I’m busy minding my own damn business when I feel someone behind me.
I have a feeling who it is. I refuse to turn and acknowledge his presence.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home.” I stuff more clothes into my duffel bag and make a note to come remove the last of my clothing from here. I’ll keep what’s absolutely necessary but it’s time to start limiting my time here. Kira can come over to my apartment instead.
“You are home.” I can hear him sneering the last word.
“My apartment.”
“We’ll see how long you have that.”
I pause and wonder: does this man want me to hit him? Sighing, I zip up my duffel. “What do you mean?”
“Do you honestly think that after this I’m going to continue paying for it?” he asks.
My jaw ticks. “Whatever.” I mean it. I’ll find a way. My mom has already offered to help me. I don’t want her to but it’s a last, last, last resort. Worst case scenario, I just have to work two jobs.
“We’re not done talking about this.”
Oh, I think we are. “I’m exhausted. Heading out.” I’m surprised he actually steps aside and lets me through.
Then I hit the top of the stairs and hear his sardonic, disgusting comment.
“I hope her pussy’s good enough to be ruining your life over. Lord knows her mother’s was for me.”
Red stains everything around me. Rage explodes inside my head. I whirl around.
He smiles at me, as if baiting me. “Go ahead. Add another incident to your record today. Let’s see how good that makes you look in front of the judge.”
My future with Kira. That’s the only thing that keeps my feet planted on the ground. “You’re fucking disgusting.”
He laughs. “You’re the one fucking your stepsister, son. Who, by the way, pretended to be on her way to see her friends, at three in the morning. As if it isn’t obvious she’s waiting for you down the block.”
She is. I told her to.
It fucking kills me that this scumbag knows that.
The smile drops off his face and his expression turns murderous. “Go ahead. Keep fucking her. But you won’t do it in this house. And if you get caught? I’ll ruin both your fucking lives.”
“Don’t you dare threaten her!”
“Me? You’re the one threatening her with your inability to stay away. Maybe you don’t give a damn what everyone will say, but you’ll tear her away from everything she loves. Everyone she loves. And your best friend? He won’t be able to show his face in his own hometown either without having to hear about how disgusting you are.”
His words cut deep. Because, I have to admit, I’ve only been thinking about me. About convincing Kira to be with me so we could be together out in the open.
My father’s right; I don’t give a fuck what anyone will say. But the way this is going to impact Kira and Ryan . . .
Damn it all to hell, I’m trapped.
I refuse to let her go, but for now I’m going to have to be extremely careful until I find another solution.
And if that way somehow involves ruining my own father’s life . . .
The wheels start turning and the whispers of the idea going through my mind calm me.
“Do yourself a favor before I make you regret being such a waste of skin—take Kira’s name, life, and everything about her out of your filthy mouth and mind. She doesn’t exist to you and you will leave her alone.”
My father’s eyes flash and he bares his teeth at me. “Are you threatening me, boy?”
“No, father. It’s a promise.” I run down the stairs before he says anything else and I forget all about my future with the woman I love. There’s no sign of Sonia on the way out.
As I step outside, it finally sinks in that Ryan, probably Sonia, my father, and my mother all now know.
Not to mention Dana and all of Kira’s closest friends.
For how long can we keep the truth from spilling out? I want to tell myself that the consequences don’t matter, but Kira’s happiness matters a whole fucking lot.
My phone vibrates and I know it’s her before I even look.
Is everything okay? I’ve been waiting around the corner a while.
Yeah. I just got out of the house. On second thought, drive three blocks over and I’ll meet you there.
Why? Did something happen?
We just have to be more careful for now, baby. I hate reminding her of this huge obstacle between us, but after that little conversation with my father there’s no help for it.
He’ll do it. He’ll either find a way to throw me back in jail for visiting, or he’ll be at the center of the scandal, spreading the poison while playing the martyr.
You’re right. I’ll be waiting for you.
I stick to the shadows as much as I can as I walk to our meet up point. When I get there, I see that Kira’s parked with the ignition and lights turned off.
My smart girl.
But it burns that she has to hide like this while being with me.
Not for long, I remind myself.
Whatever I have to do, whatever it costs me, this situation will be resolved.
Kira’s beautiful, hazel eyes glitter in the dark. She’s staring at me worriedly while I get in the car.
