Kai’s thumbs brush her cheeks. “I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at him.”
“I know,” she whispers.
Kai presses his forehead to hers and stays there. Quiet. Still. The storm is contained only because she’s the one holding him.
Jackson stands near me, arms folded, jaw set. He watches Kai and Isla with a kind of reverence, like he’s seeing proof of something he wants to believe about the world.
That love can be loud and dangerous and still be safe.
Kai pulls back slightly. “Come on, Princess. I’ll get a hot bath going, and we can relax.”
“Uh… everyone’s still here, Kai,” Isla mumbles as he presses a kiss to her lips.
Kai’s mouth twitches. “And they know where the door is. Gael and Adriana are across the hall. And Jack and Dre are on the floor below us. It’s not like they have to go far.”
Isla’s eyes flick to me and Gael and Jackson, like she’s embarrassed we’re witnessing this.
Kai doesn’t care. He shifts his gaze to us. “So, thanks, guys… but I think we're going to take a bath and try to relax.”
He doesn’t have to tell us twice. I nod. “Heard. You guys have a good night.”
Kai nods, then looks at me. “Dre.”
“Yeah,” I answer.
His voice drops. “If he comes here…”
“He won’t,” I say, and I mean it. Not because I believe Steve has morals, but because now there are eyes on him.
Kai’s nostrils flare. “If he does.”
I hold Kai’s gaze. “Then it gets handled. Our way.”
Our way meaning masks, baseball bats, and shovels.
Isla reaches out and grabs my hand for a second. Her fingers squeeze. “Thank you,” she says quietly, like she’s trying not to cry again.
I squeeze back. “You’re family, and we take care of our family.”
Jackson steps forward, voice softer than usual. “You okay?”
Isla looks at him, and for a second her face cracks into something gentler. “I’m okay,” she says, then adds, looking over at Kai, “I will be.”
Jackson nods like he understands what she means. Kai stands and offers Isla his hand. She takes it and he pulls her up carefully, like she’s delicate. Like she’s the center of the earth and he’s making sure she doesn’t fall.
He turns toward the hall, then pauses and his eyes land on Jackson.
“Appreciate you,” Kai says, blunt and raw.
Jackson blinks like he didn’t expect it. “Yeah,” he says, equally blunt. “Of course.”
Gael takes Adriana’s hand and walks out before us, speaking low, probably reminding her to breathe and that everything will be okay.
Jackson exhales hard, and I watch his shoulders drop a fraction.
He turns toward me and mutters, “I hate this.”
“I know,” I say.
