Picked(17)

“Did you talk to a neighbor there?”

“Where?” I feigned ignorance.

“Cass, I’ve been conditioning you for this your entire life. I don’t get it.”

Dropping my head, I disappointed my dad—again. I didn’t think the lady would say anything. I was just making small talk. “Am I off this case?”

“The case is closed. I had Matt get what we needed. It’s out of our hands now. Are you in this or not, Cass? I need you on board.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. What else was I going to say?

“Think of this life like an anagram solver. Nothing is what it seems, Cass. Nothing.”

That was the moment. That second right there. My heart dropped to my stomach and I felt that surge of adrenaline speed through my veins. Anagram solver. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Oh my god! I couldn’t believe it.

“I’m sorry Dad, you’re right. I’m going to do better. I have to go. I just remembered a dentist appointment,” I lied, gathering my closed case file. I brushed past him while he stared me with a blank and confused expression, and I ran out the door.

“What’s up small fry?” Matt asked, stopping me by sticking his leg out, causing me to stop and lose my balance. Tripping, I skipped it out to keep from falling.

“Ass,” I said with a glare.

“You okay?”

“Why? Do you all of a sudden care about my wellbeing?”

“I’ve always cared about your wellbeing.”

“What do you want?” I asked with a cocked hip and snarl. Matt was a dick to me. Always was. I knew he didn’t give a shit about my wellbeing or anything else. He just wanted me to stay out of his way and hopefully fail. He was just waiting for me to fall flat on my face. I was doing a good job at it so far without his help. I hadn’t made it a week and I already blew my first case.

“You’re with me for the next couple weeks. Get your things. We gotta go.”

“No. I’m not going where you go for the next couple weeks,” I protested with a peculiar glare. Seeing my dad walk toward us from across the room, I knew something was up. They were up to something.

“I told you I would tell her,” my dad angrily spoke. “What the hell is wrong with you people? Everyone here has forgotten who runs this place.”

“Calm down, Luke. We’re all here for the same thing. I’ll take her for a couple weeks, see if we can’t mold something out of this,” Matt replied, eyeing me from head to toe. He was making fun of me. That’s what he was doing. Prick.

“Take the day off. You can come back fresh Monday morning,” my dad offered before turning and walking away.

“No. She doesn’t need the day off. Let’s go,” Matt ordered, standing.

“I’m taking the day off. I have a dentist appointment,” I lied. “And besides. You’re not my boss anyway.”

“I am for the next two weeks. Get your stuff. We’ll do the dentist appointment first.”

Turning to my dad across the room for help, he shrugged both shoulders, opened his office door, and abandoned me. What the hell? Taking a deep breath, I turned my attention back to the smirk on Matt’s face. Shit. Shit. And triple shit. I was on a mission. I had something more important to do than ride around a car with prick-face-Matt.

I should have stood up to him. Both of them. I was twenty-two. Why couldn’t I just tell them where to go? Grabbing my bag, I obediently followed Matt out.

“What dentist?” he asked, holding the door.

“I’m not going. Just take us wherever we’re going. I don’t want to be out all day, either.”

“I’ll decide that.”

I was so mad. I sat there with crossed arms, fuming, while Matt drove us through the city, rambling on and on about stepping up my game. I rolled my eyes when he volunteered to help me.

“You may as well learn something, Cassie. It’s obvious you don’t have the balls to tell Daddy you don’t want to walk in his shoes.”

“You don’t know what I want. You’ve never given me the time of day. Why now?”

“Because you’re going to get yourself hurt, and your hard-headed father can’t see that. He’s been too busy living in the past to see what he’s done to you.”

“What he’s done to me? How about you mind your own business. You don’t know anything.”

“I know it all, Cass. I know why you’ve been superglued to your father’s side all these years. I know why you were sheltered from the rest of the world your entire life. Do you know, Cass? Do you remember what happened? How old were you? Six? Seven? Do you remember any of it?”