My brother stood there fully dressed with a grim line for lips.
The moment I saw him, hatred billowed, and I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. “Did you fuck her?”
His eyes flashed. “What do you think?”
“I think you went above and beyond what we’d discussed.”
He shook his head. “I did exactly what you said.”
“You did more than what I said, Kes.” Rubbing my eyes to stop the fucking tears from prickling, I growled, “You touched her. You made her come. You touched what’s fucking mine!”
Kes swallowed, dropping his eyes. “I told you everything. I told you how I felt about her—how hard that would be for me. Yet you made me do it anyway. I didn’t fuck her.” Holding up his finger and thumb, he pinched air. “I wasthisclose, Jet. This fucking close to taking what I wanted. But... I didn’t. I didn’t because I’m on your side and have yourback.”
My hatred turned inward, battering and pouring yet more acid on my already flayed wounds. I asked more of him than any brother should. I ought to thank him and never speak of it again. But my lips formed another question, spewing it forth. “Did you come?”
He looked away.
Gratefulness or not, I couldn’t stop my possessive rage. “Motherfucker.”
I lunged.
I caught him off guard, landing a right hook and a left before he wizened up and punched me in the gut.
“Shit, Kite. Calm the fuck down. I didn’t do anything we didn’t agree.”
“We agreed you wouldn’t come!”
“We agreed on other things, too.” His eyes narrowed. “Or are you forgetting about those?”
I froze.
He’s right.
I hadn’t honoured past promises, no matter how hard I’d tried.
Looking past me, his attention switched. “Shit, that was fast. How long did it take to kick in?”
Shaking out the pain in my knuckles from punching three of my family members, I glanced at Daniel and Cut on the floor. “It didn’t. I helped them along.”
Kes dragged a hand through his silvering hair. “What the fuck did you do? You know they can’t wake up in the morning and think it didn’t happen. Shit—what was the point in all of this if you couldn’t even let it run its course!”
The room tilted and weaved.
I heaved as my stomach tried to revolt against the booze. “Had no choice. Couldn’t do it anymore.”
Suddenly, I couldn’t look at Kes without reliving what he’d done to my woman. It shredded my skin, turned my muscles into quivering agony. “I can’t—I can’t stay in here with you.”
Kes stomped forward and gripped my shoulders. “You have no choice. It’s not over yet.”
I tensed against his thoughts, preparing myself to flounder in his coital bliss from Nila, but like most times, Kestrel protected me. I picked up on faint frequencies, but he kept the majority hidden behind a calm curtain of nothingness.
I sighed, pushing him away. “Sorry.”
He nodded. “I get it.” Pointing at comatose Cut and Daniel, he added, “Let’s finish up. Then we can call it a night, yeah?”
Swaying on my feet, I moved to lock the door. “You’re right.”
Together, we faced the archives of previous debts and extractions. I pulled up old footage of Emma Weaver. “It’s time to get creative.”
