Page 32 of Double Play
Andres gives me a look. One that says,“Could you fucking not?”Because he knows my mouth. He knows I use jokes like shields.
Kai starts pacing again, words coming faster now. “I don’t care if it’s tricky. I don’t care if it’s messy. I don’t care if it costs money. I just need it handled.”
“Or,” I say, because my own dark humor is a reflex I hate sometimes, “we could always give him a shot of insulin.”
The second the words leave my mouth, the room freezes. Silence so loud it feels like pressure in my skull. Andres's head snaps toward me and his eyes go sharp.
Gael’s eyebrows shoot up like I just announced I’m starting a cult.
Kai stops pacing and for a terrifying half-second… I can’t tell if he’s about to laugh or take it seriously.
My stomach drops through the floor. I hold up both hands immediately. “No. No. That was… that was a joke. A bad one.”
Andres's voice is calm, but it has teeth. “Jackson.”
“I know,” I say quickly, heat rising up my neck. “I know. I shouldn’t have said it.”
Kai stares at me, his expression unreadable.
Then Andres steps closer to me, not blocking me but anchoring me, and says in a voice that leaves no room for debate, “We don’t do anything that puts us in a cage.”
Kai’s jaw tightens.
Gael nods once, firmly. “Exactly. Not worth it.”
Kai’s hands flex like he’s fighting himself. Fighting the part of him that wants to solve this with violence because violence feels simple when fear is loud.
Andres continues, voice steady. “We’re going to handle him. The right way. The way that keeps Isla safe and keeps you out of prison.”
Kai’s gaze flicks to Andres. “The right way doesn’t feel fast enough.”
“It can be fast,” I say, softer now, serious. “Just not… that.”
I swallow, forcing myself to look him in the eye.
“Kai,” I add, “you want him gone? We can make him gone without giving him a reason to come back harder.”
Gael leans forward, forearms on his knees. “We document everything. Get a lawyer involved. Save every screenshot. Dates. Numbers. We get it to the right people.”
Kai’s mouth twists. “The right people?”
Andres nods once. “Team security. Team legal. Police report. Restraining order. If he violates it, he gets arrested. If he shows up, he gets trespassed. If he keeps contacting her, it becomes a pattern.”
Kai’s eyes burn. “And if he’s smart?”
“Most men like Steve aren’t,” I mutter, because the kind of man who threatens a pregnant woman isn’t exactly a genius. He’s a coward.
Andres's hand slides to my thigh, giving a firm warning squeeze.Careful, baby.
I inhale. “We can also put eyes on him. Know what he’s doing. Where he’s going. Who he’s talking to.”
Gael nods. “Yeah, yeah, like a private investigator. Someone legit.”
Kai’s chest rises and falls like he’s trying to breathe through a fire. “What I want,” he says slowly, “is for him to understand that he can’t touch her. He can’t even think about her.”
Andres's expression goes cold. “Then we make the world close in on him.”
I blink.
