“No!” She yelps. “You can’t come here— my dad— it’s bad enough I snuck Cade in.”
No matter how much I try to ignore it, a drop of jealousy sours my tongue. “You do that often?”
“Save the possessive shit, Caveman,” she grumbles. “Unlock the door or open the garage for us in a few minutes.”
“I’m not home.” There’s a long pause. I check to make sure the call didn’t drop. “You still there, sweetheart?”
“I’m here. Just silently cursing you.”
Somehow, this girl has me fighting a grin in the midst of a crisis. Fuck me.
“So where are you?” she asks.
I glance around the crowded storage room. “St. Gemmas.”
“And what in the fresh hell are you doingthere?” Oh, she's still royally pissed. I cringe, my shoulders tensing defensively.
“Doesn’t matter, I’m?—”
A muffled male voice tickles my ear through the speaker. I strain to hear.
“I mean, we can but… he’s at church,” Andrea says carefully— not to me.
“Let me talk to him,” I demand. It’s a visceral need at this point.
Rustling. A murmured, “It’s Seba.” More rustling.
“Hi.”
A sigh whooshes out of me. “Hey, Troublemaker. You ok?”
“Am I ever?”
I smile despite the anxiety eating me alive. “Fair enough.” Dropping to a squat, I run a hand through my damp hair. “Is…shebothering you?”
“Um… only a little,” he admits, almost shyly. “She doesn’t like that I’m with Andrea right now. But at home she’s louder, even in your room.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Ok, ok,” I mutter. “I’m almost finished here—” I’m not, but I’ll drop what I’m doing and head straight to him regardless of the consequences. “And then I’ll come get you so we can talk with Declan.”
“No.”
Christ. “Why not?”
“He didn’t protect me from her back then, so what's gonna make him do it now?”
Back then?
“Cade, he has to know.”
A sardonic laugh. “Oh, I'm sure he knows.”
“You told him?” It’s more accusatory than intended. But not at him. My rage is pointed squarely at his father.
“He was there.”
Goddammit, he’s not making any fucking sense. I massage my eyes with my pointer and thumb. The last thing I need is for him to get agitated. “Alright. We’ll hold off for now, but we gotta talk to him soon.”
He’s quiet. I hate that I can’t see him.
