“Well, good,” Vanessa sighed, playing stupid. “Why don’t you go unpack my suitcases, Banks? Let us eat.”
“I arranged a suite in the city for you.”
“I’ve changed my mind.” She waved me off. “I’ll stay here.”
I glanced up, finding Rika’s eyes, neither of us looking at all pleased with being here.
Fine. Whatever. Not that I was here that often anymore anyway, but I’d rather she was in a hotel where I was even less likely to run into her.
I twisted on my heel and walked toward the door.
“And don’t give my clothes to the dogs,” she called out.
I wouldn’t dream of it.
I pulled the door closed behind me and headed upstairs to one of the guest rooms. I honestly didn’t mind the task if it got me out of that room.
I found her Louis Vuitton luggage next to the bed in a room around the corner from my father’s and went through her things as slowly as I could, hoping Kai, Rika, and Will would be gone by the time I was done. Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought as much as I thought she would.
Of course, she’d be going into the city to shop, so she only packed a few bags. I hung up most of her clothes, placing sweaters, workout gear, and underthings in the drawers and arranging all of her products—moisturizers, cleansers, make-up—neatly on the en suite counter out of consideration for the staff who’d have to tidy the room, instead of for Vanessa.
I tucked the bags under the bed, straightened the comforter, and gave the room a once-over, making sure drawers and closets were closed before heading back into the hall.
It had been more than an hour. Maybe they’d left by now.
But when I headed for the window on the upstairs landing, I noticed the door to the third floor was cracked.
I’d closed that.
Opening it up, I looked up to the top of the stairs, seeing light coming through the open door at the top.
I climbed the stairs softly, on guard. No one went up there except Damon and me.
“Of course, he would have snakes,” I heard Rika say and heard her footsteps across my brother’s floor.
What the hell was she doing in his room?
“What’s the matter with you?” Kai asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.” She sounded worried. “Have you completely lost your mind?”
I tensed on instinct. Why had they snuck off together? Was Will in there with them? I stopped at the top and hung back, listening through the cracked door.
“This is stupid,” she pleaded with him, “and what I’ve respected about you is that you don’t do stupid.”
“I have a criminal record that says differently.”
She let out a scoff, and I heard more footsteps.
“A long time ago you told me something important,” she went on. “‘Whenever you want to make an impression and you think you’ve gone far enough, go one step further. Always leave them wondering if you’re just a little bit crazy and people will never fuck with you again.’”
“And?”
“And you’ve gone more than one step further.”
I heard some shaky breathing, and I wasn’t sure who it was from, but Rika’s tone sounded upset. Concerned as a friend would be.
“I like who I am now, and for better or for worse, you’re partly responsible,” she told him. “But this? This mistake could ruin you. This isn’t the life we want for you.”
I heard more steps, and since I couldn’t see them through the crack, I gathered they were near the tanks on the other side of the room.
“There’s a plan here,” he told her, speaking softer. “You have to trust me.”
There was silence, but I almost wanted to hear more. She was concerned for him, and she sounded as confused as I was. What was this plan? I wanted her to press him further. He might tell her things he wouldn’t tell me.
But the conversation was over.
I pushed open the door, seeing Kai turn and Rika look up as I stood there.
His eyes flashed to my gloves, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “No one’s supposed to be in here.”
Kai approached. “But you are,” he said, tossing me one of my hats he must have found in here.
I caught it, remaining silent.
“Why are you allowed? When did you move in with this family? You weren’t sleeping with Damon, because you were a virgin with me, so what was he doing with you, huh? Who exactly are you?”
I half-smiled. “Your favorite enemy,” I replied.
But just then, he darted out and grabbed my hands. I clenched my teeth together as he pulled off one glove and then the other, dropping them to the floor.
Goddammit.
He held them tightly, staring at the backs of my hands. Only one had the cigar burn on it.
I wore two gloves, though, to keep up the pretense.
I could hear his angry breathing getting faster. But he didn’t ask questions. I guess he was smart enough to figure out how Gabriel disciplined me.
Thankfully, it only took once for me to learn, though.
Rika shifted her head just a little, trying to be discreet as she got a look. The circular scar was about the size of a quarter, the flesh bumpy and pink. It wasn’t an old scar, but it had faded a lot over the past few years. I glanced at the small mark on her neck, knowing she got it from the same car accident that killed her father years ago.
“You don’t know what you’re doing to me,” Kai choked out, sounding solemn.
I turned my head away and kept my mouth shut.
Rika started to walk out, giving us privacy, but I stopped her.
“No, stay,” I told her. “He’ll need his friends.”
He stared down at me, getting in my face. “Do you want me to marry her?” he asked. “And this will be us? You, my little sidepiece whom I sneak off to fuck in the middle of the night. Huh? You’d like that?”
“You think I’d put up with that?” I retorted.
My face was starting to crack and my chin trembled, but I tightened every muscle I could muster, keeping the tears at bay.
“Look at me,” he whispered as Rika stood close but looked away. “Look at me.”
I didn’t.
“I like you,” he told me. “I want you in my house. I want to see you in my bed. I don’t want to not see you every day. Be with me tonight.”
