Page 19 of Pretend it’s Forever

No, that was all left for my father, and their late one.

“I’m going to hit the showers,” Flynn said as he strode towards the locker rooms, and I frowned.

“What’s up with him?” I asked, confused.

James ran his hand over the back of his neck and frowned. “I have no idea. I tried to get Hudson to get it out of him when we were at the family dinner, since he and Scarlett rarely come down to the city these days, but I still don’t know.”

“Did he talk to anybody after the shooting?” James’s eyes widened, and I snorted. It wasn’t like me to bring shit like this up, but I also wasn’t going to turn into my father. I’d made enough promises to myself along the way to whatever person I’d become that the idea of speaking to a professional wasn’t as scary as it should have been. “Yes, I am talking about therapy. My sister forced me to go a while back, and she still goes often. Talking it out helps. So does punching things. And while I don’t mind getting in the ring or on the mat with him, his kicks are getting a little more pointed.” I rubbed my jaw, and James winced.

“I don’t know if he’s talked to anyone professionally about the shooting. It was scary as fuck, and well, between that and what happened with Sophia? It’s been good to have some quiet over the past year.” James cursed under his breath. “I can’t believe I just said the Q word. That’s like asking for trouble. And considering we’re still dealing with the paperwork over that asshat, I shouldn’t have said it at all.”

I stiffened, a thousand different worst case scenarios filling my brain. “Which asshole? The ones that came after your family? Or that loser ex-husband of hers that I should have killed when I had a chance?”

There were other people in the gym, and while James and I were trying to be as quiet as possible, that didn’t mean others couldn’t overhear. So I inched toward him, aware that I would find a way to end that rotted vegetable’s life. Anybody who did what he had done to a woman, didn’t deserve to breathe.

“Scarlett and Hudson are fine. Yes, they went through hell, but they’re good together. I was more talking about Sophia’s ex.” The other man gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening, and I moved closer.

“What the fuck did he do now?”

“He’s suing for custody again. He’s not going to get it. We’re not going to let him. Sophia is finally letting us use the family name to try to keep that asshole away from them, but he’s pissed off that the courts let her change the kids’ names to Cage. And the man wanted money to begin with, and he’s not stepping back. He might be able to get additional weekends, however, because the laws like reunification more than they like keeping kids safe, but then again, I’m in a piss poor mood and not thinking about when things actually work. Instead it’s just about the paperwork of keeping that asshole in power.”

“Why isn’t that asshole in jail? I know what Flynn and I walked in on. He would’ve killed her. Killed her and taken those kids and found a way to make it all about him in which he ended up the poor widower or some shit.”

“He knows people. And the courts don’t listen to women.”

“They had my testimony. I’m a fucking man. Why didn’t they listen to me?” I shook my head. “They should have listened to her. I should say that first.”

“I know what you meant.” James’s lips tilted into a smile, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “They gave him anger management, and I don’t know who the fuck is signing off on it, because passive aggressiveness is even worse. Now he’s spewing all over socials and in the community about her dance studio, and I think he hired a PR team to work its way to Kyler’s socials too.”

I frowned. “What the fuck do you mean?”

James ran his hand through his hair as we made our way to the locker room. “Just stupid bots that are saying crap about the family and tagging Kyler’s socials. I know for a fact that my brother doesn’t run them, but Emily sees them.”

“Emily’s your youngest sister, right?” I knew each of the names of the Cages of course, and had met them all, but it still wasn’t easy to keep them all in my head.

“One of them. And she’s the one most connected to social media and things like that. We’re trying to keep it away from Sophia, because she doesn’t need any more issues.”

I shook my head as I stripped off my shorts and gloves and got into the shower. “Keeping secrets from your sister is just going to backfire. She deserves to know everything that man is doing or could be doing. And are you sure it’s Cale hiring that firm for the bots and shit? Kyler is a celebrity that speaks out against issues and is damn popular. People are going to want to tear him down. Let alone the connection to your family.”

“Company’s looking into it.”

“I can do the same if you want.” It wasn’t an offer I made lightly. The Cages had their connections, including a cybersecurity business within the family. But I knew shadier people, and my company could find most things. And since we hadn’t found all the secrets of the Cages the first go around, we were even more hard-pressed to dig deep when it came to people who could hurt my family.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” James put in.

“You’re not asking. I am offering. I don’t like when weak-willed men take advantage. And he didn’t get enough pain from what I can see.”

“I should have killed him right alongside you,” Flynn said as he came forward, towel wrapped around his waist.

I turned off the water and reached for my own towel.

“We could have figured out where to hide the body,” I said with a shrug.

James looked between us and sighed. “Sometimes I don’t know if you two are being serious or not.”

“I’m not joking,” I said simultaneously with Flynn. We met each other’s gazes, and Flynn grinned, looking like the happier man that I had once met.

James was right, something was going on with his brother, and while part of me wanted to dig in and figure out what it was, I didn’t think doing so would be good. Whatever was going on with Flynn didn’t have to do with the company, or his connection to my family. So I let him have his privacy. For now.