Page 30 of Free to Run
“Who’s crying?” I demand.
“That’s Holly. You’ve managed to cause a complete upheaval here, Keene. Ali’s gone. We only know she flew out of here to drive, upset. She’s supposedly headed to Jared. I have no idea if that’s true, when she’ll get there, or when she’ll be back. The storm of the summer is hitting, and I’m about to freak out!” Like I couldn’t tell that from her escalating screech. Cassidy takes a breath. “Now it’s our turn. Did Ali try to apologize to you?”
I close my eyes and rub my hand over my forehead. I remember her gorgeous dress on Saturday night, and her attempt to apologize for misunderstanding my concern about Cassidy and the twins. I stopped her before she could, but I have to give the facts. “Yes.”
There’s a harsh intake of breath on the other end of the line.
“Did you proposition her again? Sweet Jesus, I can’t believe I’m asking this— afterward?” Phil asks.
I don’t want to answer his question. I shove away from my desk and pace, then turn to Caleb. His lips are pressed together as if he’s trying to keep from saying something he might regret. He also knows me better than anyone, including my sister.
Finally, I say, “Not exactly a proposition. More an…invitation.”
“Oh God,” Cassidy stage whispers, followed by a groan.
Caleb shakes his head at me.
Cassidy takes a few deep breaths. “Final question. Did you say, imply, or indicate that you wanted Ali as your plaything or that she was a whore?”
Holy hell. What happened at that office today? “No!” I yell. “I have no idea where she got it into her head that I thought of her as either of those things.”
“Gee, Keene, maybe it was when you snuck out of her hotel room the first time you slept with her,” Phil suggests. “I mean, you didn’t even bother to put on your pants. Leaves a girl with an impression that’s hard to get over.”
“Maybe I know how that feels since she kicked me out the second time,” I roar.
That silences everyone.
Caleb breaks the silence. “I’ll deal with this, Cassidy.”
“Okay.” Shit. She’s crying.
“Cassidy…” My voice cracks as I try to console my sister.
“Not now, Keene.”
The phone line disconnects abruptly.
I growl, turning to Caleb like a lion stalking fresh meat. “Don’t you even dare lecture me about starting something up with Alison. Not when you met and married my sister while owning this company.”
Leaning back in his chair, he locks his hands over his stomach. “I wouldn’t say a word about that.”
Surprised, I sit down. “Good.”
“If what I thought you meant to start with her was an actual relationship and not you getting your rocks off,” he continues, as if I hadn’t spoken.
“Seriously, what does it matter what I want to do if it doesn’t hurt anyone?” I ask my best friend. I’m actually puzzled by this. Why does anything I do matter to anyone? It never has before.
Sighing, Caleb pushes to his feet in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the Manhattan skyline. I remember when we took over these offices after forming Hudson Investigations. We got lost in the beauty of the view, but now, it’s another landscape to use to think, as Caleb’s doing now.
“We don’t talk about it,” he finally says, interrupting our mutual introspection.
“Talk about what?”
“What happened in Warsaw.” His voice has already gone back to the night where he was almost shot. The night I was shot.
“Probably because we’re not supposed to. National security and all that.” I try to deflect the discussion. I don’t want to get into a conversation with Caleb where he expresses his thanks for saving his life. He’s already thanked me a million times.
“I’ve thought about it a lot recently,” he continues. I brace myself for the gratitude, but what he says surprises me. “I would have spared you the pain of taking a bullet for me for certain. It was my distraction that got us into that hot mess, and for that, I will always be sorry. But now, I’m equally certain it had to happen that way for you to find your sister again.”
