Page 4 of Junior Has a Secret

Chapter Four

Once we’re inside the SUV, in the backseat and momentarily alone, Kane catches my arm and drags me to him.“We have much to discuss.”He sounds foul, as if he’s scolding me, but a moment later, his hand is on the back on my head, and he’s kissing me again, a long stroke of tongue that has me moaning with the taste of him, but far from submissive, if that’s what he’s hoping for.

So not dumbed up.

Which is why I notice the possessiveness in him, and it stirs memories in me I do not like, of times when he tried to suppress who I am and pretended he’s not who, and what, his bloodline destined him to become.I rip my mouth from his, glowering up at him, a question in the act I don’t have time to force him to answer.It’s in that moment that the front doors open and Kit files in behind the steering wheel while Jay claims the passenger seat.I grit my teeth and point up at Kane.“We don’t live lies anymore,” I whisper roughly and when a flicker of surprises flashes in his eyes, I add, “And no.Noto whatever you think is going to piss me off.”With that, I yank my arm free and sit back, my gaze straight ahead of me and away from Kane.

I can feel Kane’s stare bore into me, before he shifts forward and settles against the seat, my attention lowering to his long fingers where they rest on his leg, curling into a tight ball.He’s pissed.I’m pissed, too, and I don’t even own the luxury of knowing why.Only that whatever it is he has planned is related to his father and I know in my gut, he has every intention of telling me after the fact.At this point, I’ve forgotten Ghost and my father with focus on my husband, who only ended up in that role because we both made commitments, we both promised transparency, and that means him, despite his need to protect me.Now my fingers curl on my leg and I remind myself to give him the benefit of the doubt.He’s in the SUV.He’s here with me, rather than trying to shove me in a vehicle on my own while he departed.Assumption of past behaviors repeating can be as smart as it is stupid.

In Kane’s case it better be stupid and I don’t like to be stupid.

The tension between me and Kane is palpable.Smartly, neither Jay nor Kit dare look back at us and I’m certain they do not want any part of the wrath they might find if they dared.But then these two are skilled practitioners of the Kane and Lilah ways, therefore savvy enough to know when to keep to themselves.Well, Kit does.I’m not sure how Jay is controlling himself.He needs words on his tongue, and yapping in my ears.Kit starts the engine and sets us in motion while the silence grows deafening, and considering the crush of vehicles attempting to exit the event parking lot, there’s no end in sight.

At the ten-minute mark, we’re still waiting for our turn to exit the secure area, when Kane shifts where he sits, uncharacteristic open agitation in the action, and I watch as he glances at his phone, wondering what he hopes to find, knowing he won’t discuss anything related to his father or the cartel on his personal line.Either way, I check my own messages and find everyone who knows me has been smart enough to avoid me on a night I can’t avoid my father.As if my pain in the ass brother has plucked that lie I’ve told myself right from my head, a text slides onto my screen:I’m coming by your place.I need to know what the heck is going on.

The day that man makes “fuck” a true part of his vocabulary, I’ll know he’s a clone.It’s my turn to sigh and Kane’s gaze cuts to mine, a question in his eyes.“Andrew wants to know what happened with my father.He wants to come over.”

“No,” Kane replies tightly.“Final answer and tell him if he wants to push my limits, he won’t like the result.”

Rarely is Kane this ripe, unless it’s behind closed doors—at me and with me, but he’s hit a limit that has his father written all over it.In other words, I’m a feisty bitch, but I like to think I understand my husband’s breaking points and he mine.The only one who gets to work his hot points when he’s like this is me.It’s time to get rid of my brother.With this in mind, I type my reply to Andrew:I’ll call you later.Much later.And when I know he’s typing a rebuttal, because I know him, and there’s always a rebuttal, I add:But if you really want to come over, Kane said he’d be happy to bake you cookies.

Now I wait and see if my brother has grown a set of balls.I’m betting on a big fat no.I get my answer in three seconds.No balls.Just bravado.Fine, Lilah,he replies.I won’t come over, but I’m in the center of this hell.I need a phone call.Now.Not much later.

Considering he’s inside the hornets’ nest, and he can’t even tie his own shoe without asking questions half the time he’s not wrong.I have to call him and manage to calm him while assuming our calls are being monitored.I punch his autodial, and he answers on the first ring.“What the heck, Lilah?”

“Where’s Dad now?”

“His security team just rushed him out of here,” he answers.“What happened to his finger?And don’t tell me he smashed it.”

“He had a visitor,” I say cautiously, not about to say Ghost’s name on a cellphone, and even if I would, I don’t need Andrew going DEFCON 1 on me.Should that happen, I might have to murder him and I haven’t tortured him enough in this lifetime to be done with him.“I handled the situation,” I add calmly.

“Who?”he demands.“Who was it?”

“Do I really need to say this to you?Not on the phone.Meet me for breakfast.”

“What time?”

I glance at Kane who’s staring at me with one of those unreadable hard expressions that declares himself as a living, breathing king which is why there are moments when I’m forced to remind him that the king bows to his queen.But there are also moments, few would believe, when I bow to him.Okay, I don’t have those moments, but I stand by his side, and unless he becomes an unbearable dick, that’s my position tonight.

“Lilah,” my brother presses.“When?Where?”

“At this point, Andrew, I have no idea when I’m going to sleep.It’s in your best interest that I sleep four hours before we meet.”

“You haven’t outgrown that, Lilah?Dad wants me at the office early.”

“I’m confident that you’re intelligent enough to come up with a reason for being late.”I hang up on him and a cursory glance tells me we’re outside the venue, thank fuck, and closing the distance between us and our apartment.“The idea of my brother undercover within the Society circle,” I say, my gaze meeting Kane’s, “and even with our own father, terrifies me.”

“With good reason,bella.He’s trying to be a hero on a battlefield of blood and bones, when your brother is the guy who’ll offer his enemy a hand, not a blade and a grave like his sister.And sometimes, your way is the only way.”

Chapter Five

He means his way,our way, the dark parts of us that see an excess of bodies six feet under.And that statement tells me exactly how fucked up he is in the head right now, and without one inkling of doubt, that’s compliments of his father.I rotate to face him, in full confrontation mode, but he’s ready for me.“No, I am not suggesting we should start stabbing people,” he says, his effort to cut off my concerns.

“But you’re not suggesting we shouldn’t, now are you?”I counter.

There’s a tug on his jaw, the muscle a knotted rope, as he redirects the conversation back to the event we’ve already left behind.“What was that back there on the stage?”he asks, the king vibe sliding away, though I have no doubt it’s within easy reach.

“My brother was on the outside looking in and freaking out.”