Chapter 10
Ares
Kayla is still asleep. I have checked her breathing twice in the last hour, but I haven’t done it out of concern. I set my coffee down on the desk and lean back in my chair, facing my bed where she is curled beneath my covers. She needs to see me the second she wakes up.
Clay didn’t know I was watching when he wrapped his hand around her throat, neither the first nor the second time.
It wasn’t the time for me to be involved in the sexual escapades.
One of Clay’s fundamental flaws is that he gets consumed by what he wants and becomes careless.
I waited until the exact moment to use this to my advantage, and just as her eyes shuttered, I moved in. A second sooner and she would have seen me.
I have thought about what happened a lot this morning; how I can use it when she wakes up and pieces together that it was me who stepped in. It will rewire how she feels about me. Without her knowing why, she will always feel something—a feeling that binds her to me.
Vero was too consumed with Brawley to see Clay assault Kayla, and it ate at him. I won’t be the one to tell him how it looked from where I was standing; it’s not my job to hand over information when it serves me no purpose.
I called Cipher, knowing he would have a way to remove the cuffs—he is always tinkering with something. Thankfully, she was out cold because he brought a grinder to get them off. Vero acted like a little bitch about it, but they are now both free from the cuffs.
Kayla is the first person in a long time who has truly looked at me. I feel she can see right through me, even without knowing the details of what she is actually looking at. She is observant, and I need to be more careful—hence why I stepped in to save her.
Most people hand me their trust easily. They want to be understood, and I am great at pretending to give them that, even though it’s just transactional to me.
But Kayla asks the right questions and moves on.
I know she’s a lot like me, tucking the information away for later.
That either makes her interesting or really fucking dangerous—I haven’t decided which yet. I almost hope it’s both.
The door handle jiggles, and I shift my gaze to it as Vero pops his head inside.
“Is she okay?” he asks, and I nod.
“She will be fine. Why don’t you start making breakfast? I’m sure she’ll be awake soon and hungry.”
Vero smiles. While he can’t cook for shit and will probably burn the kitchen down, he likes to feel useful. He nods and disappears.
Kayla stirs. I see the exact moment she wakes and realizes that she doesn’t know where she is. She sits up ramrod straight, looking guardedly around the room, and when her eyes find mine, I smile.
“I’d started to think he might have actually killed you.”
Kayla smirks at me as she brings her hand to her throat and shifts herself to get out of bed. Once she is on her feet, she looks down and notices she is no longer in her filthy clothes.
“I hope it didn’t cross too many boundaries, but you were covered in dirt. I tried to clean you off the best I could, and Vero insisted you wear one of his shirts.”
“Thank you,” she croaks, holding her wrist up to examine where the cuff had been. The skin is rubbed raw, and looks red and swollen.
“I can get you some ice for that.”
She shakes her head. “No, I like the pain. It was you who saved me, wasn’t it?”
I nod once. “I’m just sorry it took me so long to get there, but I was held up with the fucking scarecrow. Cave is a weird human.”
“Don’t apologize—it’s what I signed up for. But if Clay thinks a little breath play scares me, he’s wrong.”
I laugh even though I don’t find her words amusing.
We both know that was not breath play; it was attempted murder.
And if I hadn’t intervened, I don’t know if he would have stopped.
Clay tried to tell me she fucked with his sister.
Honestly, I doubt it. Kayla doesn’t strike me as a woman who would bother chasing her ex, but I could be wrong.
“Come on,” I say, standing from my chair. “Vero is making breakfast, though I use that term loosely. Just follow the smoke.”
Kayla snorts and trails me out of the room, then down to the kitchen. Vero has managed to use every pan we own for what looks like scrambled eggs. He has the wrong element turned on, and there is flour everywhere, including the ceiling. And he managed this all in a very short amount of time.
Brawley is sitting at the kitchen island, watching Vero destroy the area with an amused grin on his face.
“You’re alive,” Vero says when he turns around. Kayla chuckles at him, and I swear his face has just as much flour on it as the rest of the kitchen.