I close the door and start to reach for her. Last second, I pull my hand back and clench my fist.
She nods and turns the ignition.
Her silent agreement of how careful we have to be sets off an alarm. I don’t know why. It’s common sense that we need to err on the side of caution.
She’s always been the more careful one.
Call it simple intuition. Whatever. All I know is that her behavior is starting to worry me.
Her foot presses down on the accelerator hard and we take off like maniacs. I’m so shocked that I stare at the road with wide eyes.
Usually, I’m the devil speeding like I’m immortal. Her hurry to get us home worries me. “Kira—”
My kitty doesn’t even need me to finish the sentence. “I can’t stand to see you injured like that anymore. Need to get you home and take care of you.” She takes a turn at full speed, narrowly avoiding the sidewalk.
God, I fucking love her.
“Baby, I’m not bleeding anymore.”
“Don’t care.” She speeds up even more.
I smile, drunk on the speed and her worry over me. “If the cops pull us over, they might take me back in.”
Annnd . . . The car slows down by at least fifteen miles per hour.
Fuck, man. She’s making me hard. “I want to put my dick in you so bad.” We’re by the highway now. No worrying about people seeing us.
I reach over to intertwine our fingers and she lets me. I stare at her; she stares at the road, her focus on getting us to my place.
She’s different. Open. Allowing. No hesitation in holding my hand or even squeezing it back when I squeeze hers.
Relief melts all of my tension. I’m so happy to have her back, to have her like this, that I almost forget all about the Austin issue.
Almost. Thinking his name is enough to bring a lot of my tension back.
“Kira, we need to talk.”
She doesn’t say anything and continues to stare straight ahead. There’s no refusal forthcoming, but she isn’t welcoming the idea of a discussion either.
“Tell me why you couldn’t tell Austin I’m the one you want.”
There. A flash in her eyes. A slight narrowing. She presses her lips tight together and shakes her head.
Her hand doesn’t let mine go, nor does she look in my direction.
Stubborn little thing.
“I’m not letting this one go,” I say.
“I know.”
“Then why not just answer me so we can move forward.” Please tell me you don’t have feelings for him and I swear we’ll just move forward . . .
“We have bigger problems.”
“Problems bigger than you having feelings for that pussy?” I ask, incredulous.
“Later.” She says nothing more, and it’s fucking obvious that she considers the subject closed for now.
I’m so frustrated I’m tempted to let her hand go. But that’s not what we need—definitely not what I need.
I drop the subject for now and silence descends. It’s not an uncomfortable silence, but it’s not ideal either.
It’s fine. I’ll let it rock. The feel of her hand on mine is enough to keep my impatience at bay. As soon as we’re in my house, I’m going to get her to talk about Austin and whatever is on her mind.
“Are you in any pain?” she asks as we get on the highway.
“No, baby.”
Her eyes flicker to me and there’s a hint of disbelief.
“I swear. I’m good.”
“Looking like that? Yeah, okay.”
I smile at her. “I got you with me, though. Don’t I?”
Warmth shines in her eyes. We fall back into silence and remain that way for the next thirty minutes.
That’s how long it takes us to get to my apartment. Even when worried for me, she can’t help but rush to get me home and take care of me.
Fucking hell, please tell me this means we’re finally heading in the right direction.
Kira parks the car and we head upstairs. She takes my keys and leads the way, running up the stairs in small jean shorts. By the time I hit the second floor landing, she already has my apartment door open.
I smile at her determined expression and walk inside. She closes the door behind us and heads straight for the bathroom.
I know what’s coming. And I also know I’m not getting anywhere with her while all her protective instincts are engaged like this.
My woman needs to take care of her man and nothing is going to stop her.
Smiling, I sit back on the couch and remove my shirt. I’m so damn happy that I don’t even feel the pain of the cut on my lip stretching.
Kira exits the bathroom, her small arms full of first aid supplies—alcohol, peroxide, wipes, cotton, and the small kit that has extras.
Her eyes bounce all over my tattoos—all carvings in honor of her. Every single one of them. She sees me smiling and scowls viciously. “This is by no means funny.”
“I’m not smiling because I think it’s funny.”
Dropping all the items onto the coffee table, she opens the small first aid kit. “So why are you smiling?”
