Page 9

Chapter 9

Jay

I ’d struck a nerve when I called her Catie. Not that I could have known she didn’t like it, I was simply trying to get her attention. But the daredevil in me liked pushing her buttons, so seeing the anger flair in her intense blue eyes was all the encouragement I needed to pour gas on the fire.

“Aw, why not? Don’t you like it?” I teased.

Refusing to take the bait, she turned her back on me. Her perfect tight bun, so unlike my unruly wavy brown hair, taunted me.

I should’ve let it go, but I was itching for a fight and knew Maxwell could hold her own in a verbal match. Hell, she’ll probably wipe the floor with me . Which was part of the problem; I was tired of her, and everyone at SSI, treating me like I was stupid.

Just because the state of Texas required a year of on-the-job-training didn’t mean I didn’t have experience. I might not have a fancy degree, but I’d spent years in some of the worst hellholes imaginable. Environments where misreading body language or missing a clue resulted in death. Being observant was literally a matter of life and death.

I stepped up behind her, easily seeing over the top of her five-foot-seven head, and laughed. “What’s the matter Catie Cat, cat got-”

Before I had time to react, she spun and swung, landing a solid right cross to my jaw. The familiar taste of copper coated my tongue.

Holy shit . She just fucking hit me . Little Miss I-never-break-the-fucking-rules just hauled off and punched me.

Unable to help myself, I grinned. When I wiped the side of my mouth, my hand came away wet with blood.

Then I did the dumbest thing I could’ve done and laughed.

This time, I was ready when she swung. Grabbing her right wrist, I stepped behind her and twisted it behind her back.

“Let go of me!” she yelled, swinging her left fist.

I pulled her close to my chest so she couldn’t turn and use her left fist against me. I’d egged her on and deserved the punch, but that didn’t mean I’d let her keep striking.

She answered with her left elbow.

Strong and fueled by a fuck ton of hatred, her elbow did some damage. Not broken rib damage, but I’d have a bruise. Reminders of the day I crossed the line and made my partner lose her shit. I grabbed her other wrist and wrapped her in a bear hug. Holy shit, she smells good, like strawberries and champagne .

As irrational as it was, her smelling good pissed me off. Instead of apologizing and putting an end to the madness, I said, “You only get one freebie, Catie Cat. After that, I fight back.” I wouldn’t. Not really. But I was more than capable, and willing, to restrain her so she couldn’t hit me again.

She went perfectly still. I should’ve sensed the calm before the storm, but I was too busy gloating.

Maxwell corrected my misperception by head-butting me, making my head snap back. She might drive me crazy, but I had to respect her determination . I was still off balance when she hooked her foot around the inside of my ankle, yanking my leg out from under me.

Impressive . Before I could put my foot back down, she hooked the other ankle.

Very impressive . Reacting instinctively, I tightened my grip as I fell to make sure I landed on my back, ensuring I’d cushion her fall.

When we landed, I slammed into her trashcan and sent it flying with a crash.

Maxwell elbowed me as soon as I released her hands.

We thrashed on the floor, each trying to get up but getting caught on the other.

“ENOUGH!” My father’s voice echoed through the room.

I pulled away from Maxwell and stood up. It’d be a miracle if he didn’t fire us. No, just me. I won’t let him fire Maxwell because of my stupidity.

Maxwell stood right beside me.

Neither of us made eye contact.

“What the hell is going on in here?” he demanded .

I doubted Maxwell had ever heard that particular question from my father, but I had. Which meant I knew it was rhetorical and it was best not to answer right away.

And under no circumstances should you defend yourself or blame the other person.

At first, neither of us spoke. We stood at attention, arms rigid by our sides, our focus straight ahead but not making eye contact with my father. At least I assumed she’d also reverted to what they’d taught us in boot camp.

My father waited in the doorway, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

Maxwell gave in first. She lifted her head and squared her shoulders. “I’m sorry, sir. I lost my temper and hit Jaden. I was out of line.”

“Is that true, Sheppard?” Hearing my father call me Sheppard solidified just how much trouble I was in. Shadows moved beyond my father’s shoulders. Great, just what I need, an audience.

Something I said sent her way over the edge. If I’d known that'd happen I would’ve backed down. It was fun pushing Maxwell’s buttons, riling her up, but I didn’t want to get her in trouble.

Following Maxwell’s lead, I made direct eye contact. “Partially, sir, I pushed her buttons, relentlessly, trying to make her act out. I deserved the hit.”

