Page 59 of Below The Surface
I keep my trap shut, knowing Kay can throw my ass around in the bedroom. Hayden has way too much swagger in his step as he fakes a few moves. Kay just rolls his eyes and looks at his nails.
“I need a manicure soon.”
When Hayden makes a real try to get past Kay, I watch my best friend get his ass handed to him. Kay has Hayden on his back in like two seconds. He’s sitting cross-legged right on top of him.
“What the hell just happened?” Hayden bucks trying to get Kay off him, but Kay’s like deadweight, it seems.
Finally, Kay pushes to his feet and holds out his hand for Hayden.
“Braum’ll teach you when your schedule allows. He’s gonna show you how to defend yourself from your stalker if they ever get close enough. I’m not a good teacher or even patient enough to be a teacher, but Braum is.”
“Did he teach you?” I ask.
“Some,” Kendra says. “We saved his daughter like seven years ago. He’s been begging to help us however he can. So when we need a driver or security, we call him.”
I tip my head and take Kendra in. “If he’s basically a sniper, why did he need you two. Wait. Seven years ago? You were… How old were you?”
“Maybe sixteen? Seventeen? Eighteen? Dunno.” Kay shrugs.
“What do you mean, dunno?” Hayden asks.
Kay shrugs again. “IthinkI’m twenty-four, but I could be off by a year or two in either direction. I don’t exactly have official papers.”
“What the heck does that mean?” Hayden asks.
Kay looks at me and waves. “Didn’t I tell you we were raised in a cult? Or did I forget that part? I know we’ve fucked a lot.Sometimes good dick scrambles my brain. Shit, the flower shop guys know more about me than you do.” His eyes go wide and Kendra swats him across the chest. “What? I never remember who I’ve shared that fucked up piece of trivia.”
“Wait,” I say. “So you were raised in a cult that trained you in skills no child should ever have?—”
“Oh, no...” Kay tilts his head from side to side, thinking. “Okay, technically, I think we were raised by two cults?” He looks to Kendra, who pinches her forefinger and thumb together while making a cringe face, as if to say maybe a little bit?
Kendra pushes to her feet. Her hands go to her hair and she scratches at her temples. “We were raised in one cult, ran away, lived in the wild for a bit, and the new cult gave us the skills.”
There’s a knock to the door and we all seem to tense.
Kay runs to the door and looks out the peephole. “Saved by Braum.” He opens the door and the tallest man I have ever seen in my entire life fills the doorframe. Braum is huge and tan and wears a suit that fits him perfectly somehow.
Kay moves out of the way to let the man in. He goes through introductions. Braum has and easy smile and it settles something in me. My guy tugs on Braum’s arm and waves for him to lean down.
“They’re going to be naughty and ask about our past. They know me as Kay and Ken gave them permission to call her Kendra. Don’t leak anything.”
Braum mimes locking and sealing his lips. “Got it.”
“Also, they’ll probably be stubborn about the self-defense classes, but I insist on them learning.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.” Braum looks us over. “Ready?” He tips his head towards the door.
“As I’ll ever be,” Hayden says. He wipes his hands on his jeans before joining me to leave with Braum.
“I’ll be watching you,” Kay says and finger waves.
I can’t help it and run back to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss him breathless. He’s barely standing when I release him. “See you tonight.” Then I follow Braum and Hayden.
18
CASEY
Just as the guys leave, my phone vibrates. I pull it from my pocket and whoop. “Got you slimy mother fucker.”
