by K. M. Scott
As usual, Cash played his role as the consummate classy businessman with perfection, though. Even as his eyes watered from the smell of his guest, he introduced Mason’s brother and I shook his hand, noticing how tight the guy’s grip was. Only men trying to prove they’re tough guys shook hands like that.
“Nice place you have here, Kane. Can’t ever go wrong with tits and ass.”
Asshole.
I may have been the guy who ran the darker section of the club that rarely kept on the right side of the law, but I did it with respect for my people. This guy in one sentence had diminished every person who danced for us to body parts.
Cash’s eyes grew as big as saucers, probably because he thought I’d lay the guy out for saying that kind of shit about my staff, but I knew my role in this and simply smiled as I tried to forget how much this guy rubbed me the wrong way.
“I think you’ll find my people are the best around, Jethro. Enjoy your time here. And as I always tell our members, remember no touching unless the ladies say so.”
Quickly, Cash told him about the room we’d set up for him down on the third floor, and they left to head off in that direction just as Samson came running up behind me. “Small wardrobe malfunction. Simone must have had one too many pieces of Janie’s chocolate cake the other night because she’s busting out of her top. They’re fixing it now, but she needs a few minutes before she can get to the third floor room.”
“Is Abbi ready?”
“Yeah. She’s good to go.” Samson wrinkled his nose. “What is that disgusting smell?”
I rolled my eyes. “The guy she and Simone have to dance for. Cash just took him down there, but he’s still with us in all his disgusting spirit.”
“We usually get a better class of people here. Anyway, I’ll get Simone downstairs as soon as Janie gets her sewn into her costume.”
“All right. I’m sure Abbi will be fine. Just tell Simone to lay off the cake from now on.”
“Got it!”
Samson ran back to get Simone ready as the fifth floor began to fill up with members waiting for their rooms. Booked solid all night, the fantasy rooms would be busy right up until closing, but my focus was on Mason’s brother two floors down. Checking the monitor, I saw Cash close the door behind him, leaving Jethro on the couch to wait for Abbi.
Inhaling, I took a deep breath of the lingering stench of his cologne and watched as she entered the room. She’d never interacted with any of the members before—something I hadn’t considered until that moment—but she gave him one of her sweet smiles and introduced herself. The first notes of music filtered into the room, and on cue, she closed her eyes and began dancing.
Her white dress flowed gently as her hips slowly swung left and right. Just as the first night I saw her perform, she enchanted me. The intoxicating mixture of innocence and sensuality never failed to take my breath away. She was beauty and sweetness, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I saw Jethro respond to her just as every other member had, leaning back against the couch to stare up in awe of her dancing just for him. That she danced only for me was our secret.
Abbi turned her back to him to perform the section of her dance that involved her teasing members with her gorgeous ass and shy glances. Always a favorite part in the past, it seemed to make Jethro unhappy. Leaning forward, he frowned, but when Abbi looked back and smiled at him, he appeared to like what he saw.
Then as I watched her turn her back on him again, he lurched forward and grabbed her so quickly she cried out in terror. In a second, I was running down two flights of stairs, pushing people out of the way as my fear of what he was doing to Abbi took over. I tore down the third floor hallway, threw the door open, and what I saw made me go blind with rage.
Jethro’s fucking hands grabbed at Abbi’s body as she screamed for him to stop. I ripped him off her and tossed him across the room. She fell to the ground, but I followed him and slammed my fist into his face, crushing his nose as I held him down on the floor. Blood squirted from his face, covering my hands, and I reared my arm back again to smash my knuckles against his cheekbone. His jaw shattered beneath my fist, but still I didn’t stop. Over and over, I pummeled him, governed by a singular need to hurt him like he hurt her.
I didn’t know when he stopped fighting back—he’d landed a few punches but I didn’t feel them—but at some point I realized he was little more than a ragdoll. Hands pulled at me to let him go. I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop even though his blood covered me and he’d stopped fighting back.
Finally, I heard Abbi screaming for me to stop. I turned to see her crying and instantly dropped Jethro’s lifeless body to the floor to go to her. Cash and Stefan tried to hold me back, but I easily pushed their hands from my shoulders and took Abbi in my arms.
Sobbing, she sagged against my chest and whispered, “I didn’t mean to do this. He just came at me.”
Her words made my hands ball into fists again. She hadn’t deserved what that fucking pig had done, and now she was apologizing. I ran my hand down her back, trying to comfort her. “You did nothing wrong, angel. Don’t talk. Shhh. I’m here, angel. I’m here.”
I felt a hand on my arm and turned my head to see Cash next to me saying something. His words sounded garbled, like he was talking underwater. Finally, they began to come through loud and clear. “Kane, what happened here?”
“He grabbed Abbi. I stopped him.”
Mason entered the room and pointed his finger in my face, barking, “You’ll pay for this and not just with this club!”
Lunging at him, I reached out to grab that fucking finger to break it off, but Abbi and Cash held me back while Stefan pulled Mason out into the hallway so I couldn’t get at him too. Abbi begged me to stop, quietly pleading, “Kane, no more. Please no more.”
“Cash, I’m taking Abbi home.”
