Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co #6) (20 page)

“Fine. One kiss, and
then I touch you up and we go downstairs. You have as long as it
takes me to get the lipstick out of the bathroom, so make it good.”

We kiss until she comes
back—which takes longer than it should have—and then we walk
downstairs. Brent is standing in the hall talking to Aiden, and Matt
and Reina are just walking in. Brent turns, and his eyes go wide. So
do Reina’s. He starts to run toward the back of the house, but she
tackles him, stabbing him deep in the leg to stop him from running.
She pulls his head back to look him in the eye.

“How did you get in
here?” she asks.

“I was invited.”

I run towards them.
“He’s the new gym manager, Rei.”

“Well, he’s also
one of your kidnappers.”

I stagger backwards and
it all starts to make sense. Why I thought he seemed familiar, and
also why I had that horrible flashback when he kissed me. He was
there, and now I realize that he was the one who would whisper in my
ear about how beautiful I was. He couldn’t have been more than a
young teenager, though.

“You kidnapped,
Jade?” Scott asks. “I thought you were my friend.”

“Yeah well, I had to
look legit for a while and who better to help me do it than the son
of one of Chicago’s most honorable families.”

“You son of a bitch,”
Nate says, advancing on him.

“You’re one to
talk. Sullivan was my father, so I know everything. Every fucking
thing, Anderson.”

Nate stops in his
tracks, and the blood drains from his face as he looks at me. “I’m
sorry, Angel.”

“What? Why are you
sorry?”

“Because he knows I’m
going to tell you the truth.”

“Why would I believe
someone who was part of the family that kidnapped me?”

“Well you’re
sleeping with the man who tried to kill your father, so how could I
be any worse.”

“Wh-what?”

“What the hell’s
going on in here,” my dad asks, coming through the door.

“Apparently Brent is
a Sullivan, and he was there when I was kidnapped.”

“You filthy bastard.
How dare you come into my gym and pretend to be someone else.”

“I’m the bad guy?
You know Nate tried to kill you sixteen years ago, and now he’s
banging your daughter, and
I’m
the one you’re mad at.”

“Nate and I have made
our peace.”

“It’s true?” I
ask, looking between the two men I love. Neither one can meet my eye.
“Oh my God, it’s true.”

“It was a long time
ago, Jade.”

“I remember it. You
were beaten so badly that I had to call an ambulance when I found
you.” I look to Nate. “And you’ve known all this time.”

“No. I didn’t know
until you disappeared. You were just a little kid when…when it
happened. And you had a different last name when we met.”

“But you’ve known
since we’ve been together. All these weeks, you’ve known.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why you
said I’d walk away. And you know what, you’re right.”

I run out the door, but
I don’t make it out the gates like I want to. Nate catches me, and
spins me around. I punch him in the jaw, but he still holds on.

“You can’t go. This
is what he wants. For you to run out there unprotected. He put the
bounty back on your head. Al told me that, but I still didn’t think
he had that kind of power. If he’s really a Sullivan, then he does,
and you’re not safe.”

“I hate you.”

“I know, and I’m
going to go. I need you to stay here, and be protected.”

“How could you do it?
How could you try to kill my dad?”

“Do you really want
to know?”

“Yes. No. No. It
doesn’t matter. You did it, and you can’t take it back.”

“I’m well aware of
that fact, Jade.”

“Did you ever really
love me?”

“Yes. I love you with
every fiber of my being. That will never stop, no matter what
happens.”

“The only thing
happening is that I never want to see you again. If you had killed
him…God, if you had killed my dad… I don’t even know how I
would’ve survived that. And now I’ve been doing all these
things
with you. I need to clean you off my skin. Scrub away any trace of
you.”

“Don’t, Jade. Don’t
cheapen what we had.”

“You beat my father.
Beat him. And then you fucked me like it didn’t matter.”

“My feelings for you
have nothing to do with him.”

“Really? Because it’s
awfully convenient that you finally wanted me once you knew who I
really was.”

“That’s not how it
went down. Not at all.”

“I don’t believe
you. I don’t believe anything you have to say.”

