Free Jason's Princess: A King Brothers Story by Elise Manion Page B

beer.
    “Thanks.” He watched her refill Jarod’s glass of ice tea. “So what’s up with you, Lauren?”
    “Just worried about Julie. She’s been through so much. I don’t understand who would want to hurt her but when I find them I’m kicking their ass.” She closed the refrigerator door harder than necessary.
    “Get in line,” this from Charlie. Jason mentally smiled at the kid, proud that he understood the importance of protecting his sister. Jason knew just how rough it had been for Charlie to be orphaned at twelve. He resented that his big sister had to take care of him, not understanding that she was a much better choice than foster care. The state would have taken him away if Julie hadn’t stepped up, and God only knows what would have happened to him then.
    Josh witnessed the violent fight that led to Charlie spending the weekend with them, logging some man time. Jason had given Charlie a serious come-to-Jesus after Josh ratted him out. Charlie was big for his age and by the time he was twelve he towered over Julie by a head. According to Josh, Charlie had taken a swing at Julie and would’ve hurt her if Josh hadn’t stopped him. He had been filled with uncontrolled rage and grief. That week had been rough on Charlie, but by the time he was allowed to go back home he understood just how important it was to respect his sister and himself; Jason made sure of it.
    Lauren slammed down her coffee mug. “Seriously, guys. What’s going on? First the attack at the construction site and then this? Today was no accident and now I’m convinced those men were after her specifically.” She looked at Jarod who just shook his head. Jason was about to ask a question when the phone rang.
    “Hello?” Charlie answered. “Hello?” He sighed and hung up. The hair on Jason’s neck stood on end when Charlie said, “No one there again.”
    “What do you mean by ‘again’, Charlie?” Jarod asked.
    “I mean that we’ve been getting hang-ups or just silence on the line for the past few days. There’s usually a pause before either I hang up or there’s a quiet click. Not like it’s a wrong number where someone hangs up fast and not like when you get a robocall. There’s definitely someone there. It’s really starting to piss me off cuz I know it’s freaking out my sister.”
    “How often are you getting them?” Josh asked.
    “Um….” he thought for a moment. “Since Jason followed her home Monday night.”
    Jason ran his hands through his hair. That was the day of the attack. Someone knew how to find her.
    Son of a bitch .
    “I’ve been getting hang ups since then as well. They were bad enough the other night that I had to turn off my phone,” he admitted.
    Jarod stood up and started pacing in the small kitchen. When he bumped into Lauren for the third time, who just smiled sweetly at him, he moved into the living room. “Have you received any suspicious calls on your cell phones?” Jason noted that his brother directed his questions to both him and Charlie. They shook their heads no.
    “I don’t know about Julie, though… I don’t think so. Definitely none on my cell,” Charlie said. “I’ve been star-sixty-nining to see if I can get a caller I.D., since we don’t have that feature on our phone. But it comes up ‘caller blocked or unknown’. A business wouldn’t block their call, right? They’d want you to know their business name.”
    “Not usually but it can say ‘blocked’. Mostly it’s either ‘unlisted’ or something close to that,” Josh answered as he put a reassuring hand on Charlie’s shoulder.
    The more they talked, the more the hair on the back of Jason’s neck prickled. Billy’s face kept creeping into his mind. Quietly, he asked, “Has anyone seen Billy around lately?”
    Silence.
    “Why would you bring that name up, little brother?” Jarod’s eyes had become shards of ice as he looked at Jason.
    “Just feels like I’ve seen this kind of crap before.”