Shock Advised (Kilgore Fire #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

myself, and I hadn’t seen Tai today because his brother had undergone his own procedure to withdraw the marrow he would be donating to Colt, which would then be frozen until Colton completed the chemotherapy treatments he was required to have before the marrow transplant surgery. So, of course, Tai would be with Jack.
    Jack was a sweet man.
    His wife was even sweeter. And those kids of his were absolute darlings.
    Catori and Adam were their names, and they had ‘Stoker Genes’ as Winter liked to call it.
    The dark good looks, smooth tanned skin, and captivating, knowing eyes.
    They weren’t like normal kids. I was sure Stokers didn’t produce normal kids.
    I took a deep, steadying breath as I picked my head up from my hands, and stilled when I saw the man sitting in the chair directly in front of me.
    I hadn’t even heard him come in.
    “H-hey,” I hiccupped and sniffled.
    Very ladylike, I knew, but I couldn’t help it.
    “You okay?” He asked softly.
    I shrugged and let my feet drop down from the chair, exhaling deeply to try to control the fresh wave of tears that were bubbling up.
    My eyes zeroed in on his wrist.
    He was trailing his finger over the purple ribbon that was tattooed on the inside of his wrist.
    It was one of those breast cancer awareness type ribbons, only this one was purple.
    Over and over he traced it, almost as if he didn’t even realize he was doing it.
    “What’s the purple ribbon mean?” I asked to get my mind on something other than Colt.
    It didn’t work, but it was a small distraction.
    “My sister was married to an abusive asshole,” he started.
    I blinked.
    That hadn’t been what I expected him to say.
    “So the ribbon stands for domestic violence?” I asked.
    I’d seen it before, but I hadn’t really paid attention to what each color meant.
    “Yes, it does,” he said. “Her husband beat her to death.”
    I froze.
    “That’s just horrendous, Tai. I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said, looking down at my hands.
    “She was my best friend,” he said. “Until I got into junior high and realized that I liked being with my guy friends and flirting with girls more than I liked hanging out with my sister.”
    “That’s normal,” I said. “Everyone does that.”
    He shook his head.
    “She used to beg me to come see her. But I was too busy fucking my life up. Just waiting for the next goddamned party,” he said with no inflection in his voice whatsoever. “And while I was doing that, my sister was getting beaten. So badly that she couldn’t fucking walk some days,” he said. “I would’ve seen it had I went to her. Taken her up on her invitations.”
    “So, you’re God?” I asked.
    It wasn’t an idle question.
    Only God could see what lay ahead.
    Tai, even at his young age, had no way to see the future. He, like most teenagers, myself included, was selfish.
    He shrugged.
    “So the tattoo is to symbolize what she meant to you?” I asked.
    He nodded.
    “It makes me feel…closer…to her,” he said. “I miss her like crazy, and today has been a little nerve wracking for me, even though I knew nothing would come of my fears when Jack was taken in for his surgery.”
    The little bit of fear that receded in the wake of Tai’s presence came flooding back at the reminder of the potential risks of Colt’s surgery, and I started to shake.
    “I’m scared,” I said softly.
    Suddenly, I was wrapped up in his strong arms.
    I buried my face into Tai’s neck, threw my arms around his chest and sobbed.
    He didn’t try to console me or downplay my fears. Didn’t try to give me false platitudes.
    And we stayed like that for what felt like a long time, when Tai’s phone vibrated.
    He leaned to the side, not letting me go completely, and withdrew his phone from his pocket.
    Then he laughed and pressed the play button on the video he received from Winter.
    Jack was in the hospital bed with his arms straining the hospital gown they had on him.
    His eyes were barely