“Goodbye, Jade.”

“Rot in Hell, Nate.”

“I plan to.”

He walks away, and I
force myself to go back inside. Reina has Brent tied to a chair, and
everyone is glaring at him. They look up when I walk in.

“Where’s Nate?”
Matt asks me.

“He’s gone. It was
him or me, and he insisted that it be him because he thinks I won’t
be safe.”

“Shit. Aiden, go.”

“I’m on it,” he
says, running out the door.

“Ainsley, activate
his tracker.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Jade comes before
him.”

“Rei?”

“She’s right,
Matt.”

“He’s going to kill
himself. Do you want that on your conscience?”

“He wouldn’t,” I
say, hating that I care.

“The fact that he was
trafficked by a crazy woman just got revealed, he had to face his
demons and get back into a cage because the woman he loved needed him
to, and now that woman just dumped him because of something he did
when he was
sixteen
.
He thinks he has nothing left to live for. So yes Jade, he
will
kill himself if we don’t find him.”

“Activate his
tracker, Ainsley. Now,” I say. I may hate him, but I don’t want
him dead.

“Trackers? Who the
hell are you people?” Brent asks.

“We’re the
Society,” Reina answers.

“Holy shit. You’re
real. And…no…oh please, no,” he says, realizing that he’s not
leaving here alive tonight.

“Oh yes,” Faith
says, walking over to him. “So much yes.”

I run up to my room,
ignoring my father and Ellie as they try to talk to me. I just want
to be alone. At least until I know that Nate is safe. Because I don’t
hate him. I can’t. No matter what he did, and how angry and hurt I
am by it, I can’t hate him. I love him too much for that.

* * *

Nate

I knew this day would
come. I didn’t think today was that day, but I still should’ve
been better prepared for it. I mean, yeah, I have the gun and the
bullets, but I should’ve planned a way for me to not need them.
Ever since I escaped the life I was thrown into by being a coward and
joined the military, I have tried to live my life bravely. And
honorably. I slept around a little, but never with anyone who
belonged to someone else, and I never led anyone on. I know what I’m
going to do is considered the coward’s way out, but there is
nothing left for me on this earth.

My phone starts buzzing
again. I knew they’d call once my tracker was deactivated, but I
didn’t turn my phone off in case
she
called. She hasn’t, and I’ve ignored everyone
else—Matt, Aiden, Jake,even Reina. This call is one I can’t
ignore, though. It’s Darcy, and I need to say goodbye to her.

“Hi Darce.”

“Put the goddamn gun
down, Nate.”

“What gun?”

“This is me. I know
you. So do Matt and Aiden.”

“They called you.”

“Of course they did.”

“You should be
concentrating on your mission.”

“That’s a little
hard to do when the man I love like a brother is about to kill
himself.”

“I can’t live
without her. You know she’s been all I wanted for two years. I got
her, and now I’ve lost her. Knowing that she hates me is not
something I can just ignore, and move on from. Even if she could one
day forgive me, she’ll never look at me the same way. Or love me.”

“Then fight for her,
dammit.”

“She won’t talk to
me.”

“Do you blame her?
I’m a little pissed, too, by the way. You didn’t tell me,
either.”

“I couldn’t. What I
did—it’s too much.”

“Yes, you could’ve
and you could’ve told her, too, so that she’d understand. But
we’re beyond that now.”

“And I’m beyond
saving.”

“Bullshit. Come to
Paris. I can use an extra guard, and it will give you time to think
of a plan to get her back.”

“I don’t think
she’ll ever want me back.”

“The girl chased you
for two years. She wants you. She just can’t let herself have you
after what she just learned.”

“I don’t blame
her.”

“Neither do I.”

“I wouldn’t take me
back.”

“Well, you’re not
her. And I want you to think about something else. Think about how
she would feel if you killed yourself after she broke up with you.”

“Shit.” She’s
right. Jade would be destroyed even if she does hate me. I look down
at the gun in my hand, before placing it on the bed next to me. I’ve
done enough to Jade. I can’t do this, too.

“Yeah. Shit. Now get
your ass on a plane to Paris.”

