Page 1 of Caged

Chapter 1

Cate

Iwas having a shitty day and knew if I didn’t clear my head and focus I’d have an even shittier night. Tonight was the monthly Sheppard & Sons Investigations (SSI) group training session, and I had a black eye courtesy of my boxing coach. That’s what I get for moving too slow during a sparing session.

Now I have to face Jaden Sheppard, the youngest son of my boss and bane of my existence. He had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas and blamed me for his lack of “quality jobs”—his words, not mine—at Sheppard and Sons.

I rolled my eyes as I parked in the back lot of the office building. The only reason Jaden had issues in the office was because he acted like a jerk. He thought his last name, Marine Raider experience, and three months on the job qualified him for the top PI jobs.At least that’s my interpretation. But it was the state of Texas that required him to do a year of on thejob training to become a full-fledged private investigator. Only those of us with law enforcement backgrounds were exempt.

I grabbed my gym bag from the back of my hunter green SUV and mentally prepared myself for the razzing I was about to get. I didn’t usually mind; the guys at SSI were good-hearted. But today, I was in a mood.

When I walked into the office, the receptionist/human resource rep/executive assistant to the owners, and Jack’s wife, Meg, greeted me with a smile.

“Hey Max.” Her eyes rounded as her mother-to-be instincts kicked in. She stood up and rushed over. “Are you okay? Who do we need to kill?”

I laughed. “I’m fine.” I almost admitted to not moving fast enough while training, but didn’t want to risk one of the guys overhearing and thinking I’d be an easy target. Because of the physical, and occasionally dangerous, demands of our jobs, we met once a month to spar. It kept us in fighting shape and was a good team building exercise.

Or maybe I do. It was always fun to beat down guys who underestimated me. At fove-foot-seven, I was at the tall end of average, but hours spent training in the gym meant I was anything but average in build or skill.

Meg’s eyes roamed up and down, making sure I was indeed fine. Apparently, the guys had a history of downplaying their injuries so she insisted on verifying.

“It’s from training,” I admitted, in a whisper.

“Don’t let the guys hear that.” She looked around the spacious, well lit reception room. “They’ll start betting against you.”

The guys always placed side bets on who’d win. No one bet on me the first time, and I doubt they would anytime soon. Because of assignments, this would only be my second time attending.

I held my own against Jamie and Jack, the eldest Sheppard sons. But AJ and Doug, the two non-Sheppard full-timers, were both significantly bigger and better trained. They’d kicked my ass without much effort.

It wasn’t unexpected, but I still didn’t like it. Refusing to suffer a repeat, I’d hired a personal trainer.I might still lose, but it won’t be nearly as embarrassing.

I hadn’t seen Jaden fight yet, so I had no idea what to expect from him. Like AJ and Doug, Jaden was built like a brick house. He was three inches shorter than Doug, who at six-four was the tallest guy at SSI. Thanks to Meg, I wasn’t the shortest person in the office, but I was the shortest person required to train.

“I don’t think they’ll ever bet on me,” I said, keeping my tone light and friendly. Someday, I’d bet on me and if I was lucky, I’d win.

“No, but someday you’ll show them what a badass you are and kick all their asses.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she wanted me to do just that.

“I just hope I’m there to see it,” she added with a laugh.

“Likewise.” The phone rang, ending our talk.

When I walked into the office I shared with Jaden, he glance up just long enough to verify it was me before saying. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I mimicked his bored tone.

The clicking of our keyboards was the only sound as we worked. At five-forty, I went to the bathroom to change into leggings, a padded sports bra, and my well-worn, fitted marine t-shirt.

As expected, the guys all asked about the black eye, except John, who just raised an eyebrow and observed. Since it hadn’t happened on assignment, they started wondering, loudly, what kind of things I did for fun.

Like I’d ever tell. They didn’t need to know my life was boring compared to theirs.

Jaden was the last to arrive.

John looked at his watch. No words were needed.

“What, I’m on time.” Jaden defended himself.

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