Page 136 of Peaks and Promises

I wanted to snap at him—that asshole is not Nate’s dad—but I bit back the remark.

He took a few more notes on his phone, then slipped it in his pocket. “I think I have what I need, but I’ll call you if I have more questions. You’re staying here?”

“For now. Nate’s safe, but we can’t hole up here forever.”

“You won’t have to.”

My jaw hitched. “What do you think you’re going to be able to do about this?”

His posture shifted, his back stiffening. “My job, Reese. I’m going to do my job. And you need to let me.”

“So, just hang out here with Mom and Dad? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Look, I understand what it’s like to have people you care about in danger.”

“Then you know I can’t step aside and let someone else handle it.”

He met my eyes, his expression hard. “How do you think you’re going to handle it?”

“By making sure he can’t get to Nate.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“For fuck’s sake, Garrett. I didn’t say I’d shoot him in cold blood. Did you talk to Zachary?”

“No. What did you say to him?”

Shaking my head, I glanced away. “Nothing.”

“You can’t go vigilante.”

“I didn’t say I would.”

“But you’re thinking it.”

“What the fuck would you know about what I’m thinking?”

“Nothing.” He spat out the word. “I don’t know where your head is because I don’t know you. You show up and drop the bomb on us that you ran off and joined an outlaw motorcycle club. You can’t blame me if that makes me wonder how you feel about guys like me.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“I get it. And I’m not trying to hold your past against you.”

“But you don’t trust me.”

“I don’t know how far I can trust you. How could I? You care about Nate and Summer, and you want to keep them safe. And you’re a Haven, which, let’s face it, means you’re protective and stubborn as hell. Not a bad combination, as long as it’s tempered with a reasonable respect for the law.”

“Which you don’t think I have.”

“Do you?”

I looked away again. I didn’t know how to answer that. I wasn’t a criminal anymore. But I wasn’t like Garrett, either. I wasn’t like any of my brothers. Never had been.

“I’m not just trying to help Summer and Nate,” Garrett said. “I’m trying to keep you safe, too.”

The smoldering coal of anger in my gut flared to life, and I clenched my fists. “I don’t need you to keep me safe.”

He held up his hands. “Fine. But let us do our job.”