Page 133 of Ramshackle
I canfeelJackson behind me before I hear him. “I’ll go with you.”
“He’s not going to talk to me if you’re staring him down in that way you do, Jack,” I say as I turn to face him. I reach up to slide my hand over his cheek, and he leans into it. “I need to learn more about him. Whether he’s just a good guy caught by GE or something else, I have to earn his trust enough that he’ll talk.”
“I’ll go, then.” Kellan steps up.
I angle myself to look at him. “That’s still—”
Jack tucks my hair behind my ear. “He can’t be alone with you.”
Sighing, I drop my hand. “Fine. But let me do the talking, Kell.”
He grins and leads us from the training room to the elevator. I push the button to bring us to the floor where the rescues from the island are living temporarily, then look to Jack when he doesn’t choose a floor for himself. “Which floor?” I prompt, and his lips curl to a smirk.
“I’m visiting someone else,” he answers cryptically.
“Who—?” But the doors open, and he strides out before us. Jackson has the locked doors open when Kellan and I catch up. They nod to whoever’s standing at the door and proceed further in.
It’s my first time here, so my head is swiveling left and right as I take it all in. Medical area, bunk rooms, and at the end of the hall is a large open area full of tables, chairs, and couches…it’s like a mini, single floor version of the Guild Hall. Except this one has a kid-friendly area with a jungle gym and toys off to one side.
Jackson keeps moving beyond the open area to more rooms in the back, but Kellan takes my arm to stop me when I automatically begin to follow. “He’s visiting someone else, beautiful. The one you want to see is over there.” He points to the man sitting at one of the long tables reading a book.
As if sensing that others are looking at him, Charles raises his head. He smiles when he sees me.
I smile back. Awkwardly.
I’m still not sure how to do this family thing. He’s a stranger to me, but this is why I’m here. To see if there’s more here that we can work with, to find out more about him and my mother, and go from there.
“Raegan!” He slides a bookmark between the pages of his novel and sets it on the table, then moves his gaze to Kellan. “And who is this?”
“Hi. He’s Kellan. My fr—”
“Boyfriend. Lover.Soulmate,” Kellan interjects with a sharp grin.
I spin and jab a finger into his chest, whispering angrily, “What are you doing?!”
“Making sure he knows you’re being taken care of. And have someone like me on your side. And also”—his teeth flash— “getting my claim in before the others.”
Ahh! Prick!
“Go stand over there,” I snap, pointing away from the table. He can still see and potentially hear everything, but then I don’t have to worry about him saying something else to either embarrass me or derail the conversation.
Kellan laughs. “Are you putting me in a timeout?”
“Call it whatever you want. But you’re banned from joining this conversation.”
“All right, all right. I’ll go stand over there and look pretty for you.”
He winks and saunters to where I’d pointed out. I didn’t realize that I’d directed him to the kid area, but he doesn’t hesitate to greet them as he stands at the soft block wall that separates that area from the rest of the room.
Charles’s brow is furrowed while looking from Kellan back to me.
Great.
Relax. You don’t owe him any explanation.
Clearing my throat, I ask, “Do you mind if I sit?”
“Please.” He gestures to the seat across from him, and I take it.
