Page 72 of Queen of Spades

His thumb brushes my cheek as his fingers dig into the hair at the base of my skull.

“I’m not,” I say as my eyes pop open. “And I’ve owed you an apology for a long time. I’m sorry I shot you. More than that, I’m sorry that I left you to deal with Ranger’s wrath.”

Kane chuckles darkly, and his minty breath fans over my face with how close he is. “Yeah, I honestly thought he was going to kill me.”

My heart beats against my ribs as my stomach bubbles uncomfortably. “You have every right to hate me. I proved you right. I acted rashly.”

“You were scared. You had just witnessed something traumatic.”

I hate that he sounds so sincere. It makes me feel even worse. “I had never killed anyone before.”

“Since then?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow.

“No, but I was afraid my brother murdered you, and that would have been on my karma too,” I admit.

“Marco and his thug aren’t on you,” he says. “When it comes down to a kill-or-be-killed situation, that’s not the same thing as murdering someone in cold blood.”

I nod, turning my face into his wrist. “I get that.”

“I’m being real,” Kane says in a firmer tone. “Don’t try to compare yourself to me or Grady.”

I hear what he’s saying, but I’ve still got my own feelings about what transpired that day. I’ve obsessed a lot about what happened to Kane after I ran.

“Did Ranger torture you?”

“No.” He chuckles, but it’s a humorless sound. “He did force me to watch him work for a month, but other than one punch, he never touched me.”

I exhale heavily.

I’ve never been forced to see that, but I did once witness the carnage left over after he was done working. Stumbling into his shed was something that haunted me for years, but he never physically hurt me. He didn’t even threaten me.

I remember the frown on his face as he sighed, complaining I shouldn’t have followed him.

That was the day I realized who my brother really is.

My face nuzzles into Kane’s wrist. “Do you know what he has planned for me?”

“Hey,” he says quietly. When I don’t look at him, he gives my hair a tug. “I’m not going to let him hurt you. I think we both know that’s not his style, anyway. I’ve grown up a lot in the last three years. I get that it’s not just physical pain that you’re worried about.”

“I don’t want to live as a prisoner ever again.” My eyes clench shut. “I want a life where I’m not constantly looking over my shoulder because my family has enemies. Where I can leave the house and not have to plan it out with three guards just to make sure I get home safely.”

When my eyes open, Kane stares at me with an intensity that makes me shiver.

“Ranger has changed a lot, too, since you went missing. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he spent years trying to find you. He’s also working on a plan to make that future you want into reality?—”

“Oh, yeah?” I snort. “By marrying me off to Cas without my consent?”

“What?” Kane growls, leaning closer.

“Cas said the paperwork is already filed, but don’t ask me which name ended up on the marriage license for me. Honestly, it’s not even valid, because I know neither of us signed it. It’s the sneakiness that bothers me.”

“That deranged motherfucker,” Kane says, shaking his head. “It’s like he thinks he’s the next Mafia Matchmaker.” My brow furrows at the reference to a TV show that was on maybe ten years ago. “Right before the Andrettis made the play to take out your family, there was an omega living with Lucien. Her real name is Fallon Pierce, but she goes by Kate. She ran when you went missing, but she’s living with Ranger now.”

“My brother found his omega?” I gasp.

“Hardly,” he scoffs. “Ranger tracked her down and married her off to a couple of the guys from the security company we work for. He’s using her as bait to draw out Lucien and Ezrah.”

I’m not sure if I’m exhausted, and that’s why none of that made sense to my brain. “So, you don’t think he was lying when he told Cas the marriage paperwork was legally filed?”

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