Unattainable (Undeniable, #3)(46)

Breathing hard, trying to focus on the conversation instead of his touch, I turned to face him. “Thank you for being so nice to her.”

Cage blinked. “Huh?” he said, taking his hand back. “Your mom? Why wouldn’t I?”

I shrugged. “Everyone else has been pressuring her to come to the club, but you didn’t even mention it. That was really nice of you.”

“You’re forgettin’ somethin’, babe,” he said gently. “I love D. We all love D. Anybody who’s pressurin’ her isn’t tryin’ to hurt her, they’re just missin’ her. I hadn’t seen her in some time and I wasn’t about to be forcin’ the club on her or anything.”

I stared at him, my eyes roaming every inch of his perfect face, feeling so incredibly inadequate to be seated next to him.

Why was he being so sweet?

“Since when are you so nice?” I whispered.

Cage’s nostrils flared slightly. “Only once, since the day I met you, Teacup, that I haven’t treated you right. Am I right?”

My cheeks flushing, I glanced immediately away from him and just as quickly Cage grabbed hold of my thigh and dug his fingertips into my flesh until I whimpered in pain.

“Look at me,” he growled.

I already was. And I was glaring.

“Am. I. Right?” he demanded quietly, staring directly into my eyes. The longer I stared at him, my anger began to abate. He was…right.

Suddenly I felt so stupid, so small, as if all my anger toward him had been a giant waste of time. That if I’d only listened every time he’d tried to talk me down, if I would have actually looked his way, I would have seen the apology in his eyes years ago. A wave of nausea coursed through me. What was happening here?

Would this, whatever this was, between Cage and me have happened years ago if I hadn’t been so unwilling to even speak to him?

Biting my bottom lip, feeling conflicted, I nodded quickly and he immediately let go. Looking satisfied, he leaned back on his barstool and folded his arms across his chest.

“Do you ever wonder if she’s been rememberin’ shit and not tellin’ anyone?”

The abrupt change in subject gave me pause. “What?” I asked, shaking my head.

He shrugged. “Just somethin’ she said durin’ lunch. That Christopher’s been askin’ to ride on Hawk’s bike, but then she said no way is she lettin’ him on, that she didn’t let you get on a bike until you were twelve.”

I stared at him, my thoughts shooting out in a million different directions. Was she remembering? Or had I told her about that during one of many attempts at trying to help her remember? I wracked my brain trying to remember phone conversations and my visits home and…

Shit! I didn’t know! I couldn’t remember.

“Why would she do that?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“She’d been waitin’ on Jase for years, Teacup,” Cage said, “only to end up gettin’ shot in the f*ckin’ head by his old lady. Maybe she figures not lettin’ on she remembers him is her way out.”

“Holy f*ck,” I said. “Holy motherf*ck!”

Cage gave me a quizzical look. “What?”

“She was crying this morning.”

She’d been standing in the window watching me fight with Jase, watching me haul his drunk stupid ass in the car, and she’d been crying. The immediate danger of Jase breaking in had been taken away. She wasn’t crying about the threat of him…she was crying about him.

That wasn’t something a woman who didn’t remember a man did. Why would you cry over someone you didn’t remember? That was something a woman did who’d had her heart repeatedly broken by a man.

I wanted to be mad at her, for not telling me, but at the same time, I wasn’t in any position to judge her. I’d run away from my problems. She was hiding from hers. We were both guilty of the same things.

“You want me to take you home?” Cage asked, his expression full of concern. “Sounds like you and her need to talk.”

I shook my head. “I don’t even know what I would say.”

Looking thoughtful, Cage nodded, then suddenly he was grinning.

“You remember who gave you that first ride, Teacup?”

“Yes,” I said dryly, fighting back a smile. “You gave me all my first rides.”

Cage gave me a look that suggested he was about to haul me off my stool and give me another ride when Deuce’s office doors suddenly slammed open and everyone in the main room turned to watch him storm out. He took in the occupants of the room and stopped his angry gaze on Mick.

“Call in all the boys,” he said. “Tell ’em to bring in their families. We’re going on lockdown, startin’ now.”

Seeking out Eva, Deuce pointed at her. “Babe, go pick up D and bring her ass here.”

Wait. What? Lockdown? D?

Shit.

Oh hell, no.

I jumped off my barstool, slapping Cage’s hand away when he tried to grab me.

“Tegen!” he hissed. “You know lockdown means you too!”

“I’m leaving!” I shouted in Deuce’s direction, ignoring Cage as I quickly hurried toward the door.

“Tegen!”