Page 61 of Shattered Veil

My confirmation was meek, for I was unsure of exactly how much she had to struggle as she grew up. Aside from being aware that her father was a shithead and her mother passed away when she was a young teenager, I knew very little. Through context clues within casual conversation at Henry’s, I had gathered that they weren’t well-off, but Cassie—and Liam, for that matter—were both quite good at skirting conversations regarding their childhood.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she muttered. “We still had a roof over our heads and food to eat, but once my mom left, it was kinda a fend for yourself situation.” I focused on the word left rather than died, but I chose not to question it. Cassie continued, “Comfortable doesn’t describe the peace that the paychecks give me, okay?”

“Yeah…okay, but—”

“And no one’s up and going missing at Gas Lamp,” she added. “Anyone who’s skipped their shift did just that—they skipped their shift. There are security cameras all over that place, and if you recall, it’s pretty damn public. If women are being taken, it’s not gonna happen there.”

Her words were a comfort, but wariness was still surrounding me as I murmured a slow, “Okay.”

Cassie threw her last bite in her mouth, forcing it down before I could gather any further response for argument’s sake, and she noted, “I have to get going.”

She stood, taking her plate with her as she bustled out of her bedroom and, assumedly, into the kitchen, and I called out, “Wait—we’re not—” I set my plate down on the side table and stood from the bed to stride after her. “We’re not done talking yet.”

By the time I reached the kitchen, she was gently placing her plate to the left of the sink. Moving to the table to gather her belongings, she looked at me with a raised brow, holding up a small, black backpack in her right hand before returning it to the table.

“I carry pepper spray in my bag at all times. I know how to use it safely. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Will…I…”

“And I already shared my location on my cell, per your request…remember?”

I blew out an exhale through my nostrils at her apt reminder of the brief conversation we had so recently exchanged in her bed. “Can I at least drive you?”

“And leave me carless at two in the morning when my shift ends?” She returned with a slight smile.

“I’ll pick you up, too,” I offered.

“I’m not making you pick me up,” she returned with a laugh. “Come on.”

“You wouldn’t be making me.”

She grabbed the overcoat that was hanging on the back of a chair that matched her maroon top and began to pull it on.

“You’re not driving me to work, Jay. My Jeep works just fine—I already cleared the snow off of it, and it’s cranked and pre-warmed.”

I sighed. “It’s not about the state of your Jeep.”

Cassie secured her jacket with a loud twang of the zipper as she pulled it up to her chest. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she looked at me with soft eyes, walking directly to me, and she placed a hand on the left side of my chest. I was sure that she could feel it nervously beating away with the sympathetic expression that she gave me. With the smallest of stretches onto her toes, she placed her lips on mine. It was a patient kiss—all slow-moving mouths and quiet smacks. Her arms wrapped around my naked waist, I hummed as the tightness in my chest eased ever so slightly, and when I touched my palms to the sides of her face, she pulled away.

With a smile, she assured me, “Look, I’m not jumping ship quite yet, but if anything seems wrong at Gas Lamp, I’ll quit.”

Any fight I had in me had abruptly left at the feeling of her lips, but I was still dissatisfied as I mumbled, “You will?”

She tilted her head into my left hand, and my fingers curled against her cheek as she quietly replied, “I won’t even give two weeks’ notice. I do still have a sense of self-preservation.”

Her response could only aid my tension so much.

I asked, “Call me when you get there?”

“Mhm.”

“And when you leave?”

“It’ll be two in the morning, but sure.”

I further demanded, “And when you get home.”

“And when I get home,” she confirmed. “Yes.”

---