Page 45 of Dear John

“You can’t do anything about that, but you can keep pushing her out of her comfort zone.”

I sighed, not sure I could do it. “And what if I break her? Lola, it fucking killed me when I did that to you.”

“I survived and came out stronger for it.”

“But you were already trained by the military.”

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” she snapped. “What that fucker did to me fucked with my head. That’s the same fucking thing Zavala did. Get her out and start breaking those habits. Build her up and make her stronger. You know what the fuck to do, so do it!”

I shook my head. She just didn’t understand. “I can’t lose her. If I fuck her up?—”

“You won’t.”

I swiped a towel down my face and glowered at her. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Yeah, well, you’re becoming an old lady. If this is the way you’re going to fight from now on, I’ll find another sparring partner. Maybe Axel would be up for the challenge. He beat you once, didn’t he?” she smirked at me.

I slapped the towel against the ropes and got in my corner, cracking my neck. Axel may have beaten me once, but that wouldn’t happen twice. It was time to get my head back in the game.

17

KAVANAUGH

I adjustedmy suit as I stepped into the elevator at Reed Security. Their facility was pretty damn nice, though I liked our silo better. I had to admit, as much as I fucking hated Rafe, he did get us some pretty nice equipment. Not that I would speak ill of the dead.

“So, what made you decide to leave OPS?” Cap asked calmly.

I had no doubts that he already fucking knew about my blowup with Cash. Fox was always in contact with Knight, even if Knight didn’t talk back. And then there was Cash…how much would he have told Cap?

“Difference of opinion,” I said, trying to keep things casual.

“Yeah, I know all about that,” he muttered. The doors opened and he stepped off, guiding me over to the conference room where Sinner was waiting, a grin on his face.

“Hey, man,” I grinned, walking over to shake his hand. “It’s been a minute.”

“Can’t complain about where I landed, even if the boss occasionally yells at me for his wife’s unwillingness to follow a simple fucking direction.”

“Isn’t she the reason—” I cut myself off, figuring I was venturing in enemy territory with that question. “Well, it’s good to see you again.”

“Kind of strange, don’t you think?”

“What’s that?”

“Both of us left our jobs because of a miscommunication with the boss,” Sinner grinned.

“I didn’t exactly leave by choice.”

“Oh, me neither. Then again, if you ask Cap, he’ll tell you differently.”

I glanced at Cap who watched the whole conversation with curious eyes.

“So…anyway, I’m assuming you talked to Cash.”

Cap shook his head. “He’s been shutting us out for a while. Care to explain?”

Did I? Not really. “Look, it’s not that I don’t trust you guys, but what Cash is going through…it’s not my place to get involved any further.”

I hoped he wouldn’t throw me out on my ass for the answer. I wanted to remain neutral. There was nothing worse than an employee leaving a job and bitching about it at the next one.

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