Page 68 of Hate Me

“Agreed,” Caleb said, before Cas could push me for an answer I didn’t have yet. “Everything is dialed to rage and vengeance for her right now.” He looked at me. “It’s like an addiction, B. All the rest is background noise to her, her mission to destroy Jett Bane taking all her focus and energy.”

“But you can help her, right?” It was why Cas had called him back here. Well, his excuse for doing it, at least.

“I’ve got a good shot. But I need you both to work with me, to accommodate my recommendations.” He eyed Cas. “The first being, no more sedation or putting her out. Release her from those binds too. The more you treat her like an out-of-control animal, the more it’s going to reinforce for her that she is one.”

“Bastian released her from the ankle cuffs last night and he sustained damage. She tried to choke him out.”

“Like I said, the more you treat her like an animal, Cas.”

He gritted his teeth. He didn’t like the idea of us being in danger in any way whatsoever. Even during our nights conducting Jackals activities, he would micromanage to an intense degree and strategize every op down to the most minute detail to ensure our safety.

But he’d asked Caleb to come in for his expertise, so he knew he had to be willing to defer to him in these matters. He acknowledged that after a few moments of resistance, telling Caleb, “Fine. But King Manor will move into lockdown for her safety as well as ours.”

Caleb smiled. “Don’t want to let her go again, huh?”

Cas glared at him. “Just prep whatever you need to for when she wakes up.” He eyed his Rolex. “I need to get to work.” He looked out at me. “And Bastian needs to get to Luxe.”

“I’ll reacquaint myself with the mansion while you’re gone then.”

Cas gave a nod, then he went to walk out so he could head off to King Tower.

“Hold up,” I told him.

He eyed me over his shoulder.

“I lied to Sky, told her that you’d already figured out where she was getting her leads on Jett from. When do you think your tech team will really determine that?”

“A few days.”

“All right, good. Not too long then. What about Wheeler?”

“His still in the wind. He learned from the best in Frank Bennett. We’re still searching. And the same with Frank, himself.”

“Frank’s your backup, because you think I’m gonna fail,” Caleb called to him.

“I always have a Plan B,” Cas told him simply with no small amount of terseness, before he glared at him, then headed on out of the room.

I sighed as I followed him out.

Things were a fucking mess.

Having Caleb and Sky back like this and right up close just drove home how fractured things were between the four of us.

There really was a thin line between love and hate right now.

15

~Caleb~

The shower finally stopped running.

I waited patiently leaning against the wall chewing on a gummy worm, a bunch of which were in the pocket of my jacket after I’d found some downstairs in the pantry. Cas had ordered some in for me. I smiled to myself. He wasn’t all anger and antagonism toward me after all then. Although, he’d certainly done a good job of making me believe that was all he had to give me right now.

It was really difficult for me to read him while he was like this, because Cas and I had never been in this estranged state before. This… dynamic was a whole new thing to the both of us.

And it had one hell of a bitter taste that went along with it.

I fucking hated it.

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