Page 17 of Catalyst

But Jace didn’t mock me. He didn’t tease me or make some inappropriate joke. Instead, he pulled meclose—close enough that I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest.

“You’re okay, Princess,” he murmured against the top of my head. “You’re okay.”

For a long while, I let myself cry, holding onto Jace like a child would their blanket.

But eventually, the door to my hospital room creaked open, and I tensed.

Kane stepped inside, his broad frame blocking most of the doorway. His umber gaze swept over me, his expression unreadable. He tried to smile, but it looked more like a snarling pit bull pretending to be soft.

“You’re up,” he said quietly, sinking into the chair next to Jace.

I swallowed hard as the scent of stale nicotine wafted off him.

“Jace said you were on the phone… Who did you call?” I asked softly.

Kane hesitated before pulling my phone out of his pocket and handing it to me.

“My mom… You scared everyone.”

His voice was tight, and for a moment, I thought he was going to scold me.

“Did you… Did you call my mom?” I asked.

Kane’s jaw clenched, his gaze dropping to the floor. After a long pause, he mumbled, “Yeah… She didn’t answer.”

But I didn’t believe him.

Chapter 6

Kane

The sizzling of butter on a non-stick skillet filled the room as I tried to focus on the omelet I was making and not the fact that Callie’s mom was a raging bitch. I’d hoped that making Callie breakfast would be enough to distract me from wanting to break into the Voltaris mansion and slaughter every last hero in those walls for ever hurting Callie’s feelings.

“What type of fucking mother won’t stand up to their husband?” I muttered, slamming the carton of eggs onto the counter with more force than necessary.

“Calm down, Daddy,” Jace smirked, lazily leaning back against the counter, coffee mug in hand. “You know Flora isn’t exactly mother of the year–If she were, Callie wouldn’t have shown up here.”

I cut him a glare as I cracked three eggs into a nearby bowl. “Yeah, but her daughter was in the hospital. That should have been enough to make her want to show up.”

But no, all she did was tell me to talk to her husband, and that asshole asked if she was ready to go on a date with some douchebag named Trenton. In what world was forcing your daughter to date someone an acceptable expectation for making sure she was okay?

“Shin’s been talking for years about how heroes are never the good guys… That only stopped when Sul tried to succeed where his dad failed.” Jace snorted into his coffee. “Dead and labeled a terrorist. Heroes have an image to maintain, and Trent probably has a sharp jawline and the right family tree.”

My jaw clenched as I grabbed a fork from the drawer before using it to whisk the eggs into a pool of yellow slime. I’d forgotten all about Shin’s stories of him trying to be a hero long before Sulien came along. The only difference between Sul and his dad was that Shin once had the coveted hero title. Unfortunately, the media decided he’d be more interesting as a villain, and the rest was history.

“Well, it’s disgusting,” I grumbled as I poured the eggs into the pan. Immediately, the eggs bubbled and sizzled, setting around the outside. “And I’d rather die than let her end up a pawn in their fucked up game.”

Jace watched me with that annoying, all-too-laid-back look that he always did when trying to decide if he wanted to let me stew in my anger or if he wanted to rile me up more.

“Relax, Daddy.” Jace put extra emphasis on that last word. “No one’s handing Callie back to her parents or Trenton. She’s ours now.”

I shot Jace a warning look, and he didn’t even flinch. If anything, my irritation caused his smirk to grow.

“That doesn’t change the fact that they’re trying.” I said as I grabbed the small container of cooked spinach and feta from beside the stove.

The only good thing I got from talking to Callie’s parents was a list of the things she’d been craving. Apparently, mom cared enough to make sure her daughter was fed, and that was it.

“Her mom’s the headmistress at her school… What if she tries something?” I asked, feeling the weight of the words the second they fell from my lips.

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