But I can’t seem to suppress it, and I don’t even know if I want to.
I feel a connection with Ava, too. Not romantically or anything, but a kinship. We’re both fucked up and fused together with a friendship bonded by trauma and respect.
Also, getting kidnaped by psychotic brothers doesn’t help.
“What are we going to do?” Ava asks.
I give her a sad smile because I know what these fuckers are going to say. They’re going to act like everything’s fine even though it's not. It’s so far from fine. It’s a complete dumpster fire.
“I’m about to go get richer,” Kai says emotionlessly.
My shoulders sag. What the fuck does that even mean? Ava only looks annoyed.
“Really, Kai? You think now is the time for a fight?” she asks.
Kai and Killian both glare at her.
I roll my eyes. “Oh God forbid a woman talks or says something in front of the men.” I put a hand to my chest, trying to be extra dramatic. “Shall we go wash your clothes now and bake dinner?” I ask cheekily.
A muscle feathers in Kai’s jaw. “Desiree…” he warns.
“Kai…” I say right back.
He stands so quickly that the chair jerks out from behind him and he grabs my arm. “Come on,” he says.
I want to ask where we’re going, but I know it’ll only make him madder.
I hear Ava and Killian’s footsteps behind us. We hop in the car, and I jump when the music blasts to life in my eardrums.
Kai turns it down a little, and I know he’s trying not to laugh at my little scare, but he doesn’t.
“Wow,” I say sarcastically. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were actually going to laugh.”
“I laugh if something’s funny,” he says, shrugging.
“Yeah, and I fought in World War two,” I reply.
A small breath of air leaves his nose in what I assume is a small laugh.
He clears his throat. “You’re just not very funny. I don’t have much reason to laugh around you.”
“Oh, what the fuck ever, I am a riot,” I say, and then giggle a little at my own joke.
“You make me want to fucking riot with that mouth of yours,” Kai says.
“I think you like my mouth a lot, actually.”
He harrumphs. “I think it gets you in a lot of trouble and you need to be whipped into shape.”
“Oh, and the big strong Kai Pierce is going to whip me into fucking shape?”
He gives his usual evil chuckle. “Oh, you’ll see.”
We pull into what looks like an abandoned warehouse. Looks pretty creepy honestly.
“Don’t look at nobody and don’t talk to nobody. Stay with Killian at all times or you will be punished. Got it?”
“Yes, Master,” I say seductively.
He growls and gets out of the car, practically yanking me around like some sort of rag doll.
Killian and Ava pull up beside us, tires squealing. Killian gets out of the car, eyes scanning our surroundings as if he thinks we’ll get jumped at any minute.
God, I feel like I’m in some sort of FBI movie. My life is so surreal lately.
Killian manhandles Ava just like Kai does with me. The guys practically box us in with their big frames.
We walk inside the place and it’s just as dark as the parking lot. You can barely hear a pin drop, but then there’s something off in the distance. It's a throbbing that sounds like my heartbeat and the closer we get to it, the more the vibrations thrum through my body.
Kai opens a random door on the side that I hadn’t even noticed, and then the sound comes crashing in.
Tons of people stand in a circle around a make-shift ring. There are tables everywhere. Drugs. People doing the drugs. Playing cards. Half naked women who look way older than just typical high school students dance with dollars hanging in their g-string.
“Kai motherfucking Pierce!” A voice booms over a loudspeaker.
Everyone goes wild and their stares fall on us. Kai gives them all his signature menacing look.
“Remember what I said?” he bends, asking me out of the corner of his mouth.
“Yes,” I say quietly. “Stay with Killian.” I’m nervous. I’ve never been to a fight before and I didn’t realize this is how it would be.
Once we get up close and personal with the make-shift ring in the middle of the room, Kai gets up inside. His opponent looks just as tough as he is on the opposite end.
Tall, but not quite as tall as Kai, and super beefy. Tattoos cover his entire body and his face is full of rage and my worst nightmares. He looks like he’s ready to fuck shit up.
He and Kai face off and as the bell rings, they circle each other like fucking panthers.
His opponent strikes first, but Kai blocks immediately. Kai’s foot comes up with a swift kick to the guy’s temple and he falls down. But he’s back up just as quick.
Kai gives him an evil smile before delivering an uppercut to his ribs. The other guy punches Kai in the jaw, but then Kai is on him. As if he needed to feel pain or something. He lands blow after blow on the other guy. Blood splatters onto the concrete ground, and I watch, mesmerized, as Kai doesn’t let up. He just keeps them coming. Even though the man is clearly unconscious.
And I find myself wondering as I look at Killian and Ava’s tense faces beside me, how any of this is going to help in the situation we’re in and if Kai was the one who actually needed this. This seems like a release of his own. One that only he can seek out. Kai cannot show weakness. But in his own fucked up way, this is how he does it. He can’t express himself, so he beats the shit out of others instead. Therefore, letting his
