Page 68 of With This Ring

“Look, what is this about?” Whitney asks, but Kai hangs up.

“You can’t just kill people that talk shit to you, Declan,” Kai says.

“Oh, fuck you, Kai! I didn’t just kill him because he talked shit to me.” He pushes Kai in the chest, and I see red.

Reaching out, I grab Declan by the back of his jacket and slam him against the wall, putting my hand to his throat. Declan’s eyes grow wide when I apply pressure. “Do not touch my fucking husband.”

The hurt that flashes in his eyes sends a fissure through me, but Kai is my world. Declan needs to control himself.

My brother pushes me off, rubbing at his throat, leaving a mark of blood behind. “You’re taking his side over mine?”

“I’m taking the side of what the fucking evidence says,” I counter. “You’re a fucking hot head, ready to kill at the drop of a hat.”

“And it’s saved your fucking life more times than I can count!” he shouts. By now, we’ve gathered a crowd, some listening to the drama, others cleaning up the body in the middle of the floor.

Declan shakes his head, gliding a bloodied hand through his hair. “You know what? Fuck you, Carter. And fuck you too, Kai. I’m not wrong. I just hope neither of you is in a fucking pine box when you figure it out.” With that, he brushes past me and Kai and heads to the door. Everyone gives him a wide berth, knowing Declan will kill them if they tried to stop him.

I curse, tugging at the ends of my hair. Declan and I have our issues, but we’ve never had a blow up like that. I know he’s going to be pissed at me for a while since I took Kai’s side over his.

But come on, did he really expect me to let him push my husband around? Kai can more than take care of himself, but I know he wouldn’t have because of me. Declan was dead ass wrong, and he knows it.

“Fucking disperse,” Kai says to those still standing around, gawking. “The fucking show is over.” He snaps his fingers, stopping two men. “Get a bucket and fucking clean this shit up,” he says, pointing to the blood on the floor.

Not wanting to be around anyone right now, I turn on my heels and storm outside to the back patio. I draw in a deep breath as soon as I step outside, the chilly air filling my lungs. The cool autumn breeze drifts over me, ruffling my hair.

I put my hands on my hips and look up at the sky. Declan is a hot head, and he knows it, but he’s gotten better. After that shit he pulled with the Reyes family, he hasn’t been off the rails. Even the kill when Kai and I announced our new standings in our families was necessary, not something done on a whim.What happened this time? Was it because of the shit with the Fensters? The stress of it all?

No, that can’t be it. Declan doesn’t get stressed. When he has to be, he’s calm under pressure. What triggered this shit today?

Even though I’m pissed at Declan and the shit he just pulled, I smile at the presence at my back.

Kai’s warm hand lands on the small of my back, the weight settling my thoughts. “You okay?”

“I will be. You?”

He steps in front of me, an eyebrow raised. “You know I can take care of myself, right?”

I nod. “I know. I’m sorry. I just…I don’t like anyone touching you.”

“That’s how I feel about you. But next time, let me handle it. I wouldn’t have hit him,” he says quickly, “but I could have handled it.”

Again, I say, “I know. It won’t happen again.”

Kai runs a trembling hand through his hair. It’s only then that I focus on the dark circles under his eyes and the tiredness swimming in his gaze. He’s fucking beat. I thumb at the purple bruises, a pang going through my chest as I look upon his face. He needs me. I need to take care of him.

Kicking myself for not paying him the attention he needs, I entwine our fingers and walk backward with him. “Let’s go home and watch a movie. You need to relax. Security is heightened, so you don’t have to worry that we’re not safe.”

“Thanks, babe.” Even his words sound exhausted.

“Anything for you, pretty baby.”

CHAPTER 23

KAI

“You both should hear this,” Nico says to me and Carter after he knocks on his office door. We both look up at him in surprise, wondering what requires both our attention. Even more surprising is Nico has some man with bruises on his face by the scruff of his neck.

It’s been a few days since Pop’s funeral. Before Carter and I went inside to shower and watch a movie, I knew I had to talk to Nico so I could apologize to him. I think it had much to do with the funeral taking a lot out of me that he stopped to let me talk to him. I caught him just as we came back home, where the four walls of the house would trap him and make him listen.

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