Present
Making my way down the stairs and into the kitchen, I gazed around the dim, empty room, a little fuddled at what my next move was. If I were home, I’d be grabbing a fistful of whatever Marina had on the table that morning, or if I were at my apartment, I’d be boiling up an egg and fixing a piece of toast, in a rush to get wherever Gabriel had ordered me to go.
I didn’t have anywhere to go.
I didn’t have a job anymore.
I was only at the mercy of my brother, and all was quiet so far this morning. Except for the fact I had no idea where the hell Kai had gone? David knocked on my door earlier to check on me, hand off the bags of new clothes he’d picked up from my apartment, and to let me know Kai had run out and would be back in a while.
I was actually pretty grateful for the clothes. All I had here was my wedding dress, and while I would’ve happily worn something of Kai’s, I really liked the more form-fitting jeans and black, short-sleeved blouse I’d picked out of the bags. It felt good to try something new.
Turning on the light, I walked around the marble island to the refrigerator, glancing at the trees outside the wall of windows to my right. The wind was in high gear, the leaves whipping under the towering thunderhead above, and I remembered a storm was coming our way today.
Another round of chills spread across my arms.
Opening the fridge door, I sifted through an array of food I barely recognized and a lot of other things I’d never tried. Tofu and meat wrapped up, green and orange-colored juices, and some interesting mushroom dish with sauce that actually smelled pretty good. There were also eggs and milk, as well as two shelves of fruits and vegetables. No cheese or cookies or soda. Should’ve known he’d be a clean eater.
I grabbed the eggs.
Turning around, I set the carton on the counter and pulled a pot off the rack.
“You’re smiling.”
I looked up, seeing David walk into the kitchen.
Was I smiling? I let the corners of my mouth fall. “Well, I don’t mean to.”
He chuckled. Pulling off his jacket, he hung it on the chair on the other side of the island as Lev walked in behind him.
He yawned, his black hair hanging in his eyes as he tossed some keys down on the counter. My mind trailed. For a moment, he looked like Damon. When Damon came in late, with that dreamy weariness in his eyes, because he was so drunk he was actually at peace for once, and all he wanted was sleep.
“Kai will be back soon,” he told me.
“Is everything okay?”
He shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Oooookay.
I proceeded to pour three juices and then looked up at them. “You guys hungry?”
“You cooking?” David reared back, looking shocked.
“I know how to make eggs, but…” I turned, opening the fridge, a little overwhelmed. “He has enough food here to cater a wedding.”
Their eyes lit up, and they shot out of their chairs, circling the island.
“Well, we just had a wedding,” David said, bending over and scanning the shelves “So, fuck it. Let’s make a feast.”
“That’ll make a mess,” I pointed out. “Kai doesn’t like messes.”
He snorted, pulling out meat wrapped in brown paper packages. “His wife can do whatever she wants in her house, right?”
I grinned. “I guess we’ll find out.”
I bit into the beignet, my teeth sinking through the air pockets of the soft pastry. “That’s actually pretty good,” I told Lev, licking some powdered sugar off my lip.
He scarfed his down, nodding. “My grandma raised me. She used to make them all the time. It’s not Marina’s cooking, but I can live off it if I have to.”
I laughed to myself but then stopped. “Marina,” I thought out loud.
Her prick of an employer, and all the other pricks on Gabriel’s payroll coming in and out of the house. I shouldn’t have left her behind.
Lev walked back to the stove, flour smudged on his face, as David ate the steak he’d cooked up and shoveled more eggs onto his plate.
“Banks.”
I jerked my head toward the entryway and saw Kai standing there. He didn’t spare the guys a look.
“Come here,” he told me and then turned and walked out of the room.
I wiped my hands on the dish towel and brushed off the flour dust on my shirt. I followed him, momentarily fiddling with the new ring on my finger, but I forced myself to stop. Dropping my hands, I stopped in front of where he stood in the foyer.
“We’ll clean the kitchen up,” I assured him.
