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His eyes narrow slightly. “I’m sorry, sis, but I can’t do that.”
“You can and you will because it’s what I want. You may not be a priest anymore, but I know you still believe in the church’s values. God would not want you to interfere. Phillip will get what’s coming to him.”
“That bastard should not be allowed to walk the streets,” he grits out between clenched teeth.
I squeeze his arms, imploring him with my eyes to see reason. “Please, Wesley. Do you honestly believe I could live with myself if you ended up in jail because I never said anything about what he was doing?” My voice cracks, so I stop to clear my throat, trying my best to not let the tears flow. “You’ve got to let this go. We need you with us. Jersey and Sam need you.”
His lips form a firm line, but thankfully, after a moment, he gives a jerky nod. “Fine,” he grates. “But you have to swear to me that if he contacts you again in any way, you’ll let me know.”
“I promise you’ll be the second person I call.” I talk louder when he opens his mouth to protest. “Right after I call the cops.”
He scowls, but says, “Fine.” again.
Feeling a hand on my back, I turn and face my sisters. One by one, I give them each a hug. They whisper their apologies for never realizing what was happening. I tell them all that they have nothing to be sorry for. I didn’t want them to know, so I made sure they didn’t.
My eyes land on Kai next. He’s still sitting in the same spot as before. His hands are balled into tight fists, and I can barely make out the pulse in his neck throbbing. From the look on his face, he’s well past angry and has moved into the livid category. I love that he’s mad on my behalf—it reveals just how much he cares about me—but I know I need to defuse the situation. And fast. He looks like he’s on the verge of bolting and hunting down Phillip.
I quickly get rid of my siblings, telling them I’ll see them the next night for dinner, and close the door behind them. When I turn back to Kai, he still hasn’t moved an inch. I go to him, taking slow steps, and as soon as I’m within his reach, he grabs me by the waist and pulls me down so I’m straddling his lap. My head is forced forward by his hand on the back of my head and our lips meet.
“Don’t ask me to make any promises,” he says the minute he lifts his head, “because I won’t be able to keep it.”
“Kai, please.” I cup his cheeks. “I don’t want to see you in jail any more than I want to see my brother there. This thing between us just started. I’m not ready for it to be over.”
“It’ll never be over. What we have will last a lifetime.” Running his hands up my back to my shoulder blades, he applies pressure, bringing our faces closer. “I’m never letting you go, Penelope. You’re mine, and I’m yours, until the very end. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stand by and let that fucker walk free. You say he’ll get what he deserves. I’ll be the one serving it to him.”
“No,” I say with an adamant shake of my head. “You will not. You promised my brother you would never hurt me. You made that promise before the one I’m trying to get you to make now. You being behind bars is a surefire way of hurting me because you won’t be here with me.” I press my forehead against his. “I’m begging you, Kai, to swear you won’t go after him.”
His eyes flicker back and forth between mine, and I see the fight he’s having with himself.
“The only thing I can promise is I won’t go looking for him,” he finally says. “But if he approaches you, I won’t hesitate to put him down. I won’t give him the chance to ever hurt you again.”
I close the distance between us and murmur against his lips, “Thank you.”
As much as I want him to promise to not hurt Phillip under any circumstances, I know this is the best I’m going to get. I just need to make sure Phillip never comes around again.
