Page 14 of Our Blood, Our Pain

“In some ways. Don’t be naive, Kai. This place will eat you up too, and you won’t even realize it. Or even feel bad. Believe me, the fuckers we bury deserve to be there.”

“You’re not God, Jules. None of you are.”

I smile at that response. So sweet.

“We’re gods here, Kai. Nothing that you or anyone else says will change that.”

“You’ve taken me from one bad situation into a worse one, Jules. I’m in more danger here than I was back home.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Nothing will happen to you here because I won’t allow it. They’d have to crawl over my dead body to get to you, Kai.”

I don’t wait for a response, and turn to walk into the main house via the kitchen patio doors where Kai follows me.

“Wow, this house is awesome,” Kai says behind me.

“Yeah, it is.”

“I’ve never seen a kitchen like this,” he mutters under his breath.

“You cook?” I say, stopping to turn to him.

“Yeah, I can cook. Mom taught me, and it always relaxed me. Stop looking at me like that,” he snaps.

“I’m not looking at you like anything. I’m just surprised.”

“I’m not a total failure.”

“I never said you were, Kai.”

Kai is so damn defensive, it’s painful to watch. I hate seeing that insecurity in his eyes. We all make mistakes, but Kai can’t seem to move past it, and berates himself. Compared to the shit me and the brothers did when we were younger, he really needs to accept it’s not a big deal.

“Who the fuck is this?” is demanded behind me. Dima. Subtle as ever.

“This is Kai. My step-nephew.”

Dima frowns like that isn’t an explanation. Lev follows in behind him and walks over to the kitchen island and leans against it. A smirk crosses his lips as he slowly appraises Kai, and my protective instincts kick in. I want to punch him for looking at Kai like he’s a piece of meat. Lev fucks anything that moves and is willing. Plus Lev is popular with both men and women, he’s built like a greek god, tattoos cover his arms and chest, and his black hair is cut into a tight military cut which makes those vicious green eyes of his pop. Dima is built the same, but has thick black hair and a cropped beard. Every fucker wants to bed these guys, and believe me, they have taken advantage of that.

“Kai, these are the brothers, Dima and Lev,” I say, pointing to them so he knows who is who.

“Yet I still don’t know why he’s here?” Dima complains.

“He’s Zayn’s replacement,” Lev says, with his eyes still on Kai. I can feel Kai tense beside me, shifting from foot to foot. Today couldn’t get any worse.

“Err, since fucking when?” Dima asks Lev.

“Since I said Jules could bring him on.”

“Why wasn’t I informed?”

“I’m informing you now, brother.”

“I’m the head of this family, Lev. It goes through me, I make the decisions,” Dima snaps at Lev, who just smiles at him.

“I would if you didn’t have your cock up Seb’s ass twenty-four-seven. And I don’t blame you, it’s a hot ass. But I made a decision. Deal with it.”

“I’ll fucking deal with you, fucker,” Dima says.

“No, you won’t. Now, let’s get to know the new boy.”

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