“Okay. I’ll come
play guard for someone who doesn’t need one. And thanks, Darcy.”

“This is what true
friends are for.”

“Yeah.

“Oh, and call Matt
and Aiden before they both have heart attacks.”

“I will.”

I dial Matt first,
knowing they’re probably together. “Nate. Thank God.”

“I’m going to Paris
to play guard for Darcy.”

“I knew she’d get
through to you.”

“How…how is she?”

He knows I mean Jade.
“Bad. Real bad.”

“You have to promise
to take care of her, Matt. Nothing can happen to her.”

“Reina’s got her
covered.”

“Thank you for
calling Darcy.”

“I’ve got your
back, and so does Aiden. Jake, too. We always will.”

“I can’t come back.
You know that right.”

“She’s going to
forgive you.”

“You don’t really
believe that.”

“Yeah, I do. She
loves you.”

“Not enough to get
over this.”

“You can’t give
up.”

“Says the man who
gave up ten years ago because he made a mistake.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Aiden is our only
hope.”

“God help us all.”

“I’ll call soon.”

“You better.”

I hang up and dial my
other best friend. “Damn you, Nate. You can’t go dark just
because some girl dumps you.”

“She’s not just
some girl.”

“I know that, but
fuck. You can’t just off yourself. Think about the rest of us you’d
be leaving behind. I know it’s selfish of me to guilt you like
that, but I couldn’t handle you not being around. Who would talk me
down when shit gets too real with me?”

“Darcy already beat
you to the guilt—she asked me to think about how Jade would handle
it.”

“She’s good. And
she’s right. Jade’s wrecked, and hurt, but she wouldn’t want
you to die.”

“Unless she killed me
herself.”

“Well, yeah.”

“I’m going to Paris
to hang out with Darcy and pretend to guard her on this mission.”

“You’re coming home
after that, right?”

“I don’t know that
I have a home anymore. Jade…she was my home. Even when we weren’t
together. I always knew that one of us would come back to the
Foundation, and be in the same city.”

“I’ll talk to her,
and I’ll talk to Ellie. Once she knows the whole story, she’ll
understand.”

“I really don’t
think so, but I won’t turn down the help.”

“You were a kid,
Nate. A hungry, scared kid.”

“I still had a choice
and I made the wrong one.”

“Who among us hasn’t
made the wrong choice?”

“Did you try to kill
Ellie’s dad?”

“No, but I could’ve.
Hell, I could’ve actually killed him, and not have known.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Hunt is cool with
you. That has to count for something.”

“She’ll think he
said that because he wanted her to be happy. She’s partly right;
although, he said he forgave me that night.”

“Go to Paris and
regroup. Then come home and win back your girl.”

“I won’t make a
promise that I can’t keep.”

“Be safe. And call me
or Matt if you feel the need to pick up a gun again.”

“I’ll have a gun
while I’m protecting Darcy. I have to pick it up every day.”

“You know what I
mean.”

“Thanks Aiden.”

“Thank me by keeping
yourself alive, and not giving up hope.”

He hangs up, and I
decide that if I can do at least one of those things, I’m somewhat
winning. I can’t keep hope alive, but I can keep myself that way. I
thank God again for bringing my friends into my life, and making them
such bulldogs. Depression is a cruel disease that no one deserves.
I’ve been medicated for years, and yet this one thing—albeit a
huge thing—sent me spiraling with nowhere to go but the barrel of a
gun. Not everyone has access to pills designed by a world-renowned
chemist like Audrey, a specialized therapist who’s available any
time day or night to take your call, or a group of friends who can
find you wherever you try to hide. Without these people, and the
women who lead the Society and have made those three things available
to me, I would’ve pulled the trigger long before now. I know that,
and so do they.

Jade

It’s been two weeks
since Nate left, and the pain hasn’t gone away, or even subsided.
I’m home in Vegas, but I haven’t been in to work. My dad came
back with us, but Heath stayed behind to run the gym. It turns out he
really wanted the job, but thought that taking care of my dad was
more important. Now that I’m here, I’m supposed to be taking care
of him, but I can’t.