Page 61 of With This Ring

When I focus back on our surroundings, I realize the shooting has stopped. I peek out and see only my guys standing around, guns at their sides. “We’re good.” I turn to him, pulling open his shirt. Buttons fly everywhere, but I don’t give a fuck. I undo the vest and place my hand on his chest, feeling his frantic heartbeat under my palm.

“You fucking scared me, Kaison. Don’t do that again.”

He pushes my hand away but falls against me. “Not like I asked to be shot, Carter.” I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck. “I’m okay,” he says, his voice muffled against my chest. “Just sore.”

I open my mouth to say something,anything,but I’m cut off by Gavin shouting my name. I help Kai up and we round the corner, finding both of our guards looking around for us. “Here,” I say, holding on to Kai tightly. “You hurt?”

They both shake their heads. “Cops are coming,” Nico says, hands on his hips. “Those fuckers crossed the line, bringing shit in public like this.”

I agree as I look around at the carnage. Dozens of dead bodies litter the floor, most of them innocent civilians that were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man that Kai gave his card to, Bert, lies on his back, his unseeing eyes peering up at the ceiling. Some of my men are either dead or dying, blood surrounding them. Men in white suits that I can only guess were Fenster men far outnumber the bodies of our dead, their prone bodies looking like so many piles of snow.

Rage consumes me. This has gone too far. We’ve been doing what we could to find the Fensters, but it was obviously not enough.

I don’t give a fuck about collateral damage. What I do care about is how this will blow back on my family. How we’ll now be under the spotlight of the cops. The only good thing is the Fensters will too. I bet they didn’t count on any of their men dying, let alone about twenty. If they were smart, they would have waited until we left to try to take us out. They probably figured with more people around, it would be harder to pin anything on them. Fucking idiots.

Beside me, Kai makes a strangled sound. I look over at him, wondering what happened. I follow his line of sight and see he’s looking at a man with most of his head missing. It takes a moment for me to realize it’s Charlie.

Kai rushes over, grabbing Charlie by the front of his jacket. One hand hovers as if he wants to touch Charlie, but most of the remainder of his face is covered in blood and brain matter.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Kai mutters, tears making tracks down his face. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Walking over to him, I get on my knees beside him and turn his face towards me. “We’ll get them,” I promise vehemently. “We’ll find them and kill them all.”

“Carter, I don’t…fuck.” He looks back down at Charlie as if trying to memorize his face.

I’m not sure how long we sit there, but soon, the room is swarming with police. Everyone but Kai raises their hands over their heads, our weapons long forgotten. Thankfully, every gun brought here tonight is legally owned and registered, with no bodies connected to them. We can easily say we were shot at and defended ourselves. We also have the chief of police in our pockets, so not much will come out of this, other than the news and media.

After we’re searched and released from the cuffs the cops put us in, I’m questioned on the events of tonight. Kai is taken to be checked out by an ambulance, his eyes vacant and his shoulders slumped.

Before Nico gets too far, I grab his arm. “Take him home for me. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.” He nods and follows behind Kai and the paramedics.

The police ask me question after question. I answer them quickly, wanting to get home so I can take care of Kai. He doesn’t look too good after holding the corpse of his father.

I don’t tell the cops shit. I could easily tell them it was the Fensters so they could all be locked up and sent up the fucking river, but they’re fucking mine. I don’t want them to go to prison. The entire family will be fucking wiped out.

Maybe an hour later, I’m free to go with instructions not to leave town. I grunt and hustle out, Gavin hot on my heels. The sound of tires peeling fills the air as Gavin presses his foot to the floor and gets us home.

Less than twenty minutes later, he’s pulling up to my house, men converging around me like a human shield.

Once inside, I find Nico standing outside the fancy sitting room I never use. “He’s in there. He won’t leave.”

Nodding, I push past him and enter the room. Kai is sitting in front of the empty fireplace, staring into it with unfocused eyes. He still has on his bloodied shirt, his pants not faring any better.

“Baby,” I whisper, walking over and kneeling before him. He doesn’t answer or look at me. “Kai, baby, we gotta get you out of these clothes. You’re a mess.”

One beat passes. Then two. Then three. Finally, his unfocused eyes look over at me, taking me in as if just realizing I’m here. “Carter.”

“Yeah, baby. It’s me.” I put a hand on his cheek and stroke it with my thumb, rubbing off some of the blood he got onto his face from Charlie. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Pop. He’s…”

I sigh, but nod. “Yeah, baby. I’m sorry.” He nods, folding his lips in. Two tears fall quickly from his eyes, but I wipe them away just as fast. “Come on. Let me get you in the shower.”

He nods stiffly and I help him from the chair. I wave Nico off when I step out of the room and walk Kaison upstairs to ours. When we get to the bathroom, I undress him, tossing his soiled clothes into a corner. Before I put him in the shower, I grab a cloth and wipe the blood from his face.

Once he’s naked, I start to undo my clothes to get in with him, but he stops my fingers. “I want to be alone right now.”

That’s the last thingIwant. I need to be there for him, especially now.

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