“Nix?” Coco says. “Who’s she?”
“A friend, Coco. You’re done for the night.” I turn to face her, and she’s standing with her hands crossed in front of her chest with the same look as Kennedy. Fuck me. This night just can’t get any more fucked up than it already has been.
“I don’t think I should leave here tonight.”
“We’ll be okay, babe. Eva and I have some shit to work through. I’d prefer it if you weren’t here.”
She eyes Kennedy cautiously as they size each other up. “You may need my protection.”
Her statement makes me smile, but I hold back my laughter as I pull Kennedy out of the elevator with me. “I think I’ll be okay. Leave your homework in my office and go home, Coco. That’s an order.”
“Sure,” she says. “I’ll call you later.”
“Make it tomorrow,” I tell Coco, stopping in front of the couch with my hands still on Kennedy.
She nods, giving Kennedy an evil look before spinning on her heels and heading toward my office. I don’t have time for Coco’s antics or the mothering she sometimes feels I need. Usually, I have more patience for her, but not tonight…not after the shit Kennedy pulled.
The women in my life are becoming a complication I don’t need. Each of them wants something from me. Coco’s motives are clear. But Kennedy…I am about to get to the bottom of her game, but not before playing a few of my own.
13
Kennedy
Nix is throwingquestions at me right and left. He’s so pissed I can barely even get a word in edgewise.
“You know he might’ve killed you if I hadn’t come in, right? I’ve watched Grayson choke the life out of people in that basement.”
“I wouldn’t have let him kill me.”
“You wouldn’t havelethim?” Nix thunders. “He’s twice your fucking size, Kennedy. He could crush your windpipe with one good squeeze.”
“I’m not some dumb bimbo. Don’t treat me like you treather,” I warn.
“Who?”
“Coco…or whatever the hell her name is.”
“Why the hell not? You’re both headstrong women who don’t look before you fucking leap.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Ialwayslook. I knew what I was doing. Don’t take that condescending tone with me.”
He scoffs and throws his hands up, then walks over to a small bar in his living room to make a drink. The muscle in his clenched jaw ticks as he pours.
I hadn’t planned on getting caught in that room, obviously. And sure, I was scared of Grayson. I don’t like getting my ass kicked, no matter how many times I endured it in training. My plan had been to play scared and dumb, take my lumps and let him interrogate me. I could have taken it, and I would have been able to maintain my cover.
But then Nix came riding in on his white horse, thinking he was saving the day. He saved me from a beating, yes, but now I’ll have issues with Hassan.
I’m standing in the middle of the large room, still watching Nix. He pours two drinks but leaves them sitting on the bar top, his back to me as he leans on the bar with both hands, dropping his head in frustration. The muscles in his back and shoulders are flexed with tension.
“You don’t know what you’re playing at, Kennedy,” he says in a low tone. “I don’t know what your end game is, but I think you need to learn a valuable lesson from someone who cares.”
He turns and rushes me, shoving me back until I lose my footing. Catching me before I fall, he scoops his hands beneath my ass and tosses me onto his massive dark leather sofa.
He’s on top of me in an instant, his knees on either side of my waist. He wraps his hands around my neck, applying light pressure.
“You see?” His dark eyes are locked on mine. “You see how easy it would be for—”
I just crushed his balls with my thigh, and I apply another hard blow.
