Page 11 of Ignited Heat

"I don't think…"

"Are you going to deny me this? You can't always be there for me, Jason. This attack just proves how defenseless I am. I need to get strong, and I need to be able to protect myself from Marcos or men like him."

Jason's jaw tenses, and his lips form a thin line. He doesn't want this.

"Fine, if you don't want to do it, find someone who can help me. But in the meantime, I'd like to stay somewhere safe, and I think with you is the best place."

"It's not that. Cassie,” he hesitates, “I'm so sorry. You're right. I wasn't there when you needed me the most, and the guilt is consuming me."

"Jason…"

Suddenly, he veers off track and takes a different route altogether.

"I have a better place to take you. It's one of my safe houses, and it has exactly what we need for me to teach you how to use a firearm. But you've got to promise to follow my directions to the letter."

"I promise."

For a few minutes, there's just silence between us, and then his features soften.

"Why didn't you take the Lee's surname when they adopted you?"

"I still had good memories of my parents, and I wanted to keep them with me. Mama and Papa didn't mind, or at least I hope they didn't mind, but several of us have our original surnames."

"Was it difficult? Being in the system?"

"It was tough, not having a say on where you go and who takes you in. When the Lees fostered me, I knew they were different, and I begged them to adopt me. I know I shouldn't have but I was so alone and so scared."

"What did they say when you asked to be adopted?"

"Papa said, 'Consider it done.' Next thing I know, I'm part of their growing family."

"How many of the brothers had they adopted already by then?"

"Carlos, Cody, Mark, and Jim came first. Peter, Brandon, and Jared came a bit later. They wanted more, but Mama said she wanted to be able to be there for us. I overheard the conversation and was a bit in awe of how Mama could say something, and Papa would accept it as already done. They are good together."

We drove in silence after that, and I felt a little closer to Jason because of our conversation. He's never asked me anything personal and I'm hoping this means he wants to know more about me. About thirty minutes later, we take a turn onto a deserted road and drive for about fifteen more minutes. At the end is what looks like a ranch house with a barn next to it.

Jason gets out of the car and opens the barn doors, then parks inside it. Once we're outside he closes the door, hiding the car from plain view. Then we move to the house. It looks old but the lock is controlled by a keypad and Jason inputs a long number before the lock opens. The house is cozy and clean but it's a bit cold inside.

"There are some blankets in the closet over there."

"I…"

"You need to rest, Cassie."

"Can you get me a gun?"

"I will. I need to go get some food for you."

"You'll be staying here with me, right?"

"I need to assess the situation with Solis."

"Your team can do that,” I point out.

"Why is it so important that I stay with you?"

"Because you make me feel safe. I know it's selfish of me to ask for this, but…please, Jason."

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