Layne studied his son knowing his boy was sharp but thinking he’d vastly underestimated him.

But he couldn’t have this conversation now. Not that he ever wanted to have it but he couldn’t have it now.

“I gotta get to Rocky, Pal,” Layne said quietly.

After he said those words, Tripp eyes stayed locked to his.

Then he grinned. “Tell her I said hi.”

Yes, he’d vastly underestimated Tripp.

Layne grinned back and headed to the garage.

He was about to pull out when Jasper came tearing through the garage door wearing a wife beater and sweatpants that had been cut off at the knees, what he wore to bed. His hair was a mess, sleep still in his eyes but his manner seemed urgent.

“Dad!” he shouted and Layne put the truck in neutral and set the parking brake.

Jasper raced to the passenger side door, climbed up and settled in, slamming the door.

“God! Glad I caught you. I heard the door go up and –”

“Jas, I need to get to Rocky’s.”

Jasper nodded then said, “You were busy with work yesterday and I didn’t know how important this was so I didn’t want to bug you but I thought you’d wanna know.”

Layne felt his neck muscles contract. “Know what?”

“Know that before Tripp and I took off for the game, some guy came over. He was over for, like, one second but Stew gave him one of those yellow envelopes, the ones with thick paper, but it was small, like a normal envelope and it was stuffed full. The flap was folded in so I couldn’t see what was in it but it was stuffed full, Dad.”

Shit.

“You get a good look at this guy?”

Jasper nodded again. “You said, if I got a bad vibe, I should tell you and this guy, he was Mr. Bad Vibe.”

Fucking shit.

Jasper went on. “Tall, big pot belly, black hair, white dude. He was wearing sunglasses and it was dark, Dad. And he was wearing a lot of gold. Necklaces. A couple of rings. And he had piercings, the top of his left ear, both earlobes and the left side of his bottom lip.”

“You ever see him before?” Layne asked.

“Nope,” Jasper answered.

“Never, not anywhere?” Layne pushed.

“No, Dad.”

Layne nodded. “Good work, Bud.”

Layne could swear he saw Jasper’s chest expand.

Then Jasper asked, “Do you know him?”

Yeah, Layne knew him. He also knew that Stew bet the dogs and obviously wasn’t any good at it.

“Yeah,” Layne answered.

“Am I right? Is he Mr. Bad Vibe?”

Jas was right. Carlito was Mr. Bad Vibe and it wasn’t a good sign a loan shark was showing up at the house to make collections.

“You see this guy again, Jasper, you’re invisible, so’s your brother.”

“What about Mom?”

“Was your Mom there?”

“No, she was still at work.”

“You tell me if he ever shows and your mother is there, yeah? In fact, you tell me if you ever see him again at all, I don’t care where you are.”

Jasper nodded. Then he asked, “Will you…” he paused, “will you take care of it?”

Layne nodded. “Yeah, Jas. I’ll take care of it.”

“You’ll take care of Mom?”

Layne drew breath into his nose. Then he answered, “I’ll take care of your Mom.”

That golden light came into his son’s eyes and he whispered, “Thanks Dad.”

Jasper started to turn to the door but Layne caught him by calling his name and Jas turned back. “How was your date with Keira last night?”

Jas was playing it cool. During pizza, he’d asked her but waited until the next Saturday to take her out. Last night was their second date. That didn’t mean they didn’t text each other seven hundred times a day and hang together during pizza after subsequent games but they met there then Jasper took her home. He was playing it cool, his kid was good.

A slow smile spread on Jasper’s face and, watching it widen, Layne knew exactly how the date went.

Then, surprising him, Jasper shared. “She’s a nut. She cracks me up. She’ll do anything, say anything. But I reckon I gotta keep on my toes. When I say she’ll do anything and say anything, she’ll do anything and say anything.” Layne knew by the look on his boy’s face that this was in no way a bad thing. Jasper’s smile changed before he went on. “It’s good she hooked up with me, she such a nut, she needs a badass to take her back.”

Layne chuckled.

Even at his age, Jasper had serious experience with girls but Jasper had no idea what he was up against with Keira. Layne hadn’t spent a lot of time around Keira Winters but he figured his son was not wrong and therefore Joe Callahan’s life was likely a living hell with that teenaged spitfire in it. If Cal got it that Jasper was taking his girl’s back, Jasper wouldn’t have any problems with Cal. Fuck, Cal might even be grateful to share the load.

“When’re you goin’ out with her again?” Layne asked.

“I thought, if you’re cool with it, and Rocky’s cool with it, I could ask her over for pasta bake this week, sometime Rocky’s here. Keira totally digs Rocky. She thinks she’s the bomb. I’d score huge if I made her dinner when Rocky was here.”

He would score huge with that. The problem was, after what happened last night, Layne wasn’t certain Raquel Merrick Astley was even in the country.

Even so, Layne muttered, “I’ll have a word with Roc.”

“Thanks Dad.”

Then Jasper didn’t delay in throwing open the door and jumping out of the truck. But he treated Layne to a half wave before he disappeared into the house.

Layne stared at the door to the garage for a few beats after he lost sight of his son realizing that Jasper just shared, he’d done it without any coaxing or pushing and he’d done it openly.

Layne drew in breath then smiled as he backed his truck out of the garage.

He drove to Rocky’s, punching in the alarm code at the gate hoping they hadn’t changed it. They hadn’t. He drove to her unit and saw all three parking spots for apartment three were empty. He nevertheless swung into one, exited his SUV, jogged across the pavement and up the steps to her door. He pressed the buzzer and waited. Then he did it again. Then he knocked. No show, he didn’t even hear movement in the house.

Slowly, the tranquility he’d felt after his talk with Jasper fading, another less enjoyable feeling invading, he walked back down the steps, pulling his cell out of the back pocket of his jeans and he called Dave.