“Asshole,” I grit out as I stomp across the room. He really is so fucking sure of himself, and it fuels the damn irritation inside of me once again. Good. I need to be irritated by him because then I remember what he did and who he is.
A monster.
A crime lord.
And I have no place in my heart for a man that dangerous.
Chapter Fifteen
Nate
“Big bro,” Zoey says when I get to the bottom of the stairs to see her waiting.
“Zoey,” I say with a nod of my head as I carry on past her and go through to the kitchen, clicking the coffee machine on because I feel I’m going to need several caffeine hits today. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well,” she starts as she drops her bag on the kitchen island and hops up on one of the stools. “Seeing as you ran away from your own wedding so quickly and seeing as you blocked my invite to dinner the other night, I thought I would just pop by on the off chance that my brother would actually see me and spend more than five minutes in my company,” she finishes, finally taking a breath.
“I did not block your invite because I didn’t invite you. You invited yourself,” I say as I narrow my eyes on her.
“Exactly,” she exclaims, looking at me like I’ve lost my damn mind. “You didn’t even think to invite me, your sister, your flesh and blood, to have dinner with you and your new wife, who––by the way––I barely fucking know because you haven’t given me the chance to say more than two words to her.” Great, she’s on one of her rants. Marvellous. Just what I need as part of my post-sex morning high… not.
I sigh and turn to the coffee machine, busying myself with making us each a cup of the strong stuff. I inhale the smell of the coffee beans as Zoey continues to rant behind me.
I get it, she wants to be involved, but I didn’t want her to get close to Kat until Kat felt comfortable, until she started to like me, or even love me… but I guess that plan is out of the fucking window now that Zoey has shown up here to throw her toys out of the pram.
I pick up the cups and turn to see the woman of my goddamn dreams walking into the kitchen. She holds her head high, her chin raised a little, her eyes shooting me daggers. I momentarily frown at her, because why the fuck is she looking at me like that? Then it becomes clear when her eyes drift to the back of Zoey. She hasn’t realised this is my sister because all she can see is the back of her and she barely knows her. The thought that Kat might be a little jealous has me smirking in response.
Kat rolls her eyes and then makes her way to the island as I place mine and Zoey’s cups down. She walks past Zoey and takes a seat to the side of her, and only then does she let herself look at Zoey, and I see it register on her face that it is my sister and not some other woman like she thought.
“Oh,” Kat says as her eyes soften a little.
Zoey’s eyes light up and I know that there will be no getting rid of her now. Not that I want to get rid of her, she’s my little sister and I would do anything for her, but I was kind of hoping to break down Kat’s walls even more, but I guess that will have to wait for the time being.
“Kat,” Zoey says excitedly as she takes the coffee I offer her, practically bouncing in her bloody seat. “It’s so good to see you again.”
I watch as Zoey looks at the woman I am married to in awe––probably because this woman married me. My sister is six years younger than me, and at thirty-one, I’ve always looked out for her––something she has come to love and hate in the past. We’re usually close, but with me cutting her off of knowing anything about Kat until the wedding invite turned up on her doorstep––two days before the wedding so I could avoid all the questions––has probably hurt her a little bit. The thought of hurting my baby sister makes me feel like shit, but Kat is my business and no one else’s… or she was.
“So, how is it being married to the big bad wolf of the crime world?” Zoey says as she picks up her cup and sips her coffee, hiding her smirk behind the rim of the cup.
I roll my eyes and go back to the coffee machine to make Kat a drink.
“Oh, you know, it’s um… pretty boring actually,” Kat says, and I spin around to face her. She’s smirking and Zoey is doing nothing to hide the fucking chuckle coming from her mouth.
“Boring?” I question.
“Yeah,” Kat replies with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Boring how?”
“You keep me locked away in this over-sized mansion, I’ve got nothing to do all day, and you come and go as you please whilst I’m holed up here, bored,” she says, and I feel my whole body go tense.
“Why are you keeping her locked away here?” Zoey asks me, and fuck my life, here we go. I’m going to need a damn good reason so my sister doesn’t get on my goddamn case about keeping Kat here for no reason at all… except I do have a good reason, which Kat has clearly forgotten.
“Because there’s someone tailing her,” I tell Zoey before turning back to the coffee machine to finish making Kat’s drink.
“Shit,” I hear Zoey say. Yes, shit indeed. And I’m not about to divulge all the other reasons I keep my wife here, because Zoey would have a fucking fit if she knew how I had accosted my new bride and I have no desire to deal with that kind of family drama. She may be part of this world, but Zoey still has a heart, remorse, and she feels every emotion, so I will refrain from provoking her wrath for today, thank you very much.
I take Kat’s cup over to her, standing beside her and placing it in front of her, my hand briefly resting on top of hers on the table before she takes a breath and pulls it away from me, wrapping both of her hands around the coffee cup.
