Page 25 of ForeverMN

I turn to Oliver with a smirk on my lips, “See you soon. And congratulations by the way. I heard you got married.”

Oliver’s shoulders shrug as he smiles. Miles’ eyes narrow on him. “Thanks. And yes, happily married.”

“Our wife,” Miles slides in and my eyes jump to him.

“Cool. Whatever makes you happy,” I shrug, “Oaklynn is happy, which makes Kai happy. And my members being happy helps produce a better work environment.”

Oliver and Miles give me a hand shake before leaving the room. Nash approaches me with a flash drive in his hands. “Here. For your records.”

“Thanks,” I take it and nod before turning to leave. My hand touches the door when his voice pulls me back in.

“I heard you and Saylor broke up.”

My heart riots in my chest and I have to breathe in order to school my face to be devoid of emotions. I turn back to him and find his eyes mildly full of glee. “It’s none of your business.”

“Sure,” He nods, “Although, I always told myself that if she chose you I’d back down. Now that she’s done with you, there is nothing to stop me from reaching out.”

I want to roar at him that she is mine. That Saylor will always be mine. The agonizing ball of emotion in my chest burns, and grows just imagining him thinking he could have her. That anyone could take her away from me.

“I guess she’ll be coming to New York too, won’t she. I’ll see her then.”

“Where Saylor goes is up to her. If she doesn’t feel that there is anything important in New York she will probably stay home. Just like she’s been doing since she left,” I bite out and watch my words cut across his own chest. “I’ll be in touch.”

Without another glance I leave the impressive building and make my way back to the team I had mobilized. I need to get to Minnesota and let everyone know what we’ve found. We’re on the cusp of something huge, I can feel it in my bones, the kind of something that is life changing for Rogue. I fucking hate this city.

Saylor

I glance at the clock again, for the hundredth time today. It’s been killing me knowing Ciaran went by himself on a mission. Then, to make matters worse, he ended up having to go to New York. He’s been sending intelligence to Silas and Kai for the past few weeks and now he’s finally coming back. My brother has thankfully been willing to share the info, but I can tell he isn’t sure how much to process with me when it has to do with Ciaran, or with Nash. Oaklynn has been a little more forthcoming, but she is also walking on eggshells around me about what she shares about Ciaran. It’s driving me crazy, and never have I felt so sheltered about things within Rogue. Ciaran is back today and I’m dying to get to him. I want to talk. I need to figure out what I can do to help move through this. I refuse to give up on us.

As soon as my clock hits five I’m out of my chair and turning my computer off. In my head, I practice my speech of all the things I want to say when I finally see him. My thoughts are jumbled though, when I almost crash into my best friend.

“In a hurry?” she asks, her brow raised.

I glance from her to the clock, and back again, “Kind of. What’s up?”

She looks me over, taking in my carefully done make-up and hair from this morning. I still need to change my clothes though. “Ciaran is back. Have you talked to him?”

I wave my hand over my body, “Where do you think I’m going?”

Oaklynn’s face becomes serious, and a little of my excitement withers. “This thing in New York is really big, Say. Kai is working overtime, and I think it will require them to be there for an extended period of time once they’re ready. I haven’t seen him this worried in a long time. Whatever my brother, Miles, and Nash uncovered is scary.”

“I thought so. Silas has been weird about what he’s sharing with me though. Like I’ll break or something.”

“Well to be fair, as far as they know, your worries about Rogue affected your relationship with their best friend,” Oaklynn points out.

I take a deep breath in and out, letting the sting of her truths run over my insides like razor blades. “I know,” I manage to say and nod my head, “But it wasn’t that I was worried about Rogue being dangerous, I know it is. I was worried that Ciaran could die. I can’t live without him, Oak.”

She steps into me and wraps her arms around my shoulders, her blonde head resting on top of mine. “I know babe. I think you and your man need to have a talk. You should get going.”

Oaklynn’s arms pull back, and I grab my bag to leave. I don’t even care about my clothes right now. The need to see Ciaran pulls at my heart. I jump in my car and take the road through town to Rogue. It hasn’t been that long since I was here last, but in some ways it does feel like it’s been forever. I don’t see his truck when I pull in the parking lot and some of my bravado slips. I park anyway and make my way to the door. Inside of the shop is quiet, just a small shuffling of feet coming from the back.

“Hello?” I call into the open space and hear a man cough. My feet move, carrying me down the aisle. My body slams to a halt when Matt steps out from under the hood of a car. His eyes widen in surprise.

“Hi, Saylor,” he nods, “I didn’t expect to see you here today. Everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” I tell him, my eyes darting around, “I thought maybe Ciaran was here.”

Matt nods knowingly, “He is back. He’s at the house though.”

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