“What?” I say as I turn on my stool to face her.
“You know damn well what, big brother of mine.” She leans against the worktop and folds her arms. “She’s your wife, Nate, not your fucking hostage.”
If only she knew.
“We are all we have left, and the fact that you now have someone who you promised to love and cherish should mean that she’s allowed to get to know me too. We’re family, Nate, and so is she,” Zoey says, and fuck if she doesn’t make me feel worse. “I know you have control issues, and I know that you protect those that you love, but Jesus Christ, she is still her own person. And I would like to get to know my sister-in-law without you breathing down our necks.”
“Why are you pushing so hard for this?” I ask her, because I am genuinely curious.
“Because… I don’t have many friends, Nate, and Kat could be the one woman I can spend time with without worrying about what I say or worrying about letting something slip. And as much as you piss me off, I love you, brother, and I want to extend that love to your wife.”
Dear God, she’s killing me with her words.
“You always did chip away until you got me to crack,” I mutter, and I see Zoey smile.
“So, she’s coming tonight?”
“Yes.”
Zoey squeals and launches herself at me, giving me a hug. “Thank you, Nate.”
“I’m still coming with her, but you can be assured that I will be sat in a dark corner, away from both of you, not interfering in the slightest.”
“Because of the tail?”
“Yes.” And no, but I don’t voice that part.
“Okay, I guess I can cope with that, but at some point, you gotta let us just be, Nate. We don’t always want men around, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say with a wave of my hand as I get off of the stool and make my way in the direction that Kat did about ten minutes ago. “See yourself out,” I say, not looking back.
“Love you, bro.”
I hear the happiness in her voice, and it pains me that she has had a life where friends are few and far between. It’s not in our nature to trust easily, and we were always taught to be on our guard and never let anyone in unless you are absolutely sure they would take a bullet for you.
The lessons we’ve learned have been hard but necessary.
And now I have to make sure that Kat keeps our secret and doesn’t taint Zoey’s life anymore than it already has been.
Chapter Sixteen
Kat
I hate him.
Just when I thought that we were going to get to a place of compromise and me tolerating him, he goes and does that.
Answers for me.
Decides for me.
Control.
I despise it.
I am my own person, and he needs to realise that just because I’m the wife of some crime leader doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve to live.
Ugh.
