Page 18 of Mended Fences

With it fell a small bag of white powder.

JARED

Left you a present in your pocket. You owe me.

Fuck.

I scrambled to shove the coke into the center console of my truck. Last thing I needed was for Mom to decide to do a load of my laundry and stumble across it.

I climbed out of the truck just as Jasper and Natalie pulled up next to me.Looks like I’m on time for once—and I fuckin’ live here.

“Hey, little brother!” I slapped Jas on the back. “Little sis,” I said to Nat with a wink.

She and Jasper were engaged, and I was happy for them. I made the dumbass decision to kiss my brother’s long-lost love when she came back to town over the summer, and that bit me right in the ass. Got sucker punched by my little brother and calledgrossby Natalie.

Fortunately, it was all water under the bridge.

“Hey, Chaser.” Nat gave me a hug before we all climbed the porch steps. When she pulled back, her nose wrinkled. “You smell like weed.”

I shrugged and opened the front door.

“Somethin’ smells good!” I called out, but according to Nat, it wasn’t me.

The three of us headed toward the kitchen, and when the table came into view, we stopped on a dime. Tessa Belmonte was sitting in my parents’ kitchen. Right next to Elliot.

I fucking called it.

“Mornin’, Tessa,” I said with a grin as I moved to take my seat at the table. “’Bout time you two banged it out.”

“Chase Matthew!” Mom shouted.

“Tessa is not here because we ‘banged it out.’ There is nothing tobang out.”

I laughed becauseyeah right.

“Keep telling yourself that, bro.”

Brunch proceeded as usual, despite the addition. But it was time for me to sneak away.

I had a mission.

“Delicious, Mom. Thanks.” I stood and patted my stomach. “Now I need to go sleep off this hangover.”

“Don’t thank me,” Mom said. “Thank Tessa. She did most of the cooking.”

“Well in that case, thank you, Ms. Belmonte.” I bowed at the waist and shot her a wink before leaving the kitchen and quietly heading upstairs, hoping like hell I could find what I was looking for.

Chapter Seven

ELENA

Then, December 2023

UNKNOWN

Good afternoon, Doc.

My phone buzzedwith a text from an unknown number, sending an unwelcome flutter through my stomach. I already knew who it was before I typed my response.