“Where’s your sister?” I ask after getting over being startled.
He shrugs.
“Kason,” I hiss. “You’re supposed to stay together.”
“She’s the one who stopped to talk to that man.”
“What?” I screech. “Where?”
He points, and I rush in that direction immediately.
My own mother got extremely paranoid in the beginning. It was one of the signs that something was wrong. I never wanted to be a helicopter parent, but my heart is racing by the time I make it to the end of the aisle to spot Kayleigh chatting with a guy in a leather jacket.
It’s been years since I’ve seen that jacket, and just the sight of it terrifies me.
“Kayleigh,” I snap, no longer concerned for those around me.
She angles her head to the side, looking around the man.
“Hi, Momma,” she says, completely oblivious to what it means to speak with this man.
“Kendall,” the guy says as he turns around. “Looking good as usual.”
I snap my fingers and point to my side, an indication to my daughter to get by my side immediately. Thankfully, she listens without argument.
“Brant,” I mutter, giving the man nothing else.
“Saw you walk inside. These must be Ty’s kids.” He attempts a smile, but it comes out as a sneer because of the jagged scar twisting up his top lip.
“These are my kids,” I snap. “And you have no business speaking to them.”
“That one there looks exactly like his daddy,” Brant says, pointing to Kason.
“Who is he, Momma?” Kayleigh asks, a tremble to her voice because the child is great at reading the emotions of others. Clearly, she can tell I’m not happy about this little run-in.
“I’m your daddy’s friend, little girl,” Brant says. “Do you know where he is?”
There’s only one reason this man would be looking for Ty after so long. My ex wasn’t exactly the greatest friend, and he’d screw anyone over if it meant coming out ahead himself.
“He’s a piece of shit who abandoned his responsibilities a long time ago,” Kayleigh says, and my eyes widen when an elderly lady gasps as she walks by.
“Kayleigh,” I hiss.
“What?” she says, her face a mask of confusion. “That’s what you told Uncle Ezra.”
Brant laughs as if hearing a seven-year-old child speak that way is hilarious.
I scowl at him.
“I don’t know where Ty is.”
I grab Knox out of the cart, wincing when his shoe gets stuck and falls to the ground, but Kason picks it up.
“Let’s go, kids.”
“Good seeing you, sweetheart. We’ll chat again soon.”
“What about the groceries?” Knox asks, looking over my shoulder at the deserted cart.
“We’ll shop some other time,” I say, trying for a smile, but I can’t even manage it.
“Where are we going?” Kason asks as we rush across the parking lot.
“McDonald’s,” I say, hoping it will ward off any questions they may have.
It doesn’t, and I spend the ten-minute drive to the fast-food place avoiding their questions when one of your father’s old friends isn’t enough.
Kason knows the guy isn’t a good one after witnessing how I responded to him, and since he’s the oldest, he’s always felt this responsibility to take care of the rest of us.
McDonald’s is packed, just like the grocery store was, but at least they can run around and play some more while I keep my eyes on the parking lot. If Brant is still wearing the same jacket, maybe he’s also still driving that same green car, and I calm a little when I don’t see it.
My hands have stopped shaking by the time the kids settle in to eat, and we’re able to leave not long after. The questions seem to have dried up as well.
I’m calmer, but I keep hearing Brant’s warning over and over in my head.
We’ll chat again soon.
It wasn’t a promise of catching up with an old friend.
It was a warning.
Brant didn’t even have to say anything. I know Ty screwed Brant over before he took off years ago, but that’s not the worst of it. Brant is only one bad guy in a group of many, and where Brant is, Adrian isn’t far behind. Adrian is the worst of them all. It just proves how unlucky I am. In a city of over three hundred thousand people, I happen to run into Brant Jesper, vice president of the Keres motorcycle club.
Chapter 16
Finnegan
In order to avoid the grumpiness Kendall mentioned last night, or early this morning, depending on how you wanted to look at it, I showered when she went to bed and headed to work. I wouldn’t get any sleep in my condo anyway, not while feeling like a total dick for letting her kids stay up all damn night.
The office was empty when I arrived, but it didn’t matter that it was Saturday. It didn’t take Brooks and Kit long to join me on the couch and start mainlining coffee instead of going home and getting some sleep.