Page 44 of Fighting For You
After a moment of silence, Cookie prodded. “But?”
My eyes shut and I felt the weight of everything I’d said and done the last few days. “But I have never truly hated her.”
When I looked up, both men were staring at me. Luc’s face had a serious but maybe pleased look and—I should’ve seen it coming—Kenny had a maniacal grin on his.
“Oh my dear, dear friend. There’s only one thing to do,” he said, all twinkling blue eyes and shiny white teeth, but with a side of psycho.
“What’s that?” I scraped out, bracing for whatever madness he had in mind.
He sipped his beer, creating a dramatic beat, before setting the bottle down a little harder than he needed for an exclamation. “We make a plan to get the girl.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jess
Saint Security had enough going on that no one stopped to ask me how things had gone at Beast’s cabin. Everyone inquired about my health and Doc had double-checked I was feeling up to working, but otherwise we were all going in different directions in preparation for the film fest starting next week.
Celebrities would begin flooding Silverton in a matter of days, and the staff who tended to precede them, in a matter of hours. The resort and all local lodging were packed to the gills. Reservations at restaurants and any local events were nearly sold out. It would be a fantastic weekend for the small businesses in town, and as long as everything went well, Saint Security would be counted among them.
“Pop, you good?” Bruce asked after concluding the quick stand up we’d had to kick off the eventschedule.
“Yes. All good.”
And by that, I meantmostlygood because I hadn’t seen Beast and couldn’t totally tell how I’d feel when I did.
Did I hate the man still?
… No?
No. I didn’t.
Part of the issue rested in the reality that I really didn’t know how I felt other than angry. So darn angry. And yes, by now, I’d had enough interactions with the unit psychologist back at EMU, and other wise types, I knew it was my default emotion these days, but still. Talking with Dove and Elise hadn’t helped me ease up on those feelings, though I had worked through some of my brain fog and developed a list of questions the man would be held to account for.
He wouldnotavoid telling me the truth for another five years.
He’d let it all hang out yesterday, so to speak, and now he was going to let it hang… further out. Okay, ew, not loving the metaphor, but the point stood. Beast owed me a little bit more than “I used to be in love with you sorry, not sorry, but kind of sorry,” and I probably owed him another apology.
Bruce gave me his friendly boss smile and moved on to check in with Dorian, who’d showed up for the meeting and pleasantly surprised us all. He looked strong and steady, and having Bear in the office was always a treat. Since he’d showed, he must be working at least part of the event, which meant he had to be doing even better than I’d realized. Warmth filled me as I looked at him standing tall, his beard and hair trimmed and clothes neat, and nodding softly in time with whatever Bruce and Wilder were saying.
“Hey, Pop,” Kenny said, sidling up next to me.
“Barbie.” The irony that his name was Kenneth and hisnickname was Barbie was… not irony. It was the root of his nickname. Everything about him said sunshine and blond and brightness. But Kenny did a lot more than “Beach” for his job and his IQ was definitely on the high end of those in this room, which was saying something since anyone who worked as an operator was screened for IQ among many other things. Basically, we were a giant pack of super capable smarties and some of us could even hold a conversation.
Me? Depended on the day.
“Have you seen my dear friend Beast?”
My head whipped toward him. “Why would you ask me?”
For all he knew, I hadn’t seen him since I’d left his cabin. With this gossiping horde, there was no way every last one of us hadn’t heard I’d been there during the storm, but still. He didn’t need to know how Beast’s name was rattling around my head along with at least twenty questions.
Kenny shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. Seems like you’ve been together more often. Just asking.” He held up his hands, all innocence. “Didn’t mean anything by it.”
I glared at him. “Good to know.”
He flashed his bright grin. “Oh, look, there he is now.”
As usual, Beast’s bulk literally blotted out the doorway for a moment before he moved into the conference room. Our eyes snagged and my stomach flipped.
