Page 39 of Collide

We must have been driving for about ten minutes, or rather, sitting intraffic, before boredom kicked in. I was getting fed up with watching the rich and privileged going about their lives when I knew that just a few miles down the road there were good people struggling to make ends meet and having to resort to all kinds of shit to put food on the table.

Every so often, I could feel Kai’s intense stare on me and it seemedthe longer I ignored him, the more annoyed he would become.

“Where are we going?” I asked, eventually allowing curiosity to getthe better of me. I looked over my shoulder to see him give me a smug look like he was pleased I was the one who had conceded to our little game of who could stay silent the longest.

He shifted in his seat so he could face me but I kept my body turnedtowards the door, not wanting to get drawn into him.

I didn’t expect the next words that came out of his mouth.

“Did you know my brother was murdered a few months ago?”

I hadn’t known Kai long but it was the first time I had heard him speakwith a tinge of emotion in his voice as opposed to his usual arrogance.

“No,” I replied honestly, now turning in my seat and blinking up at him.

“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

I don’t know why people say sorry when they find out someone’sloved one had died. It wasn’t as if it was my fault his brother had been killed and yet it felt like the right thing to say.

Kai stared at me for a beat, and for a split second he almost lookedvulnerable, almost as if it was taking him a whole load of effort to not let a tear fall for his dead brother. It was the first time he was showing real, raw emotion and, despite my current hatred towards him, I couldn’t help but soften.

Losing someone was hard, and from the rumors I’d heard about theWolfe brothers, it sounded like they were close. I couldn’t bear to think of what it would be like to lose Angel.

Anguish was written all over his handsome face, if only for a briefmoment, but it was enough for me to see that under all his bullshit and bravado, he was grieving for his brother.

The monster was human after all.

“How did it happen?” I asked tentatively.

He inhaled deeply and his eyes hardened once more, the moment ofreal emotion hidden under the walls Kai had built around himself.

“He went out one night without his usual entourage of security. Hedidn’t come home and I made the mistake of assuming he’d hooked up with some whore. But he was found the next day down at the docks with his throat slit.” Kai looked down at his hands briefly and I followed his gaze. His hands had curled into fists, his knuckles turning white.

I had the sudden urge to reach out and take one of his hands but Iresisted. I hated this bastard, no matter what grief he was feeling, I had to remember that I hated him.

“Do you know who did it?” I asked and immediately regretted thewords that had left my mouth when Kai’s head snapped back up, a look of pure fury etched on his face. I flinched in my seat. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” I whispered.

He unclenched his fists and took another deep breath, attempting tocalm himself down.

I’d just hit a nerve.

“No. It’s almost like a ghost appeared one night, did the deed, anddisappeared again. I’ve tried every fucking avenue to find the cunt who killed him but the trail is stone cold dead, just like Theo,” he growled, his eyes darkening with raw need to avenge his brother's death.

I could sympathize with Kai, if the shoe was on the other foot, I woulddo whatever it took to find Angel’s killer, and I would take great pleasure in ending their life. I guess the difference between Kai and I is that I would happily spend my life behind bars knowing her murderer was rotting in hell. Kai though, he’d never spend a day behind bars, he’d make it all go away and carry on ruling this city like the King he believed he was.

I stayed quiet for a minute, processing what Kai had said. Igenuinely hadn’t known Theo Wolfe had been murdered, I didn’t exactly make it my business to know the ins and outs of the Wolfe brother's lives, and I didn’t go out of my way to find out the gossip on people I had no intention of ever meeting.

Sure, in the club the girls always gossiped about what they were toldor what they’d overheard but I paid little attention, I didn’t go to work to gossip, I worked to support Angel.

“You never said where we were going,” I said, realizing Kai hadn’tanswered my initial question.

“You’ll see,” he replied cryptically and then pulled his phone out of hisjacket pocket and started tapping away at the screen, dismissing me from the conversation.

Eventually, we made it out of the city and it took another twentyminutes to arrive at the dock. Kai and I didn’t speak again, which suited me fine, I had nothing to say to the man and I certainly had no intention of making idle chit chat with him so he could get to know me.

The docks were located on the outskirts of West Bay, almostbordering East Bay. They didn’t appear to be in use, there were no boats docked, no persons around, and derelict buildings stood empty with smashed windows and broken doors.

When the car came to a stop outside one of the buildings, Kai got outand offered me his hand. His anger which had been evident during the car journey had started waning, and not wanting to rile him up again, I took his hand, ignoring the jolt of electricity that shot up my arm the second our palms touched.

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