Jael was back in no time, and by the time he was, Gage had already risen from his stack of cartons.
He carried his paper bag of booze along, and it was clear that he had tried to straighten out his disheveled clothes, but it didn't help much.
Jael slowed to a stop and waited for Gage to get in, driving off to his hotel.
Gage was less inclined to be chatty on the drive, so Jael equally stayed quiet.
Questions brimmed on his tongue, questions he wasn't quite sure he wanted the answers to.
The hotel was decent for a small town, the spotless glass windows reflecting the encroaching sunset.
"I'm going to take a nap." Gage said after Jael found somewhere to park. "I'll get something to eat after I wake up, then return to Evercliff. You should leave."
The third time, Jael didn't protest, his words caught in his throat. He wanted to tell Gage that he would figure something out, that he would find a way to fix them both…
