incompetence of the people involved in the case and how obvious the killer was. It’s how his mind works.” Having known Lukas for a while, there were a few similarities I could see between the brothers. Lukas’s tenacity wasn’t all that unlike Alex’s focus. They simply had different directions that drew them.

“I want him to be safe,” Alex said.

“He wants the same for you. Even when he’s an asshole. And honestly, he hasn’t been injured on the job in like a year or so.”

Alex frowned at me. “A year? What happened a year ago? I never heard about any injury.”

Uh oh. That was right, we hadn’t talked about the Sky thing yet. It was probably better to hear it from his brother than from me. “Maybe ask Lukas when we get home? But he’s fine.”

Alex narrowed his eyes at me. “Not fair.”

“Not true,” I told him. “You weren’t here when it happened. No reason you should be stressed about it now. Everyone is fine.”

“Is this the Sky thing you guys won’t tell me?”

“Eventually you’ll have the details. I think Lukas and Sky should fill you in. I was only a concerned third party at that time.”

Alex growled and got off my lap.

“Don’t be mad at me,” I said, not wanting a rift between us in all this mess.

“I’m not. Or at least trying not to be. It’s really not your place to tell me what happened to my brother and his girlfriend. Fuck. Siblings suck.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Why didn’t your parents have more kids?”

“They wanted to travel the world.” At least that was what they told me.

“You’re lucky.”

“Sometimes. Mostly it was just lonely.”

He frowned and paced for a minute. “Let’s get food. I could use a heap of eggs and bacon right now.” He glanced at the coffee cup in my hand. “And you need more coffee.” Since I agreed, I followed him out to the lot where we waited for our Uber.

Chapter 19

We got to the convention shortly after ten, which wasn’t bad. I texted Freya while we were waiting in line to get inside. She did not like the idea of me leaving after today. Even when I promised not to ask for a refund on the hotel costs. I didn’t want to short change her when I was the one itching to get home to the safety of my little house and the elaborate garden wards. That did not seem to be the concern on her mind.

Freya:We came to hang out as a group.

I came for the convention and to work on some stuff with you.