Chapter Nineteen

“What are your plans after you get promoted?” Jake propped his feet on the coffee table, prompting a derisive grunt from Sebastian, who had finally shown back up when I got home. “Buying another new truck? Going on vacation?”

I popped the last bite of naan into my mouth and shrugged. “Just got a new one, just had a four-month vacation.”

“Not sure recovering from major surgery is a vacation, but sure.” He leaned his head against the back of the couch. “I think…I’m going to go on an extended vacation.”

My mouth fell open. “You serious?”

He looked over at me. “Wasn’t the same without you, Mina.” He sighed. “I mean, Scalzi was cool. We got along fine, but the reason why this job was so good was because I got to work with my best friend.”

I elbowed him. “You’re a dork. SHAP is your life. You literally just said so two weeks ago.”

“Lives can change in a matter of moments.” He toyed with his watchband. “Did I tell you Daisy’s powers were authenticated?”

I turned my entire body to face him, sitting cross-legged on the couch. “It’s for sure? She’s a witch?”

“Not fully developed, but definitely confirmed. Don’t know if it will be more than parlor tricks or if she’ll be one of the powerful ones. That’s what I intend to help with.”

“Intend to help…” I blinked hard then laughed, disbelieving. “You’re leaving active duty to become a glorified nanny?”

SHAP assigned private duty agents to those who wanted low-risk field assignments. They were matched with a minor or group of people who had recently come into their abilities or supernatural status. Typically, Daisy’s private tutor would be another witch, but with Jake’s family connection and history with SHAP, he’d likely be approved as her agent.

He shot me a dirty look. “No, I’m leaving active duty to help take care of my family. You were always part of that family, but once you’re RD, she’ll need me more than you do. She’s brand new to this and Eliza is freaked. Anyway, it’ll probably be easier on my old bones.”

Jake’s bones were technically only six months older than mine. But doing the physical jobs that we did, surviving the falls and the crashes, made our bodies feel a hundred. My shoulder twinged as a reminder that I hadn’t been stretching it like I should.

My chest hurt at the thought of him leaving life as a field agent. I should open my mouth and say thank you. You’re my family, too. In fact, you’re probably the best part of my family. I support you. I think what you’re doing for Daisy is the bravest, most kind thing an uncle can do. You need to take care of you, which includes your body.

Instead, I panicked. Change was scary, even though I was the one who was implementing it. I opened my mouth wide and stuck my foot inside. “You don’t need to worry about taking care of me. I’ve been on my own for a long time.”

His face went cold. “I don’t know what the hell your problem has been recently, but, babe, you haven’t been on your own for a long time. Yeah, you got the short end of the stick when it came to your dad. But I have always been by your side. So has Eliza. So has our family.”

“I see I’m also chopped liver,” Sebastian added.

Just apologize, Mina. Pull foot out, close mouth. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Wow, I was actually making it worse. “I’m not saying you’re not my family. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to be somewhere you don’t want to be because we used to be inseparable.”

My former therapist would probably say this was me projecting my feelings onto Jake. That I was totally freaked out about why I felt so off balance with this case and couldn’t be vulnerable enough to admit it. Especially after the accident left me physically vulnerable for months. She would also probably tell me to be an adult and discuss what was really going on. Apparently, I wasn’t going to do any of that, just stand back and self-destruct.

I stood and cleaned up dinner, dropping the dishes into the sink. Jake followed me into the kitchen and brushed me out of the way, rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. Every movement vibrated with controlled fury. Sebastian clucked his tongue and disappeared. He hated confrontation. I left Jake in the kitchen and sat down in the armchair, giving us both space—me to reflect on my stupid choices, and him to cool down.

He limped back into the living room, clearly hurting and still pissed. “You need to figure out whatever the hell is going on with you. I can’t believe…”

He just stared at me like I was a stranger. “My entire family sat in the hospital waiting room for days, waiting for you to wake up. My mother had to bully your father into giving us permission to see you in intensive care.”

Heat washed over me, anger and embarrassment. “I never asked for any of you to be there! To sit there while they patched me up. I don’t owe you for being where I didn’t want you!”

I gasped and slapped my hand over my mouth. That was the cruelest thing I had ever said. “I didn’t mean any of that,” I whispered, but it was too late.

He held up his hand. “I’m going to give you some space before we both say anything else we can’t take back.” He leaned over, kissed the side of my head, and grabbed his keys from his pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I stood there for a long moment, staring at the closed door. Maybe I really should find a new therapist. Mine had decided to move across the country to someplace where there wasn’t seven months of winter, and it had to be someone who believed in supernatural beings but had no connection to my father. My terms.

Sebastian popped in. “Do you want to speak or run?”

“Run.”