Page 11 of Judge (Devil’s Rose MC #7)

Judge

I t shouldn’t surprise me that the big littles have this badass hideout, but it does.

When I was a kid my dad built me a clubhouse.

It was only for me and Kaia, so it was basically a box.

We furnished it with beanbags and had my old metal lunchbox that we kept snacks in.

These kids have a room almost the size of our common room at the clubhouse, complete with a kitchenette, electricity and a TV on the wall.

“What is this place?” Kaia asks, head swivelling to take it all in.

“It’s the big littles’ hideout,” I reply, taking in her beautiful face as she looks around the room.

The hideout is decorated with twinkly lights, soft music playing in the background and there are tables dotted around.

Kaia and I are at one, Blanche and Tav at another.

Pops and Mama Debs are across the room and Kaia keeps shooting daggers at Pops every now and then so he’s avoiding all eye contact.

“What did Pops do to you?”

She brings her chocolate-colored gaze to mine, my heartbeat stuttering for a moment. “The brothers were helping me make jambalaya. He pranked them by switching out my peppers for some ghost peppers.”

My lips twitch. Shit. She won’t let this lie.

“Would you like anything to drink, sir, madam?” Turning to my left has me looking at Jax’s narrowed eyes and fake smile. “You better behave,” he murmurs. The kid would make a great ventriloquist.

“Jax!” His mother barks at him. “It’s just dinner, jeez. And yes, I would love a wine, thank you.” She gives him a sweet smile as he pours the liquid in her glass. “And is this where you and your sister have been all day?”

“Pops needed a hand and someone to keep the big littles in order,” he replies, pushing a glass of water my way.

“How’s that going for ya?” I ask, bringing my water glass to my lips. I’m not drinking tonight anyway. Not with our mission tomorrow.

“I think there’s something wrong with these kids.”

I snort and then choke on my water. I mean, he’s not wrong. There is definitely something different about those kids. I’m not too sure if it’s The Keep’s genetics or Blanche’s parenting. Although Jovie is just as bad and she’s not a Keep kid.

He wanders off to somewhere behind a curtain. Whoever is back there seems to be at the mercy of Cove, barking instructions like a drill sergeant.

“So, um, I guess I wanted to say sorry for banning you from the diner. It seems unfair now, given you didn’t know about the twins.” Kaia’s eyes are boring into mine, and the intensity is too much for me to bear. I move my gaze over her shoulder, and nod.

I sit in silence for a moment. Unsure what to say.

It used to be so easy between us. I could share everything with Kaia, all my inner thoughts and feelings.

I didn’t need to wax lyrical or anything, but a short three word sentence on how I was feeling and she’d be able to read the rest. That was a lifetime ago and now she’s here, staring at me like she wants me to say something.

I have so many words, and yet none want to come out.

“It’s OK,” I muster up after too long a pause.

Darting my eyes to her face I’m met with a frown. She fiddles with her cutlery, looking around, preferring to watch the other couples than engage with someone so verbally backed up that I’ll need a colonoscopy to get the words out.

I follow her gaze, to where it’s lingering on Fox and Nitro. “It’s new. Them, being together.”

Her eyes flick to mine. “I heard. It’s kinda sweet, best friends to lovers type thing.” She huffs.

“Huh?”

She rolls those chocolatey eyes, and it sends me hurtling back through the years. “Mira could probably explain it better.”

“She uses too many words.”

Kaia snorts, taking a sip of her wine, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

“Best friends to lovers is a romance book trope. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin.

Best friends fall in love with each other but neither wants to make the first move in case it ruins the friendship or whatever.

Usually there’s a catalyst to get them together.

It might be one of them starts dating and the other gets jealous, or -”

“Or one of them gets shot?” I finish for her, eyes on my brothers.

“Yeah, something like that.”

I wait a moment, working the words over in mind as Kaia takes another sip from her glass. “Kinda like us, almost.” My eyes dart in her direction.

Her face falls slightly and it makes my chest tighten.

I watch as she pulls herself back together, piece by piece until she looks unbothered by the conversation.

I’ve seen her do this time and time again growing up, and yet somehow she never looked this alone, this fragile.

