Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Cass’s head hurt. The pain wasn’t as intense as it had been, but it was enough that she wished she could rip it out of her head like ripping off a Band-Aid.

She massaged her temples, too afraid to close her eyes. The last couple of times she’d done that, she’d had those flashbacks. She wasn’t going to call them “visions” anymore because she wasn’t a psychic.

After what she’d discovered in the last week, there was no other way to label them anything but repressed memories. Somehow, like unlocking that damned file, Cass had opened a different file in the far recesses of her mind.

The silence of her living room closed in on her. The quiet normally didn’t bother her, but tonight, it irritated her like the itch from a mosquito bite.

Dropping her hands, she stood and headed to her kitchen.

Maybe some food would help with the ache. Doubtful, but Cass couldn’t sit on the couch wallowing.

Neither the refrigerator nor her cupboard held anything she wanted to eat.

Looks like takeout again.

She really should do better with food choices, but she usually worked late and cooking had never been her favorite thing to do. Computers and writing programs? Yes, Cass was a whizz. Anything that required measuring out ingredients? Not so much. She could do it. She just didn’t enjoy it as much.

The sound of her doorbell pealed through her house, and she sighed. It wasn’t a mystery who was behind the door.

Before she’d left the office, Eveline had looked at her with concern. She’d probably rallied the troops—aka Astrid and Teresa—who were now likely standing on the other side of her door.

It was a Friday night, and she totally expected them to be spending their evening with their significant others. However, it wouldn’t surprise her if their partners had encouraged them to check on her, particularly her boss, Ox. He’d hovered over a little bit more the last couple of days.

Maybe they brought food. If they did, she’d be more than happy to see them. No, that was a lie. Even without food, she’d be happy to see them.

The last year had seen her close girlfriend quota increase from zero to three.

Making her way to the door, Cass pasted on a smile, determined to show that the ache in her head wasn’t intensifying and she was back to her normal self.

She doubted they’d see through the ruse. Her friends were all very observant and could tell when she was faking it. Something she was doing less and less around them, as she’d become more comfortable with their presence.

Cass took a second to center herself before opening the door, the smile disappearing when she took him in. “Irish, what are you doing here?”

The last time she’d seen him, he’d stormed out of her office. That’d been three days ago. During that period, she hadn’t seen much of him at all.

A few times, Cass had felt his presence as he walked past her office. It was as though she had an internal radar that pinged loudly whenever he was close, but it was surprising it hadn’t done that when she’d walked up to the door.

“I heard you had a headache. I came to check to see if you were okay.”

Ahh, so instead of rallying the girl troops, Eveline had targeted Irish to check on her.

Or maybe she was being unfair to Eveline and Irish, and he’d come of his own accord.

“I’m fine. It’s not that bad.” Cass smiled, hoping to hide the grimace of pain as another shaft of pain pierced her skull.

“Right. I can totally see that. Are you hungry? I brought Japanese.” Irish held up the plastic bag she hadn’t noticed in his hand.

Her stomach growled at the thought of chicken katsu. Would he have also ordered some cucumber and avocado sushi? She wasn’t a fan of seafood sushi, but she loved the vegetarian option. As much as she didn’t want to be in Irish’s orbit—because ever since he’d kissed her a few nights ago, being around him and ignoring her attraction to him was getting harder and harder.

“I am hungry. Please come in.” Cass stepped to the side to allow him entrance, and his musky scent curled around her, tempting her to lean in and inhale deeply.

As impossible as it was, she controlled herself and closed the door, ensuring that it was securely locked and she’d put the chain across, something she hadn’t done when she’d come home from work. Something Irish would comment on if she didn’t do it, regardless of her state-of-the-art security system.

Before she joined Irish in the kitchen, she picked up her phone and selected her music streaming service and pulled up one of her favorite playlists—she couldn’t wait to see his reaction.

She allowed a small smile as she headed for the kitchen where she could hear Irish getting plates and cutlery.

It should bother her that he’d made himself at home and helped himself to the items in her cupboards and drawers, but she didn’t care. He’d been there before, and if she was being honest with herself, she liked when he came over—and took over.

“What did you get?” Cass asked.

“All your favorites.” He held out a small cover plastic tray, and she knew exactly what was in it. “And why this music?”

She laughed. “Because I happen to like BTS. If you want blame anyone, blame Angela.”

A shadow crossed Irish’s face, and she wished she could snatch the words back.

Even though it had been a while ago, the memory that Angela’s husband, Silver, had been attacked while Irish had been tasked with watching over Angela, the guilt still hit him. Everything had turned out fine, and neither Silver nor Angela blamed Irish, but he still blamed himself.

The man was complicated, but he cared deeply for those he was assigned to look after. Cared about what he did and how his actions affected people.

It was one of the things Cass admired about him. Irish’s capacity for always thinking of others and not himself, which was why she understood why he’d done what he’d done on his last Delta mission. Not that he knew she knew about it. That secret was going to stay with her—forever.

When she’d selected the playlist, it’d been for a bit of fun, not to bring up bad memories. It probably would’ve been fine if she hadn’t mentioned Angela.

Time to try and chase those shadows away.

Cass canted her head to the tray in his hand. “Extra soy sauce?”

“Of course.” Irish bestowed her with one of his rare smiles. The one that crinkled the corners of his eyes and made his blue eyes soften a little from their usual intensity.

Just like that, the shadows were gone, and relief swept down her back .

She pulled off the plastic lid, where two extra containers of sauce sat. There was just something about the salty taste of soy sauce that made sushi so much better.

Irish joined her at the table with a similar container, only his held sashimi.

“I don’t know how you can eat raw fish.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it.” He popped a piece in his mouth, chewing enthusiastically.

For the next few minutes, they ate in silence, and the atmosphere was comfortable, as if their annoyance with each other from their last encounter hadn’t even occurred.

Cass wiped her mouth and sat back. “That was just what I needed.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re full. I’ve got a katsu chicken bento box for you. Minus the seafood sushi. I made sure they didn’t include it.”

That was Irish, always going above and beyond for her. Something he’d always done and something she always appreciated.

“Thanks. And I’m far from full.” Cass collected up the discarded plastic trays and disposed of them while Irish got the rest of their food out and laid it out on the table .

The scene was super domestic, as if they’d done it a thousand times, not the few occasions they had.

What would it be like for this to happen every night?

For them to come home from work together, make dinner, and eat it at the table. After eating and cleaning up they’d head to the living room to talk or watch tv, cuddle up against each other until it was time for bed where they’d fall into each other’s arms and make love.

Heat simmered along her veins, and Cass’s cheeks were hot, no doubt a fiery red. She opened the refrigerator. Maybe the waft of cool air would dim the redness, and Irish would have no idea she’d been thinking about her future with him.

A future that wouldn’t likely happen because Irish didn’t do relationships. She’d heard him tell Ox not long after she started working at Alliez. It didn’t matter that they’d shared one night of passion. It’d been months ago, and he hadn’t made any move to make it happen again.

Then again, neither had she.

“Is there something super fascinating happening in there?”

Cass let out a little yelp and jumped at the sound of his voice. She slammed the door shut and whirled. “ Don’t scare a girl like that.” She brushed past him and headed for the table.

Please don’t say anything.

“Eat while it’s still warm,” Irish encouraged.

Her silent plea had been answered.

Like before, they ate in silence, the only sound the ever-changing BTS tunes. Cass was grateful the ache had subsided in her head. Maybe this particular headache was hunger-based and had nothing to do with repressed memories resurfacing. Like with everything at the moment, she could hope. However, hope had never been on her side.

Had she dodged a bullet, or was Irish waiting to pounce when she least expected it?