Page 10 of Rescuing Micah (Prey Security: Cyber Team #3)

“Nope, I’m good to come in,” he told her, making it clear that he wasn't going to back down. While he’d had a good relationship with both his parents growing up and still did, Mrs. Dash had been like a second mom to him for those three years he’d dated Teresa, and Arthur was like the sibling he’d wanted when he was a kid.

It was clear that Teresa didn't like that idea, and was shocked by his decision by the way her mouth dropped open and anger sparked in her wide, chocolate brown eyes. “Wow. That’s … I don’t even know what to call that. They know.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. If she’d already told her mom, and possibly Arthur, although he doubted she would have talked about having an orgy with her mentally disabled little brother, then why did she care if he came in? Embarrassment?

That couldn’t be right, because she looked furious, not mortified.

No matter how hard Micah tried, he couldn’t understand where her anger was coming from. She’d cheated on him, she had no right to be angry. Yet she was. More than angry, it was like she hated him.

Which was hardly fair.

So he could have handled things better back then, confronted her and ended things rather than ghosting her, blocking her, and then dropping out of college and joining the military.

But he’d been young and devastated. His handling of her betrayal was no reason for her to hold this much hostility toward him. Certainly not over a decade later.

After all, he was the wronged party, and he was willing to lay the past to rest and look to the future instead.

Wait.

Was he?

The thought had come out of nowhere, but the more he pondered it, the more he realized it was true.

Teresa had hurt him deeply, but he couldn’t deny that those feelings from when he was a teenager still existed.

He just wasn't sure what to do with them. If nothing else, he’d like to maybe be friends with Teresa again.

With Nathaniel and Ava being together, it was inevitable that occasionally their paths were going to cross.

May as well make that as pleasant for everybody, themselves included, as possible.

“I don’t mind them seeing me,” he added, hoping that reassured her that, from his end, things could be okay again, if she was willing. They would talk later, sort out everything, but for now he wanted to keep his focus on the job he’d signed up for. Protecting her from any threats.

“Umm, all right then?” It came out sounding like a question instead of a statement, and confusion swirled in the chocolatey depths of her eyes.

There was something else there, too.

Something that almost looked like … hope?

Did she regret what she did back then? Wish she hadn't ruined what they had? Was she really angry at herself and not at him at all?

They both climbed out of his rental, and Micah quickly rounded it to stick close to Teresa’s side in case there was a problem.

Not that he expected one. There had been a tail when they left her place this morning, but he’d easily lost it.

They’d argued on the way there about her moving into Prey, but she’d been adamant that she didn't want to. When they got there, he’d circled the block twice to make sure no one was watching the building, and only once he was confident there wasn't, he parked.

Still better safe than sorry.

“What’s your mom doing these days?” he asked, partly to make small talk and partly because he just liked the sound of Teresa’s voice. He’d missed it a whole lot more than he would let himself accept.

He had no idea what it was about this woman who still had the ability to tie him up in knots, but he regretted more and more that he hadn't confronted her back then and talked things through.

Who knew, maybe there would have been hope for them, even though it had been impossible to see that back then.

“Mostly, she takes care of Arthur full-time. Takes him to his appointments, and his job.”

“What does he do?”

“Helps out at a local thrift store run by a charity. Mostly just putting clothes that people donated onto hangers so they can be set up in the store, but he loves it. He's so social, and he’s really popular there, lots of the customers make time to chat with him. It’s nice, makes him feel special, and he deserves that. ”

“He does,” Micah agreed.

“Mom was able to quit two of her jobs when I started working at Prey. She stuck with teaching singing lessons because that was always her passion. But it’s nice, now she doesn’t have to work as hard, and she can focus more of her time on Arthur, who is thriving.”

It was nice that her mom didn't have to work as hard, but Teresa was working hard.

Still supporting her family, only in a different way now. Contributing to her own living expenses, which even split three ways would be a fair bite of her salary, she was then taking care of her mom and brother as well. Did that leave enough for her to take proper care of herself? Treat herself?

He could guess it didn't, and that she hadn't thought twice about her decision to keep looking after her family.

That was who she was. Kind, thoughtful, responsible, hardworking, and selfless.

Which made catching her cheating such a shocking blow. He had quite literally never seen it coming. Of all the people in the world who might cheat on a partner, Teresa Dash had seemed like the least likely.

“It’s amazing that you still take care of them.”

“They're my family and I love them,” she said simply.

“How is Simon doing these days?”

They were almost at the front door of the building, but Teresa froze, the color drained from her face, and pure terror danced across her features.

For a second, Micah thought she’d seen something, and his hand reached for his weapon as he scanned the area in search of whatever had scared Teresa.

When he found nothing out of the ordinary, nothing he would consider a threat, he returned his gaze to her to find that fine tremors were wracking her body.

She swallowed audibly. “He’s out of prison, still on drugs, though,” she whispered.

Something in her voice had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

He hadn't kept up with anything that she or her family had done over the last decade, and his focus the other night was finding out about Teresa, not her family. Within a week of catching her cheating on him, he’d quit college and enlisted, shipped out to basic training, so he had no idea what the fallout from his disappearance had been.

Had things with Simon spiraled over the intervening years?

Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if they had. Simon Dash had already been on a path to ruining not just his own life but others as well. By the time he was in his early teens, he’d already progressed from petty theft to assault, and he was sure those crimes had continued to escalate, especially since Teresa said he hadn't gotten clean.

“I'm sorry,” he said, not exactly sure what he was apologizing for, but he hated that her brother’s criminal activity had obviously taken such a toll on Teresa.

“We don’t talk about him,” she said, her voice earnest now, her eyes pleading with him to understand, only he got the feeling he didn't really understand any of what she was trying to convey. “Please don’t bring him up in front of my mom or Arthur. Arthur, he … he doesn’t fully understand, but he gets enough to be upset.

And my mom. What Simon did broke something inside her.

So please, don’t mention him when we’re with them. Not at all.”

“Okay,” he quickly assured her, wanting to calm her growing panic. “I won't say anything,” he promised.

But he couldn’t promise that he wouldn't look more into Simon Dash as soon as he had the opportunity to, because the level of fear and desperation Teresa had just demonstrated was more than excessive. Something was going on that she hadn't told him, and he wanted to know what it was.