Discovering Daisy (The Protectors 5.60)

The water was already turning lukewarm so I eagerly nodded. The command was heaven and hell.

And it was exactly what I needed.

Chapter 4

Cash

“Damn it,” Sage muttered as he scanned the notifications on his phone.

“What?” I asked as I got the car started. Sage and I had just finished up a case and were preparing to make the long drive home.

“We missed a call from Daisy,” he said.

I didn’t comment on the fact that he’d used “we” even though it’d been his phone she’d called.

The only time we’d heard from Daisy in the month since that night at the motel had been when she’d sent us information pertinent to a case. Sage had tried to draw her out via calls and texts in the hopes he could get them back to some form of communication, but she’d resisted his advances.

The whole thing was taking its toll on Sage, which was just more proof that his feelings for the young woman ran deeper than he was willing to admit. Sage adamantly refused to talk about it, but there was no escaping the guilt he was feeling. He hadn’t said as much, but it was obvious because his need for me to control more and more of his day-to-day life had continued to grow in the weeks since leaving Seattle and returning to our home just outside the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. In the past, it was only on the rarest of occasions that I had to take things to such an intense level outside the bedroom. Now it was happening on a daily basis. The only time he didn’t need it was when we were working.

I knew the whole thing was my fault. By taking things as far as I had with Daisy, I’d given Sage a glimpse into something he needed but couldn’t have.

Problem was, I was starting to think maybe he wasn’t the only one who needed it.

“She left a message,” Sage said. He looked to me and I immediately nodded. My heart broke for him that he was so far gone in his own mind that he needed me to tell him it was okay to play a voicemail message. I suspected most of his behavior stemmed from his fear that I was going to leave him. No matter how many times I reassured him that I wasn’t going anywhere, he still couldn’t focus on anything but the need to please me.

Sage hit the button and made sure the phone was on speaker.

Um, hi, it’s me. I, um… I just wanted to say… I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I just want… I want things to go back like they were.

There was a good ten seconds of silence before Daisy’s uneven voice continued.

I can’t stop thinking about it.

Her admission sounded pained.

I don’t know what that means, and I want to go back to like it was but maybe that isn’t possible. I miss talking to you, Sage. I miss the way you joke about Cash and him always overhearing you and pretending to yell at you.

I smiled at that. Daisy paused for another long beat.

I guess that’s it. Just… stay safe, okay? What?

The last word was spoken in a way that had me thinking she was talking to someone else while leaving the message. It was confirmed a moment later when she said, Hang on, Dylan, I’m on the phone. Sorry about that, I’ve got someone staying with me.

My eyes met Sage’s and I saw the same thing mirrored in his eyes that I was feeling.

She had a man staying with her.

What the ever-loving hell?

Anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to… I don’t know, hear your voice, I guess. Hear both your voices.

Another long pause.

Stay safe, Sage. Cash too. I’ll… I’ll see you later.

Sage settled the phone in his lap and looked out the window.

I snagged his hair and gently turned him so he was forced to look at me. “Call her back,” I said firmly.

It pained me that he looked both relieved and ashamed by the command.

He did as I said, leaving the phone on speaker. It went to voicemail.

“Fuck,” Sage muttered. “She always answers her phone.”

I settled my hand on his thigh and he instantly linked his fingers with mine. His hold on me was tight. I watched him for a moment, then pulled his hand up to my mouth and kissed his knuckles. I released him so I could put the car in gear.

“Let’s go check on her,” I said. “We’ll take the long way home,” I declared. “Through Columbus.”

“We’re in Chicago, Cash,” Sage said with a smile. “Ohio is like four hundred miles out of the way.”

“Like I said, the long way.” I gave him a wink and got the car moving.

“You don’t have to do that.” Sage’s voice was low and embarrassed.