Chapter 35
35
MILES
S itting on the top porch step of our temporary cabin, our home until the three-bedroom one we wanted was cleaned out and move-in ready, I ran my fingers through Jubie’s thick fur, watching Aiden and Aspen rock back and forth in the porch swing. My smile dropped, catching the white gauze wrapped around Aspen’s forearm.
Two days ago, the best thing that ever happened to us was almost taken away.
Jubie grunted and nudged my shoulder with her wet nose, telling me she sensed the anxiety spike. Thankfully, the drugs wore off quickly, and after twenty-four hours under Baylee’s care, Jubie was back to her old self. So far, we hadn’t noticed any side effects, but Baylee demanded she stop by daily for the next couple of weeks to check in.
We almost lost her and Aspen all because of someone we’d introduced into their lives. My heart gave a painful thud just thinking about how devastated Aiden and I would be if we had lost our future with Aspen. The only bright side out of the whole shit show was that the threat to her, Jubie, Aiden, and me was gone.
Liam tracked the blood trail Jessica left when she fell out the back door and found her body almost half a mile away in a remote area. The way he explained it, she was already dead when he found her from the gash on the inside of her thigh that severed an artery. Though I wasn’t sure if that was exactly true. Something about the way his lips curved up in a knowing grin spoke to there being more to that story.
I would hopefully find out one day soon so I could thank the bastard for ensuring the threat to our family was finished. We would have more challenges, but hopefully none as violent as this one.
Movement down the road had me leaning forward. Knowing the trio was headed this way, I pushed off the rough boards to stand. A groan slipped out as I stretched both arms high in the air, fingertips brushing the porch overhang.
“We leave, and this place goes to hell,” Brandon said, his arm draped over his partner’s shoulders. Their size difference was comical, his six-foot-five frame towering over her barely five-foot stature.
“Welcome back,” I said, taking his outstretched hand, then turning to Amy and Carl. “We missed you guys.”
Breaking out of Brandon’s hold, Amy leapt up the stairs and wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing me so tight I couldn’t take a full breath.
“Come on, baby, let the man breathe.” Carl carefully extracted Amy and pulled her back against his chest. “We just landed and heard about…” His gaze slid to Aspen, who had left the swing to stand beside me. “Everything. Hi, you must be Aspen Carter.” He shook her hand. “I’m Carl Taylor, and these are my partners, Amy and Brandon.”
“I cannot believe this happened here,” Amy exclaimed, tossing her hands in the air. “This place is normally so safe that we leave our doors unlocked.” She stepped closer to Aspen and pulled her into a much gentler hug than she gave me. “I’m so sorry this was your introduction to our community, to Anchor Bay.”
“It hasn’t been all bad,” Aspen said, shooting a smile up at me. “And there are bad people everywhere. At least this place comes with great scenery.”
“You mean me and Miles, right, sweetheart?” Aiden draped an arm over Aspen’s shoulders.
Amy’s eyes went wide, flicking between the three of us before squealing so loud that Jubie whined and lay down, paws lifting to cover her ears.
“You’re kidding me right now, right?” I shook my head, chuckling at her palpable excitement. “I am so happy for you three. We have to go on a triple date.”
“Did you just make that up, baby?” Brandon asked, covering his growing grin.
She huffed and flipped him the bird. “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it’s now a thing, and we’re doing it.” Amy leaned in close to Aspen, lifting her hand to whisper behind it, though she spoke loud enough for us all to hear. “We can talk about all the things, living with two overbearing, protective, grumpy?—”
“That’s enough out of you.” Amy squealed in delight when Carl wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her backward. Lifting her slight frame with ease, he tossed Amy over his shoulder and slapped her ass hard. “Get the business talk done, then come find us. We can catch up on everything not Uplift around a few beers at Dave’s.”
Brandon watched them go with a gentle look on his face that vanished when he turned to me. Crossing both thick tatted arms over his barrel chest, he hitched his chin toward the cabin.
“Let’s go inside to talk about Caroline and—” He stopped mid-sentence to look at his phone screen. A frown tugged his lips down, and he lifted the device to his ear. “Hey, Oliver. What?—”
Aiden, Aspen, and I all leaned forward, trying to catch whatever Oliver said on the other end of the line. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long.
His features were stern, all business when he ended the call.
“You will not believe this,” he muttered and turned to look down the road. I followed his line of sight to where Langston was hauling ass in the opposite direction.
“Now what?” Aiden grumbled. “I swear, if anyone else was stabbed, it wasn’t because of us.”
Brandon shot Aiden a dull look. “Liam caught someone breaking into Caroline’s cabin and called Oliver after he had the bastard hog-tied.”
A huffed laugh escaped me. Of course our cowboy hog-tied the dumb asshole who?—
“Wait, did you say Caroline’s?” I stood straight and started down the steps. “Who the fuck was breaking into her cabin, and why?”
Brandon fell into line beside me as we hurried down the road.
“You can’t kill him until we get some answers,” Brandon stated, though the way he popped his knuckles and stretched out his thick neck told me that was a warning to himself too.
My heart dropped at his tone. “Who broke the fuck in, Brandon?”
“Jasper. Jasper Cain.”
I cracked my knuckles one by one. “Then let’s go find out why he was in Caroline’s cabin and what he knows about her disappearance.”
Hopefully he had information we could use to bring her home.
If not, I was almost certain we’d never see our friend again.
Keep reading for the conclusion to Aiden, Miles and Aspen’s story!
Want to know what Jasper was doing in Caroline’s cabin? Desperate to know what happened to her and the other missing women?
Find out in book 2, Claiming Ours , releasing fall 2025!