Vow to Protect

I wonder if Val would like my head shaved. She seemed interested in my hair as she scanned my features last night. No. I force my focus back to Kai.

“He thinks he’s safe for now. And maybe he is. We can’t move, and I doubt many are strong enough to take on Novak’s operations. For this season, at least, he might be safe,” I say. But the words taste disgusting in my mouth. I hope that dickhole never feels a day of safety again. If only for the sadness I spotted in Valentina’s eyes last night.

“What else do you have?” I prompt, then take another sip of my coffee. “Any fallout from the party last night? Any new battle lines drawn in blood this morning?”

He shakes his head. “It’s been a relatively quiet morning. I sent the five out to do a little digging in all the territories. See if they can pick up anything we might want to know about. I sent the twins to Novak’s territory since Alexei is the most levelheaded of that lot, and Andrea will never risk his safety.”

“Tell them to come and talk to me when they return. I want a personal report.”

He nods and then sits and watches me, saying nothing.

“What, Kai? If you are going to bring up Sal again, I’m going to punch you in the dick hard enough you won’t be any use flirting at the casinos tonight.”

“It’s not about him. No, I’m just worried about you.”

My heart rolls over in my chest, but it doesn’t show on my face. He knows I’ve been hunting for a wife, and the woman who stands by my side, who becomes my queen, has big shoes to fill. My mother is the only woman I’ve ever loved, and the only woman I’ve ever cared about losing.

“Why? I’m confident I’ll make an alliance this season or next, and then we won’t have to worry anymore.”

“You might be confident, but I’m not. Hell, you scare most women away with just a glance. Last night, people were walking to the other end of the room so they didn’t have to cross your path to get to the bar.”

I shrug. “When have I ever been the sort of man who puts people at ease, tell me that? How is it news to any of you that finding someone I can trust who puts up with my very special level of insanity is going to be a difficult task?”

My mother’s death had broken something inside me. Inside my father too, not that he ever showed that pain to me. Now, I live to take his place and do it better, build things stronger, strong enough that when I’m old and gray, no one will dare put a knife in my back.

“Maybe you need to get laid. You want me to call that girl from the casino you like?”

“No. I don’t want you to find someone to get my dick wet. I want you to do your fucking job and give me a way to bring down Novak, and soon.”

For a second, I entertain the idea of going to the casino, hunting down a girl with wild curls and a petite frame to slack this knife in my gut. But even the thought of it feels like a betrayal to her. A betrayal. To a fucking woman I have no claim over. At least not yet.

No. I won’t do that. Because when I look her in the eye and tell her she belongs to me, I want to believe it, and I want her to know it as fact.

Kai shoves out of the chair and buttons his jacket. “For the record, since you asked, I won this suit off one of the Italians in a card game a month ago. He stripped it off right there at the table.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Were you playing strip poker with one of the Italian boys, Kai? What would your mother think?”

His turn to smile now. “She’d think I was crazy for walking away from his lambo in favor of a few yards of fabric.”

I study him from the tip of his polished shoes to his short immaculate haircut. “She wouldn’t be wrong, but you do look good, man. If you head to the casino, make sure everything is ready for the fight next week. I don’t want any issues, and I don’t want anyone thinking they can rig our system.”

With a nod, he takes his coffee, his phone, and his iPad with him as he walks out. A few minutes later, the front door slams, and the alarm activates behind him with a sharp chime.

Immediately, my thoughts zero back on Val. I wish I’d been able to talk to her longer last night. Spend a few minutes more listening to her talk and studying her.