Page 59 of Kage

“See. There it is. That possessive nature I’ve seen before.”

“Yeah, well, only once. Never again. And stop thinking you know shit about my life.” Yeah, I was a little too vehement and way too angry, but he knew how to get under my skin.

Just like Juliette had managed.

“I’ll leave it alone. I just know what I see. Anyway, what’s the harm in caring about someone?”

I turned my head toward him so slowly I could tell I’d made him uncomfortable. “There’s no need to answer that.”

“Right. I forgot. The brooding man suits you.”

The fucker actually rolled his eyes at what I’d said. Well, fuck him. “How long until we land?”

“Twenty minutes. Only on the ground for thirty unless the storm rolls in.”

He pointed toward the weather radar. I wasn’t a pilot, but I could clearly decipher the imagery. “Fuck.”

“You’re worried her captors will head to the US.”

“Maybe.”

“Gray didn’t tell you everything.”

“Nope.”

“Still a talkative man,” Stone chortled.

A slight whimper drew my attention to the back of the plane once again. Juliette’s body was twitching as if in the middle of REM sleep. Only I knew a nightmare when I saw one.

I leaned my head against the seat, taking several breaths. The fact the soldiers had openly shot at us was worth looking into. At least I had my answer about if the cops had been bought and sold.

Even in the dead of night, men working for cartels or other criminal organizations did what they could to avoid turmoil with the local police. They maintained some sense of anonymity by controlling their battles.

Especially in the middle of the day in a commercial setting.

That could also mean they were an adjunct member of the Bermudan police force. Many countries still utilized vigilantes to do their dirty work, the kind that would never make national news.

The thought troubled the fuck out of me, but potentially gave a solid reason for why Gray wanted me to keep her hidden.

“So, you ever talk to Maddox?”

As soon as I snapped my head in Stone’s direction, he threw up one hand. “Why don’t you just fly the goddamn plane?”

“Hey, I was just curious.”

“And you already knew the answer.”

“I’m just suggesting that you need to talk to him. It’s way past time to be holding a grudge. He was your bud, your main guy, your confidant. Your friend.”

“You make it sound like we were dating,” I retorted. “We were just teammates until we weren’t. And we were never friends because friends don’t betray friends.”

“You’re such a hardheaded dick. He didn’t betray you.”

“Bullshit. Just fly the plane.” I jerked up from the seat, returning to the back. Stone had no idea how many nightmares I’d had, the rage so significant at times I couldn’t breathe. Maddox had fucked us all over and that was something I’d never forgive him for.

I stood hunkered over, staring out the window at the blue sky. Too many ugly thoughts were clouding my mind, something that could ultimately be dangerous if I couldn’t manage to stop it.

My mind wanted to replay the dream from the night before, but I refused. Just hearing Maddox’s name had pushed me to an edge I’d fought long and hard to avoid. I hated the man with a passion. And to think Stone had been right. We’d been close for a few years, so much so Gray had called us twins. Not that we looked anything alike.

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