Page 138 of Wreck Me

“You said distance?” he asked. “What did that mean?”

“A figure of speech.”

“Was it?”

“What?”

“Was it just a figure of speech, Caleb?”

Fortunately, before I had to answer that direct question that was kind of dangerous right now, a major distraction threw itself into the fray, as the door flew open and smacked against the wall, the impact making the room damn well reverberate with it.

And then Bastian stormed in and demanded of Cas, “What the hell was that last night?”

“B, what’s up your ass? Seriously?”

He ignored me and gestured wildly at Cas. “Showing up at the fight club like that, bringing her here, seducing her, then engineering that foursome?”

“It was you who pushed that foursome,” I reminded him. “I had to make you pause, if you remember?”

“I wasn’t exactly in my right mind, was I, fucker?”

“What does that mean?” Cas asked, the worry in his voice clear and hitting me down deep, as I then took a moment to see past all the rage coming off Bastian, and to notice how erratic his movements were, and the fact that he looked like a complete wreck at the same time.

He’d pulled on his clothes that he’d left here during our move—a pair of blue jeans and a black V-neck tee. He had the tee on inside out with the fly of his jeans unzipped, and he only had one sock on too.

And then there were his eyes. “Why are your eyes bloodshot?”

Cas brushed past me and took his jaw, examining him.

Or trying to, before Bastian jerked himself free. “I just didn’t sleep well last night. Don’t try to redirect.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

“Then answer my fucking question!”

Cas stepped back and folded his arms over his chest. “What would you like me to address first? The fact that I showed up at the fight venue to put your brother in his place? That I used my standing and presence to go where you couldn’t in order to pull Skylar from that despicable situation Damien had trapped her in? That I brought her here for us, because her remaining on the outside is no longer sustainable? That I gave her what she wanted because she begged me to? That I held back in a major way when the four of us played, for you, Bastian? Does that about cover it?”

Bastian stared at him for a moment as he absorbed Caspian’s words.

But then he was shaking his head in the next moment. “No. There’s more to it.”

“I brought her here to get to know her and to bring her into The Jackals.”

“You… what? Really?”

He nodded. “It’s time. I saw her last night in the ring, she’s ready. I’ve been observing her situation much longer than that also. We all need the outlet that those nightly activities provide more than ever right now.”

“And she’ll bring a balance to it that we didn’t have before,” I added.

“In essence,” Cas said. He laid his hand on Bastian’s shoulder. “She soothes you. But you opening up lately also brings worrisome elements with it. Relaunching The Jackals will help to direct that wild emotion and energy, and to take the edge off, especially with having her there.”

“Okay,” Bastian conceded, calming. Well, somewhat. There was still a flash there in his eyes and he then growled vehemently, “The rest is off the table now. The original plan? No using her.”

“There’s no need to use her anymore with me bringing her into the fold now, sweetheart,” Caspian assured him.

“Use me for what?”

We all jolted at the sound of the voice.

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