"Stop it," Kinsley whispered, and was ignored.
"Kinsley is my business!" Daniel shouted.
Logan and Caden moved closer to the three of us, both looking unsure about what was going on or what to do.
"Kinsley is not your business." Not if I had anything to say about it. Fucking tree.
"Please, stop it."
Instead of stopping, I fixed Kinsley with a burning glare. "I can't believe you had the gall to disappear, get knocked up by the Jolly Green Giant, and then fucking marry him!"
"That's so goddamn rich, coming from the guy who screwed her without protection and then dumped her almost immediately."
Kinsley cringed at the volume of that pronouncement and then whimpered.
My entire face reddened. "Glad to hear you've painted me in a bad light to a stranger," I said to Kinsley.
"It's the truth, and we all know it," Daniel said.
Kinsley tugged on his arm. "Stop it, Danny."
"What the hell is going on here?"
We all turned at the woman's approach, who stopped next to Danny before taking in us angry-faced men and a crying Kinsley. Crossing to her, the woman pulled Kinsley into her arms and glared daggers at me and Daniel.
"Who the hell are you and why did you make her cry?" she demanded.
Taking a deep breath, I looked at the white lacy dress this new woman wore, the intimate way she grabbed the arm of the hulking man-tree, and the deep blue dress Kinsley wore. "Apparently, I don't know what's going on, either. Perhaps we can all go to my office and figure this out?"
"The hell we can," Danny said.
Just his voice triggered my rage. "Look, motherfucker, I'm trying to be polite and not cause any more of a scene on a city street, but I'm more than happy to take you down out in the open."
All Danny did was laugh.
Itching to aim my Judge at the man's smug face, I just barely managed to refrain. "I need to speak to Kinsley." Turning to the woman shielding Kinsley against her shoulder, I said, "Please, Kinsley, can we talk? Preferably in private?"
Kinsley straightened. "I'll talk to you, but they're coming with me."
I couldn't quite manage to bite back the sigh. "Fine. It's just right over there."
When I pointed to the building we'd just finalized the purchase on, the six of us walked down the block. Looking puzzled, the doorman kept his mouth shut as he held the door. All of us crammed into an elevator to the top floor—divided three on one side and three on the other—and I ushered them past the receptionist into what I'd deemed my office only that morning.
"Please, I want to talk to you alone, Kinsley." Mostly because I had no idea what was going on, but also because I needed her to know she was coming home with me, regardless of anything else I might learn in the next few minutes. Possession and carnal need raged through me, and I had to force them down long enough to be rational.
She shook her head.
"Fine," I sighed.
Logan and Caden remained near the door after closing it. The other two stayed by the window, and I drew Kinsley over to the credenza.
"What's going on?" I asked her in a low tone.
With a hefty sigh, Kinsley wiped at her tear-streaked face. "I'm living with my friends, Danny and Brenda. They just got married today."
Which was what I'd figured out only after the bride joined us. "I apologize for making assumptions about the two of you. It's just that I was shocked to see you, and I jumped to conclusions."
"I understand that," she whispered, not meeting my gaze.
