Savior

Chapter 69

-xx-

I can't believe I said yes to the dress today!

She could not help the grin as she hit send on the text to Derek. Her 'aunt' worked in quick fashion to get a few sample dresses that fit what Cate was looking for, as well as a few she had picked out herself.

Jeanne Tremont was her mother's best friend since grade school and more of a sister than either of her real aunts. She gushed over how excited she was to help the youngest Johnson find her wedding dress; she was responsible for dressing Jackie and their two sisters-in-law for each of their weddings.

The second she stepped into the gown, she knew it was the one. But seeing her father tear up as she stepped out of the dressing room made her positive that she had selected the right dress. "Derek won't even know what hit him," Teddy said as he stood to take in the entire ensemble.

It was all happening so quickly; they had been engaged for just over three weeks and there was so much done already. Her mother joked that Cate did not even need her wedding checklist – but it was tradition as Jackie, Sophie and Leah all used the list for their weddings. Cate had to laugh; she was definitely hosting the smallest event of the four.

Take the night off of wedding stuff. I will see you after I get out of work. xo

Cate pursed her lips and slid her phone into her cross body purse. She released a sigh as the Uber stopped in front of the bar; she was not expecting Jade to actually reach out to her but she was pleasantly surprised when the text message came through.

She mentioned to Derek where she was going and explained that Jade was not like the rest of the family when he voiced his concerns. She had a back up plan to leave if she saw either Fred or Cole's younger brother Seth.

He was finishing up a meeting and then grabbing a quick bite to eat with Emily, Penelope and Dave before meeting up with Cate.

She subconsciously played with the ring on her left hand as she pulled open the door to Clooney's. It was owned by Jade's uncle, and was another usual haunt for Cate and Jade years before.

She nibbled on the inside of her lip as she stepped into the bar; it had either gone downhill in the years between stepping through the doors, or she ignored how it was when she was always visiting.

"Cate!" She lifted her head to see Jade waving her over to the bar. Every step made her wish she wore closed toe shoes rather than her wedges. "I was beginning to think you stood me up," the blonde said with a frown as Cate neared the bar. "I've got this round. What are you drinking?"

Cate pursed her lips into a smile as she took a seat next to Jade at the bar. She pulled her purse on to her lap as she turned towards the bartender. "Chardonnay?" she asked softly.

"Oh come on, where's the Cate I know?" Cate lifted an eyebrow as she turned towards Jade. "What was your usual? A gin and tonic?"

Cate laughed quietly. "Not anymore," she answered. Her eyes scanned the wall behind the bartender, taking in the different bottles. "I'll take a Tito's and cranberry, please. With two limes," she added.

"Throw it on my tab, Marty," Jade announced with a wink. "So," Jade began as she picked up her own glass as they waited for Cate's drink. "Have you set a date yet?"

Cate shook her head. "Nothing is set in stone yet," she answered. "There's no big rush."

Jade pursed her lips together and nodded. "I see. It only took Aaron and I six years to finally get hitched."

"Well at least you made sure to beat your goal of getting married before you turned 30," Cate added as she took her drink from the bartender.

"Barely," Jade added with a laugh. "I turned 30 two months later."

Cate smiled as she placed her straw to her lips. She closed her eyes as she noticed how strong the drink was. This is why I stick to wine, she mused. "I'll be 35 in November," she said with a sigh.

"Have you and Derek thought about having kids?"

The brunette swallowed the growing lump in her throat. She focused on stirring her drink, trying her best to water it down if she could. "Um," was all she could mutter.

"Oh," Jade said quickly as she reached for Cate's arm. "I forgot. I'm sorry." She gave her forearm a quick squeeze. "We haven't caught up since before all of that, so I wasn't sure of the extent. Cole never really gave us any information."

Cate pursed her lips, trying her best to bite her tongue. Of course he didn't say anything. He was never there. She slowly turned her expression into a soft smile. "It was definitely rough," she said simply.

Jade nodded. "I'm sorry, Cate. I didn't mean to bring it up." Cate finally lifted her gaze to the blonde next to her. "And I'm truly sorry for not visiting."

"I know," she replied. "You've never been good with hospitals."

Jade released a shaky laugh. "That's an understatement. It was a nightmare when I went to deliver Colby. I waited it out as long as I could."

The conversation next to the pair became loud and animated; Jade pointed to a table further away from the bar for the two to move to. Cate followed her over.

