Buttons and Blame (Buttons 5)

“Don’t worry,” Cane said as he got to the door. “He’s expecting me.”

“Fucking asshole.” My jacket was lying on the other side of the desk, so I snatched it and threw it on top of Pearl, completely covering her so that my piece of shit brother wouldn’t see her.

Cane burst inside like he owned the place. “Hey, we’ve got some…shit.” His face froze when he saw my pants around my ankles and my bare ass.

I gave him a mirthless glare, a threat that didn’t need words.

“Uh, I’ll wait outside.” Cane quickly walked out the door and shut it behind him, making it slam.

I didn’t care if my brother saw me with my pants down. The only person I cared about was Button, who was safely hidden under my coat, my come still dripping out of her entrance.

“Is he gone?” she whispered.

“Yeah.” I pulled the jacket off her then pulled my pants up.

“Doesn’t he knock?”

“Never.” I fastened my belt then pulled on my collared shirt.

“What a jackass.” She quickly pulled on her panties then got her jeans on. “Maybe you need to lock the door.”

“No. I just need to break his nose.”

Button adjusted herself so it didn’t look like she’d just gotten fucked on my desk. She fixed her hair with her fingertips then buttoned the front of her blouse. “Well…I should get back to work. Not sure how I’m gonna look at Susan.”

“She already knows what we do in here.”

Button sighed before she walked out. “I’ll kick Cane in the nuts on the way out.”

“That’s my girl.” I pulled my jacket on before I sat behind my desk.

Cane walked in a moment later, wearing a guilty expression like a dog that just pissed in the corner. He shut the door behind him then slowly approached my desk. “Alright…I’ll knock from now on.”

“If you don’t knock again, I’ll kill you next time.”

“Looking at your ass was punishment enough.”

“Then don’t pull that stunt again.”

Cane took a seat.

“So what the hell is so important?” I demanded, frustrated that my wife had to rush out of here before I could even give her a kiss goodbye. It was pretty rude to come inside a woman and ship her off like that with come running down her ass.

“Constantine called me,” he said with a sigh.

So this was important. “Give it to me straight.”

“He made some veiled threats. Said he wasn’t sure if there was room for both of us.”

I rubbed my temple. “And what did you say?”

“I said we could have a peaceful partnership that’s beneficial to both of us.”

“And what did he say?”

“He’s not so sure he wants that. So I reminded him what we did to Bones, and that we wouldn’t have a problem doing it again.”

I narrowed my eyes at my brother. “You threatened the leader of a cult that skins the heads of its victims?” I couldn’t keep my voice down, not even for Susan’s sake. “Are you insane?”

“I know how these guys work,” he said. “Trust me.”

“Trust you?” I snapped. “You just barged in here like an idiot.”

“That doesn’t mean I am an idiot. It seems I don’t understand privacy—two different things.”

I dragged my hands down my face, feeling the anger boil under my skin.

“And if I don’t stand up to him, he’ll know he can run all over us.”

“Then let him.”

Cane’s eyes darkened in disappointment. “I get you’re married now, but that doesn’t make us pussies. We don’t let anyone push us around.”

“I just finished a war. I don’t have the energy for the next one.”

“But when it comes knocking on our door, we can’t just ignore it.”

“If he wants to be the only arms dealer in this hemisphere, then let him,” I argued. “It’s not that important. It’s not worth fighting for.”

“Our business is my whole life,” Cane said. “It’s all I have. I can’t let it go.”

Did I need to remind him what we were up against? “They skin their victims and collect their skulls. Do you understand what that means?”

Cane rolled his eyes. “Only when they’re commissioned.”

“And what if they commission themselves to take us out?” I snapped. “I have a wife, Cane. I know you don’t understand what that means, but I can’t let anything happen to her. She’s been through enough. I’m not gonna drag her through another ordeal over a business I don’t even care about. So why don’t you take over, and I’ll step back?”

He gave me an incredulous look. “You would turn your back on me like that? Your brother?”

“I’m not turning my back on you. You know my situation has changed.”

“Who was the one who risked his neck to save your wife?” he demanded.

“And who’s the one who nearly killed her in the first place?” He had no room to talk like I owed him something.

Cane sighed and shook his head. “We’re talking about a billion-dollar business.”