Page 87 of Our Blood, Our Pain

“I’ll keep an eye on him for now. Have you heard anything about Carlos’s guys clearing up our mess?”

“Haven’t you heard? You should look at the local news. Apparently, a stolen car belonging to another local gang was found at the bottom of a ravine. Exploded into a fireball. Will take a while to identify who was in the car,” Lev says with a smirk.

“Carlos is full of surprises.”

“I’m definitely having a chat with him when I get back. He’s always been a mysterious fucker.”

“Wish I’d had longer with them,” I say as I look over at Kai.

“It’s never enough, especially when it’s personal. You did good though.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m out. I’ll drop by in the morning to take you over to your sister’s.”

‘She ain’t my sister.”

“Fair enough,” he says with a shrug, and leaves without another word.

I move back over to Kai and take my place in the most uncomfortable chair in the world and try to relax.

“Are you sure you want to go over to Mom’s tomorrow?” Kai mumbles with his eyes still closed.

“I thought you were asleep. Listening in on conversations again?”

“Yep. You weren’t exactly quiet.”

“Go back to sleep, Kai.”

“So you did kill them?” he whispers and looks up at me with those pretty innocent blue eyes.

“I did.”

“When I’m better, I want you to tell me everything. How you did it. What they said.”

“Kinky fucker.”

“No. Just in love. Do you love me, Jules?”

“I think the trail of bodies should answer that.”

“It does, but I need to hear it.”

I stand and hover over Kai, clutching his face in my hands and leaning down over his lips, never breaking eye contact.

“I love you. I will torture, kill, and destroy anyone in my way when it comes to you. Never forget it.”

“What have you done to me, Jules? That should not sound as romantic as it does.”

I laugh, because I knew this would happen. Something about the Kozlov family converts you to look at the world differently. Crazy being the new normal, and I wouldn’t change it.

“It’s not a bad thing. Embrace it, Kai. Because you’re going nowhere. Where do you belong?”

“With you?”

“Who owns you?”

“You.”

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