Page 48 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

When I put the truck in park, he stalks toward me with a secretive smile.

Except I don’t want him to be a dirty secret. I already know that. It’s not fair to him or me. We’re grown-ass people. I’m almost thirty, for gods’ sake. I’m going to tell him. We’ll talk to Jasper. It’ll be fine. Right?

He promised he’d protect our friendship, and I believe he will.

Or maybe we’ll just make sure this doesn’t end in disaster before we tell anyone. His friendship with Jasper isn’t the only thing at risk—he’s been my best friend for almost my entire life. I’d be devastated to lose that.

He gets close enough to press me to the truck hood, flaring his wings wide as he dips down and slides his hands under my ass. Pulling me onto the hood, he slots his huge body between my thighs and leans his forehead against mine. Staring into my eyes, he runs his hands up my arms and down my back, touching everywhere.

“Thank you for coming all the way out here,” he says quietly, pressing my upper body closer to his. “I gotta tell you something that’s gonna complicate matters, Blue.”

I freeze despite how fucking fabulous his big three-fingered hands feel on me.

Brows bunched, I stare up at him. “Something worse than my brothers?”

He nods. “Something I just found out about today.” He takes a step back and yanks his hair out of the high bun in a frustrated move that highlights his thick arm muscles. “It might be better to show you.”

I’m frozen on the truck hood, though, because why is it that every time we get close, something seems to pop up? My brothers. The Bodice. The fucking Gulch Gossip ladies. Now something else?

“Okay,” I say, hopping off the truck. “Talk to me, Alk.”

He grins, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Still waiting on a better nickname, Blue.”

I’d come up with a witty retort, but I’m too worried about whatever he asked me out here to say. He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the door. Following in silence, I consider all the possibilities, but nothing makes sense. Twenty years of friendship haven’t left any stones unturned. I’d swear I know everything about this male, so whatever he has to say must be bad bad.

All of that changes when we enter the beautiful old ranch house. He’s redone so much of the inside, although it’s not quite livable yet—hence why he’s currently my neighbor. But across the living room in the room’s singular leather chair lies a young gargoyle female.

Wearing one of Hadrian’s sweatshirts. Skinny legs hang out from beneath it, cloaked in dirty jeans. Her tail thwaps loosely against the edge of the chair as she snores softly.

I blink rapidly, trying to process what I’m seeing. Wait…she looks familiar. I realize it’s the young girl who asked me about him earlier.

“Wait…” As I glance up at Hadrian, his smile is totally gone.

“That’s Petra, she found me earlier today just after you left Betty’s. She’s...Shit. She’s my sister, Bluebell. Well, half-sister.”

My mouth drops open, and I look rapidly between them. Her face is lax in sleep, but the resemblance is uncanny. She’s got the same cute dimple in her chin but heart-shaped face with a wide, angular jaw. Feminine, but similar. And earlier I remember thinking her eyes were such a pretty, familiar color. Brighter purple than the average gargoyle.

Just like Hadrian’s.

“Is this for real?” My voice is barely a whisper, and Hadrian nods, crossing his big arms as he stares at the sleeping female.

“I took her to Sheriff Rygold, and he verified she’s my sister. My father sent a letter with her too, pretty much saying, ‘Hey, this is Petra; we just found out about her, but she wanted to meet you.’” He runs a hand through his hair. “So they told her how to come find me, and here she is.”

A disgruntled gasp leaves me. Hadrian’s parents have never been attentive. I’ve known him for twenty years and met them twice. They were always more than happy to send him to us for entire summers at a time, claiming he preferred to be with us anyhow. Most of the time, we got him ready to go back to school. I’m both shocked and somehow unsurprised at this. But an entire extra sibling?

“Where has she been living?”

He pulls me toward the back door. “Human world with her mother, an ex of my father’s. Let’s talk outside.”

Quietly, I allow him to guide me out the back door and across a rough stone patio to his firepit. A fire rages within it, spitting golden orange sparks into the sky. In the human world, you could never do a fire like this outside for fear of burning up the whole state. But here in the monster world, we’ve got a potion for keeping that from happening.

Hadrian takes a seat in an oversized chair, pulling me onto his lap with a sigh that sounds like it carries the weight of the entire damn haven system.

“Apparently, her mother died, and she spent a lot of years looking for my father. She found him and stayed with them for a time, but she wanted to meet me. She was…excited to have a brother. It’s kinda detailed here. She told me the rest at dinner.” He reaches into his shirt pocket and withdraws a crumpled piece of paper then hands it to me.

I unfold it and scan the contents. My eyes spring wide. “They want you to keep her for years? Are they fucking serious?!”

“Surprise,” he says in a glum tone. “I need a drink. Would you like one too? I’ve got some of that plum whiskey from the coach’s private stores.”