He frowns. Oxley rubs his face several times before dropping his hands to his side. “I don’t know. Maybe because he goes awayafter he says all the shit he wants to say. He has never raised his hand to me, so I suppose I never considered him a threat before. He’s a hothead. A miserable man. Always has been. And to be honest, I don’t care what anyone thinks about me. Not even my brother.”
“I care,” I say and take an awkward step toward him without my crutches, which makes me wince. Fuck, that hurts.
Oxley is in front of me before I can take a second breath. He has me in his arms, taking the weight off my injured leg. “I can’t believe you hit him,” he says, amused. “I’m not sure which of us was more surprised.”
“It was made pretty clear that he’s never had someone stand up to him,” I say, grinning.
“No. There are very few people he backs down to. Unsurprisingly, every person on that list is either my brother or my nephew.”
“Yeah?”
Oxley nods. “When you have the weight of the Van Doren name following you around, it’s easy to find yourself untouchable. In people like Kairo, that gives them a false sense of superiority. I admit that not reacting when he decides he wants to yell at me has undoubtedly given him the false impression that I’m scared of him. In reality, he’s not worth my time.”
“You should make that more clear.”
“I just did,” he answers and kisses me. “More than me pulling a knife on him, he won’t soon forget that someone on crutches with a busted leg doesn’t find him nearly as scary as he thinks he is. You’re going to haunt his dreams for a very long time.”
His grin makes me smile. There are worse first impressions, I suppose.
12
OXLEY
Outside of myfamily and Nori, I’ve never seen someone stand up to Kairo before. I think the reason is primarily what I said. Not because everyone is necessarily afraid of him, but because of the weight that comes with his name.
That’s not to say that my brother isn’t a dangerous man. I’m sure he’s killed far more people than most of us. He’s just the type of person who likely takes joy in it. He likes to feel powerful. Taking someone’s life is the ultimate power grab, right?
The shock on his face when Huntley came after him had me frozen in shock. Right until Kairo went in for the attack.
I meant what I said. Kairo doesn’t bother me. No matter how vile and angry he gets, he’s just talk. I’m not under the impression that he actually likes me deep down. I’m not even convinced that there’s so much as familial affection or loyalty there.
Not once in my entire life has he even threatened to become violent with me. He wants someone to yell at. He wants a verbal punching bag. I serve that purpose. In a way, I’m a safe space for him to take out his anger on.
I don’t provoke him. I don’t interrupt him. I don’t react at all. He can literally just spew whatever shit he wants for as long as he wants before walking away.
There are things he’s said continuously over the years that I’ve come to understand bother him. There’s almost always a comment about how I’m treated differently from him and the rest of our brothers. He hates that. It drives him insane that I get what he views as special treatment.
He’s extra bitter because he wanted Anaheim, and I took it. Jalon allowed us to choose cities in birth order. Which simply meant, I came first. I wanted Anaheim because it’s close to home. If Arath or Noaz had wanted Anaheim, I’d have given it up. Kairo has always been a dick, so I didn’t feel the need to be nice.
He’s good for Chicago, though. Chicago has been a dangerous city for a long time. It’s overcome with crime, and law enforcement is failing at getting it under control. Kairo’s ruthless abandon has made headway in recent years. That’s where he’s needed.
“You think he’s actually going to leave Anaheim?” Huntley asks.
I nod and scoop him into my arms. He gives me a flushed smile as I bring him back into my bedroom. “He’ll leave, and likely won’t be back for quite some time.”
“You think it’s because I hit him with my crutch or because you finally stood up to him?”
“Both,” I answer.
“I don’t understand why you let him treat you like that.”
I set him on the bed gently and help him adjust the bedding and pillows until he’s comfortable. “Because I think he needs it. I’m the only one who doesn’t react to his verbal spewing. Everyone sees itas hostile and reacts as such. In a way, I think it’s him releasing his insecurities somewhere that’s safe. I’m not like Jalon, trying to get Kairo to talk about what’s behind his anger. Or Arath, who will lay him out like a crash-test dummy. Or Noaz, who has a way of making him feel small and insignificant. Then there are our nephews. Loren will gut him like a fish. Kairo has a scar on his gut from Loren. He’s very careful not to cross him now.”
Huntley’s eyebrows knit together in concern.
“I don’t react, and I think maybe Kairo needs that sometimes.”
“There are other ways to get someone to listen to you vent without verbally abusing them,” he deadpans.
