Obligation

He nods and kisses me once more before standing and helping me get my things together so we can get off the plane.

“Are you sure you don’t want me with you?” Uncle Frank asks Kai, and I turn my head away from them to keep from laughing.

“Frank, I told you before that your son will be with me while I’m here.”

“I think you should let me go with you. You never know what could go wrong.”

“I know what could go wrong,” Aye mutters and then winks at me when I laugh.

Uncle Frank is a good guy, but he is seriously a disaster waiting to happen.

“Fine. I’ll help look out for Myla,” he grumbles, grabbing his bag and heading off the plane.

“This is going to be a long trip,” Kai’s dad says, shaking his head, watching as Frank stomps down the plane stairs.

“He means well,” Kai’s mom says.

“He’s still not helping me out. He will end up doing something stupid, and then I will have to clean up his mess,” Kai replies.

“He thinks you’re still mad about him teaching Myla to shoot a gun,” Leia tells him.

“I am still mad about that, and he didn’t teach Myla anything except that she should never agree with anything Uncle Frank says.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” she concurs.

“I am right.”

“He just wants to feel useful,” his mom mutters, and his dad rolls his eyes.

“He’s not going with me, and I don’t care if he stomps around for the next few days. It’s not happing,” Kai says.

His mom nods then turns and walks off the plane.

“She’s right, you know. Uncle Frank is just trying to help,” I say quietly.

“That may be, but right now, I have my hands full and can’t babysit him.”

“I know,” I mutter, walking out of the plane and into the sun. As soon as my eyes adjust to the light, I notice two large SUVs.

“We’re riding with Junior,” Kai tells me, leading me to one of the SUVs, where there’s a large guy who looks like Uncle Frank standing with his arms crossed over his chest. “Brother,” Kai says.

The guy uncrosses his arms and greets him with a half hug before stepping back, and I notice that he’s one of the guys who was there when we got married.

“You remember Myla,” Kai says, reintroducing me.

The guy leans in to kiss my cheek, saying, “Myla,” quietly before pulling away.

“How have you been?” I ask as Kai opens the door.

“Been good.” He shrugs, and I realize how different this guy is from his dad.

“That’s good,” I mumble when he doesn’t say anything else.

Kai helps me into the car, and he and the Junior sit in the front seat talking quietly while I sit looking out the window in the back seat.

When we arrive at the house, I’m stunned by how beautiful it is. Kai told me that he knew that it wasn’t our house in Hawaii but it was good enough for us to stay in while we were in Vegas. My husband is obviously crazy because the house isn’t just okay—it’s beautiful. The outside is white, and the texture reminds me of icing. Around the windows are red shutters that match the red beams that are sticking out of the roof. When we get inside, I am even more blown away the floors, which are all white marble that is cool on the bottom of my bare feet. Everywhere I look, there are windows that display the vast desert landscape.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper as Kai wraps his arms around me.

“I’m glad you think so.” He kisses the back of my head then holds me like that until he tells me that it’s time to leave.

Chapter 15

Demon slayer

I kiss Kai and get into the back of the SUV with Pika and Aye, watching as Kai walks towards a group of men. Even through the dark, I can see one of the men that he was walking towards is struggling to keep himself under control, and I know that is Kenton.

“Will they be okay?” I ask, not taking my eyes off them.

“You know they will.” Aye answers.

I nod. He’s right. Kai wouldn’t be helping if he thought for one moment that something could go wrong.

I put my finger to the glass as we pull away, and then I see him. My gut goes tight and bile crawls up my throat, making it hard to breathe. I knew he was in Vegas, but the idea of seeing him never crossed my mind, not even once. Like he realizes that I’m near, his head turns and his eyes lock on me through the tinted glass. His face goes hard for a moment, but then a sinister smile appears on his mouth and he winks, lifting his chin. I swallow, turning away from the window as my hands begin to shake.

“You okay?” Pika asks.

I nod and lower my face to my lap, taking deep, silent breaths. I don’t want them to call Kai and have him worried about me—not right now, not when he’s dealing with something that needs his full attention.

“Myla, talk to me,” he says gently, moving to sit closer to me.

I shake my head and scoot away from him. I do not want to be touched by anyone. I place my hands on my ever-expanding stomach and try to calm down. One thing I know is that freaking out would not be good for our son, and I would never do anything to endanger him.

“Do you want me to call Kai?” he questions.

My eyes lift to meet Pika’s, and I know that it would be so easy to call my husband and have him make me feel better, but I can’t.

“No, I just…” I pause. “I just have a bad case of heartburn,” I lie.

He searches my face then nods once, and without another word, we take off back to the house. As soon as we get home, I go directly to our room, not even saying anything to the guys before putting PJs on and crawling into bed. I wake up when the bed dips and the scent of Kai fills my nose.

“Myla, I need you to wake up.”

I roll over at the sound of pain in Kai’s voice. I go to sit up, but his hand at my waist keeps me in place.

“Is everything okay?” I ask sleepily, pushing my hair out of my face.

He shakes his head, and anguish appears on his handsome face.

“What happened?”

“I need you to talk to me, Myla. Pika told me that you saw Thad tonight and immediately closed down. I know that this is something you don’t want to talk about, but I need you to open up to me. I need you to make me understand why, even if his name is mentioned, fear floods your eyes and your body goes rigid. I’m honestly begging you to talk to me about it, to trust me with whatever it is. I do not want our child growing inside you to feel that energy, and I don’t want that for you,” he whispers quietly.