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t be with him for anything more than stolen moments.
For one simple reason.
“Do you hate Damon?” I asked him.
He squared his shoulders, and I could tell a wall was going up. “He’s not a factor with us. He has no place in my life.”
“Well, he does in mine,” I stated. “I love him.”
Before he could say anything else, I spun around and left, jogging quickly down the stairs.
Enough, goddammit. Just leave. Everything was fucked up, because of him, and I wanted it back to when it was simple. When I was single-minded in the fact that I was loyal to one person, and that, alone, was my purpose.
When I didn’t want to say ‘yes’.
When I wasn’t falling in love.
I reached the bottom of the stairs and shot through the door, bumping straight into David.
“Hey,” he said. “I was just looking for you.”
I blinked away the tears in my eyes and looked away. “What?”
But then creaks and footfalls fell behind me, and Kai and Rika both stepped out of the stairwell, too.
I groaned.
David backed up, looking questioningly between the three of us, but he carried on. “Okay, great,” he said, nodding. “Everyone in one place. Perfect.” And then he looked down at me. “Gabriel needs you for a few moments. Bring them into the guest house.”
And he turned to leave.
The guest house—I grabbed his arm, narrowing my eyes. No. That’s where Gabriel took problems to deal with them away from prying eyes.
But David just laughed under his b
reath and leaned in to whisper. “It’s okay. Everyone will leave in one piece. I promise.”
Traipsing past the terrace and the flickering lights of Vanessa’s welcome celebration getting underway, I led Kai, Will, and Rika around the pond to the guest quarters. It was more like a starter house, the size much bigger than any apartment my mother and I ever lived in. Kai and Will had been there before. It was where Damon always took his friends on the rare occasion he invited anyone over.
This way, no one ran into his mother. Or saw me. It was fully furnished and decorated with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a great room. What did Gabriel need them out here for that he couldn’t take care of in his office?
Beautiful glass panes surrounded the front of the house, and I spotted a few men inside the cottage. My pulse quickened. What was going on?
I fought not to spin around and get them out of here. This didn’t feel right.
But David said they’d be safe. He wouldn’t lie to me.
Before I could make up my mind, though, the glass doors opened wide.
“Kai!” my father boomed from inside as Ilia held the door open for us. “Come on in!”
Kai walked around me, my feet still rooted to their spot. Rika and Will followed, and I finally moved, sticking my hands in my pockets, my fingers sliding into place on the grips of the blades I hid there.
“How do you like it?” Gabriel held out his hands at the massive room. “Just refurbished. I thought I’d make it your and Vanessa’s home when you visit. It’ll be nice to have some family around again.”
Ilia closed the door behind me, and we all stepped farther into the room. Three men loitered behind my father, spread out casually, but they were moving. Albeit slowly as to not attract attention.
But they had mine. They were positioning themselves around us. Ilia stayed at my side, while Lev and David were absent, probably on an errand somewhere.
“What do you want?” Kai stopped behind a cushioned chair, looking at Gabriel. “We’re heading out.”
My father moved behind a desk and picked up a black fountain pen, holding it out to Kai. “Just the small matter of a signature.”
I let out a breath. He wasn’t in danger, after all. This was just about the stupid contract that Kai would never sign. I’m guessing he didn’t hand in the one with the signature I forged yesterday morning in anger.
“Send it to the dojo,” he told my father. “If there are no more changes to be made, I’ll sign.”
“You’ll sign now. Vanessa is here, and the wedding is being planned.” He looked at Kai, all patience and pleasantries now gone. “Now.”
Kai took a step. “How do I know you didn’t slip in a contingency that I haven’t seen? I’m going to take my time to read it again before I agree to anything.”
My father dropped his hand and shot a glance over to Ilia, nodding to him.
What—
“Sorry, kid,” Ilia mumbled.
Huh?
And then he grabbed me.
“Hey!” I cried out.
But he hauled me across the room, and I twisted my head around, trying to see what was happening. Everything went down so fast. My father’s men each grabbed one of our guests, and Kai sliced his attacker across the face with the heel of his hand, sending the other man collapsing to his knees.
He immediately looked at me as I was forced over behind the desk with my father, and then someone whipped a steel bar across his shoulder blades, and Kai went down, grunting. He stumbled, shaking as he tried to see Will and Rika who were each being restrained by their arms.
“What the hell is going on?” he bellowed.
I twisted in Ilia’s arms.
“No contract, no agreement,” Gabriel gritted out. “No hotel, and Banks is ours.”
“I don’t give a shit about the hotel!” Kai shouted as he was hauled off his knees by the one who’d hit him. He shoved the man off and turned, glaring at my father. “And she doesn’t have to stay anywhere she doesn’t want to. She’s not your property!”
His eyes burned, looking both furious but ready.
Gabriel turned to me. “You want to go with him? Go.”
No. Don’t do this. I pleaded him with my eyes.
“Go,” he told me again, the challenge thick in his tone. “See how long he wants you. See what happens when you try to crawl back here, because you know how I reward disloyalty. Go.”
