Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
I shook my head. “There’s so much I need to tell you, man.”
Kellan pulled out his phone and checked the clock. “I’ve got time. Aiden, the coach and I need to step outside and talk for a bit. You good?”
“Yeah, Dad. How long are you guys gonna be?”
“A little while. If you’re done, order a milkshake. Then go finish up those dollars on the video games.”
“Nice.”
Kellan nodded to me, and I followed him outside. Then, in the sunlight of a beautiful Fourth of July, I told him everything. All of it. And it felt so damn good.
By the time I made it home later that afternoon, I felt like an entirely new man. I’d need to tell the guys about Kellan knowing the truth, but they’d understand. There were very few humans who knew about shifters. The secret was guarded, and for good reason. Kellan would never betray me, or us. It was such a fantastic day, that when I stepped out of my truck, I almost didn’t hear the yelling next door.
I froze and tilted my head, trying to pick up the words. April was chewing someone’s ass out. I headed toward her house, rounding the corner to the back patio. She was pacing and had her phone in a death grip to her ear.
“You dirty motherfucker. Goddamn money-hungry piece of shit. I hope you catch an STD and your dick falls off.” Her face was red as she screamed into the phone, and despite myself, I had to stifle a laugh.
“You betrayed me. How could you do that?”
It was that Luca asshole. The one who’d known all her dirty little secrets and sold her out for a quick buck. What a douchebag. Now he was calling for God knows what and making April upset? I couldn’t have that.
By the time April finally saw me, she was shaking with rage. Her hands were trembling as I pulled the phone from her hands. Her eyes were wide with surprise but there was a sense of relief on her face now that I was there.
“Is this Luca?” I asked.
There was a long pause before the voice on the other end finally spoke up. “Yeah. Who the hell is this?”
Not bothering to answer his question, I said, “You aren’t to contact April again. Ever. Is that understood?”
“Look, pal, I don’t know who you think you are, but?—“
“Shut the fuck up. You’ll stop harassing April, or you’ll have me to deal with. Trust me, that is not the kind of trouble you want. One more word from you, even a single text, and I’ll make your life a living hell. Goodbye.”
I hung up and immediately blocked the number. Shoving her phone into my pocket, I took her still shaking hands and led her into the house. She was mumbling under her breath. I could barely hear her, but it sounded like she was talking through all the ways she was going to torture and kill Luca. I didn’t blame her. Dude was a grade-A cocksucker.
I poured her a glass of wine, hoping it would help calm her nerves. When I handed it to her, she finally seemed to snap out of her rage-filled daze. She blushed and smiled, taking the glass from me. I let her take a minute.
After a few sips, she sighed. “Sorry about that. I kind of spaced out after getting off the phone with him. That tends to happen when I get overwhelmed. I sort of go to a place in my head and… I don’t know. Like I said, I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “Nothing to be sorry for. It’s fine,” I said as I sat down across from her.
She took another long sip of wine. “Thanks for stepping in. I was getting so pissed that I don’t think I would have been able to form coherent words if you hadn’t pulled that phone away. Probably should have handled that better.”
When she drained her wine, I refilled her glass and helped myself to a glass of my own. I was more of a beer and whiskey guy, but it seemed weird to sit there and watch her without partaking myself.
“What’s the history between you two? I don’t want to sound like this, but the dude seems below you.”
April huffed out a breath and leaned back in her chair. “Are you sure you want to hear this?” I nodded encouragingly, and she shrugged. “We met at a fashion show in New York. I was walking, and he was an up-and-coming model, trying to get his foot in the door. He was trying so hard, and all he wanted to do was succeed. After that show, I sort of took him under my wing, you could say. I was his mentor at first, then we became friends. After that I took him out partying and… one thing led to another. After a while, we were an item.
“I found out he had an eating disorder. A lot of models have that. Male and female. I thankfully never did. I tried to help him, but the disorder led to drugs, and I guess I fell into that same life. I’d been in it a while. I’d tried things and done stuff, but once I
got with Luca, it totally changed. We’d party really hard. I’d get so high that I didn’t even know where I was in the morning.”
I held my breath as she told the story. My heart hurt, and my bear’s sadness surged through me. She’d gone to such a dark place, and put herself into so much danger.
“I’m not proud of it. That part of my life didn’t last long. It was maybe a year before I told Luca I was going off drugs. Told him I was going cold turkey. I wasn’t a full addict, so I didn’t have any withdrawals or anything. Luca didn’t like that. My career was still going stronger than ever because I only used every now and then. Mostly at parties or”—she looked uncomfortable, like she’d almost said too much—“other times. His career wasn’t going anywhere. Even with me throwing my name around. He was always too high or drunk to get to showings or auditions. That led to him forging my signature on some documents and stealing about forty grand from my bank account. Then he dug through my computer and phone for a bunch of photos and videos I thought were in secure folders.”
I growled, then quickly cleared my throat to mask the sound. “Sounds like more than just an asshole. More like a living, breathing pile of shit.”
April nodded. “He ended up selling the photos and his information on America’s favorite model. Larry said he probably made close to a million bucks, maybe more. He sold me out, and once all that info came out, there were
way more stalker occurrences. Anyone who’s famous deals with it at one time or another, but it got crazy. Guys telling me all the stuff they wanted to do to me, or me to do to them. It’s bad. Sexual threats, physical threats, the whole nine yards.”
I had trouble keeping my face and breathing composed and calm. Miles had dug up a lot of the information, and I’d gleaned a little more from the papers and TV. Most of the background stuff had been left out. I berated myself.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “If I hadn’t done what I did back then, none of this would have happened.”
April leaned forward. “No, you can’t take that on yourself. I chose Luca. That was my mistake. Nothing you did could make me choose a guy so shitty.”