It’s not like Declan is that bad. In fact, since our families have joined, there haven’t been many instances of him going off half-cocked. If Carter pulled his head out of his ass, he’d see that. The few times he’s killed someone, he was completely in the right. Carter or Kai would have done the same thing if they were in his shoes.
Sighing, I cross my arms over my chest. “Maybe I should get that casino. I wouldn’t have to deal with your husband being a dick.”
Kai barks a laugh. “Yeah, he is a dick, but he’s mine. Leave him alone.”
Chuckling, I make sure Kai is good, then go help Percy count the piles of cash.
CHAPTER 4
DECLAN
My eyebrows dip as I listen to Dad lecture me. It’s not like he’s never done anything reckless, but when I do it, it’s a problem.
“Did you think what could happen to this family if they find that fucking floater?” he asks, glaring like he wants to strangle me. “We could all go down.”
“How?” I huff. “We were over seventy miles off the shore. Before I pushed Cliff overboard, I stripped him naked. We all wore gloves and caps so we didn’t leave hair behind. And I loaded him down with cement blocks. You know, when the body is far enough underwater, the pressure keeps the gases of the body from causing buoyancy.” Dad’s eyebrows tick up in shock. “I use my head, Dad. Fuck, you’d think I fucking killed someone and left the body on the chief of police’s doorstep.”
“You did,” Carter chimes in, crossing his arms over his chest. “Small wonder we covered that up.”
I smile at the memory. It was a dare from Hendrix. It didn’t matter. The chief is in our pocket, so he wasn’t gonna do shit.
“Stop grinning,” Dad says, lips twisted in a sneer. “You think you’re fucking invincible, D. You ain’t. Someone can?—”
I grunt and get to my feet. “I ain’t come all this way to get dressed down. It happened, it’s over. I’m not gonna dive the Atlantic to get the body back, so chill the fuck out.”
“Watch your fucking tone!” Dad slams his hands on his desk and gets to his feet. He might be in his mid-fifties, but he’s still as scary as he was when I was a kid and he was in the prime of his life. “You may not like what I say, but you’ll show me some fucking respect.”
My hand goes to my rib nearest my heart and I rub the area. “My bad, Dad.”
He grunts and looks at Carter. “Shipment came in today, right?”
Carter gives Dad a look. “You’re retired. Get out of my business.”
Dad laughs and I scowl. Carter has always had more leeway talking shit to Dad. Since they’re closer than me and Dad will ever be, he only gets reprimanded for his worse offenses.
That’s not to say Dad doesn’t love me. I know he does and we’re close. But he and Carter have this unshakable bond. The bond I had with my mother before she was killed. Just like Carter is Dad’s, I was Mom’s.
I press harder to the scar along my ribs, trying to bring my mind back to the present.
Carter glances over at me. “Can you handle the shipment?”
I give him a dry look. “Don’t treat me like some asshole. Of course I can.”
Carter smiles at me, stands from his chair and brings me in for a one-armed hug. I snarl and push him away. He’s always been more affectionate than me, always free to show his love. My free spirit died with Mom.
“While you’re there,” he says, “I want you to teach Sid a lesson.”
I tick up an eyebrow. “What did he do?”
“Left his watch last night. Gavin and Nico were doing their nightly rounds, and our gate was left unattended. He said he was doing security at the warehouse for you.”
“He wasn’t,” I say with false calm.
Sid is one of Carter’s men. He was originally part of his personal security, only deferring to Gavin, but when Carter and Kai got married, he was pushed aside for Kai’s men so the family could integrate. He’s been salty ever since, so maybe he ducked out on his duties as a sign of his upset.
“Teach him a lesson, yeah?” Carter says.
“I can do that.”
