Page 4 of Caged

It surprised me to hear that. Jack wasn’t a perfect rule follower like Jamie, but he’d never gotten into much trouble.

Not like me, I was the problem child.And we all know it.

“Not as often as Jay,” Jack said, proving my point.

“Whatever, not everyone wants to be perfect and boring.” They didn’t see me roll my eyes as I stripped down for a shower.

“He must be talking about you,” Jack teased Jamie as I stepped into the steaming spray. “I’m definitely not boring.” I shut them out as the hot water washed over my tense muscles.

After dressing, I headed to my father’s office. At the door, I said, “You wanted to see me, sir.” I didn’t have to use sir with him, and given his tone earlier I probably shouldn’t have, but I was in the mood to play with fire.

“Have a seat.” He pointed to a chair in front of his big wooden desk.

I brushed my wet hair off my face and dropped into the chair. “What’s up?”

He raised his left eyebrow without a word. Then he shook his head and chuckled. Which scared me more than the silent eyebrow.

“Since this is your first time attending a training session, I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

“For what?”

“For not realizing we don’t go full-out on the mat. It’s meant to be challenging, not a death match.”

“I didn’t hurt anyone.” Defending my actions felt as shitty at twenty-five as it had at fifteen.

“No, you didn’t but your anger was palpable.”

He gave me a chance to deny it, but what was the point?

“Want to talk about it?” he asked, leaning back in a relaxed position.

I didn’t. “About what?”

“Jay, your mother and I are worried about you.” I forced my eyes not to roll, a bad habit I’d broken in the Marines, but had picked back up after coming home. “You’ve had anattitude since you came home. Does it have anything to do with your canceled backpacking trip?”

He’d nailed it. “No.”Yes. “I’m fine.” Talking to my father about what happened was the last thing I wanted to do. I doubted it’d change his opinion of me; I was the family screw up. And, despite the promise I’d made to myself before coming home, I was still playing the part.

“Okay. My door is always open if you want to talk.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I said as I stood. “Anything else?” I asked as I turned to the door.

“You coming to dinner Sunday night?” Ma was so excited three of her four cubs were home, she started hosting weekly family dinners. I didn’t mind, in fact I preferred it over meals with just Jamie and his fiancée, Emily. They were too sweet for my bitter heart to handle for prolonged periods.

Not that I wasn’t happy Jamie had found someone to share his life with again. I was. But witnessing it felt like salt being poured on my wounds.

“Yeah, I’ll call Ma and let her know.”

“Good. Go home and get some rest.”

I nodded and walked out.

“Jay, you want to come over for dinner tonight?” Meg asked when I walked by her desk. She and Jack were as bad as Jamie and Emily when it came to open displays of affection—worse now that they were expecting their first child in December—and I couldn’t handle it.

Ma desperately wanted grandchildren, and they’d be the first to give her one.

It would have been Jamie and Isabelle, his first wife, if she hadn’t been killed. Her murder was the reason Jamie and Dad left the police force and started SSI. They invited Jack and me to join as silent partners while we finished our time in the military.

Jack said yes. I said no.

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