Page 2 of With This Ring

Before he can answer—although I’m sure he wouldn’t have answered anyway—there’s a knock at the door. Dad tells whoever it is to enter. One of the floor managers of the casino Dad has his office in, the Azure Rose Casino, steps inside.

“Sir,” he says, looking at dad, then sparing me a curt nod, “Kai St. Clair is here. He’s…causing quite a stir.”

Dad curses under his breath. “I’ll take care of it.”

I stand quickly, Gavin following suit. “Allow me.”

Sighing, Dad throws his hands up. “Go ahead. Not like I can stop you. But you listen to me, and you listen good. Do not cause a scene in my fucking casino. Squash whatever shit you have going on with Kai. You hear me?”

Not fucking likely. I’ve spent the better part of my life hating that motherfucker. There’s no way that’ll stop now.

Dipping my head as if agreeing, I leave Dad’s office and follow the floor manager. “Where is he?”

“He’s on the main floor,” he replies.

“Really?” I ask. That’s unlike Kai. He likes to flaunt his money, only hanging out in the high rollers room when he comes to fuck off in our casinos. Dad has someone escort him out every time, but he always comes back. I don’t know what the fuck his deal is, but it pisses me off that dad only escorts him out of the casino and doesn’t shoot him in the fucking face for his disrespect. If I didn’t think their family would retaliate, I’d do it myself.

We take the elevator down to the bottom floor and me and Gavin branch off from the floor manager, after he points to where Kai is. It’s not necessary. I could hear the squeals and shouting coming from the craps tables before the elevator doors opened. About half a dozen men dressed in all black suits stand around the table in the middle of the room, facing away from the table as if to protect someone important.

Important my ass. He’s an annoying dick and I’m eager to put him in his fucking place.

Pushing through the men that are crowding around him, I grab Kai by his shoulder, spinning him around so he’s facing me.

His gray eyes flash with anger and his pale cheeks flush as he stares daggers at me. His long blond hair hangs loose around his face, the thick waves tousled as if he or someone else has been running a hand through it. His plump mouth tips up in a smile when he sees me, though anger still dances in those deep silveryorbs. I’m a few inches taller than him at six three, so he has to look up to meet my gaze. I like that I have that advantage over him, though he has me in weight, probably ten or fifteen pounds heavier than me.

“Carter. Fancy seeing you here,” he says conversationally, rolling dice in his hands.

“The fuck are you doing here, St. Clair? You want to bet,” I say, snatching the dice from his hand and tossing them on the table behind him, “stay where the fuck you belong.”

He smiles—more a baring of teeth than genuine happiness—and crosses his arms over his chest. “Now why would I do that when I can come here and take your money?” He pokes me in my chest, his sharp finger digging into my flesh.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I say through gritted teeth. “Get your fucking bitches and get the fuck out.” I point to his men and three of them growl at me as if they’re going to do something about me calling them bitches. Just because I only have Gavin with me doesn’t mean I’m more unguarded than Kai. This is my fucking territory—every man here is my guard.

“What if I want to hang out here?” Kai says with a shrug. “I’m not done gambling yet.”

He tries to turn back to the table, where everyone gathered are watching our exchange with wide eyes and bated breath. Even the dealer is waiting for this situation between us to be resolved.

I grip his arm, stopping him from turning back to the table. “Don’t fucking dismiss me,” I snarl, pushing him by the arm. “I said you need to get the fuck out of here. Now. Before I make you leave.”

“Oh yeah?” Kai steps closer to me until we’re nose to nose. “Then fucking make me.”

Taking a step back, I cock my hand back and connect with his face, hitting him in the mouth.

Kai stumbles back, his hand flying to his split lip. Before he can retaliate, I’m on him, pushing him to the ground and punching him once more. I pull my arm back to land another hit, but someone grabs my arm before I can bring it down. I look up to see one of his guards, who decks me in the face before I can block the strike. The hit makes me tumble off Kai, dragging my hand to my nose. It’s bleeding but not broken.

From there, all hell breaks loose. People push and shove to get out of the way, running back and forth to stay out of range of the fight. Gavin is on the guard that hit me and more of my men come out of the woodwork, taking care of the rest of Kai’s men. But he’s all mine.

By now, Kai has gotten to his feet, rage dancing in his eyes. “You’ll regret that.”

“I never regret beating your ass,” I growl, stepping up to him so I can rearrange his face.

We both throw a punch at the same time, and we both connect. Kai’s hit is brutal, slamming into my mouth with a force I didn’t think possible. I stagger back a step, but I shake that shit off. I move back in, and we trade blows, hitting each other wherever we can. I’ll have bruises and maybe a black eye, but it’s worth it to mark up Kai’s pretty face.

I grab the front of Kai’s shirt and, with a roar, I toss him onto the table. He grunts as he lands on dice and chips. I hop on the table, putting a knee to his chest as I rain more punches down on him. Kai grips my hand in midair and twists my wrist, causing me to cry out and lose my balance. He rolls with me and immediately locks his hands around my neck, trying to choke the life out of me. Even still, I continue to fight, getting a few hits in to his face before his grip loosens suddenly.

Coughing and trying to suck in greedy pulls of air, I sit up, wondering why he backed off so quickly. When my eyes focus, I see Charles ‘Charlie’ St. Clair, head of the St. Clair family,holding Kai by the arm. Though Charlie is probably closer to sixty, he’s strong and in amazing shape. Kai would be a fool to try him.

Beside him stands my Dad, a look of irritation on his face. I look away, not wanting to draw his ire anymore. I’ve already embarrassed him enough by showing my ass on the casino room floor.

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