Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

“I wouldn’t want you to. It’s gross in there.”

“Maybe you should clean it up,” I said.

He shrugged, like it didn’t matter. “Dad, I think she should pay rent, though.”

I shot him a confused look. “What?”

“In the form of cookies.”

She laughed. “That, I can do. Should we whip up some now?”

“You don’t have to do that, love.” I wasn’t sure why I kept calling her that. It just slipped off my tongue so easily. “You bake all day at work.”

“Yeah, but I love doing it. Besides, I’ll make him do all the work.” She gestured toward Owen.

Then it hit me what was happening. They were bonding. My son and my girlfriend wanted to spend time together.

My heart just about burst out of my chest.

“Great,” I managed, and my voice was only slightly rough. “I’ll bring your stuff upstairs. I need to make a call anyway.”

“Thank you,” she said.

I moved closer and leaned down to brush a soft kiss across her lips. Then I lowered my voice and spoke next to her ear. “Don’t say anything about the box.”

“Wasn’t going to,” she whispered.

I kissed her one last time, and she laughed when Owen groaned with mock disgust.

“Okay, bruh.” She headed for the kitchen. “What do we have to work with?”

I left them to their baking and hauled her things up to my room. I’d never shared this bedroom with anyone—we’d lived in a different house when my ex and I had split up—and there was plenty of extra space. It helped that I didn’t have a lot of stuff. I was a pretty simple guy.

With Harper busy with Owen downstairs, I decided to call Jack. I needed to know what he wanted me to do about that package she’d received, and fill him in on its possible connection to the Jasmine Joyner murder.

“Jack Cordero,” he answered.

“It’s Garrett.”

“Yeah, Garrett. What’s going on?”

“You have a minute? I need to walk you through something.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“My girlfriend Harper found a box on her doorstep when she got home from work today. No return address, no postage. Inside was a pair of underwear. It’s very likely that it’s her underwear. Matches a set she has and there’s a pair missing.”

“Huh. That’s disturbing. Any signs of a break in?”

“No. Whoever did this got in and out and didn’t leave a trace.”

“Where is she now?”

“My place.”

“Good.”

I lowered myself onto the edge of my bed. “There’s more. Now, hear me out on this, because I know it might sound like a stretch. But you know the Jasmine Joyner case?”