I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment, feeling all their gazes on me. This was unbearable. If I left with him, I left with nothing. Completely dependent on Kai.
I wanted him, but my father was right. Would I really exchange the devil I know for the devil I don’t? I couldn’t rely on what might or might not be between Kai and me. He was the next five minutes, and my family was the rest of my life.
“You want him?” Gabriel prodded again. “Go.”
He pushed, and I trembled, trying to hold in the tears. Please. Kai was waiting for me, and this was torture.
I could hear Kai’s breath shake as he held out his hand. “Come on, baby,” he begged. “Just reach out.”
My fingers hummed, wanting his touch. Wanting to take his hand.
But I curled them into fists and met his eyes, slowly shaking my head.
And Kai just stared at me, his expression frozen, but his chest slowly caving. The heat of shame spread over my face. I hated hurting him.
But we both knew this was over before it even began.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Gabriel told him, self-satisfaction in his voice. “She loves him. She’ll always choose him.”
The hint of hurt in Kai’s eyes turned hard, and he straightened up, smoothing a hand down his shirt and jacket as he glared at me.
My father turned to me, amused. “I don’t think he wants you anymore.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“If you don’t come, it’s war,” Kai threatened me, his tone as dead as a machine. “And I will make this hurt. Dare me.”
I heard my father chuckle, but I knew Kai wasn’t bluffing. And this might not even be about Damon anymore. He was angry with me now.
And then, all of a sudden, it happened. Kai shot out, grabbed the pen, and scribbled his signature across the line.
“Kai, no!” Rika cried out.
“No,” I gasped under my breath. Every bit of air left my lungs as I stared in horror at the signed contract.
Oh, my God.
He flipped the pen, letting it fall onto the desk and shoved the contract at Gabriel, his expression defiant. Then he reached over the desk, grabbed me by the collar with both hands and hauled me over, my legs and feet sending papers, a tray of files, and a lamp crashing to the floor.
“Kai,” I breathed out, clutching his hands as tears welled in my eyes. What did he do?
He stood me up in front of him, both of us facing Gabriel as Kai wrapped his arm around my neck. “Now you’re mine,” he threatened in my ear. “At least until the wedding.”
“’Atta boy.” Gabriel smiled as he picked up the contract and flipped all the pages back into place.
“Kai, what did you do?” Rika rushed forward.
But Kai didn’t say anything.
“I’ll inform your bride of the good news,” Gabriel told him.
Kai clutched my collar in one hand, pushing me to the side as he backed away.
“We’ll be in touch,” he assured Gabriel.
And he squeezed my hand, dragging me out of the cottage as Rika and Will both jogged to catch up.
“Kai, listen to me!” Rika tried to get his attention.
But Kai just kept walking, leading us around the house and into the driveway. I stumbled, my muscles burning to keep up.
We stopped in front of their cars.
“Kai!” Rika growled. “You can’t do this!”
“You’re not thinking straight, man,” Will chimed in. “We need to get that contract back.”
“That contract is the least of my worrie
s,” Kai spat out, reaching the cars. “I needed leverage, and now I have it.”
“No, screw that!” Rika yelled. “You can’t—”
“Damon has something on me!” Kai said, cutting her off.
What?
He spun around, looking at all of us. “Something bad, okay?”
Everyone froze, just staring at him.
What? He has something on him. Why wouldn’t I know that?
“What does he have on you?” Rika stepped up to him.
“Does it matter?”
“What does he have on you?” she shouted again.
Kai stared off, fury in his eyes but hesitant. What didn’t he want to say?
“His mother,” he finally said. “She’s dead because of me.”
My mouth fell open slightly, and I stared at him in shock. Rika and Will were quiet.
She was dead? I mean I suspected she might be by now. No one had seen or heard from her since that night six years ago, but I thought it might’ve been Damon or Gabriel who’d finally done her in.
Not that I really cared. As long as that bitch was gone, I was happy.
Kai’s jaw flexed. “Devil’s Night, six years ago at The Pope,” he explained. “She was…hurting Damon. And she was trying to hurt Banks. I lost it, and I attacked her. She got hurt in the fall.”
That night came flooding back. The terror, the disgusting, vile words she spoke, Damon’s pain, and…Kai losing his temper, hitting her, and the blood. He’d protected us, and if she was dead, then good-fucking-riddance.
“You’re just telling us this now?” Rika blurted out. “After all this time?”
“I didn’t know I killed her. Not until last year on the yacht,” he said. “You, Michael, and Will were in the water, and Damon and I were fighting. He fucking taunted me with it. A little tidbit he’d saved just in case.” He sucked in a breath. “After I left the hotel that night, she didn’t survive. He got rid of the body to protect me. Now he’s using it to threaten me. That’s why I need to find him. I’m not risking going back to prison.”
“And if he’s lying?” Will argued. “How do you know he’s telling the truth?”
“Would you take that chance?” Kai bit out. “Because she hasn’t been seen since. Either he produces his very-much-alive mother or her body, so I can move on with my fucking life and not have this hanging over my head. And if I don’t get one or the other, I’m going to shut him up forever.”