Shelter Read Online Free PDF

face. He had black hair, a slim face and a lip ring, which his tongue was playing with. Caden was used to working with older people who fit the stereotype of ‘ addict ’. Elias looked younger than Caden and he was ignoring how good looking he was.
    “What?” Elias snapped, “What do you want?”
    Caden blinked heavily and shook his head, ridding himself of the stage fright. He was frantically trying to remember what he had picked up on the couple of days he had spent shadowing his mother but it was useless.
    “Hi,” Caden jutted his hand out, “I’m from Helping Hands Outreach.”
    Elias rolled his eyes, ignoring the hand. Stepping to the side, he kicked the door out, his toned thigh holding it in place.
    “C’mon then,” he jerked his head upstairs, “let’s get this over with.”
    Nodding with an awkward smile, Caden jumped in and stopped the door from shutting when Elias started to run up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Caden tried to ignore the bounce of his cheeks in the underwear but he couldn’t. Pull it together Caden, you’re here to do a job.
    Closing the door behind him, he followed Elias into the tiny apartment above the bakery. It wasn’t what he had been expecting at all. It was clean and nicely decorated, if not a little simple. From what he remembered, nice housing had never been a luxury to the people at the bottom of the social ladder.
    “What did you say your name was?” Elias grabbed the ID card around his neck and twisted it, “ Caden Walker .”
    Elias dropped the ID badge and jumped over the back of the sofa. He sat in the corner of the couch, his arms over the back and his thighs spread.
    “Let’s make this quick,” Elias already sounded frustrated.
    Caden took this as his invitation to get things rolling. He sat on the couch next to Elias, who seemed oblivious that everything was pretty much on show. Gulping, Caden was almost surprised how affected he was by a man in a pair of underwear. He had barely looked at another guy in five years and now he was sitting next to a semi-naked one. Pull it together, man .
    “How’ve you been?” Caden pulled the file out of his bag, resting it on his knee.
    “Peachy,” Elias grinned sarcastically, “is that everything?”
    The shallow circles under Elias’ eyes told a different story. This had been the part Caden was expecting and it was always the part that made the job harder, or so he was told. The more they resisted, the harder he would have to try to get them to cooperate. Sometimes, they wouldn’t cooperate and there was no way to help them but his mom had always taught him that you didn’t give up on people until they gave up on you. The fact Elias even answered the door was a step in the right direction.
    “Are you settling in okay?”
    “You can see it’s clean,” he tossed his hands out, “don’t I look settled in to you?”
    Elias scratched the side of his face as his tongue angrily toyed with the lip ring. Similar rings cluttered his ears, leading down to a tiny plug in a stretched out part of his ear lobe.
    “I’m not here to judge you,” Caden delivered the line they’re all taught to say when things turned sour, “I’m just here to help you help yourself.”
    “Cut the shrink crap,” Elias laughed, “you’re here because my mom wants somebody to keep an eye on me and she’s too busy.”
    “Your mom?” Caden saw this as his way in.
    “Our lord and savior,” he rolled his eyes, “the mayor. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Because she can’t keep her nose out?”
    Caden flicked open the file on his knee, hovering over Elias’ surname. James. Judy James is his mother? Judy James has a son? Judy had been the mayor of Havenmoore for as long as Caden could remember. She was a permanent fixture in the town hall and a regular at public events. People trusted her and they liked her so she ran unopposed for most elections. The small town mentality meant that any change was usually