Page 71 of Broken King

“Doing what? Tearing up the kitchen? What the hell are you thinking, Marius?”

“He fucking jumped on me,” he answers before I slam my fist into his nose.

Blood squirts everywhere, and a second later, Matthias pulls me by the back of my shirt off him. “Unless you want me to get involved in this, cut it out. Now!”

Marius jumps to his feet and marches over to the counter to get some paper towels so he can stop his nose from bleeding. I stand up and brush myself off, happy with how my first fight with only one hand went.

“You didn’t do too bad, little brother,” he says with a chuckle before tipping his head back and covering his face with paper towels.

I didn’t do too bad?

“Who’s the one who’s bleeding, big brother?” I say with a laugh, taunting him.

If he wants to go for round two, I’m up for it. I haven’t felt this strong since the accident. Fuck, this feels great!

Beside me, Matthias gives me a stern look. “What’s wrong with you two? I come in here to get a drink to take back to my office, and I find you two brawling on the kitchen floor?”

What he means is what’s wrong with me since Marius has always been a fighter. I’ve rarely enjoyed fighting as much as any of my brothers but especially since I lost my hand. That’s all changed now, though, that I know I can still hold my own.

“He pissed me off,” I answer with a smile. “So I decked him.”

Matthias seems confused, like he doesn’t know how to handle this new me. Turning to look across the room at Marius who’s stopped the blood from pouring out of his nose, he shakes his head.

“And you? What the hell were you thinking?”

Marius lifts his hands and shows off the blood-soaked paper towel. “What? He came at me, so I defended myself. It wasn’t anything big, so don’t get all bunched up about it. Just two brothers working out their differences. You should know that. You and Theo used to beat the hell out of each other all the time when we were kids. You and I have gone a few rounds more than once. And you better get used to seeing this because you have two sons barely a year apart.”

My oldest brother looks at me and blows the airs out of his lungs. “Well, I guess it’s good to know you can still handle yourself?”

“Damn straight,” I say with a big smile.

“Sure can,” Marius says as he walks over to pat me on the back. “Ronan’s back. It just took him getting pissed off to happen. Next time, though, could you stay away from my nose? This thing is going to be swollen all day now.”

Now it’s my turn to be confused. “I thought you’d be pissed.”

“Nah. I meant everything I said. Your girlfriend is worried about Sabrina and you, and I think you’re going to blow it if you don’t get moving with her, but you’re my baby brother, Ronan. I couldn’t be angry with you for long.”

Now I feel even better. “Even though I only have one hand and still kicked your ass?”

He rolls his eyes at that claim. “I let you get a few of those shots in, but you handled yourself.”

Beside us, Matthias says, “Good. Wait, what is going on with Sabrina? Are we talking about the girl Ava has helping her with the boys?”

Marius starts dancing and undulating his body as he says, “Boom chicka wow wow, a wow wow. Better watch out, Matthias. Don’t want this to become a boss and nanny thing.”

My oldest brother shakes his head at him. “You watch too much porn, dude. Nobody is going to be doing anything with my kids’ nanny.” Then he looks at me and says, “You aren’t doing anything with her, are you? I thought you and Kate were together again.”

I’m starting to get a headache from my family. “No, I’m not. This one over here thinks she likes me and says that he saw Kate last night, and she all but came right out and told him she’s worried about me and Sabrina. Since there isn’t any me and Sabrina, Marius is full of shit.”

Matthias pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “I don’t know what’s going on in my own house. I wonder if this is how Dad felt. If the two of you are done playing WWE, I’m going to get a drink and go back to work.”

Marius and I nod and then look at him before saying in unison, “We’re done.”

Walking to the refrigerator, Matthias points at a spot on the floor. “If that’s blood, you need to clean that up, Marius. Eleanor shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

He leaves, and I watch as my other brother grabs another handful of paper towels to clean the floor. Was he really serious about what he said about Sabrina being a gold digger?

“Hey, did you mean it when you said she wanted me?”

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