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My father was quiet.
Uncle Cane stared straight ahead.
“Do you understand me?” I repeated.
My father clenched his jaw before he spoke. “Yes, I understand.”
I turned to Uncle Cane.
He stayed quiet.
“Uncle Cane,” I pressed.
He rubbed the scruff on the side of his face. “Got it.”
“And you will apologize to him.”
Uncle Cane looked at me, his eyes incredulous. “Over my dead body.”
“Cane,” I hissed. “What you did was wrong. He restrained himself for me, but you can’t do the same for me.”
“I’ll never apologize for what I did,” Uncle Cane barked. “But I’ll apologize to you…and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s the best I can do.” He faced forward again before he grabbed the bottle and took a drink.
That was good enough for me. “Good.” I snatched the bottle out of his hand and walked away.
“Vanessa.” Uncle Cane turned around in his seat.
“What?” I stopped and turned around, but I didn’t walk back to the table.
“Did you tell him anything about us?” he asked. “About me and your aunt?”
I didn’t know there was anything to tell. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“He knows a lot about me,” Uncle Cane said. “I’m just wondering if he got that information from you.”
Bones told me my uncle was in the Skull Kings and had a criminal background. But he hadn’t said anything more than that. “No. He already knew about both of you when we met. I’ve never shared any personal information about your lives with him…I would never do that.” I turned around again and walked away. Even if they said something else to me, I wouldn’t turn back.
I’d had enough for the day.
His eyes had turned black by the time we got home.
“Let’s put some ice on it.” I opened the freezer in the kitchen and picked up a few ice cubes.
Bones yanked my hand out of the freezer and shut the door. “It doesn’t need ice.”
“Yes, it does. It looks terrible.” I placed the ice in a towel and wrapped the cloth around the cubes before I rose on my tiptoes and placed it against his eye. I stared at the stark discoloration, the bruising, and the swelling. He was the strongest man I’d ever known, but seeing him in any kind of pain broke my heart. I wanted to cry all over again.
He stared at me, his blue eyes not showing any relief at the touch of the ice cubes. He looked at me in pity, like I was the one in pain instead of him. “I don’t need it, baby.”
“I don’t want it to get worse.”
“It won’t.” He grabbed my wrist and gently pulled my hand away. “This is nothing but a scratch.”
“Half of your eye is swollen…”
“And in a few days, it’ll be back to normal.” He grabbed the cloth wrap from my hand and set it on the kitchen island. “If you really want to make me feel better, I have something else in mind.” His arm hugged the curve of my back, and he pulled me closer to him. His neck bent down to look at me, his hard jaw kissable.
I pressed my face against his chest. “I’m so sorry…”
“Don’t be. Let it go.” He rested his chin on my head. “You’re underestimating me.”
“That’s not it. I’m just so hurt my family would do that to you…”
“Cane is a lot more impulsive than Crow. His actions didn’t surprise me.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said with a sigh. “It hurts me that they would do that…hurt the man I love.”
“They don’t see me that way, baby. They see me as my father’s son, not the man you love. I’m their enemy, and they can’t look past that. They’re soldiers, so their guards are always up. Don’t take it so hard. They’re just trying to protect their family. I don’t blame them for that.”
“Doesn’t give them the right to hit you.”
“I’m glad they did.”
I lifted my gaze to look at him. “Why?”
“Show them what I’m made of. Show them how much I can take. Show them that they can press my buttons all they want, and I still won’t cave. They may not like me, but they’ll respect me—eventually. In a man’s world, respect is everything.” His fingers moved underneath my chin, and he stared at my lips. “So let this go. You know what I’m made of. The only thing they could possibly do to hurt me is take you away from me…and we have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
My fingers wrapped around his wrists as I looked into his hard eyes. “I know. But that’s easier said than done…”
“We’ll take it one day at a time, starting tomorrow.” He swiped the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip, his callused skin rough compared to mine. His eyes darkened as he looked at me, his thoughts no longer on my family. “You still want to make me feel better?”
