King's Reign (Sydney Storm MC 6)

I was back running on gut instinct after allowing outside forces to interfere with decisions, and my gut was telling me to trust very few and eliminate all threats I couldn’t control.

Kree placed a Coke in front of Hyde, eyes on me as she did so. “King’s flying by the seat of his fucking pants, Hyde.” Without waiting for a response from either of us, she stalked to the other end of the counter to serve Mace.

“What the fuck’s going on there?” Hyde asked.

I moved off my stool, shoulders rock hard with tension, gaze pinned to Kree. “She’s pissed I’ve put eyes on her and added some security to her place.”

He frowned. “The cameras?”

“Yeah. She gave me some bullshit about an intrusion of her privacy.”

“Jesus, she gets the threat her ex is, right?”

I stretched my neck trying to loosen my muscles and shake the headache building. “I don’t fucking know. She says she does, but I think she’s under some illusion he won’t ever hurt her.” She looked up and I caught her eye. Jerking my chin at her, I barked, “Kree. A word.”

“Go easy on her, brother. She’s probably confused as fuck,” Hyde said.

She glared at me but walked my way. I turned and headed toward the office so we could have this chat in private.

When I had her in there, door closed, I said, “Wanna tell me what the fuck is running through your head?”

Her brows lifted. “You know, I don’t really care at this point that you’re my boss or that you think you’re helping me, King. I really don’t like the way you’ve taken over my life and have started controlling everything I do.”

“I don’t give a fuck if you don’t like it, I’m doing it for a good reason.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Do you have any idea what men like your ex do to the women they can’t have? Because I can fucking tell you some stories if you don’t.”

“Of course I know what men like Don are capable of, but Zane has told me he’s got a handle on the situation, and I’m choosing to put my faith in my cousin. Having said that, I told you I’m okay with the men you’ve got watching me. Thankful, too. But those cameras in my home? No fucking way. I want them gone.”

“The cameras are staying.”

She stared at me for a long few moments, her anger growing. “I’ll pull them out.”

“You fucking won’t.”

She straightened, pulling her shoulders back defiantly. “I fucking will.”

“Fuck, Kree.” I rubbed my temple. “I’ve got enough other shit to deal with—”

“So deal with it, and I’ll deal with mine.” She exited the office after that, leaving me angrier than I was before we talked.

Yanking my phone from my pocket, I called Griff. “You dug up anything on Don yet?”

“Only that he’s a fucking asshole when it comes to his kids and ex. I’m still going through everything trying to connect dots. I’m getting the sense, though, that he’s tied up with the Vinzani family somehow, and if that’s the case, shit ain’t good for anyone.”

“Let me know when you have something,” I said and disconnected the call.

Stalking out of the office, I found Kree and pulled her aside. “There’s shit going on that you don’t know about, so the cameras stay,” I said with force. “Am I clear?”

Her silence roared between us, and I figured I’d have to be harder on her to get what I wanted, but in the end, she said, “You fucking exhaust me,” before walking away.

“Kree, answer the fucking question.”

She stopped and faced me again. “Yes, we’re clear.”

Thank fuck.

I reached for my phone again and called Zane. The call went to messages. “Zane, where the fuck are you? I haven’t seen you for days. We need to talk.”

If Kree’s ex was tied up with the Vinzanis, and if he fucked shit up with them, it wouldn’t matter what Don had planned for her, because what they’d do would be far worse, and they’d get to her first. The time had come for me to take charge of this situation, because Zane’s refusal to use whatever force necessary wasn’t going to cut it anymore.