• dedicated to lilacrachel for being such a sweetheart, i appreciate you more than you'll ever know •

[ 14 ]

The next morning, I woke up with a splitting headache. It instantly put me in a bad mood, and hearing shouting on the other side of the door wasn't helping matters.

"I don't need your lecture, Ethan!" That voice distinctly sounded like Carter's and I immediately sat up. Carter's back?

According to Ethan, he'd been away from camp, so I hadn't had time to get to really talk to him, save for our first meeting.

"What do you need then? For Ivan to break up with you?" Ethan asked harshly.

My eyes widened. Carter was attached? Ivan... He's gay?

"Don't." Carter's voice was low, but even I could hear the warning in his tone.

"Don't what? Call it like it is? Fine, but you don't get to come crying to me when Ivan finally realises he deserves better and-" Ethan broke off suddenly and I heard a groan.

Carter must have punched him.

I scrambled out of bed and rushed out of my room. Ethan was my client after all, so it was my duty to protect him. At least, that's what I tried to tell myself as I approached the scene. It was definitely not my own curiosity. I was just trying to do my job.

When I reached the guys, I saw that Ethan was cradling his cheek while Carter stood there, his fists still clenched.

I could almost see the waves of the tension between the two of them. The air was charged and no one said a single word.

My throat cleared on a cough. "Well," I said brightly, trying to neutralise the situation, "this is certainly an interesting way to start the day."

Both men didn't look at me, their eyes still trained on each other.

"You're not my mother, Ethan," Carter said lowly, those blue eyes alight with restrained fury.

"No," Ethan countered, his tone matching Carter's, "I'm your conscience."

Carter clenched his fists. "I'm walking away from this because I'm a mature adult. Come find me when you're being one too." Then, he turned on his heel and walked towards the door.

But before he could get out, Ethan delivered one last blow. "So you call cheating and going behind your partner being an adult? I don't know about you, Carter, but I think coming clean and having integrity is more important than 'being an adult'," he quoted exaggeratedly.

Carter turned around, shooting Ethan a glare so poisonous I almost withered there and then. Kaden would love to master that glare. Unclenching his fists, Carter released a breath and walked out without saying a word, the door slamming behind him as he left.

Ethan continued to stand there, not moving an inch. I felt uncomfortable just standing there, so I went to where Ethan was. Seeing the blood on his cheek, my hands flew up to the injury before I could stop myself. "Do you need me to clean it up?" I asked.

But as my fingers made contact with his skin, Ethan flinched, his reaction as swift as the knife entering my gut. I felt the rejection even without him saying a word. Somewhere deep in my heart, that rejection stung. But I didn't let that show.

Retracting immediately, I looked down at the floor, feeling horribly embarassed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have-" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"What are you doing here?"

I stumbled back at his harsh tone. "What?"

"Shouldn't you have slept in the security room downstairs? What are you doing in my house?"

"What?" I repeated, unable to say anything else.

It was a miracle, considering I was almost shaking with a mix of fear and anger. Fear because this Ethan was not the Ethan that I knew. Anger because he was being an asshole.

"You heard me," he said curtly, not a trace of apology in his tone.

Heat was spreading through me and my breaths quickened. What was he doing?

After whatever he told me last night, I thought we'd grown closer. That maybe, we'd passed the threshold of the boundaries of our professional relationship.

Then why was he acting this coldly towards me?

Naively, I'd thought that after last night, something had changed between us. That maybe, we could be more than what we were now.

But of course I was wrong. I was always wrong when it came to matters of the heart.

"I know you're emotional right now," I started shakily. "But that doesn't give you the right to lash out at me."

Ethan looked at me, those green eyes flashing a kind of hostility I wasn't used to. "Have you forgotten your place, Jade? I'm your boss."

I sucked in a quick breath, feeling every barb in his words slash against my skin. On the outside, it'd look like I'd barely moved, but on the inside, a fire burned through every fibre of my being and I could hear my blood rushing in between my ears.

"What did you just say?" I said as calmly as I could, trying not to show how affected I was. Never show your weakness to the enemy. That was what my mentor had drilled into my head during training.

The ache in my chest refused to subside and last night's memories played in my head once again. He was so open, so willing to share. The hurt of his betrayal slice through me and I winced physically.

Ethan kept quiet, his silence speaking louder than his words ever could.

Willing the walls that had started to crack around my heart to come back up, I took a step away from the person who'd become a source of pain.

"I apologise," I said to him, my voice thick with tears, "for overstepping."

Then, I turned and walked out of there. At least, I hoped I'd walked and not ran. That would have been humiliating.

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I was in the security room, knowing that Ethan would never come down here.

"Hey Jade," Trevor called as he entered the room. "It's your shift now. I'm gonna go get lunch. Any requests?"

"Ooh," Riley piped up excitedly. "Can you get me ramen? I want the real deal, not the shitty instant noodle kind."

Trevor rolled his eyes. "Of course, Your Majesty. What about you, Xander?"

The man in question merely grunted.

Riley spoke up for him. "He'll have the same as me. Thanks, Trev."

Trevor nodded and threw the report file at me. "Help me fill in my hours and go upstairs after you're done." And the door slammed just like that.

I groaned as I filled in Trevor's hours. "What a lazy hoe," I muttered to myself.

"Get your ass up there girl," Riley said, grinning. "You don't want anything happening to Ethan in those few minutes he's left alone."

The thought of being with Ethan was enough to give me a headache. My hands reached up to rub my temples and I looked at her pleadingly. "Can you cover for me? Please? I'm not feeling very well."

