Page 63 of Reckless: Chaos

“Stop.” Willow cups my face. “You weren’t playing house. You were healing. From a bullet wound. That you took protecting people.”

“While discovering corporate conspiracy,” Ginger adds.

“And infiltrating one of the most notorious packs in the city,” Aria finishes.

“Who I then let seduce me into compliance.” The bitterness creeps back in.

“Oh honey.” Ginger’s smile turns wicked. “That’s not compliance. That’s reconnaissance.”

I snort, the sound turning into another sniffle. God, I probably look like a raccoon who got in a fight with its makeup.

“How are you guys even here?” I swipe at the tears still leaking from my eyes.

They exchange looks—the kind that usually precedes news I won’t like. My heart does a complicated stutter in my chest.

“Theo called this morning,” Ginger says, stretching her legs out beside mine as she leans against the glass door. Her designer boots probably cost more than my first car.

“Theo.” The name feels different on my tongue now, weighted with everything that happened last night. “He said he was going to try and get a phone for me to call you guys.”

“He set up a playdate instead.” Her voice carries careful gentleness.

Fuck, my heart hurts.

“You fell in love.” Aria’s observation hits like a system crash.

“I’m not calling it love.” I swipe at another traitorous tear. “It’s a mental crisis.”

“Love is a mental crisis.” Aria’s smirk carries the wisdom of someone who’s survived her own heart’s betrayal.

“I don’t want it.”

“They were only trying to keep you safe.” Willow’s counselor voice makes an appearance.

“Yeah, somewhere in the last week?—”

“You know you’ve been here two months, right?” Ginger interrupts.

“Nope.” My laugh comes out watery. “No tech, no phones. Completely disconnected from the world.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be for this long.” Willow’s guilt bleeds through. “I know that probably doesn’t help.”

“It doesn’t. Makes it worse, actually.” I pick at a loose thread on my leggings, watching it unravel like my carefully constructed walls. “They’re perfect for me.”

“Oh, Cay.” Aria’s voice breaks around my name.

I shrug, aiming for nonchalance and missing by miles. “It’s not even a relationship, not really. They’re supposed to be protecting me, and I guess keeping me locked up worked, but it isn’t sustainable.”

“No, it isn’t.” Ginger’s PR voice slips through. “We’ve had multiple meetings because we need you back at headquarters, but with Sterling Labs, we don’t know how to handle the threat.”

The solution crystallizes in my mind, simple and devastating. I tuck it away for later, when I’m alone and can plan properly.

“Well, since you’re here.” I swipe away the last tears, squaring my shoulders. “Let’s get fucked up.”

“I brought wine.” Willow waggles her eyebrows, producing a bottle from her massive purse.

“Just wine?” Ginger reaches into her designer bag, pulling out a bottle of top-shelf tequila. “Amateur hour over here with the omega counselor wine.”

“Some of us are professionals,” Willow sniffs, but she’s already digging in her Mary Poppins purse again. “Fine. I also brought vodka.”

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