Page 88 of Our Blood, Our Pain

“That’s right. I refuse to live without you, Kai. And I’ll never let you live without me. It’s a done deal with us.”

“Jules stop, you’re getting me hard,” Kai groans and I silence him with a kiss. Sealing our souls together to never part.

It’s the following morning, and while Kai is having an examination by the doctors, Lev and Ivan have picked me up to take me to Jenny’s, to collect my car that Kai stole. There better not be a scratch on my baby.

“You heard anything from the police?” Lev asks.

“No. They turned up at the hospital when Kai was sedated, but said they’d be back. I guarantee Tim will be eager to try and involve us somehow.”

“Ohh let me hurt him, Lev. I can’t stand the fucker. I want to try new shit out on my tattoo gun,” Ivan says from the front seat.

“As much as I’d love to see that, you know we can’t do anything here. Not unless he came on our turf. Everyone will notice a cop missing in a town like this.”

“I’m hoping he won’t be a problem once we leave,” I say.

“All people are a problem,” Lev says as he pulls onto my sister’s street and parks outside her house. My car is in the driveway and doesn’t look like she’s come to any harm.

“You got the keys?” Lev asks as he turns off the engine.

“No. Kai said he left them in the hallway. Plus I need to get his clothes.”

“Get him some new shit. You know she won’t let you take any of his stuff, Jules. Just get your car and leave,” Lev says, and he’s right.

“Good idea. Oh shit, here we go,” I say as I see Jenny come outside with Tim following.

“Does he live here?” Ivan asks.

“I bet he wants to.”

Lev and Ivan go to get out of the car too, which I won’t argue with.

“What are you doing here? Wait…is Kai okay?” Jenny asks, her scowl changing to worry.

“He’s fine. Just here to collect my car, Kai said he left my keys on the hallway table.”

“Does that mean you’re leaving?” Jenny asks with a lilt of hope that I’m leaving Kai.

“If you mean am I leaving Kai, then no. Can you get me my keys? Please.”

“You know the police are going by the hospital this afternoon to question Kai? I think maybe you should leave your car here. Don’t want you running off anywhere,” Tim says.

“Why would Jules run off?” Jenny asks Tim.

“These guys that Kai has been working for are criminals, Jenny. I think they had something to do with it,” he says.

“What! Jules, is this true?”

“You know we had nothing to do with Kai’s stabbing, you fucking moron. Have you found who did it yet? Or are you still too busy trying to fuck Jenny? Gotta say, your police here suck.”

Lev and Ivan move in closer behind me and Jenny takes a step back, her eyes flicking back and forth between them. I really don’t understand where Tim’s misplaced arrogance comes from. Maybe everyone around here has kissed his ass for so long, he believes he has a power, and maybe he does. But not with us.

“I suggest one of you goes inside and gets Jules’s keys, otherwise I’ll get them myself, and you don’t want that,” Lev says. The edge his voice carries is something I’ve heard so many times before he lashes out. He’ll have no problem bundling them both up and driving them back to Grinston with him.

“Or what? You have no authority here. You’re just the regular scumbag crooks who think money can buy them anything. That won’t work around here,” Tim says to Lev. Everyone freezes to the spot in those few seconds that feel like hours. Tim even looks shocked at his own words. Too late for him to take them back now. As fast as a bolt of lightning, Lev has Tim pinned against the side of the house. Lev is significantly larger than Tim, who is unable to get himself out of Lev’s grip.

“You listen to me, you washed up piece of shit. I could have you in the back of my car and take you somewhere where nobody would hear your screams as I remove the skin off your bones. But I won’t. Yet. Your pathetic little threats are starting to annoy me, and nobody wants that. So either shut the fuck up, and move on with your life, or I will personally make sure it’s a life of hell.”

“Jules, tell him to let him go, please don’t hurt him,” Jenny cries, grabbing my arm.

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