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“But—”
“Kayla,” he says sternly. “You’re my boss, and I respect you. I know our hierarchy, and I would never give you an order. But I’m talking to you as a friend, as your family. You need to heal before doing anything insane that will most certainly turn against you.”
When I’m about to argue, he smiles in that fake charming way he always does. “Don’t make me call Caden.”
My mouth snaps shut, eyes narrowing on him. “Leave him out of this. He can’t know shit, or he’ll come running back.”
I might tease my brother, Caden, for leaving the North Shore, but ultimately, I know that was the best decision for him. Being unhinged made him a great member of the Kings, but I want my family safe, not at risk of dying every day.
“Sleep.” He gives me a pointed look. “Do that for us and I won’t send your overprotective baby brother on you.”
“You’re a dick.” But my voice lacks real accusation as my eyelids flutter closed.
“Sweet dreams, boss.”
I spend almost forty-eight hours in and out of sleep. Jade wakes me up every now and then to make sure the concussion hasn’t gotten worse and brings me ice for the bump. Elliot tends to my nose, checks the cut at the back of my head, and gives me creams for the bruises.
On the second night at their house, I finally feel well enough to get out of bed. When I walk into their living room, Jade is asleep on the sofa, her legs on Elliot and her head resting on Ethan’s lap.
“Long day at work,” Elliot tells me as his gaze drops to his girlfriend. “She’s always dead when she comes back from the garage." He looks back up at me. “Do you want anything? I made mac and cheese, or we’ve got frozen pizza—”
“A gun and a lot of ammo.”
The brothers exchange a look, and Elliot is the one to get up since it’s easier to without waking Jade.
He walks up to me, and I grit my teeth as he observes me from his insane height.
“What did he do?”
I cock an eyebrow at him, feeling my body tighten from the mere memory of Nate. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, Kay,” he snorts. “I’ve known you for over fifteen years. You’re not a reckless woman. You’ve never been. Even before leading the Kings, you always thought things through before acting.”
My jaw tightens, and I lick my lips, finding it hard not to drop my stare. But I have nothing to say, too loyal to lie to my most trusted man.
“You’re scared,” Elliot tells me, like he struggles to believe it’s the truth. “You’re scared and you want to get rid of the person who is scaring you. But if you rush things, you’ll be putting yourself at risk. And maybe even us.” He takes my hand and squeezes reassuringly. “Talk to us, Kay. We might not have absolute power over this town anymore, but we’re still your crew. We’re still here. We’ll fight with you.”
“Elliot,” I rasp, not feeling so confident in the face of his unconditional support. “Nathan White is a vengeful psychopath who has spent the last four years scheming how to make me suffer. I will not take any of you down with me. I’ll deal with this on my own, even if it kills me.”
"What did he say?” he insists. “What did he do?”
“If I tell you, you can’t get involved, and you absolutely cannot tell Caden under any circumstances.”
His eyes search my face, unable to construct the reality of the situation.
I take a deep breath. “He… God,” I scoff. “This is fucking ridiculous. The maniac wants—”
A sharp knock on the door startles all of us. Jade sits up suddenly, rubbing her eyes as we all glance at each other.
Another knock and we know. Because no one else knocks like this on the North Shore.
“Police, open the door!”
“Motherfucker!” I hiss. I know this is Nate because the North Shore pigs rarely dare to come to our houses. Unless they’re raiding us, but we’ve given them no reason to lately.
“Back. Out the back, now,” Elliot tells me.
He reaches behind him and pulls out a gun from his jeans, shoving it in my hand.
