After he saw Emma home safely, he knew what he must do, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dreading the bejesus out it.
He had to tell Chase that Em knew their secret.
God he was going to chop his head clear off.
Travis knew where to find him. When his cousin was blowing off steam so to speak, he headed for the fields. Not his choice of solitude but to each his own.
Walking into the tall dead stalks of wheat, Travis had his senses on full alert and his guard up. If Chase was out here, it was for a very good reason.
His demon.
Treading cautiously on the on the snowy ground, he listened for the sounds to led him in the right direction. He was sure Chase had already heard him, which meant he had to be one step ahead of him, nearly impossible with Chase.
Maybe luck would be on his side. Snow crunched lightly underfoot. If his day was any indication, he was royally screwed.
Moving silently, he just at the nick of time braced himself before Chase was on him. Shit, he was fast. He would give his cousin that. No one moved or fought like a Chase. He was like a freaking admonition of even his own kind. Talk about a double whammy.
His back hit the frozen ground with a thug, right before Chase hammered him in the stomach with a fist made of steel. Christ he was moody, but lucky for Chase, after the day he had, so was he.
Time to give as good as he was getting. Or at least attempt to.
This was a little ass backwards. He had kind of expected Chase to hand him his ass after he told him about Emma, not before. Leave it to Chase to never do things as expected.
Dodging a bullet fist aimed at his face, he used the momentum to toss Chase to the side. Crouching on his feet, he was ready when Chase threw a strike at him again. He caught the punch in his hand, keeping Chase level with him while warding him off.
“Chase,” he growled low between clenched teeth in concentration. One wrong move and his butt would be grass.
There was just the tiniest flicker in his cosmic glowing eyes. Travis just needed to tap into that small glimmer of humanity, it was all he needed.
“Chase! It’s me man. Snap out of it before I have to hurt you.” He knew if there was anything that would reach his cousin it would be his own inflated ego. Chase’s head was the size of blimp when it came to self-arrogance. Truthfully, he could use someone to flatten that overstuffed pigheadedness.
Someday Chase Winters was going to be knocked on his behind by someone who wouldn’t take his shit. Travis hoped he would be there to see it all, snickering the whole way.
Gradually he felt Chase’s muscle began to lax. Keeping his grip firm and solid, he waited until he could see mostly the silver of his eyes.
“You must be either stupid or have a death wish,” Chase grumbled as the demon slowly dissolved from within. He pushed him a bay, and it wasn’t without strenuous effort.
Travis sat across from him in wet snow grinning like a fool.
Yep. Definitely stupid.
Those dimples were always trouble. “Come on cuz. Is that anyway to greet family?” Travis taunted.
Chase rumbled in his throat.
Travis snickered. He loved getting a rise out of Chase; he made it just so damn fun. “Neither. I just wanted to have a little entertainment before we talk.”
“You have a warped sense of fun, you know that?”
Yada. Yada. Yada.
Chase narrowed his eyes. “What did you want to talk about that you willing risked your neck for?”
So he hadn’t fooled him, now onto the brutal stuff. He braced himself on the cold floor for what he was sure to come.
Another thrashing from Mr. Hothead.
His cousin was anything but unpredictable.
Travis eyes clouded with seriousness, and he averted his gaze. Dammit. He hated the look of disappoint he was sure to see reflecting in Chase’s eyes. He might be a year older than his cousin but he had a way of making him feel younger. Taking a breath of the cold air to steady his nerves, Travis began to blurt out what he came here to say. No pussyfooting around. The sooner he got it off his chest, the better. “Emma knows.”
Chase just blinked. “Umm. Excuse me. Did you just say–”
“I did,” he replied, cutting off a stunned Chase.
“You have got to be dumber than I thought.” He sounded exasperated.
“I didn’t have a choice. She would have died had I not done something.” Travis defended.
“And by something, you mean exposing us? Jesus Travis. Did you even think about Lexi?”
Truthfully had hadn’t been able to think at all. Now his mind was overflowed with worries.
Emma.
Lexi.
Chase.
He dropped his head in both of his hands, feeding his fingers roughly through his hair. “It all happened so fast. I didn’t have time to think.
Watching the torment in his cousin face, Chase knew that he was struggling heavily with guilt. He also knew that Travis expected him to flip out, and truthfully he probably would have if he didn’t already see Travis punishing himself so hard.