Her head whipped about forty-five degrees before she recovered from the shock and turned forward again.

I’m not the asshole you think I am .

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t suspend both of you right now.”

I didn’t hesitate to answer, “Because Maxwell is the best chance we have for finding Wendy.”

Dad asked, “Maxwell?”

“Because Sheppard’s intuition and insights are invaluable. The case will suffer if you pull him from it.”

It was my turn to be shocked.

We waited while my father stared at us, deciding what to do. I relied on my training to keep my muscles from twitching at the discomfort of being in his crosshairs.

“Consider this your first, and only, warning. If I so much as see one of you give the other a dirty look, I’ll suspend you both.”

“Yes, sir.” We answered in unison. The Marines trained us well.

“Clean this place up.” He looked at his watch. “I want you both in my office in an hour with an update.”

“Yes, sir.” We waited for him to leave before moving.

Dad turned around and yelled, “Get back to work, all of you.”

If it weren’t for the sound of the trash clinking as we tossed it in the bin, you could have heard a pin drop in our office.

Before getting back to work I washed my face with the water from my bottle. There was no way in hell I’d risk leaving the office and having to face my brothers after what had just happened.

The side of my mouth was tender where she’d split my lip .

If I wasn’t worried about starting another fight, I might have complimented her on throwing a hell of a punch.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her stretching her right hand. It hurt like hell to punch someone and her hand would swell before long, but she didn’t need me telling her that.

I typed up my notes, creating a time line with links and photos, and emailed them to Maxwell.

“Thank you.” My mail icon alerted me to an incoming message. “I’ll combine these tonight and we-”

Her phone alarm went off. Because, of course, she set an alarm for ten minutes before we had to be in my father’s office.

Her printer whirred to life and started spitting out pages.

I’d thought she was crazy when I realized she’d bought a printer for her office when the company had a fancy one for everyone to use. When I’d asked her why, she explained it made her life easier and kept her from losing her train of thought while she worked.

After sharing an office with her for eight weeks, I could see the benefit. I’d never dared to use it, but for the first time, I was grateful she had it. If she’d had to wait for the shared printer, she might be late.

No. We might be late; because, like it or not, we were a team.

And I wasn’t about to fuck up twice in one day.

Everything she does makes sense, in hindsight.

“Ready?” she asked as she grabbed the papers and put them in an orange file folder. Everything about this case was color-coded orange. Post-it notes, highlighters, folders .

Catelyn Maxwell was one well-organized, extremely efficient, pain in my ass.

I knocked on my father’s closed door two minutes before our scheduled time.

Jamie opened it, and moved off to our right. Jack leaned against the filing cabinets to our left.

Great, do they think we need chaperones for the meeting ? Or were we about to get three versions of a lecture?

“Have a seat,” my father said.

Our asses hit our seats at the same time; we held the same ‘at attention’ postures and neutral facial expressions.

“We’re going to have a little chat before you give us your updates.” Dad leaned forward on his desk and folded his hands together.

We gave identical micro nods.

“Your little display earlier was unacceptable.”

“Yes, sir,” we answered together.

“We know there's tension between you, but this.” He shook his head. “I’m disappointed in you.” He said it to both of us, but I knew it was directed at me. The family mistake. I’d bet my left lung Jamie and Jack had never gotten into a fist fight in the office.

“Sorry, sir.” For two people who couldn’t stand each other, we were shockingly in sync. The Marine in us wouldn’t let us hang our heads in shame, but it was obvious we both felt it.

“It surprised me to hear you defend each other,” my father said, leaning back .

Jamie picked up where Dad left off. “It gives up hope the two of you can sort out your shit and work together like mature adults.” Just because I deserved the less-than-subtle insult, didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

I had every intention of being a mature adult when I returned home and took the job at SSI. So what the hell happened?

I had to share an office with an intelligent, red-headed perfectionist who drove me crazy. The way she never had a hair out of place. The way she straightened her desk every time she left the office. The way she tapped her pen on her chin when she was concentrating.

The way I felt when I was near her. Like I’d never be good enough.

“We need to know if we can trust you to work together, without creating a mess and destroying the company’s reputation,” Jack added his two cents.

“You tell us, do we need to reassign the case?” Dad asked.

Neither of us rushed to speak. I didn’t know if they’d see it as a good sign or a bad one, but I took a moment to think before answering.

Could we? I wasn’t so sure. Maxwell was brilliant, but everything about her rubbed me the wrong way.