The red head's gaze swept up and down my body suspiciously. "You're not feeling well?"

"Yes," I emphasised. "And plus, you owe me a favour."

After asking Riley about the club incident, I learned that she went into the club to look for us because I was gone too long. Seemed like Ethan wasn't too far away from the truth, after all.

Just thinking about him caused a sharp pain in my chest and I winced.

Riley had apologised and swore up and down that she'd make up for her negligence and incompetence that night next time. And this was where I was going to cash that in.

She threw a wad of used tissue paper at me. "Don't be a dick."

"Ri, please. I'm really not feeling well," I pleaded. I didn't want to see Ethan, especially not after the morning we just had.

His harsh words were still fresh in my mind and I found my resentment against him growing as time passed.

What right did he have to speak to me that way? Just because he was technically my boss doesn't give him any leeway. I was still a human being!

"Fine," she sighed, standing up reluctantly.

"Love you too, Ri," I called out as she left.

When the sound of the door closing echoed through the room, I realised I was actually alone with Xander Sharpe. And it struck me then that I hadn't really had the chance to talk to him properly before.

But before I could start up a conversation with him, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said when I picked up the call.

"Hey Jade," Jaspar answered. "I need a favour."

"What is it?"

"Jaden just told me about this crazy idea he has and I think it's great, but there's just a tiny problem of capi-"

"Oh hell no," I cut him off. "I'm not giving him any more money. None of his ventures have ever worked out."

"C'mon, Jade, this is really good, I swear."

"You say that every time."

"This time is different."

"You say that every time too."

"Please, Jade," Jaspar pleaded.

I sighed. "How much?"

There was silence for a minute then, "Sixty thousand dollars."

"What?" I exclaimed. "He might as well go rob a bank!"

"It includes the debts from his last venture as well," Jaspar added tentatively. "Jade, come on."

I bit down on my lower lip. "I wouldn't mind it if this was for you, Jasper. But he really needs to know when to stop. Losing this much money at this age can't be normal. Honestly, he needs to-"

"I sold Falcon."

My words died in mid-air. "Hold on, what?"

Jasper didn't speak.

"Did you just say you sold Falcon?"

I was met with silence.

He loved Falcon. How could he have sold his best friend? Jasper would do anything for his motorcycle. To know that he sold it to help Jaden... Shame coursed through my blood.

"Fine," I relented begrudgingly. "Sixty thousand, right?"

"I knew you'd cave! Yes, it's sixty thousand. Thank you so much, Jade!" He sounded so happy it brought a smile to my face.

"Glad to be of service," I said dryly.

Jasper laughed before turning serious again. "How are you going to raise the money?"

My hands ran through my hair. "I don't know. I'll figure it out."

There was a wary silence. "Is it too much to ask for? Dammit, I should've sold Falcon at a higher price."

The protective part of me couldn't help but reassure him when I heard the anxiety in his voice. "No, no, no, no. It's fine. Don't worry, Jasper. I'll take care of it."

His answer was wary. "Are you sure? I'm an adult too, you know. I can work more shifts and help you out."

"No way," I told him without hesitation. "Just, forget about this and focus on college. Consider it taken care of."

"Alright." He didn't sound convinced, but I'd take what I could get.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"You'd better. Mom and Dad misses you a lot, you know."

I smiled at that. "Tell them I miss them too."

"Alright, bye!"

There was a click and then he was gone.

I tossed my phone on the table and groaned out loud. How was I going to get the money?

"You okay?" Xander asked, the first time he'd ever spoke directly to me.

My mouth fell open and I just stared at him as if he was an exotic animal in the zoo.

At my silence, Xander soured and turned away. "Never mind," he muttered.

"No! Sorry, I was just... thinking, about stuff. I'm okay!" I scrambled to answer, then sighed when he rose a brow. "Fine, wait, I'm not okay but whatever. No one wants to hear that, right?"

Xander stared at me weirdly. "You're not going to break down on me, are you?"

I blinked. "No."

The man physically relaxed. "Thank God. Riley's more than enough for me."

Seeing the opportunity, I  jumped on it immediately. "So," I started casually, "what's up with you and Riley?"

"Riley and I are just... Riley and I."

"How mindblowingly insightful," I drawled sarcastically. "Come on, Xander," I prodded. "Are the two of you together or just really good friends?"

"Friends," he repeated, as if testing the word on his tongue. "I guess we're that. Friends. But then again, we're so much more than that. She's like my... sorella."

"Sorella?" I repeated the foreign word.

"Yes." A fond smile touched his lips. "Mia sorella."

"What's that?"

"Sister," Xander translated for me. "It's Italian."

My eyes widened. "I didn't know you were Italian. You look so American!"

Those lips curved into a wry smile. "I get that a lot. Doesn't help that my name is Xander, and not Antonio or anything like that."

I chuckled. "Well, I like the name Xander. It's nice."

He gave me a smile, a small one, but a smile nonetheless. Though he didn't say anything, I knew we were getting along. I thought of Riley and Trevor and of all the progress we'd made over the last few weeks.

I was getting to know these people and it both excited and worried me at the same time. Excited because it was always fun to get to know someone new. Worried because I had never grown so attached to a case before.

What would happen after this case was over and I had to leave?

Pushing those painful thoughts aside, I tried to focus on the computer screen in front of me and got back to work.

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sit tight, everyone, because something huge is going to happen a few chapters later. it's now the calm before the storm, so enjoy it while it lasts! please vote and comment if you liked this chapter, it'd really make my day!

much love,
fleur xoxo