Nuri started to rub at his temples, a clear indicator he had a migraine coming on. He was prone to them and they could last for hours if they weren’t dealt with right away.
“Kaz,” Nate switched tactics. “I’m hungry.”
“I’ll make you something as soon as your brother-in-law concedes,” he replied.
Fucking child.
He rolled his eyes and took it up a notch, swaying slightly on his feet for good measure to help sell it.
“I ran here just now. My leg—”
“You what?!” Kazimir shoved away from Silver, completely forgetting all about the standoff as he moved to Nate. He slipped the knife into its sheath at his side and took Nate settled his hands on Nate’s waist, easily lifting him up off the ground to set him on the kitchen counter at his back.
He dropped to his knees before Nate could get another word out, gently touching his thigh around the area where he’d been shot. “How does this feel? Do you think you pulled any of the stitches?”
“Stitches?” Nuri’s eyes went wide. “Why do you have stitches?”
“Because he was shot,” Kaz replied absently, still focused on checking Nate. It was clear he wanted to remove his pants so he could get a good look, but smartly refrained.
“He what?!” Nuri was at his side a second later, grabbing onto his arm. “You were shot?!”
“By who?” Silver asked.
“They’re dead now,” Kazimir said. “I dealt with them.”
There was a moment of silence before Silver hummed. “I approve of the new man, Nate.”
“Yes,” Nuri adjusted his wirerimmed glasses and nodded slightly, “yes, he does seem rather fond of you. I’m glad to see you’re being taken care of here. But don’t think this lets you off the hook. I want to know the whole story about this shooting and how you got involved in the first place.”
“If this is Ersa Ambrose’s kid,” Silver stated, “that means you’re Kazimir, correct? He’s the underboss of the Brumal mafia, Nuri.”
“Oh.” He blinked but didn’t seem as opposed as Nate had feared he would be. “That helps put things in perspective then.”
Nate narrowed his eyes and thought it over. This mild reaction to news that big could only mean one thing. “Neve blabbed about that already too, didn’t she.”
“She was concerned you wouldn’t want to tell me,” Nuri admitted.
“Wouldn’t want to disappoint your family,” Silver added, a note of taunting in his tone that didn’t go unnoticed.
“What did you just say to him?” Kaz rose to his feet, but Nate caught onto his elbow.
“Don’t, it’s not worth it.” He sighed and leaned back against the cupboard. “Do you mind giving Nuri and me a moment alone?”
“I don’t,” Silver said, giving Kazimir a challenging look.
The two stared each other down for a lengthy moment before the Hotshot rolled his eyes.
“Whatever. But call if you need me, and don’t try to get down on your own.” Kaz turned and placed a soft kiss on the center of Nate’s forehead, lingering for a second longer before he gave in and moved off to the living room. He paused on his way and motioned to Silver. “Coming or what, Royal Asshole?”
“Family get-togethers are going to be a lot more fun now, aren’t they?” Silver grinned, but before Nate could feel nervous about that, he left with Kaz, not even sparing them a backward glance as he turned the corner out of sight.
“Is everything really all right, Nate?” Nuri asked softly. “If he’s making you do anything you don’t like—”
“I have depression,” he blurted. Once it was out there, it seemed stupid not to elaborate, and he found the confession spilling past his lips in a rush. “It isn’t technically clinical yet, but it could easily have turned into that if not dealt with. I do haveother issues, however. My therapist says its people pleasing and burdenism.”
“You’ve been seeing a therapist?” Nuri sounded surprised.
“Sort of,” he said. “My point is, it’s stupid, and I’m working on it, but I really need you to be okay with this. With Kazimir and my relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t end things with him even if you aren’t, but it will really suck.” Like, a lot.
