Page 3 of Caged

My anger didn’t serve me as well as I would’ve liked. It might have against his brothers, but not Jaden.

He was all speed and fury.

Unlike the others, he didn’t wait for me to make the first move—he charged.

I braced myself too late for the impact and we stumbled back. When I fell back, he landed on top of me, catching himself on his hands before flattening me like a pancake. I managed to buck my hips and throw him off, but that small victory was short-lived.

I rolled and sprung to my feet but he was already up and ready. He feigned a punch before sweeping my legs and dropping me back to the mat—pinning me in the blink of an eye.

John counted down as I struggled against Jaden’s hold. As soon as John reached one, Jaden jumped up.

In complete contradiction to how I felt, I held my head high as I stood and walked to the edge of the mat.

“Looks like the Raiders taught me a thing or two you can’t learn in a classroom.” He shot me a dirty look I didn’t think I deserved. It wasn’t my fault I had an advanced college degree or law enforcement experience, and he didn’t. He seemed determined to blame me nonetheless.

Chapter 2

Jay

They didn’t call me Taz for nothing. The military was all about nicknames, and mine was Shep until Ranger School when an instructor referred to me as the Tasmanian Devil. I was a tornado, attacking every task and challenge with a whirling fury. He’d warned me to be careful, saying I’d burn out if I didn’t slow down.

He had no way of knowing I’d always been like that; driven by the need to prove myself, to prove my worth.

Rather than burning out, I thrived. The constant challenge was exactly what I needed, because, for me, boredom was the enemy.

I called out, “Next!” after beating Maxwell in what had to be record time. It felt good to knock her down a peg or two. She walked around like a fucking know-it-all, and I was sick of it. She’d been at SSI, my family’s business, a couple monthslonger than me but kept herself separate, like she was too good for us.

Because of her FBI experience she didn’t have to mentor for a year before becoming a licensed private investigator, like I did. And she had a fucking Master’s degree, while I only had an Associate’s.

And don’t even get me started on knowing I’d have to salute her overly organized, never late, nary a fiery red hair out of place, uptight ass at Marine functions. Not that I planned on attending any. Reunion with the team guys? Maybe. As long as Henderson wasn’t there, because if we were ever in the same room again, one of us would die.

When no one volunteered to challenge me, Dad had them face me in order of seniority. Poor Jamie never stood a chance. Jack didn’t do much better. Then I faced off against AJ. Fucker was big and might have been a real challenge but he’d recently fallen in love and was losing his edge. I wondered if he’d get it back once the honeymoon phase was over.

If Blake ever fucked AJ over, and the only thing keeping him warm at night was the hatred burning through his veins, he’d probably be able to kick my ass. That’d be a fun day. Not that I wanted Blake to hurt AJ, I didn’t. But going head-to-head against a pissed off AJ was a challenge I wanted.

Doug on the other hand, was calm as fuck and hard to predict, which only fueled my fire. If I hadn’t gone bat shit crazy on his ass, I might have lost.

“Jay, you good?” Jamie asked as we filed into the locker room.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because we don’t usually try to kill each other on the mat,” Jack answered for him. My brothers were close in age and had always been friends. But not me. I was several years younger. The black sheep. The mistake. The one they never invited to play in their reindeer games.

Maybe working here is a mistake.

“Just wanted to win, that’s all.” I shrugged it off, knowing I’d been more aggressive than necessary.

“That you did. But be warned, I’ll be ready for you next time,” AJ said as he rubbed the bruise forming on his arm.

“You got anything to add?” I asked Doug.

“Jaden,” my father said,his tone reminding me of when I got in trouble as a kid. “Get cleaned up, I want to see you in my office.” He didn’t wait for an answer before leaving the small locker room.

“Man, I hate that tone,” Jack whispered.

I’m definitely in trouble.

“Only because you have to hear it so often,” Jamie said with a laugh. Jamie was the oldest son and perfect in every way.

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