Page 24 of Blood (A Killer’s Love #4)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kaleb
It’s gone. My patience with her is done.
If Samantha wants to act like a brat, I’ll treat her like one. At this point, the question is which does she need more: a good spanking or a good hard fuck.
Throwing the back door open, I storm through the laundry room until the door to the back stairs is suddenly blocked.
Daniel. The man is an unmovable tank. My oldest brother stares at me unmoving. Arms crossed against his huge chest, he widens his stance.
Samantha, I can strong-arm into listening to me. Daniel, not so much.
“This is between her and I, big guy.”
“She’s crying,” he says.
“I had noticed,” I snap back. “Grrr.” I scrub my face. Anger won’t get me anywhere with him.
“What’s going on here?”
We both turn to Charlie as she steps into the laundry room.
“Hi,” I breathe, bending to kiss her cheek. “You should be resting. Are you even allowed to be walking around?” I ask, but my eyes direct the question to my brother.
“She shouldn’t be,” her husband agrees.
“The baby is sleeping.” She shrugs. “I heard the door open. I can’t sit for twenty-four seven.”
Daniel turns to her. “I’ll take twenty-three hours of the day then.”
Charlie chuckles at his words. “Kiss me,” she demands.
I look away when my brother ducks to press his lips to hers.
“Now, what’s going on with you?” Charlie grills me.
“Sam and I are arguing,” I explain.
“Oh, she’s in the kitchen.”
“Charlie.” Daniel frowns.
Unbothered by her husband, Charlie shrugs. “They need to work it out at some point.”
At least someone’s trying to help me.
I look between the couple. “I’ll fix this. I’ll take her to the cabin, and we’ll talk it out.”
Daniel remains quiet for a few minutes before giving a short nod. “Mom and Dad are upstairs. As are my children. She goes quietly and willingly,” he informs, permitting me, but I hear the warning.
“I would never hurt her,” I state. Needing him to hear it.
He knows; it’s written all over his face.
“Everyone knows that, silly,” my sister-in-law soothes, rubbing my arm.
“I caught her with Cooper,” I blurt.
Daniel’s head snaps to me, but I don’t elaborate. They’ll give me more time with her if they think she needs a good talking-to.
My brother steps forward to kiss his wife’s head, then motions for me to follow him. We head straight for the kitchen, where my girl sits at the kitchen island holding a cup of cocoa.
“We’re leaving,” I tell her.
“You can do whatever the fuck you want, but I’m staying here.”
Her eyes are red, and her cheeks still wet. My heart crumbles seeing her hurt, but we need to work this out. We can’t keep going like this.
“I wasn’t asking. You’re going to get your ass in my car, and we’re going to go sort this out. I’m done, Sam. Enough.”
“Mom and Dad are upstairs,” she challenges.
“Great.” I smile. “Let’s go have a chat with them,” I bluff.
Her face drops. That’s what I thought.
“Get your ass in the car. Now.”
The hot chocolate sloshes over the rim of the cup and onto the marble counter.
“Fine. You wanna fight this out? Let’s fight it out,” she hisses, moving past me.
“I’m not fighting. I told you I was done.”
She blinks quickly at my words but continues moving to the back door.
“Sorry to bother you both.” I apologize to the couple who are still watching.
“You’re coming over for dinner on Thursday? Meet the baby in person,” Daniel asks.
“Of course.” I nod. My eyes drift to the stairs.
“I dare you,” Charlie challenges, knowing I’m tempted to sneak up for a quick snuggle. “If you even think about going in the room, he wakes up. He is not a deep sleeper.”
“You can hold him Thursday. Come at four, and you can get an hour of cuddle time in before Michael gets here and steals him away,” Daniel offers.
“Give him and Belle a kiss for me. We’ll be back in a couple of days.”
“Samantha is staying with you until then?” Daniel asks.
“Yes.”
Whether she likes it or not.