“I told you my jet is superior,” Diego taunts sarcastically.
My eyes roll at their banter.Or I think they did. It’s hard to tell if I am still in shock or not. Liam pulls back from Diego, shooting him a playful sneer. He takes a step my way, but before he can get anywhere near me,The Bone Breakershoves my overnight bag into Liam’s chest.
“Be a good lad and take my wife’s luggage. We are in a hurry,” he demands in the worst attempt at an Irish accent I have ever heard.
Liam flinches but recovers so quickly, I almost miss it. “Fuck you. Next time you get shot twice and are bleeding out on a yacht that is about to blow up, I won’t be there to help.”
“I don’t plan on having history repeat itself, asshole,” Diego says cryptically.
Liam slings my bag over his shoulder, turns on his boot, and walks us to the car. Diego places a hand on my lower back but I increase my pace, forcing him to drop it. As Liam is placing my bag in the trunk, Diego opens the back door, gesturing for me to get inside. Even going as far as to bow.Fucker. He only did that because I denied him the ability to keep touching me.
Heat builds inside me, replacing my haze of confusion with anger. I spin around as he cages me in, one arm resting above me and the other against the door of the SUV.
“You know, I didn’t come here for this. I’m here to see my dad, not here to play games,” I whisper-shout.
He hesitates a second before picking me up like a child and placing me in the middle seat of the Cadillac. Leaning over, he grabs the buckle, gliding his hands over my thighs and buckling me in.
“Let’s get you to him then,Mariposita.”
His muscular frame slides in next to me, slamming the doorshut. Liam hops in the passenger seat as Kieran turns around in the driver seat.
“Hey there, love. Long time no see.” He chuckles before turning his attention to the road.
“Hey ya big bastard. I see you haven’t changed a bit.” I laugh, despite my irritation with the two other men in this car.
Liam still hasn’t acknowledged me.
Music replaces the awkward silence as we make our way towards the hospital.
As we approachthe front entrance, my phone vibrates with a text message from my sister Mikayla.
Mik
Are you almost here? I’m outside smoking a cigarette. I’ll wait for you to go up.
Fuck.I don’t need her seeing Liam or Diego–it’s not like she knows who Diego is… but I don’t need him running his mouth about us being married—or any other detail he may be inclined to share. Kieran pulls up to the entrance and I spot my sister right outside.Thank God for tinted windows.
“Nobody get out of the car,” I announce frantically. “I don’t need my sister asking questions.”
Liam chuckles before speaking. “She is quite the investigator. She’ll without a doubt know something is up ifIget out of the car. I planned on coming in with you, is that not alright?”
My hands grow clammy. I slide them over my leggings to absorb the moisture.
“No, that’s okay. I appreciate that, really, but I think it’ll be best if I go spend somealone timewith my family.” It’s hard to ignore the shakiness in my voice.Damn these men.
Diego stirs next to me, seemingly annoyed at my request. “I’m yourhusband. I can be there with you.”
I turn to look at him while unbuckling my seatbelt. “Please, can we drop the husband act for now? I need to get to my dad, and I need to digest the fact that not only am I back in New York, but I am back here with all of you.”
This time both Diego and Liam flinch as if I slapped them. Diego purses his lips like he wants to say something, but stops himself. I slide over the bench and pull the door handle but it doesn’t open. Trying again, I get the same response.
“Oh shite, we had little Kian in the car the other day and put the child lock on. I can get out and get ya,” Kieran offers.
“No!” I shout, knowing my sister has a keen eye and will remember him from the club and my graduation dinner. “Just pop the trunk, I’ll grab my bag.”
I scramble back down the bench and awkwardly straddle-climb over Diego. Our noses practically touch at how close we are. The sunglasses he was wearing now rest on top of his head. Those sapphire eyes of his flash with a fresh round of lust before dulling out. Sturdy hands come up around my waist, giving me a gentle squeeze before he opens the door.
“Your father will pull through,Mariposita.”