"Go check on him. Call Ma. Please."
Caden rolled his eyes. "Every effort causes you pain, but here you are, worried about your bastard father instead of yourself." He shook his head. "Are you going to be okay? They only let one of us come back at a time, but I'll ask if Logan can see you now."
"I'll be fine."
"Just so you know, I'm only checking on him for your sake. He could choke on his own spit and die for all the shits I give."
I watched Caden leave the room, knowing he was right. Carson caused the whole fiasco with his insistence on pushing his way into places he didn't belong, and I had paid the price.
12
Burke
I didn't spend nearly as much time in the hospital as my father did, and by the time I was released, I’d had all of Carson's privileges stripped. Their bills were set to autopay, he no longer had a car and driver, he no longer had a personal assistant, their credit cards were seized, and their bank accounts were drained to all but what was needed for the necessities. I made it clear to Ma that she could come to me with any need and I would meet it, but Carson was not to have access to ready cash. I had to punish him, and this was the only way I knew how.
Every day, Elena took her husband to physical therapy, where he bitched everyone out and refused to do the exercises. His condition wasn't getting better, and he wasn't following his doctor's protocol. Carson was unbearable to anyone who had the misfortune of crossing his path, and I had to hear about all of it.
In need of a break, an escape, I decided to leave town. There were new office buildings in Connecticut I needed to look into anyway, and the last place I wanted to be at the moment was Boston.
To celebrate making the deal I’d hoped for, I went to lunch with my partners. Afterward, we walked down the street near the center of town toward our waiting limo.
I was listening with half an ear to Caden rambling about his new girlfriend. "Seriously, Maddie would love that place. They have her favorite cafe con leche—"
"Kinsley?"
Stopping when I did, the other two looked across the street, trying to find whatever I saw.
Raising his hand, Logan shielded his eyes against the sun's glare. "Who?"
I gaped at the couple standing on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. Kinsley had her back turned to me, but I would recognize her anywhere. Her dark chestnut hair blew in the wind, and she laughed at something the man next to her said. Incredibly large and well-built, he was at least a foot and a half taller than Kinsley. He wore a suit, and she wore a fancy dress and low heels. When the guy rubbed her lower back, my vision blurred and wavered. Oh, fuck, no.
Without even thinking about my actions, I crossed the street separating us. A car blew its horn and slammed on its brakes, but I didn't even notice. The pair I headed toward did, however, and they turned at the ruckus.
"Oh, my God," I heard her say, her hands fluttering near her mouth.
The big guy glanced at her, then at me as I approached them. "Kins?"
Angry strides brought me swiftly to her, but not until I reached for Kinsley's arm did I notice the bulge of her belly.
Recoiling in barely suppressed rage, I snarled, "What the fuck is going on?" Someone else had his hands on what was mine. Someone had impregnated what was mine.
"How are you even here?" Kinsley whispered, clutching the guy's biceps.
"Kins, who is this?" he asked.
"Burke Gallagher. Who the fuck are you?" Venom practically dripped from my mouth as I spoke, causing Kinsley to take a half step behind him. That only angered me further; I’d never been a threat to her.
"Ah, yes, the infamous Burke. I'm Daniel Seymour."
Finally, I tore my hate-filled gaze from this Daniel guy to pin it on Kinsley. "You two are together? You ran away from Chester to marry this—this tree?"
But Daniel answered for her. "First off, I don't see how anything she does is any of your business. Second, you left her alone and unprotected, remember?"
I rounded on Daniel, who seemed to know more about me than I did about him. "I don't recall asking you, fucker."
He only chuckled. "Whoa, tough talk. Why don't you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave us alone?"
"Why don't you mind your motherfucking business?" I said, seconds from pulling my piece out of its holster.