“I made breakfast—well, I’m still making it. Sit down next to Brawley, and Ares will get you a coffee.”
Kayla takes a seat beside Brawley, and he glances at her once, then goes back to drinking his coffee. In Brawley language, that means he doesn’t hate her or mind that she is sitting close to him.
I somehow manage to find a clean mug for Kayla’s coffee, while dodging the chaotic mess.
“I’m sorry about the whole locked-door thing,” Kayla says.
“That’s not on you,” Brawley gruffs. “Vero knew what he was doing and dragged you along for the ride.”
“Still, I should have respected your boundaries.”
I turn back around to see Brawley nod.
Vero plates up the food as I finish pouring the coffee, and we place them both down in front of her. “Thanks,” she says. “This looks interesting.”
Vero smiles so fucking wide it might actually split his face open. “You know, next time I promise not to handcuff myself to you.”
Kayla coughs as she takes a sip of her coffee. “Next time . . .”
Vero nods enthusiastically as Brawley laughs, then drawls, “You didn’t think being friends with him could be a one and done, did you?”
Kayla turns her head to look at Brawley. “The friends part I was hoping would continue. But since you two are together, I figured fucking a woman was one of those things you did occasionally to spice things up.”
Vero laughs at Kayla, and she brings her attention back to him as he drawls, “Maybe you are more sweet and innocent than I thought. You need to ride my man’s dick at least once. It’s fabulous.”
“I’m sure it’s great, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Clay clearly has an issue with me. And while fucking him once was fun, I am not stupid enough to actually want to die.”
“These are all things we can sort out later. Why don’t you try your food?”
I lean against the counter and watch as Vero tells her about everything he’s made. Kayla keeps up with him, and that isn’t something many people can do or even want to.
The front door opens and slams shut.
No one else comes here except Jess and Vesper. Though Vesper would not make that much noise—she likes the sneak attack of her presence. Jess appears in the kitchen and freezes when she sees Kayla sitting at the island.
“What the fuck is she doing here?”
Kayla looks up from whatever Vero was showing her, and recognition sparks in her eyes—somehow she knows Jess. “Small world,” is all Kayla says before looking back to Vero, dismissing Clay’s sister.
Jess does not like being dismissed, one thing she has in common with her brother, and she moves further into the kitchen. “You need to stay away from Kyle.”
Kayla sets down her fork and turns on her stool to face Jess. “And you are telling me this because you think I want that loser back?”
Jess scoffs. “I know you do. You show up at the bar and call him at all hours of the night. I think you need to get it through your head that he does not want you.”
You could hear a pin drop in the kitchen.
Vero is invested in the drama; Brawley is uninterested but keeps his eyes fixed on Vero. Clay appears in the doorway and steps behind Jess, and I study his face. He is listening without reacting; it’s interesting that he has nothing to say right now and is letting his sister lead.
Kayla sighs. “Does anyone know where my phone is?”
I reach into my pocket and hold it out to her. She takes it and unlocks it.
“Just so you know, I worked at The Pit before I met Kyle. Before you, he brought many other women in, trying to make me jealous. As for the calls, it is not me.”
Jess rolls her eyes, but Kayla holds out her phone. “His name is saved under Douchenugget. Look at our message history—check the call logs.”
Jess takes the phone and her face drops the more she scrolls. She looks up. “He told me you were obsessed with him.”
“His ego was hurt when I dumped him for cheating on me. He won’t let it go.”
Jess looks back down at the phone, and the tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Clay hasn’t moved from behind his sister, his arms still crossed, but he is watching Kayla as if he is seeing her for the first time now that his hatred is no longer justified.
Jess hands the phone back, and to her credit, she doesn’t argue her way out of this to hide her embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “He told me . . .”
“I know what he told you,” Kayla says. “He is great at making himself look good while playing the victim.”
Jess nods and looks at the floor, then toward Clay, who pulls his sister into his arms.
“I feel so fucking stupid,” Jess cries into her brother’s chest.
