I found Ma reclining on one of the lounge chairs on the back terrace “Kat, what are you doing here in the middle of the day?” she asked with a surprised smile. Just enough sun flooded the back of the house to feel good without getting the brunt of the desert heat.
I tossed my bag on the table beside Sadie’s bottle of whiskey and sat with a groan. “I came here to talk to you.”
Her brows rose, but that was all I could see of her expression with her sunglasses shielding her eyes. “Things must be bad if you’ve come to me for advice.”
I snorted and reached for the whiskey bottle, taking one big gulp for strength. “Somehow Jasper found out about Terry and me.” I was curious as hell to know how he found out. “I know Terry didn’t tell him. He wouldn’t because he was too afraid of what would happen.”
Sadie took a drag off her cigarette and blew the smoke out. “And Jasper is pissed off. How did you think he would react?” Her calm question put me on edge. I grabbed her gold cigarette case and pulled out a cigarette.
“Smoking will kill you, Kat.”
I took a long draw and glared at Sadie. “I don’t fucking care. My sex life is none of Jasper’s business. He doesn’t own Terry, and he doesn’t own me.” I knew he’d be pissed, of course I knew that, but this was ridiculous. “I guess you approve of the fact that Terry is no longer employed by the Ashby Organization,” I told her, mocking Jasper’s superior tone.
Sadie pushed the sunglasses onto her head, green eyes wide with shock. “I didn’t know, and I don’t approve.”
I didn’t think she would. Terry was family. He’d spent more time in this house than in his own over the years. He stood side by side with Jasper during every battle, put his own safety on the line to protect us, and he’d done it all because he loved us. He was one of us.
“Well that’s what happened when you anointed him king.”
“He’s the oldest, Kat.”
“He is in charge of the business, Ma. Not me or my life. Sometimes I’m not sure either of you realize there’s a difference.”
“As far as I’m concerned, there is no difference,” Jasper chimed in from the door.
I whirled around and frowned at him. “It’s a good thing I don’t give a flying fuck what you think, Jas.”
“That’s too bad. And don’t be pissed off at me. Terry should have known better. And so should you.”
“Fuck you, Jasper. What’s the real problem here? You want Terry for yourself? Because at least that would make sense for why you think you can control who we spend time with.”
I was so angry that I felt my hands vibrating, and I knew there was a good chance I might say something that would be difficult to walk back.
“He’s my friend, and you’re off limits.”
“Since you have so much time to meddle in business that’s not yours, you can get back to work at the casino because I’m done.”
The words flew out of my mouth before I even thought about them, but the moment they were out, I felt a sense of relief.
“No, you’re not.”
“Wanna bet?” I shrugged and stamped out the cigarette. “Since you don’t know the difference between business and personal, we should just take a break from each other for a while.”
“You can’t be serious.” His incredulity was even more insulting than the fact he thought he could dictate my love life.
“I’m done with the casino, and I’m sure as fuck done with you.”
I loved my brother and put up with a lot of overprotective behavior, but this was too far. It was too much.
“I’m your brother.”
“But you apparently think that makes you king. No one runs my life but me, so fuck you and stay out of my life. See you later, Ma.”
“Come back here Kat! We’re not done with this conversation.”
I smiled with every step I took away from Jasper, refusing to respond to his words. Or his demands.
It was time to seek out Terry.
I was ready.
I used the drive over to Terry’s place to gather my thoughts and prepare what I wanted to say, but by the time my fists rapped on the door, all thoughts had fled.
“Hey,” I said when he opened the door.
Terry looked…awful. His hair was all disheveled but not in the usual sexy way, this was more of a dirty hobo look. There were red stains on his white t-shirt, probably pizza and he had a beer in his hand.
“What are you doing here?”
“I haven’t heard from you in a few days, so I came to check on you. Plus, my asshole brother said you stopped working for AO.”
He hadn’t made it clear whether Terry had quit or gotten fired, and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, especially since it looked like he wasn’t going to let me inside. “What happened?”
“What do you think happened, Katherine?” His words were sharp like daggers, every syllable slicing open my skin.
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be asking, Terry.” Just because I loved him and wanted this to work, didn’t mean I would take his shit, or let him take his anger out on me.
“Is this about being let go? If so I’m happy to find a place for you.”
“So I can be at the Ashbys whim again?” He took a long swallow of his beer and said with a pop, “No thanks.”
The disdain, the anger in his voice made me wonder if he had some other underlying issue I wasn’t privy to. I winced again at his words, feeling them filet my heart wide open. “You’re not blaming me for this, are you?”
His blue gaze narrowed as he stood taller, still not inviting me in. His
