She took a sip.
I don’t believe her.
When I sit beside her, and pull her into my arms, her shoulders relax, and the tension in her body releases. She lays head against my chest.
“You sure?”
I hope she’ll open up to me.
“Yeah,” she whispers, her answer muffled against my chest. “Everything’s fine. What time are we leaving?”
I look at my watch. We’re supposed to go to dinner then hit the Strip.
“You have a few hours to take a nap if you want,” I say. “I know I kept you up all night.”
She snorts causing me to chuckle.
I want to talk to Kai alone. I need to know what I walked in on.
My eyes slide back to my friend. Someone who’s been in my life since we were kids.Iwatch the way his fingers curl around his glass, knuckles white.His gaze never leaves her, and it isn’t because he admires her. I know that’s not how Kai looks at Seraphina. It’s pure contempt.
A few years ago, when I found out she was the sister of my brother’s obsession, I thought this wouldn’t be possible. I’d been so pissed she hid that from me and knew who I was, I broke things off with her. Kai seemed so much happier when she wasn’t around. Now, it’s been a few years since then and we’ve moved on with our lives. We decided to make things work. While Kai has always had a distrust of her, I won’t let him disrespect her.
“A nap sounds good.” Seraphina places her wine glass on the table. “I’ll set my alarm for an hour.”
I nod. She pecks me on the lips, stands, and I tap her ass as she heads toward our bedroom.
The sneer on Kai’s face leaves when she’s out of sight.
“What’s up?” I ask when the door to our room shuts.
He looks at me like he’s surprised I’m looking at him, then arches his brow. He’s sitting on the couch across from me, with his arm draped across the back of the chair with his legs open.
“Just ready to get the night started.”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about. What’s up with you and Seraphina?”
He frowns. “There’s nothing up with me and Seraphina.” The disgust in his voice shouldn’t surprise me but it does.
“I know what I saw, Kai. Don’t treat me like I’m a fucking idiot.”
He blows out a breath. “I just don’t like her.”
“And you never have. But what did you say to her? She was upset when I came into the room, Kai.”
“Look, you’re my friend and I tolerate her because of you.”
I don’t miss that he doesn’t answer my question.
“I’ll never like her, Sergio. So, don’t expect that to change.”
I take a sip from the whiskey glass then place it next to her wine glass on the table. “You don’t have to like her Kai, but you will respect her. You and Finley are my best friends, my brothers. But she’s the love of my life. Don’t make me choose between you and her because you won’t like the choice I make.”
Something flickers in his eyes, but it’s gone just as quickly as it appears.
The shrill sound of my phone caused me to groan. I peeled my eyes open as the memory dissipated. We were right outside ofthe small town in Albania where I had hidden Seraphina. It was about an hour drive from the airport, and I caught a couple minutes of sleep on the way. I’d been up most of the night, leaving the Drakos Syndicate a few messages about fucking with Seraphina before I left town. I was tired as fuck.
It had been a few days since I’d seen her, but Kai had been keeping me updated with Dr. Vlahos’ treatment. He said everything was going fine, but every time I called, Seraphina had been asleep. I hadn’t heard her voice, and Kai sounded a little off too, like the situation was stressing him out. We were all fucking stressed, and I knew I needed to get back.
