“His ego was hurt when I dumped him for cheating on me. He won’t let it go.”
Jess looks back down at the phone, and the tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Clay hasn’t moved from behind his sister, his arms still crossed, but he is watching Kayla as if he is seeing her for the first time now that his hatred is no longer justified.
Jess hands the phone back, and to her credit, she doesn’t argue her way out of this to hide her embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “He told me...”
“I know what he told you,” Kayla says. “He is great at making himself look good while playing the victim.”
Jess nods and looks at the floor, then toward Clay, who pulls his sister into his arms.
“I feel so fucking stupid,” Jess cries into her brother’s chest.
“Don’t feel stupid,” Kayla consoles. “Men like him prey on women with good hearts, who like to see the best in people. And they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under...”
Clay whips his head toward Kayla. “She will not be fucking anyone,” he snaps.
Vero snorts. “I hate to break it to you, bro, but your sister is far from an angel.”
“I swear to god, Vero, if you have fucked my sister, I will kill you.”
Jess laughs. “NowthatI would love to see. Vero comes with his own attack human, but just for the record, I have not fucked him. No offense, but he isn’t my type.”
“None taken,” Vero replies with a grin. “Dealing with one Rourke sibling is enough for me. Brawley and I are on day shift, so we need to go. I’ll clean the kitchen when I get back.”
I roll my eyes. He will not clean the kitchen when he gets back—he never does. Honestly he would just make more mess.
“I’ll be back—I need to go get changed.” Vero runs out of the kitchen, and we all watch him leave.
“I’m going to go,” Jess says. “Gerald has baby bunnies, and he said I can play with them.”
Clay laughs and releases her from his embrace. He doesn’t trust many people with his sister, but while Gerald is a scary man to look at, he has a heart of gold. He loves those fucking bunnies.
“I will swing by later and take you to lunch,” Clay says, and Jess nods before bouncing out of the kitchen with a wave.
Brawley gets up from his seat and grabs his plate and Kayla’s. He hesitates for a moment and gazes down at her.
She must feel him looking at her, and she peers up at him.
“Thank you for being kind to Vero—he needs more genuine friends. I really hope you come back.”
Kayla nods but doesn’t respond. For Brawley to say anything is a big deal, and she must know it. He dumps the plates in the sink before leaving. Clay lingers, and I have a feeling he wants to say something to Kayla, but his pride keeps him silent.
“I will grab your clothes from the laundry if you’re happy to wait here for me,” I tell her.
“Sure, I’ll tidy some of Vero’s mess—it’s the least I can do.”
“You don’t have to. I can do it later.”
“I will help her clean,” Clay murmurs, and I nod, pushing off the kitchen island and walking toward the laundry.
I pull up the security cameras on my phone when I get to the laundry and lean against the washer. Kayla is already cleaning off the stove, and Clay is at the sink filling it with water. I turn the volume up on my phone.
“You don’t have to help clean,” Clay says without turning toward her.
“I know,” she replies. “But where I grew up, if someone cooks, the other person washes.”
Clay picks up a plate and starts to scrub, and I wait to see if he actually apologizes. From how well I know Clay, I bet he won’t, but there is something off about him this morning.
“Kyle,” he says, as if that were a complete sentence.