“Because you make me so damn fucking happy.”
A pause. A deep inhale. An even slower exhale. Then, she squares her shoulders stubbornly and opens one of the gauzes.
“What’s going on with you?”
Of course, she ignores my question.
She wets the gauze with peroxide and comes up to me. On her knees before me, she starts slowly wiping away the crusted blood on my brow. “I’m starting here because it’s the worst one. Then I’ll do the one on your lip.”
I make sure I stay utterly still for her. “Baby, talk to me.”
“Brayden, it’s bad.”
My heart accelerates. Just like that, I’m nothing but rage, adrenaline, and testosterone, all primed to protect my woman from whatever is threatening her. “Who’s fucking with you?”
Kira pauses, blinking at me in surprise. “How—”
“I know my girl. Always have. Don’t forget that.” The pink blush that stains her cheeks almost distracts me. “Now tell me who messed with you and has you like this.”
Sighing, she wets the gauze in peroxide again and goes back to work. “The truth?”
“Always,” I grit out as she wipes off the slightly formed scab covering the wound on my eyebrow. It starts bleeding immediately.
“Oh God, I’m sorry but I had to clean it—”
“It’s fine.”
She rushes to cover it with gauze and opens the pack of butterfly stitches. With gentle movements, she removes the gauze and applies the end of one stitch to my skin so she can pull the wound close together.
“Now, Kira.”
Another sigh. “I shouldn’t be here, Brayden.”
“What?” After everything? After it all finally felt like it was falling into place? She was opening up to me like she used to back in the day, and now she’s hitting me with this shit?
Kira finishes applying the butterfly stitch and begins cleaning the cut on my lip. I’m glaring at her and she glares right back, unafraid. “Things are bad right now.”
“Because you want Austin?” I ask.
She flings the cotton ball across the coffee table. “You idiot, this isn’t about him!” Huffing, she grabs another cotton ball and soaks it in alcohol instead of peroxide.
I’m so on edge I don’t even notice what she’s up to. “Seems like it is to me and your refusal to discuss the issue of him makes it more obvious.”
Glowering at me with an adorable pout on her face, she presses the cotton ball to my face.
Right on the small but deep cut on my cheekbone.
I hiss through my teeth. “Goddamn it woman.”
“You want to keep talking shit about my ex-lay, when it’s your ex-cockslut that’s the real problem?”
I’ve slept with many women. God help me, I have. But only one has ever inspired that much venom in Kira.
Only one ever deserved it as much as she does.
“What the fuck is Jennifer doing?”
She doesn’t answer, instead placing a bandage on my cheek. Then, she stands and goes to where her small overnight bag is so she can get her phone. She pulls something up on it and hands it to me.
“Why am I looking at Jennifer’s timeline?”
“Scroll down a little.”
I do and without thinking about it, I start reading the most popular post out loud. “Incest is disgu—” The rest of it registers. My first urge is to fling the phone in my hand across the room. I have to remind myself it’s not my phone.
My second urge is to hunt down Jennifer’s jealous, petty ass and hurt her.
I don’t care what she does to me, but this is more a direct attack on Kira than anyone else. Jennifer just added herself to the list of people I’m going to ruin for fucking with my woman.
“You see?” Kira asks, arms crossed.
“Do you want to stop being with me because of this?”
“No!”
Her quick denial soothes the beast.
“But we have to be so damn careful now, Brayden.”
I place her phone on the couch and move to stand. On my way up, I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist. “Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about any of it. I’ll take care of it.”
Her arms wind around my neck. “How?”
I nuzzle her cheek and walk toward my room. “I told you not to worry about it, baby. Just know this: no one’s going to fuck with you or what we have together. I won’t let them.”
“Brayden,” she whispers. “Your tone . . . You’re scaring me a little.”
I should. Deep down, I know how far I’m willing to go to make sure everything is okay between us. I’m not a nice person when it comes to protecting Kira.
“I don’t want you getting into any more problems because of me.”
“Baby, stop. We’re going to be fine.” I’ll destroy anyone in our way in order to ensure it.
And I won’t give a fuck who that person is. My father, Jennifer, anyone that comes between us? They’re going to meet a side of Brayden Hunt they’ll wish they’d never seen.