curse openly since he was in the privacy of his own truck.
There was nothing in the world he hated more than letting his twin down. They were all each other had. It had always been that way. The fact that they were grown men hadn’t separated them in any way. If one of them needed something, they called the other. He worried about Colt, about the demons his twin carried and the scars he wore. He knew Colt worried about him just as much.
He didn’t like the idea of Colt crawling into the cage without him being there to back him up. Colt would take his place in the cage, the fight would go on, and Cash wouldn’t be there to peel his brother off whatever sorry bastard got put in with him.
“Shit.” He grumbled as his eyes finally found what he was looking for.
He needed to make this quick. He had to get back to town before that fight started. Colt had been covering for him since they were kids, always stepping in to take the worst of the punishment, the worst of the beatings, but they weren’t children anymore and he wasn’t going to let Colt step into that cage without him there to back him up.
Thankfully, he’d found the car in need of a tow. He did a quick drive-by, taking in the popped hood and ensuring all four tires were still intact as he made a U-turn and pulled around in front of the SUV. The sun was still setting so if he hurried he could get back to Old Settlers, drop the girl at her house, the Jeep at the shop and head straight to the meet before it got too late.
He threw the truck into park and slid out. The figure behind the wheel tossed the door open as well and jumped down to the ground. She was a tiny little thing. That was the first thing he noticed. The second, a flash of red hair, stopped him in his tracks.
A petite, curvy little redhead? He had to blink twice to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. She’d raised a hand to her forehead, attempting to block the sun that was at his back, but when she stopped cold he knew that she’d recognized him as easily as he recognized her.
“Cash.”
His name. Not a question. She knew it was him. She hadn’t confused him for his brother for even a second. She’d taken one glance at him from ten yards away after half a decade and known it was him with pinpoint accuracy.
“Jemma?” He managed through a tight throat.
Just saying her name hurt. That shouldn’t have surprised him. Thinking about her always hurt so of course coming face to face with her would feel as if he’d been split open by a sharp blade. When she took a wary step back, away from him, the knife in his chest twisted.
They stared at one another for a long moment, both of them silent. A thousand questions ran through his head, questions he had no right to ask, questions with answers he didn’t deserve. He didn’t even deserve to look at her, not after what he’d done, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
He’d told himself that he would never see her again. He’d resigned himself to that fate. Hell, he’d all but guaranteed it but here she was and he couldn’t stop staring at her, afraid if he blinked that she would disappear again.
She looked the same. She looked just like he remembered. Five years older and yet, just as beautiful as she’d always been.
Her long, red hair piled on top of her head in a messy ponytail exposed her delicate neck and shoulders. The simple t-shirt she was wearing did nothing to disguise her generous breasts and the denim cut-offs made her short legs appear miles long. A pair of sunglasses shielded her face from him but he didn’t need to see her eyes to know that her beautiful hazel gaze was taking him in as well.
“I can’t believe it’s really you, of all people… of course it’s you.” She finally muttered, “That’s just my luck.”
He had no idea what she was talking about so he only shrugged, “What in the hell are you doing here Jemma?”
She wasn’t supposed to be here. She wasn’t supposed to be anywhere