“By breaking all our plates?”
“Yes,” Aleki bit out.
“Vivi?” Caleb asked.
She glanced over at him. “We’re fine, Caleb.”
Caleb still looked unsure.
“I promise,” she told him. “Please, I’ll clean it up. Just give us a minute.”
Caleb frowned but nodded. “I hear anything else breaking and I’m coming back in here. And both of you are in trouble.” He stormed away.
“We just got told off. Do you think if he has to come back, he’s going to spank us?” Her attempt to lighten the mood didn’t work as Aleki continued to stare at her.
“Do you feel better? After doing that?” he asked.
She gulped, looked around at the mess. “I’ll clean it up.”
He grabbed her chin, raising her face up. “I don’t give a fuck about the mess. Do you feel better?”
She thought about it. Surprisingly, she kind of did. “Yeah, I think so.”
Aleki nodded. “I was upset.”
“At me? For going off on my own yesterday and not calling out to you?”
“Yeah,” he said on a sigh.
She flinched.
“But mostly at myself for not protecting you. I should have kept a closer eye on you. Christ, I should have known you can find trouble anywhere.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“Oh, it’s true. And it won’t happen again.”
Aleki moved away to grab a broom from one of the cupboards. She shuffled forward, ready to jump off the counter. “Don’t even think about it.” He pointed a finger at her then started sweeping after making sure she wouldn’t move.
Truth was, she wouldn’t dare.
“I would do anything to keep you safe, Vivi. Any. Fucking. Thing.”
All the broken crockery was piled up in a corner. He leaned the broom against the wall then turned back and stalked his way over to her. Placing his hands on the counter, he leaned into her. “But you need to let me. Understand?”
“I understand. It won’t happen again. I promise. If anyone ever approaches me for anything, I will immediately yell for one of you guys.”
“Oh, baby, you’re going to be lucky if Wolfe doesn’t follow through on getting you a leash.”
“He wouldn’t!”
Aleki just grinned. “He would.”
“I’m sorry, Aleki.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “So am I. Fuck. It keeps playing over and over in my head, only instead of getting to you in time, she stabs you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “What can I do?”