Page 92 of Caged

“Yeah.” I told them about the cage, leaving out the personal details but emphasizing how strong Cate was.

My father tried not to show it, but he was pissed. His neutral facial expression was a mask, but his clenched jaw gave him away. My brothers didn’t hide their emotions, letting their anger come out in huffs and puffs when I summed up the last session in the office.

I’d always felt like I didn’t belong,the expendable Sheppard, but I could see how hard it’d been for them when they thought I might be dead.

I’m an idiot. Instead of building my relationship with my brothers, I pushed them away.

“I’m okay. Worse for Cate.”

And I didn’t just mean the gunshot. Cate was as tough as they come, but she didn’t have the extensive training or experience I had, and they’d treated her far worse.

“Cate, huh?” Jack asked, smiling for the first time.

Somewhere, during our time in hell, we’d become Cate and Jay instead of Maxwell and Sheppard.

I need to see her.The only thing that mattered was making sure she was okay. Something I wouldn’t believe until I saw her with my own two eyes.

“Is she-”

“I’ll check with the doctor,” Dad said, before standing and leaving.

“What happened between you and Maxwell?” Jamie asked.

I leaned back against the soft pillows and closed my eyes, hoping to avoid the conversation I didn’t want to have. Not here. Not now.

Not without talking to Cate first.

“Jay?”

“What?” I barked without bothering to open my eyes.

“Don’t bite my head off. If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I sounded madder than I felt.

“Then I’ll wait until you’re ready,” Jamie said. Jack stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his stare boring into my soul like he could see everything I felt.

“Thanks.” I’d expected them to hound me, and was grateful they hadn’t.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes when the door opened.

“Maxwell’s in recovery. Doc says the bullet missed her lung.”

A collective sigh of relief filled the room. Mine rattled my ribs, while tears of gratitude filled my eyes.

“The doctor expects her to make a full recovery, but it’ll take time.”

“Thank God.” I could live with that. “When can I see her?”

“He’ll let us know when she’s cleared for visitors.”

It wouldn’t be soon enough for me. “Thank you.”

While we waited, Dad fussed over me, not the same way Ma would when she got here, but in his own way.

“Ma will be here in thirty,” Jamie said. “She was scared silly about you.”

“And you weren’t?” Jack asked.

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