“Deal,” he said.
The guy walked over, stopping three feet away from me, measuring the space between us.“Prez said I should… talk to you,” he mumbled, eyes darting around.
“Did he send you to apologize?Or did you volunteer?”I asked.
Color crawled up his neck.“A bit of both.General tore into me.I deserved every word.”
I stared at him.Waited.Watched him squirm.
“Being locked down made me angry.The kids went stir-crazy.The old ladies stressed out.I couldn’t run my usual routes or spend time at my place in town.So I ran my mouth when I shouldn’t have.Said awful shit about you I had no right to say.You heard me.The blame falls on me.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.“The blame does.”
He took a breath.“I’m sorry.I behaved terribly.You never asked for this situation.I know all this.For a minute, I forgot and treated you as a problem instead of a person.That was a mistake that won’t happen again.”
The apology landed heavier than I expected.He didn’t make excuses.Didn’t sayI misunderstood.Just put his mess on the table and owned it.
My throat felt tight.“Thank you.For saying it.”
He shifted.“Word is you had the kids down in the basement like a drill sergeant yesterday.Casey said they listened to you better than they do to some of us.”
“Fear is a hell of a motivator.And Casey told them there would be cookies after, so…”
He nodded and walked off.
Kane’s thumb continued moving against my leg.“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said slowly.“The apology felt… good.Weird.But good.”
“Even assholes can grow.But I still want to punch him.”
“I know.”I squeezed his hand.“I appreciate your protective streak.”
* * *
Spade appeared before I finished my second cup of coffee, looking worse than before.His hair stuck up in all directions.Dark circles shadowed his eyes, making them seem sunken into his skull.A half-zipped hoodie revealed a T-shirt with “SOMEONE ASKED FOR CHAOS” in peeling letters across the chest.
“Jade,” he said.“I need your brain.”
Kane made a low, disgruntled noise beside me.“You need her surrounded by carbs first.”He crossed his arms.“She already ate but grab her a cinnamon roll or something before you start waving maps around.”
Spade rolled his eyes.“Fine.”He gestured toward the hallway.“Bring your cinnamon roll apparatus to the office.”
“The office resembles a cave,” I muttered.
A grin spread across his face.“Dragons prefer caves.”
“Are you calling yourself a dragon?”Kane asked.
“Obviously,” Spade said.“Come on, Jade.Diaz doesn’t nap.”
I grabbed a cinnamon roll off the plate Marci had set near the coffee pot and followed him.
Kane’s hand brushed my hip as I passed.“You holler if he pushes too hard.”
I said, “Yes, sir,” with enough mockery in my tone to make Kane’s mouth twitch.
Spade marched down the hall to the office while I followed.