He looked back at Jethro lying all bloody and broken on the floor and then at me. “The cops are going to want to know what happened. Mason’s not going to help with this.”
“I don’t care. I’m going home. Handle this.”
Abbi buried her head in my chest, and I huddled close to her as we walked her out to my car at the back of the building. Blood ran off my hands and arms, covering her white dress wherever I touched her. At the car, I stopped and slid out of my shirt for her to wear so she wouldn’t have to look at blood all the way home.
She stared up at me as I wrapped it around her shoulders. “Are you okay? There’s so much blood, Kane. Are you hurt?”
Shaking my head, I smiled. “I don’t think so. Wear this. It has less blood on it.”
I began to button it to cover her, and she stopped my hands. “You’re always covering me with your shirt. I need to know you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, angel. As long as you’re not hurt, I’m fine.”
Abbi caressed my cheek with her palm and gave me a tiny smile. “I’m worried, Kane. I don’t want you to get in trouble for this. I can’t stand the idea of that.”
“I’m fine. Cash will take care of it. Let’s go home and get you cleaned up.”
I knew that was a lie. If Mason’s brother died, I’d be arrested and charged with murder. If he lived, at the very least I’d be charged with assault. Either way, there was little chance Mason could be bribed out of making sure I saw the inside of a prison again.
Abbi held my still blood-covered hand as I drove to the house, apologizing the entire way there. This wasn’t her fault, and no matter how much I knew I should be sorry for what I’d done, I wasn’t. He’d hurt someone I loved and gotten what he deserved. I wouldn’t be sorry for that.
That’s what a man was supposed to do. A man should protect the woman he loves, and that’s what I did. I wouldn’t apologize for taking care of Abbi.
She leaned her head against my shoulder and said quietly, “Kane, I’m worried. What’s going to happen?”
I softly kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry. No matter what, we’ll be okay.”
&nb
sp; That promise I could live up to. Even if the worst happened and they ended up putting me away for what I did, Cash and Stefan would make sure Abbi was taken care of. When all was said and done, they were my brothers and whoever I cared about they cared about.
That’s what brothers did, even half-brothers.
* * *
KANE SAT at the kitchen table in only his pants, still covered in blood from his elbows to his fingertips. I’d cleaned off all the blood splatters on his face and neck, and taking his hands in mine, I slowly wiped each finger clean of blood and checked for any cuts, but all the blood was that man’s, not his. He said nothing but watched me carefully, like what I was doing enthralled him.
Dipping the washcloth in the big bowl of water next to me, I rinsed out the blood and returned to cleaning his arms. Each stroke over his skin revealed another part of his tattoos. Within a short time, I’d cleaned him up and couldn’t stay silent any longer.
“You say not to worry, but aren’t the police going to get involved, Kane?”
“No more talking about that, angel. I want to spend a quiet night at home like other people do.”
My fear at what would happen to him nagged at me, but why wouldn’t he talk to me about it? I couldn’t stand there and pretend everything was okay. I took the bowl full of bloody water to the sink and washed it out, letting the water dilute the dark red liquid until none of it was left. As if it was perfectly normal to clean some man’s blood off the man you love after watching him beat him because of you.
Tears welled in my eyes as I thought about the police taking Kane away from me. Hanging my head, I quietly said, “I can’t pretend like I’m okay with this. I need you to talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
God, why wouldn’t he talk to me? Frustrated, I turned the water off and slammed the bowl down in the drainer. Then I turned around and yelled, “Yes, there is! What am I going to do if they take you away from me?”
All the emotion drained from his face until he looked stark white. His eyes, usually so soft when he looked at me, hardened so he looked like he did that first night I met him. “You’ll never be alone, Abbi. If I’m not around, Cash and Stefan will make sure you’re okay until I get back.”
“Why did you do it? Why didn’t you just push him away?”
His eyes softened and he gave me that gentle look I loved. “Because he was hurting you. I protect the woman I love, no matter what.”
All my fear and anger ebbed away at the sound of those words. I protect the woman I love. I knelt down in front of him and looked up into that beautiful, tortured face. “You love me?”
He cradled my cheek in his hand. “More than anything or anyone else in the world. No matter what they do to me, it couldn’t be worse than seeing you hurt.”
“But I’ll be hurt if you’re not with me. I love you, Kane. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I promise you won’t lose me. I won’t let that happen.”
“The police are probably on their way right now. They’re going to take you away and all because of me,” I sobbed.
“Let’s go upstairs. Time for bed.” Kane pulled me up to my feet and took my hand in his to lead me up to our bedroom. “No more talk about that. I don’t want to think of anything but how your body feels against mine.”
I followed him up the stairs, clutching his hand in mine. Still dressed in my costume and his shirt, I stood by our bed as he slid out of his pants and saw the mess I was. Suddenly, the reality of what I’d caused was too much to bear and I began to cry, knowing that whatever there was about me that made men want to punish me had hurt this man who had never done anything but care for me.
Kane pulled me close and held me, whispering, “Are you hurt? Don’t cry.”
“I’m not hurt.”
