Page 56 of Two Chambered Heart

“That’s Kayden’s line,” Jason snarled.

“He’s not here, so I’ll have to do.” She sipped at her coffee. “Why do you drink so much?”

She was always getting straight to the point. Who needed to read minds when whatever she was thinking just fell right out of her mouth anyway? “Why do you think?”

“I have no idea, Jason. I don’t really know anything about you.”

“And we should keep it that way.”

“I’d rather not. Is it the nightmares?”

“What?” She was giving him whiplash.

“The nightmares. Is that why you drink? It seems like you only drink at night.”

“They aren’t nightmares.”

“Right. Thememoriesor whatever.” Her hands formed air quotes around the word.

“Right.” He wanted this conversation to be over.

She blew out a frustrated breath. The two of them just looked at each other. She looked concerned, or maybe even worried. He hated it.

“Well, I have work to do today.” He put his empty coffee cup in the sink. “Unlike you, who just lazes around all day.” His mouth curved into a cruel half-smile, cold.

Her eyes flared.

There. That was so muchbetter than pity.

“I’ve worked my whole life! I’m not the one who chose to stop working,” she raged at him. That fire in her was always simmering close to the surface, just a slight nudge needed to spark. His malice obliterated any concern she felt for him.

He made himself laugh sharply and then stalked off, leaving her fuming on the barstool. He actuallydidhave work to do.

“Northwest perimeter check in 3, 2, 1. Clear.”

Archie used the infrared thermal cameras to confirm the boundaries of the warehouse were clear before Jason unlocked the chicken wire gate and drove the motorcycle through, locking the padlock behind him. Thick trees obscured the holding facility. From the road, the gravel driveway and shanty fencing made it look abandoned. But further into the woods, a second, high-tech electric fence surrounded the warehouse.

He was here to run maintenance to prepare for the next big transfer. Obviously, the security system monitored each location, but they still needed to physically go every now and then to check the property and make sure everything was in order.

Jason used the built-in retina scan and fingerprint reader to unlock the automatic gate. His hand was shaking slightly as he pulled it back—the booze and this morning’s training session had taken their toll on his body. Jason cursed under his breath as the gate rolled aside on its tracks.

“What’s the problem?” Archie’s voice was sharp through the earpiece. Jason could hear him clacking away on his keyboard, trying to find any disruption he may have missed, and he felt guilty for making Archie panic. Archie was fine-tuned, vigilant beyond belief.

“Nothing. It’s nothing, don’t worry. Just too much to drink last night.”

Archie let out a breath in Jason’s ear. Jason hid his shaking hands in his pockets so the other man wouldn’t see them on the camera. Maybe training after an entire bottle of whiskey had been a dumb idea. If anything did go wrong today, he’d be in trouble. His brain felt muddled and slow. The fresh air on the ride over had barely helped him recover.

Kayden and Corey had joined him in the gym again, but he’d trained on his own. Corey had asked Kayden to teach her how to rope climb, then how to use the punching bag. She’d picked both up quickly. That shouldn't have surprised him. He was starting to expect a high level of athleticism from her. Sweaty and red-faced, she’d spent a few minutes trying to do a pull-up before Kayden had finally given her some bands to use. She’d looked peeved at needing the assistance.

Jason had used the bag himself today, expending all the energy he had punching it fiercely. Probably why his hands were still shaking. After an hour of controlling the motorcycle, his arms felt like lead.

“You still drinking?” Archie asked, hesitantly. He was less willing to patronize Jason about his alcoholism than Kayden was.

“It’s her face, man. Every time I close my eyes, I see her face. Even after all these years, I can’t sleep without hearing her screaming. The drinking helps.” Jason could only be honest with his friend, who was as close to him as a brother. Archie understood the trauma, had been there for most of it. He’d experienced hell alongside the twins.

“I know you don’t believe me, but it wasn’t your fault. Even if I have to tell you every week for the rest of our lives, it wasn’t your fault.”

Archie was right—Jason didn’t believe him, and likely never would. Ithadbeen his fault. Jason loosed a long breath, trying to compose himself.

---