I handed KC his phone, not bothering to reach for my own. All those notifications I’d been receiving were no doubt more of the same.
“No,” I responded without hesitation. And when I knew that answer would enrage him into pointing his gun at me again, I continued, “I married her.”
KC stood with his wrists crossed at his waist, gun still in hand, his gaze going from me to Cade.
“Run that shit by me again,” Cade snapped. “’Cause I know you didn’t say what I thought you said.”
“I’m not repeating myself.” I nodded toward the chair across from my desk. “And I’m not having this conversation with you standing over there like you’re about to shoot at any second. We’re either talking like men or you can raise that gun at meagain and I shoot your ass where you stand. I can tell you which one Dakota would prefer.”
“Don’t say her name!” He dragged a hand down his face and turned, stalking to the door again before coming back to drop down into the chair. “What the fuck, Fury! What. The. Fuck!”
KC chuckled. “I’mma head down to check with Titan about that other situation. You two gonna be okay up here or should I stay in case your ass gets jumpy again?” He looked at Cade with a hint of amusement in his eyes, but his gun still in hand.
“Fuck you, KC.” Cade didn’t even look at him.
“Cool. Be easy, Donovan.” KC glanced at me. “You good, bro?”
I nodded, meeting his gaze. “I’m good. Tell Titan I’ll be down soon and ready to go.”
“Got it.” Before he made it to the door, KC tucked his gun into the back band of his pants, adjusting the jacket to his Brioni suit so it was once again hidden.
When the door was closed and we were alone, I returned my gaze to Cade who had put his gun away and now dragged his hand down again.
“We met on a job and were married in Vegas three months later.” I knew Dakota wanted us to make this announcement to her family together on Sunday, but her brother was sitting across from me now, trying valiantly not to crash out for the second time.
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me? You met and married my sister and didn’t say a damn word about it?” His frown was now mixed with confusion. “Wait a minute. You went on that ride to take care of Jinx with me and didn’t open your mouth about what you were doing with my sister?”
“Do you tell me who you sleep with?”
He jabbed his finger in my direction. “Youknew about Shawna.”
“Because her uncle was trying to come up in my territory and that fool ass Jinx threatened you.”
Before they were married, Shawna Allen was the niece of Scottie Allen, the leader of the Bond Street Savages. Jinx was his lieutenant and Shawna’s ex. When Jinx found out Shawna, an FBI analyst on Cade’s profiler team, was sleeping with Cade, he threatened to kill him. Cade, like me, didn’t take threats lightly, so Jinx had to disappear. As for Scottie, that bastard had gone on the run. But we were gonna find him, and when we did it wasn’t going to be a sweet reunion.
“Look, what Dakota and I do is our business, even moreso now that we’re married.”
“Secretlymarried,” he said. “Let’s not forget that part. Was that your idea? Are you embarrassed to be married to her after all the women you had lined up in your club that were waiting to become your old lady?”
First, I hated that term. Never would any woman I committed to be referred to in that way, even though it was sort of synonymous with club lingo. Second, I would never be the one to tell Cade or anyone else that it was Dakota’s idea to keep our marriage a secret. When I took those vows with a fake Elvis standing on one side of us and a fake Michael on the other, it meant something. It meant that no matter what I would hold that woman down. I would support her and love her, protect her and uplift her. There was no ambiguity where she was concerned.
“Get the fuck outta here with that bullshit, man. I’m never embarrassed by a damn thing that I do, and I certainly wouldn’t start with Dakota. She’s the blessing I don’t deserve, but she’s mine and that’s that.” Sighing, I flipped the safety back onto my gun, then dropped it into the drawer. I slammed the drawer before dropping my arms onto my desk. “This isn’t how weplanned to make the announcement, but know this, I love and respect your sister.”
“So much so that you’ve got pictures of her floating around the internet. Yeah, that’s showing a lot of respect.”
“I didn’t take those fuckin’ pictures and you know it. But I’m damn sure gonna get them removed and have the person who took them delivered in a box to their mama.” This day was getting worse by the minute, but I hadn’t gotten to where I was today without knowing how to take care of my business. Finding the bitch ass who’d taken those pictures was just another thing on my to do list.
“You putting a ring on her finger puts a mark on her life, you know that,” Cade stated in the calmest tone he’d had since he walked his light-skinned ass in here. “I don’t get in my sister’s business about who she lets into her bed. As long as the man doesn’t play in her face, use her, or hurt her in any way, they’re safe. But you …you, Fury! You know what that shit means.”
I did know. I just didn’t give a fuck. “As long as I breathe, nobody is going to touch her or even put disrespect on her name. She’s my wife. You know as well as anybody how much weight that carries.”
“The same weight that being a Donovan carries,” he shot back.
Both of us went quiet, both thinking about those two points. The biggest issues in this conversation.
“Look,” I said, breaking the silence, “I knew what this all meant the day I proposed to her and I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered then and the only thing that matters now is how much I love her. As her brother and as someone I’ve come to know very well, I’m giving you the respect of assuring you that I will protect her with my life.”
“I would’ve rather had the respect of you not going behind my back and putting your hands on my sister.”