I know it’s not my place to ask what she’s been through, not yet.

I need to gain her friendship, her trust back before I can even think to ask such things.

She shakes her head, plastering a smile on her face, her eyes still holding shadows. “Not quite like us. We’re more best friends to lovers to enemies. That’s a thing, too.”

I stare at her. “Seriously?”

She laughs and it strips the tension a little. “Seriously. Women have long been neglected in the book world. There’s all sorts of tropes.”

“Mira talks about them a lot, but I thought she was just making stuff up. I mean, half the time I’m not even sure I get the full sentence when she talks.”

Kaia giggles, and the sound makes me want to make her laugh all the time. Forever.

“I love her. I love all the women. Did I tell you I got to fire a rocket launcher?”

I mirror her grin. “Yeah. The kids were pissed they never got to fire it.”

She starts shaking her head back and forth before I even finish speaking. “Nope, nuh uh, no way! Those two can cause trouble without military grade weapons.”

“I don’t know, they seem pretty innocent to me,” I joke.

A look crosses Kaia’s face and I watch as those damn shadows take over again. I knew this woman like the back of my own god damned hand for most of my childhood. She’s gone through some shit and come out the other side. I just know it.

“You’re a fantastic mom, Kaia. I wouldn’t trust anyone else in the world to raise my children.”

She sniffs and looks over my shoulder, “You don’t know what type of mother I’m like, Judge, and your confidence is misplaced. But thank you for using your words.” She gives me a sad smile.

“Dinner is served!” Cove’s shout right next to us makes Kaia jump but it’s the jolt we needed as she throws her head back and laughs.

“Thanks, Cove,” I grin as she walks away in her snazzy looking head chef outfit.

All the kids look great, the waiting staff - the big kids, including mine - are all dressed in smart black attire.

Jovie seems to be holding down a few roles, both in the kitchen and outside.

Elio is being himself, attempting to socialise but instead placing dinner plates of bolognese in front of Tav and Blanche with little to no interaction.

“Bolognese for the lady, and the gentleman,” Annie-Bella grins, placing first her mother’s and then my meal in front of us. “Enjoy!”

“Thank you, Belly,” Kaia murmurs, pressing a kiss to Annie’s temple.

My brows pinch and I gotta ask, “Did you just call her-”

Kaia giggles, swallowing her mouthful, “Yeah, sorry. Her name is just a mouthful sometimes, so I sometimes call her Belly. Have since she was little.”

A smile breaks out across my face, it’s damned cute.

“Jax calls her Fanny-Smella when she pisses him off.”

I blink, once, twice before throwing my head back and roaring. “That’s siblings for ya.”

We grin at each other, and I enjoy the food and the company. I can’t say that Kaia won’t stab me in the balls when I least expect it, but at this very moment it feels like there’s a short burst where the years between us disappear and I’m here, with my best friend.

“Thank you, Kaia, for agreeing to dinner.”

“Thank you for asking, I guess. Although I have a feeling Pops had a lot to do with it.” She grins in Pops’ direction, catching his gaze enough to point at her eyes, then back at him in the universal sign for “I’m watching you”. Pops’ back stiffens and I stifle a laugh.

“Kaia, after all this shit is over and done with, would it be OK if I visited with the kids? Not too often, it’d be up to your discretion and all that, but I’d, um, I’d like to get to know them.”

She stares at me, and I can see her brain working.

I hold my breath, hoping like hell she agrees.

“It’ll be up to them to agree, but I don’t have a problem with it.

Just, just don’t break their hearts, OK?

” Her eyes implore me and I fucking know they’ve been hurt in the past. The urge to get to the bottom of this shit burns in my gut but I need to tread softly here.

“I promise, with everything in me that I’ll protect them.”

She nods once and the relief in her eyes guts me. She may have my word that I’ll protect their hearts, but I’m hell bent on protecting hers too.

Kaia

Damn Judge and his ability to read me so well.

I thought after fourteen years apart that I’d have learned to cover my tracks better, learned to lie better, or at the very least hide my emotions.

But when it comes to the way I feel about my kids and what they’ve been through, its fucking hard to bury all those emotions and memories.