Fuck, I’m getting so good at lying. I’m just making shit up on the fly, and it sounds plausible.
“So,” I continue, bringing her hand up to my mouth to kiss the wedding band there. “I’d like to try to catch an earlier flight back to Pittsburgh if you don’t mind.”
She smiles, then nods her agreement. “Of course. How long will you be gone?”
Fuck if I know. If all goes well, I could be back by the end of the week. If the ELN proves to be hard asses, it could be a lot longer. But I can’t tell her that.
Instead, I roll the dice and promise, “I should be back by Friday. Then we’ll be able to really start our lives together.”
I’m rewarded with her arms around my neck and her mouth on mine, telling me that she’s looking forward to it.CHAPTER 16CageI woke up early, kissed my sleeping wife, who didn’t stir, and left her apartment.
Our apartment, I guess.
We had made it back from Vegas to Pittsburgh, then spent the rest of the evening just chilling at her place. We ordered pizza and watched movies. While I’ve probably done that a million times by myself, it was magical doing it with Jaime. I love how she snuggled into me on the couch, and even more when she fell asleep on me and I carried her into bed.
She was exhausted, given our lengthy travel over a weekend, a night of hard partying, the adrenaline rush of a spontaneous wedding, and a hangover while traveling back to Pittsburgh. What I wouldn’t have given last night—and even this morning—to make love to her, but she needed the rest, and I’d have the rest of my life to do that.
It’s been more than twenty-four hours now since we tied the knot. Still, I don’t have a single fucking regret about it. I thought that might come at some point, but, so far, I’m glad we did it. Someone could argue with me until they were blue in the face, but I’ll never believe for a single moment that we weren’t already destined to arrive in the state of holy matrimony at some point.
I’ve been at Jameson since seven-thirty. Jaime thinks I left early to head to the airport for the “car auction” in Georgia. Now that lie I do regret, same as the others, but there’s somewhat of a balm over it in that I had intended to tell her the truth this weekend. It’s just with me going away for several days on a mission, well, I could not drop that bomb on her and leave.
It will, however, be the first thing I do when I return at the end of the week. Or, at least, that’s hopefully when I’ll return. If the mission goes longer, I don’t know what I’ll do.
After a long workout, a quick shower, and a quicker breakfast, which was downing a protein shake, I head down to the second floor. We’ll have a logistical meeting in a few hours with the team that will be joining me in Colombia. It will be Malik, Jackson, and one of the other agents who is fairly new here, Ladd McDermott. We’ll also have the backing of the Colombian army as well.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spy Anna coming out of her office.
“Anna, Anna, Anna,” I call out to get her attention, weaving my way through desks over to her.
“Hey,” she exclaims, a bright smile on her face that says she’s happy to see me.
I look around the second floor, noting most agents are at their desks with heads bowed over laptops, then grab Anna by the elbow to lead her back into her office.
“Hey,” she grumbles, trying to pull away.
I hold her firmly. “Sorry. But I really need to talk. It’s an emergency.”
Once in her office, I release her arm and pull the door shut behind us. Because I’m vibrating a bit with nervous energy, I start pacing back and forth. Her office is so small that I only get two steps before I have to turn around again.
“What’s wrong?” Anna demands.
I jerk from her words, my head snapping her way. She’s not going to like what I’m about to tell her. My gaze moves to the door. Maybe I should just leave.
“Cage,” she snaps, and I can tell she’s lost her patience. “Tell me what it is, and I’ll help you fix it.”
The expression on her face is pinched and worried. I bet she thinks I robbed a bank or something. Better disabuse her of that. “I got married.”
“You what?” she exclaims.
“I got married,” I repeat, a little softer as I drop into a chair.
“Got married,” she says slowly as if she doesn’t quite believe she’s heard me straight. “To whom?”
I roll my eyes. “To Jaime.”
Anna crosses her arms, one eyebrow cocked. “You told her the truth about what you do, right?”