Page 82 of Between Never and Forever

It was a turning point for me. I wasn’t the sweetheart Ezekiel thought I was. I wouldn’t be ever again.

“I want to stay, Dex.”

ChapterTwenty-Six

DEX

I knewthe moment I saw him step close to Keelani on the cameras that I was going to kill him. I’d avoided her for days trying to work out if I could figure out where she belonged. Next to me. Or away from me. With me or without me.

Real or fake.

My wife or my heartbreak.

It only took one second of seeing her in danger, of her heart rate picking up to decide it all for me. Monitoring her heart rate and other stats from her ring showed me there was fear there too. I’d made sure the high tech tracking we’d made for HEAT watches was implanted on that ring before she ever slid it on. I wasn’t sure if I was going to use it but after hearing from Dimitri about his concerns, I couldn’t stop myself at least for the night of her concert.

Now, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop at all. It was a complete invasion of her privacy and still, I stood there, ready to commit every crime with no remorse for her.

And she wanted to witness it. I could see it in her eyes.

“Jimmy, close the door,” I said quietly. Jimmy knew. He swung it shut fast, and I heard in my earpiece that no one was to enter the room. Right after, a notification sounded that the cameras in Kee’s dressing room went down.

Good.

He got the message.

“No need to keep you both, actually.” Ezekiel chuckled like we might all move past what he’d just done, but I saw how his eyes jumped to the door. “If you two need some time, I can come see Keelani later and—”

“Kee, did you ask this man to leave your dressing room before he put his hands on you?” I didn’t even feel the need to apologize that I’d had security cameras installed in here. Only I could access them and I would if it meant keeping her safe.

She hesitated. I saw it, and I fucking hated that she felt she needed to. Yet, her strength was there when she nodded and murmured, “Yes.”

“You’re acting a little off, honey. You need some water? She had a great show, but you know how the lights and the adrenaline can get to an artist, right? I’ve dealt with many over the—”

“I’m talking to my fiancée.” My tone made his mouth snap shut.

I cracked my neck, trying my best to hold on to the monster that rattled to get out now. I grew up with three brothers who could all fight. We beat each other up for sport until I went to college. Then, I graduated to dispelling my anger pointedly in my work or via a boxing match. Hitting this man would feel good. It’d feel even better to ruin him and kill him, but I wanted the lesson to be delivered first.

Restraint and patience were key.

“Heartbreaker, is there anything you want to say to him?”

Her eyes widened, and I saw how they shimmered, how the tears still hung there as evidence this man should have never been in her presence. “I… He shouldn’t visit me anymore. Not while we’re together.”

“Not ever,” I corrected her and nodded as she looked at me in fear. “You can say it, Kee. I got you. You know that, right? Even when you think I don’t, I’ll always have you. Forever.”

She bit her full bottom lip before murmuring, “Dex, this won’t end well. You and Dimitri have done a lot for me, but Ezekiel has been involved in the music business for a long time and he knows so many people in so many circles…”

She shook her head, and that’s when I realized she truly feared for not herself, but us. She was honestly protecting me over her own well-being.

I took a breath and looked at Ezekiel. “Did you know she was engaged to me when you sent flowers to her suite this morning?”

“Oh, I…Well, we’re friends, Dex. I always send Keelani roses. She loves them. Tell him, Keelani.”

She didn’t respond this time. Her face actually looked pained. But she didn’t answer, which meant I wasn’t doing a good enough job of showing her she’d always be safe with me. I hadn’t shown her that at all yet really.

“She doesn’t love anything from you. And if you send her flowers again, I’ll personally deliver every one of them to your door and shove them down your throat. Thorns and all.” I cracked my knuckles before I commanded the man in front of me, “Now, move two steps to the left.”

“Huh?” He narrowed his eyes at me like he didn’t get the command, but his body was already moving. “What for?” He glanced around like maybe he was on camera.