Page 124 of Caged

“Torched?”

“It’s a long story for another time. When we can share a bottle.” I told her we’d splurge on a bottle of our favorite high-end wine and I’d tell her what happened and she could tell me about all the ways her future husband drove her crazy while confessing to being madly in love with him.

“How are you really?”

Talking about the physical pain was easier, so I said, “GSW to the right shoulder.” I ignored her gasp and continued, “Clean through, a few cracked ribs, and some cuts and bruises on my face.”

“Jesus, Cate. What the hell happened?”

“Another time, okay?” I reminded her I wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“Yeah, okay. You sure you’re alright? Do I need to come kick some ass?”

Laughing made my sides hurt. “No, the team did it for you.”

“Are they all dead?”

“You know, I don’t actually know.” I hadn’t thought to ask.

We talked for a few more minutes before she brought up Jaden.

“He’s fine.” I snapped, my pain and frustration resurfacing.

“Care to try that again?” She called me out on my bullshit.

“No.” The pain was too fresh.

“Not good enough, Maxwell. Something happened, and it’s eating at you.”

I told her about Jay’s behavior in the cage, leaving out how I felt,thought I felt,about him.

“You fell for him.” Sometimes I hated how easily she could read me.

“No. I didn’t.” I lied to her just like I’d been lying to myself. “It’s normal for two people to bond during a traumatic event.”

“Cate, I love you, but you’re an idiot.”

“Excuse me?”

“Has it ever occurred to you that Jaden gets under your skin so easily because you’re drawn to him?”

It had, but not until after we’d had to rely on each other to survive.

“No. He drives me crazy.”

“I know he does, that’s my point. In all your time working with Gavin, you never talked about him like you do about Jaden. There’s a fuck ton of passion between you two, but you’re both too stubborn to see it for what it really is.”

She had a point, but Jay didn’t feel the same.You don’t treat the people you love the way he treated me.

“You said he was pissed you left without saying goodbye. Think about it; maybe he’s scared of losing you.”

One perfectly timed question was all it took for me to ask, what if?

“Maybe.” But was it worth the risk? Not only to my heart, but to my career? I couldn’t afford to lose another job because of interpersonal conflict. “But-”

“No buts, Cate. Talk to him. You owe him that much.”

I sighed. She was right. But he owed me, too.

---