“I’m not worried about that.” He shook his head, his eyes softening. “I’m glad you’re having fun.”
The front door opened, and Will stepped inside, carrying a bag and followed by Michael and Rika.
Kai turned back to me. “Have your guys finish eating, and then I need them outside.”
“What’s going on?”
He paused for a moment, holding my eyes with a concern in his. Taking my arm, he led me back to the wall.
“Did you know that Delcour also belonged to your father at one point?” he said in a low voice.
Delcour? “What?” I didn’t know what to say. “It did? No, I didn’t know. I didn’t manage his businesses. Not his legitimate businesses, anyway. I thought I would’ve heard something, though.”
“He owned it before you were born,” he informed me. “It used to be a hotel. His family built it, in fact.”
A hotel. So…
“So, the secret floor…”
“Is there, as well.” He nodded, knowing what I was asking. “Looks like Damon was dividing his time between the two properties.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. That meant that when I was there, dropping off the contract at Michael’s party that night, my brother might’ve been in the building. I had no doubt he was in the city, but God…
Why had he never told me about Delcour?
“I’m ready to be done with this,” Michael said, dropping a duffel bag at the foot of the stairs. “He’s got us running around like assholes.”
“Exactly.” Will walked out of the kitchen with a beer. “We shouldn’t even go to The Pope. Let him to come to us. Let’s just leave the fucking door wide open. Why not?”
The muscles in Kai’s jaw flexed, and I knew he was frustrated.
“Please, don’t call the police.” I dropped my voice, leaning into him. “Gabriel won’t…”
“Won’t what?”
I didn’t want to tell them what my father’s next move would be. It might only give Kai ideas. “He won’t let Damon embarrass him with another arrest again,” I told him, keeping it vague. “I can get him under control. If I can talk to him—”
“He’s not coming near you.”
“He’s my brother—”
“It’s not happening!” Kai barked. “I will deal with him.”
“Will’s right.” Rika stepped forward. “Throw him for a loop and make him come to us. All this time he’s been here, he’s yet to be a serious threat anyway.”
But Kai just laughed, sounding more condescending than amused. “And sharks will circle things they’re trying to decide whether or not they’ll eat, too.” He looked down on her. “Sometimes they leave. Sometimes they bite. He may want to have a few words with us,” he gestured to Michael and Will, “but he’d love to get his hands on you two.” And he looked between Rika and me. “I’m not taking the chance that tonight is the night he decides to do that.”
“Exactly,” Michael replied.
“We’re meeting him later.” Kai pinned me with a stare that was more of a warning. “You, Rika, and Alex will stay here with Lev and David.”
“No!” Rika bellowed.
“Absolutely not!” I shouted. “I have just as much right to see him. If anyone can calm him down, it’s me. We’re not staying here and making cupcakes while the men go off hunting! If you think—”
Kai grabbed me, wrapping his arms around my torso, under my arms, and lifting me up. “I love you,” he whispered against my lips as he backed us away from the others. “And he can send me to prison again for a very long time. I’m not letting that happen now that I’ve found you. Please.”
His dark eyes, clouded with fear, were only for me. No one else would see.
He loved me?
I stared at him, wondering what was happening in his head. Why me? We didn’t fit. Was this really my home now? My bed upstairs? My clothes? My husband? Would I have our kids and know anything about being a mom?
God, the future looked so different now. These were things I thought would never be my life.
Instead of the direct line in front of me—a tunnel—my future seemed more like turning in a circle to find a road and instead finding only meadows and hills and mountains. So much to explore. No set path. I could walk and never step in the same spot twice.
But, for some reason, that didn’t really scare me. I wanted to dream again.
“Please, don’t hurt him,” I told him.
“I’ll try not to.”
He set me down and kissed my forehead before turning away.
But I pulled him back, whispering, “I love you, too.”
A smile flashed across his lips. Taking the back of my neck, he pulled me in again, kissing me on the lips longingly and then twice more, slowly.
Holding my eyes, he took a step back and turned to his friends. “Let’s get this place locked up like a tomb.”
