Page 81 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
Reaching out, his hand hovered over Trev’s arm, drawing a confused look from the man himself. Raw emotion clogged his throat as he finally gripped Trev’s forearm and took a deep breath.
“Thank you. I’ve never said how much you always being there for me, even when I make it difficult, has meant to me.”
Trev laid his free hand on top of his own. “Brother, we stand together.”
“Apart we fall,” Kes finished.
Kes rolled out his shoulder, the stiffness setting in from the rigorous workout he’d received last night. He really needed to stop hanging around Arek so much—he was a bad fucking influence. Arek had managed to talk him into taking him along to pay a visit to the prick that Ashley had dated, the one who decided it was a good idea to hit her.
He’d planned on letting it go, as Ashley had said she just wanted to put it in the past and keep it there, but he’d made the mistake of mentioning it to Arek, and the man was having none of it. Besides, gave me the push I’d been looking for to go after the piece of shit.
There were moments where he genuinely worried about his own sanity, but you only needed to spend an evening with Arek as you pummeled the shit out of a man to know that Arek had him beat by a mile. His mouth pulled up in a lopsided smile as he thought about the look on Kevin Matthews’ face when he’d opened his door and the two of them in all of their black combat gear had greeted him. Arek was like a man possessed by a demon as he made sure that Kevin wouldn’t walk again for a while. He shook his head. If he had to be the voice of reason, it was one motherfucking scary scene.
Kes stepped out onto the sunny deck of the yacht and couldn’t help but smile as he took in Zumi lying on one of the deck chairs and reading a book. Leave it to his father to put a small pool on a fucking boat. Zumi seemed to love it and, her damp hair showed that she had obviously just used it.
The dark bruises were long gone, and for the most part, she had physically healed. Mentally, that was another story. She woke up most nights screaming and wouldn’t fall back to sleep unless he sat in the room, but he hoped that would fade with time and therapy. Something that he should’ve gone to long ago. She was still going to need a new heart, so her activities had been restricted to online school and lounging on the yacht while he got his shit in order. Not that he should’ve worried. She was like a sponge, and she was flying through the schoolwork and taking any extra classes she could find.
“Hey, Kid,” he said as he stepped closer until he was under the shade of the retractable canopy.
Zumi put her tablet down and looked him up and down. “Wow, where are you going dressed like that? I didn’t even know you owned an outfit that fancy.”
He looked down at the monkey suit he was wearing and still couldn’t believe that Trev had talked him into one. The tailored suit fit perfectly, and yet, he’d take his fatigues over this thing any day.
“I have a meeting that I need to get to. Do you think you’ll be fine alone for a little while?”
“Kes, it’s only been like a couple of months since I was literally living on the streets pretty much alone. I think I can handle lounging on a luxury yacht for a few hours by myself. You don’t have to be so overprotective. I think you’ve killed off every bad guy in the state.”
“I should’ve had the doctor remove your sarcastic tongue while you were under the knife,” he teased as he stepped a little closer and nervously tapped the manila envelope against his leg.
“And your jokes haven’t gotten any better. Anyway, Momma G is planning on stopping by. I finally talked her into sitting on the boat rather than yelling at me from the dock.” She giggled.
He smirked and then cleared his throat. “Do you like it here, Zumi?”
“Yeah, of course. Why? Did I do something wrong? Do you want me to go?” She pulled down her sunglasses, and he shook his head and smiled.
“No, it’s nothing like that. Never anything like that.” He sat on the chair next to hers, and Zumi spun so she was facing him with her legs crossed. The long scar that stretched from her chest down to her belly button always made his heart ache for her. For what she’d endured, and he wished he could take the terrifying memories and pain away.
He smirked as she took a few extra moments to get into the lotus position and straightened her back. He’d been teaching her yoga along with her fighting techniques, which had become more theory than practice until her surgery. “What I mean is, we haven’t really talked about your mom, or if you blame me for not….” He looked away and then down. “I guess I just assumed you’d want to stay with me, but I should’ve asked you if this is what you wanted.”
“Of course I want to. Does this have to do with Ashley not coming around much? No offense, but you guys are acting weird.”
“Ah, well, she’s pissed with me. Long story, but I’m hoping to correct that today. But that’s beside the point. What Ashley and I have going on has nothing to do with me asking you this.” He hadn’t told her that he was her brother. So many times, he’d wanted to, but that could lead to her wanting to meet their father, and that would only happen over his cold dead body.
Her big dark eyes studied his face. “Okay then, what’s this about? You’re acting really weird.”
“Fuck it, I had this whole speech in my head, but I can’t seem to get the words out.” He held out the envelope for her to take.
“What’s this?”
“Open it and find out.” His heart hammered like a rabbit running in his chest. The pitter-patter made him nervous as fuck, so he stood to wander away a few steps as she pulled out the paperwork.
“Oh my god.” He couldn’t look away from her face, hoping he’d see a happy look and not anger. Her mouth had dropped open, her eyes wide as she stared at the legal document. “Is this for real? Did you adopt me? Like, full-on adopted? You can’t give me back when I’m a pain in your ass?”
He laughed as he pictured returning her to a store. “It’s very real. And I know I’m not your mom or dad, but Kid, you’re my family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want you to stay with me. Unless you hate the idea, of course.”
Zumi jumped from the chair and ran the few strides separating them to hug him. He’d promised himself he’d keep his shit together and not cry, but he could feel the emotion bubbling up. It was the first time she hadn’t flinched while touching someone male since the attack, and he slowly gripped her small frame to return the gesture.
“I love you, Kid. You know that, right?”