"So tell me about this Derek character," Jade began before taking a sip of her own mixed drink. "He's got to be something special to catch your eye."

Cate smiled in spite of herself. "He definitely is," she answered. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket to check for any messages from Derek.

"Oh," Jade said as she peeked over Cate's shoulder, noticing the wallpaper.

Cate bit her lip, praying with everything in her that Jade would not repeat her brother's words about Derek's skin color. Instead, she brought up pictures of the two of them to show the blonde across from her. "He's originally from Chicago, but moved here for work."

"A fed, right?" Jade asked with an eyebrow raised. "If I remember what my father said."

Cate busied herself with taking a sip of her drink. "He is," she responded justly. "And he's damn good at his job."

Jade nodded. "I'm sure he is, Cate."

"He's the reason I'm alive today." The statement hung between the two of them. Jade lowered her eyes, letting the words settle. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss the friendship she had with Cate, and she was absolutely horrified to learn about Cate's attack.

"As long as he makes you happy, Cate. That's all that matters." She placed her hand over the brunette's. "I mean it." Cate slowly turned back to the blonde. "It wouldn't be true if I said that I didn't miss you. You were like the sister I always wanted, and it wasn't fair how my brother treated you." Jade pursed her lips before continuing, "You deserved better than that treatment, but you need to know he did – he does love you."

Cate licked her suddenly dry lips. Just as she was going to respond, a man stumbled into their table, knocking over both of their drinks. Cate grabbed her cell phone just before the liquid hit it. The friend that had pushed him into the table came over. "I'm so sorry," he began.

"Its fine," Cate said as she stood from the table, using her napkin to try to stop the liquid from hitting the floor. "Don't worry about it."

"No, I feel terrible," the bigger man said as he attempted to help clean up the mess. "Let me go get you ladies another round."

Jade smiled. "That would be very sweet of you. Marty knows our drinks."

He nodded before walking towards the bar, leaving his friend to help clean the table. Cate stepped to the bar to grab some napkins before returning to finish soaking up the liquid.

"Ladies," the man said as he placed their drinks on the table, "again, I am so sorry for knocking them over."

"Thank you," the women replied politely.

The two men walked away from their table. Cate focused on stirring her drink.

-xx-

Cate forced herself to blink to clear the blurriness from her eyes. "Are you okay, Cate?" Jade asked from across the table. The brunette pushed back from the table and attempted to stand, but found her wedges extremely uneasy.

She braced herself on the edge of the table but found Jade standing next to her and wrapping her arm around the petite brunette's waist. "Jade," she slurred, still trying her best to stand up.

"I've got ya Cate," Jade responded. Cate tried to focus on the blonde's face but her eyes began to go blurry again. "Let's get you out back to settle for a minute." The whips of blonde hair going past her face made her almost dizzy – where was Jade looking to? Cate thought to herself. "One foot in front of the other."

Cate did as she was told and stumbled towards the back office of the bar. Her lips and mouth were so dry. Why were they so dry?

Jade turned back towards the doorway, and Cate could see the two men from earlier in the evening start towards them. One stayed outside of the office, but closed the door after the other stepped inside.

The smaller man from earlier pushed Cate up against the closest wall and ran his hands over her frame. Cate fought the tears coming to her eyes. "Get off of me," she slurred into a yell. "Jade!"

She attempted to call for her 'friend' as a hand closed over her mouth. "Oh Cate," the blonde started from behind the man. "Did you really think we were going to hang out like old times?"

Cate's blue eyes grew as she realized that Jade never meant to be her friend that night. Her attempts to push the man off of her seemed futile as her fists did nothing when they hit his chest. Her arms quickly slumped from the energy used.

"She's all yours, Paul," the blonde said with a laugh. He finally removed his hand from Cate's mouth to run his hand through her long brown hair.

"Bitch," Cate spat at Jade, trying her best to get her bearings back.

Jade's smile turned into a wicked smirk. In seconds, she had her hand against Cate's throat, and stood inches from her face. "You put my brother in jail. You should have known better, Cat," she mocked with the nickname she hated. "You fucked with the wrong family."

The blonde removed her hand as Paul grinded against Cate. She was thankful that she was still fully dressed – and even happier she opted for jeans over the dress she had originally picked out.

"He'll find you," Cate warned. Her warning was short lived as Jade grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head off of the wall behind her.

"He'll never find you," she threatened as she watched Cate's body slip to the ground and her eyes slowly close.

-xx-