Page 124 of Hate Me

“I thought Caspian didn’t like to use his calculative approach on us, those within his inner circle? That’s why he told me about monitoring my communications, to ensure there was transparency.”

“He’s at war, so he’s in the mindset of crossing lines he normally wouldn’t.”

“It’s coming from a good place. It couldn’t not with him, Bastian, with how much he cares, how deeply he loves.”

“That’s the only reason I’m not pissed. I am a little indignant, though, because this means he doesn’t trust that we can help ourselves and make the right decisions. Most of all, though, if this is really the case, it means we’re a burden to him alongside all the rest he’s already trying to shoulder. Part of the reason Cal left wasn’t just that darkness that was taking him over, it was so that he could grow and ensure he was no longer seen as a charge of Caspian’s, that he wouldn’t have to worry about him or protect him to the extent that he was beforehand. And it worked, he returned as his equal.”

“Then it’s time for us to do the same.” That sly, sexy look burned into me as she said, “Don’t you think, sweets?”

I grinned back at her. “I absolutely do.”

“Well, you’re gonna get a chance to prove that real soon,” a voice came from the door, startling us.

We both swung our heads to see Caleb leaning against the door frame of the den, his arms and ankles crossed as he smirked out at us.

“How much did you hear?” I asked.

“More than enough.”

“Listen, Cal—”

“Cas does know about Damien feeding Skylar intel,” he said, cutting me off. “He also engineered Damien growing closer to Jett, so he could get an in without raising Elijah’s suspicions.”

I frowned. “And you’re selling Cas out like this, because?”

“I’m not selling him out. We’re way beyond all of that now. He asked me to tell you as soon as he saw those texts of Damien’s to Skylar this morning. He’s just caught up in a war meet with his Board and chief partners so he can’t step out to do it himself. I would’ve done it sooner, but I had to check in with my facilities.” He pushed off the door frame and sauntered into the den toward us. “He wants us all on the same page.” He eyed me pointedly. “But, yeah, he is worried about you letting D back in.”

“And what’s your stance on him?”

He sighed and sat down next to Sky, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and lounging back. “He wants a connection. He craves it, in fact. He doesn’t always go about it in the right way, we know this. But he is lonely. Very lonely.”

“What about what he did to you, Caleb?” Sky asked gently.

“That was an example of him not going about making connections in the right way. But he did stop. As fucked-up as it is, that was actually a major deal for him, a big step in the right direction.”

“So you think he’s actually changed?” I asked.

“I think he’s trying. But I also think Cas is right that there’s still a risk there.” He shifted his weight a little on the couch, then told me, “I also think that it’s about time you showed Cas that you can handle it either way now.”

“I do too.”

“He’s carrying a shit-ton of weight on his back,” Caleb continued. “As strong and as resilient as he is, there’s only so much anybody can bear before they break, and I’m fucking worried about him. We need to take some of that burden off him. You with Damien.” He looked at Sky. “And you by proving that you can handle this Jett shit when the time comes.”

I nodded along. “It’s been our dynamic for a long time to have him looking after us, it’s time it shifted now. It’s ready to.”

“Exactly, B.”

I looked to see Sky deep in thought, taking everything in, her brow furrowing as she considered it all, her clear worry for Cas bleeding through too.

Caleb told her, “I need to pull you away from your work to do another session before Granger gets here in an hour.”

She blinked out of her thoughts. “Sure, yeah. Good idea.”

As he rose to his feet, she packed up and left her laptop on the couch.

“Get back to work,” Caleb told me.

“Planning on it,” I told him.

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