Page 32 of Cautious

I pull into her driveway and shut off the engine, turning to find her eyes on me.

“I just want you to be happy, baby. I’ll fuck up again because I have a penis—it’s what we do—but don’t shut me out, okay?” I tell her preemptively, remembering I still need to talk to her about her mother, but that can keep until tomorrow. Both of us have had enough for tonight.

We head up the steps to the front door, me taking her key and opening it wide for her to enter.

“I won’t shut you out anymore,” she agrees, dumping her bag on the table beside the door. “Now, how about you show me what all the fuss is about when it comes to make-up sex,” she teases.

She freezes when a voice speaks from the still-open door behind us.

“Callie?”

Callie

I stand frozen in place at the sound of my name on her lips, ice flooding my veins as my past and present collide. I look up at Blake and see him watching me with a look of apprehension on his features.

“Your mom turned up here asking to see you.” He turns to look at my mom with a frown. “She was supposed to go back to her hotel and wait for a call,” he tells me, but he doesn’t know what she’s like. “She said she wanted a chance to fix things,” he adds, looking unsure about what to do.

“Blake—” I start, but I don’t know what else to say without causing everything to tumble down around me.

“Callie, I’ve missed you,” my mother interrupts, clearly sensing the right moment to pounce.

Stepping toward me, she looks polished and put together as always in her white pantsuit and tan kitten heels. The string of pearls around her neck and a designer bag on her arm are a far cry from the cheap knockoffs she wore when I was a kid. Back before she married a man with more money than sense.

I tense as she moves to hug me. But Blake’s oblivious, taking a step back to give us space.

“I’ll give you guys some time to talk. I’ll just be next door, Callie, if you need me,” he says quietly, squeezing my hand once before letting go.

Before I can protest, my mother wraps her arms tightly—too tightly—around me and answers for me. “Thank you, Blake. You really are too kind.”

“I’d do anything for Callie, Mrs. Roberts,” he adds, which sounds almost like a warning.

“Brenda. Please,” she insists, injecting fake sweetness into her voice.

“Brenda then. I’ll check in later, Callie,” he calls, hesitating for a moment. When I don’t say anything to stop him, he leaves, closing the front door behind him.

As soon as the door closes, her mask comes off. She shoves away from me so quickly that I stumble.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her, crossing my arms over my chest to ward off the chill, refusing to let her any farther into my home than the entrance hall.

“Don’t ask stupid questions you already know the answer to. I’ve come to take you home.”

“This is my home now. I’m not going anywhere with you,” I snap.

She steps forward again, backing me against the wall. Grabbing a handful of my hair, she yanks it hard. Shit, I forgot how much it hurt when she did that.

“You’ll do as you’re told, or I’ll be forced to send your location to Christian. He won’t be happy if he has to send men here to collect you.”

I wrench myself free of her grip, losing strands of hair in the process, but I barely feel it.

“How do you even know Christian?” I spit his name from my lips.

“Everyone knows who Christian is. He has everyone out looking for his runaway fiancée,” she answers snidely.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve said it before or to how many people, but I’ll say it once more for you and hope it sinks in. I am not marrying that man, and nothing you or he does will make me change my mind.”

She laughs at me, a cruel sound that was the soundtrack of my childhood. “You stupid, naïve fool. Have you forgotten what happened to Danny? You’ll do what I tell you to do, or your current boyfriend will have a little accident too.” She spits out the word “boyfriend” like it’s acid on her tongue.

“Blake isn’t Danny. He won’t be the easy target you think he is. He’s a soldier with a team of men at his back. If you try to hurt him, he will kill you with his bare hands,” I grit out.

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