“Don’t feel stupid,” Kayla consoles. “Men like him prey on women with good hearts, who like to see the best in people. And they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under . . .”
Clay whips his head toward Kayla. “She will not be fucking anyone,” he snaps.
Vero snorts. “I hate to break it to you, bro, but your sister is far from an angel.”
“I swear to god, Vero, if you have fucked my sister, I will kill you.”
Jess laughs. “Now that I would love to see. Vero comes with his own attack human, but just for the record, I have not fucked him. No offense, but he isn’t my type.”
“None taken,” Vero replies with a grin. “Dealing with one Rourke sibling is enough for me. Brawley and I are on day shift, so we need to go. I’ll clean the kitchen when I get back.”
I roll my eyes. He will not clean the kitchen when he gets back—he never does. Honestly he would just make more mess.
“I’ll be back—I need to go get changed.” Vero runs out of the kitchen, and we all watch him leave.
“I’m going to go,” Jess says. “Gerald has baby bunnies, and he said I can play with them.”
Clay laughs and releases her from his embrace. He doesn’t trust many people with his sister, but while Gerald is a scary man to look at, he has a heart of gold. He loves those fucking bunnies.
“I will swing by later and take you to lunch,” Clay says, and Jess nods before bouncing out of the kitchen with a wave.
Brawley gets up from his seat and grabs his plate and Kayla’s. He hesitates for a moment and gazes down at her.
She must feel him looking at her, and she peers up at him.
“Thank you for being kind to Vero—he needs more genuine friends. I really hope you come back.”
Kayla nods but doesn’t respond. For Brawley to say anything is a big deal, and she must know it. He dumps the plates in the sink before leaving. Clay lingers, and I have a feeling he wants to say something to Kayla, but his pride keeps him silent.
“I will grab your clothes from the laundry if you’re happy to wait here for me,” I tell her.
“Sure, I’ll tidy some of Vero’s mess—it’s the least I can do.”
“You don’t have to. I can do it later.”
“I will help her clean,” Clay murmurs, and I nod, pushing off the kitchen island and walking toward the laundry.
I pull up the security cameras on my phone when I get to the laundry and lean against the washer. Kayla is already cleaning off the stove, and Clay is at the sink filling it with water. I turn the volume up on my phone.
“You don’t have to help clean,” Clay says without turning toward her.
“I know,” she replies. “But where I grew up, if someone cooks, the other person washes.”
Clay picks up a plate and starts to scrub, and I wait to see if he actually apologizes. From how well I know Clay, I bet he won’t, but there is something off about him this morning.
“Kyle,” he says, as if that were a complete sentence.
“What about him?”
“If he comes into the bar again, call me.”
Kayla snorts. “And why would I do that?”
“Because I plan to kill him.”
Kayla stops wiping down the stove and turns to Clay. “Great, so you want to make me an accessory to murder. I have watched Orange Is the New Black, and I don’t need a Crazy Eyes.”
Clay puts the plate down and turns around to lean back against the sink with his arms crossed, staring at her across the kitchen. “I didn’t take you for someone to pussy out on getting revenge.”
“Murder is not the type of revenge I am after. I am more into spraying milk around his house, or paying someone to call him and give him spoilers for his favorite TV series. Not death.”
“He doesn’t get to treat women the way he does.”
Kayla straightens up and looks at him. “Is this you being concerned about me, Clay? Because I have to say I don’t know how to feel about that, given last night you had your hand around my throat in a grave and squeezed until I passed out.”
“You signed the form.”
“I did. But you are giving me whiplash.”
Clay glares at her for a long moment, and then instead of just saying he’s sorry like a normal person, he changes the subject. “I thought you were a bitch.”
“Oh, I am. And I still think you’re a dick, so we are even.”
Clay watches her for another few seconds and then turns back to the sink. He picks up the next plate, and she goes back to wiping, neither of them speaking again.
I pull her clothes out of the dryer, fold them, and check my phone screen one more time before I pocket it and head back to the kitchen.