He slid my blood matted wig from my head and smiled. “Good. And I don’t want to see you in this again. You’re beautiful just the way you are.”
His kindness made me feel worse, and the tears rolled down my cheeks. “Maybe now no one will want to hurt me looking like this.”
“Is that what you think? That you did something to deserve that pig’s hands on you?”
I nodded. “It must be my fault. Nearly every man I’ve ever been with has hurt me. That’s not a coincidence.”
Kane kissed me tenderly and whispered against my lips, “It’s not your fault. Never forget that.”
Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I couldn’t help but think he was wrong. “Now I’ve hurt the only man who never did anything but protect me. I can’t stand the idea that you’ll suffer because of me.”
“Shhh. The only suffering I’m feeling is seeing you like this. Let’s get you out of these bloodstained clothes and cleaned up.”
I watched him undress me, so careful as he gently tugged my white dress off my shoulders and down my body. A look of horror covered his face and I looked down to see some blood had seeped through the fabric from where he’d held me leaving a handprint of pale red on my skin. He stared at it and hanging his head, said quietly, “I’m sorry, angel. I’m no good for you.”
“No! Please don’t say that. You protected me.”
“I didn’t mean to get you involved in my problems. I’m sorry, Abbi.”
“Your problems are my problems, Kane. Don’t say protecting me is a problem.”
“I couldn’t think of anything but hurting him when I saw him put his hands on you. I wanted to kill him. I could have. I didn’t want to stop hitting him, even when Cash and Stefan were pulling me off him. I’m not sorry for what I did. I’m just sorry it’s touched you.”
“It’s a little blood. Some soap and water and I’ll be just fine.”
He kissed me like my lips held some release from all the ugliness of the past few hours, and for a few minutes I forgot about everything that could happen at any minute.
Taking my hand, he led me to the shower and cleaned every inch of me like I was something precious to him. His silence soothed me, unlike the first night when I so desperately wished for him to say more. Now I didn’t need to hear him say the words. I felt them in his touch each time he caressed my body to clean the terrible events of the night from me.
When he finished, he smoothed my hair off my face with a towel and looked into my eyes. “Angel, no matter what, I love you.”
I heard a knocking downstairs on the front door and for the first time since I’d met him, worry flashed in Kane’s eyes. He covered me in a bath towel and wrapped one around his hips as I followed him into the bedroom.
“Don’t answer that. Please.”
“It can’t be put off. Get dressed and come downstairs.”
I hurried myself into one of his T-shirts and a pair of my shorts and took the stairs two at a time to find him standing in the living room with Cash. His eyes had that same worried look as Kane’s. Taking a seat next to him on the couch, we listened to his half-brother update us on Jethro’s condition and what Mason planned to do.
“Jethro’s awake, but he’s in bad shape. You really hurt him. Mason’s not really in a talking mood, but from what I gathered, he’s not going to be easily placated.”
“What does that mean?” I asked as I squeezed Kane’s hand tightly, afraid if I let go I’d lose him. “Because he survived, they won’t do anything right? I mean, I know from when Aaron hit me once and I called the cops, they wouldn’t do anything because he said he didn’t do it, even though it happened in our house. So it’ll be okay, right?”
Kane turned to look at me and shook his head. “No. His being awake is better than if I’d beaten him to death, but I’m not going to avoid charges.”
I looked up at Cash hoping to hear him say something different, but he just nodded. “Kane’s right. It’s a sad truth that two men fighting gets more attention from the law than a man hitting a woman.”
“But he was defending me. Doesn’t that matter?”
Cash didn’t answer. I saw by the look on Kane’s face that it did
n’t. “No,” he said quietly. “Not really.”
“I’m going to talk to Mason again in the morning and hopefully I can convince him money can make this go away. He’s a councilman, but the man loves money more than justice and the law. I just wanted to stop by to let you know and make sure you’re okay, Abbi. I’m sorry this happened. I didn’t know what kind of person Jethro was when I left him with you.”
“I understand. I don’t blame you, Cash.”
Another knock on the door made my heart stop for a moment, and we all turned to see two cops standing on the porch. My emotions overwhelmed me as Kane stood from the couch. Reaching up to grab his hand again, I cried, “No, don’t. Don’t go.”
“Don’t worry. Just run upstairs and get me some clothes so I don’t look like I belong on some episode of Cops, okay?”
I didn’t want to leave that room just in case he let them in and they took him away before I could get back, so I ran as fast as I could up the stairs and grabbed a pair of black pants, a grey long sleeved shirt, and his boots he always wore and ran back to find the police standing in my living room. Everything got confused for me as they explained why they were there and that he’d have to go with them. Kane took his clothes and said something as he dressed, but nothing seemed to make any sense. All I knew was that his leaving scared me to death.
He left his boots unlaced, and stepping toward me, took my face in his hands. “Cash will make sure you’re okay. I won’t be gone for long. Don’t worry, angel. I’ll be okay.”
The tears rolled down my cheeks as he spoke because I knew he was saying goodbye. “Don’t leave. Please don’t! You were only protecting me.” I turned to look at the cops and tried to plead his case. “He was protecting me from being hurt. He doesn’t deserve this. Don’t take him away.”