My face crumples.

“Wow. Death, you say? Have you killed before?”

Silently, I lay there waiting for him to answer but afraid to hear it.

“No. But I came close once.”

I swallow, wondering if he’s going to continue and tell me what happened. He doesn’t. He turns off the light and pulls me in even tighter to his warm body.

“This right here, watching you climb in bed with me and holding you will always be the best part of my day,” Cain mumbles sleepily.

“Mine too,” I say, before falling asleep snuggled against the man I will always love but the man whose life is about to toss me right back into hell.

***

I moan from the warmth of sunlight against my face, wondering how long I’ve been asleep. Yawning, I stretch and open both of my eyes to look for Cain. I’m in bed alone.

Swinging my legs around, I climb out of bed, the soreness between my legs evidence of a night of rough sex with the first step I take.

Padding in my bare feet to the bathroom, I nearly scream when I see myself in the mirror. My hair is a tangled up mess, snarly and matted to my head. Everything can wait, Cain included. I turn on the shower, pull his t-shirt over my head, and walk in.

The hot spray drenches my hair. Grabbing the only bottle of shampoo, I quickly wash and rinse, cursing along the way when I can’t find conditioner. I soap my body, rinse off, and reach for a clean towel on the shelf. When I’m dry, I throw the shirt back on and make my way through this monstrosity of a house in search of Cain, in utter need of coffee.

I come to a halt when I hear raised voices from the kitchen. One I know is Manny, the other Cain, and the third I don’t recognize at all.

“You need to tell her the truth man. If she finds out...” Manny says.

“Shut the hell up, fucker. I’ll tell her. Jesus, don’t you think she’s got enough to deal with right now? Shit, Manny. You know better than anyone how much she means to me. My first priority right now is keeping her safe. And you need to find that rotten snitch,” Cain says to the unknown man.

“I’ve told you all along who I think it is, but you’ve ignored me. Maybe now that your wife is here, you’ll pull those blinders off of your dick and believe me,” Unknown man retorts.

Do I stand here and take my chances of getting caught? I’m desperate to know who he is talking about. My back is up against the wall. I slither down the hallway a little closer only to hear Manny’s voice get louder like he’s right on the other side.

“Good morning!” I say chirpily, as if I didn’t just hear a conversation I had no business hearing.

“Morning, babe.”

I steal a smug glance at Manny as I pass him by on my way to Cain where he is leaned up against the counter in dark jeans, again with the dark t-shirt and his vest. Arms crossed and hair freshly washed, he smells edible when I reach up on my tiptoes and kiss him on his cheek.

“Jesus Christ!” Manny and unknown man both shout at the same time.

I whip around, plastering my back against Cain’s front.

“What?” I screech, my eyes scanning the floor for a mouse or something.

“Dress your fucking woman, you asshole!” Manny hollers, while unknown man can’t seem to take his eyes off my ass, even though it’s plastered up against Cain.

“Oh, my God!”

“It sure as shit isn’t, ‘Oh, my God,’ sweetheart. It’s more like, ‘Oh, my fucking God, that chick has one hell of a nice ass,’” Unknown man says.

Cain draws me in tight. His hands spanning my waist territorially.

“Bronzer enough, you pervert. Calla, go,” he orders, squeezing me a bit before pushing me away.

“May I have some coffee first?”

“Fuck, no. And don’t come back out until I say.”

Oh, I am pissed now. Is this how he thinks he is going to talk to me around everyone? Is this how all these rat bastards talk to their wives and girlfriends? Oh, no. Not me. I storm back to the bedroom like a scolded child and plop my ass on the bed. He has five minutes or I’m walking out there with absolutely nothing on and he can shove his bossy male stick up his ass.

Five minutes turns into ten. It’s eight o clock and I’m beyond mad.

Raised voices are heard once again when I creep into the kitchen. All three of them stop talking and look at me like I’m intruding. And I am. I don’t care. None of them have moved from their spots.

“I thought I told you-”

“Stop,” I say, holding my hand up.

“Let me tell you a little something about me, which Manny should know, being that he has followed me around for a few years. You do NOT mess with me and my coffee!” I yell. “I’ve lived off of that stuff for six years. It’s the only thing that I crave, the only thing I need, and you’d better give me a damn cup right the fuck now!”

“Damn, woman. You really are a feisty one,” Unknown man says.

“And you are?”

I turn and face him, knowing full well what his name is. It cracks me up all these nicknames everyone has for each other. Makes me curious to know what they call Cain. I stick my hand out for him to shake.

“Bronzer,” he replies politely, taking my hand into his big one.

“Ah. Nice to meet you. Priscilla is your wife, right?”

He grins at the mention of her name.

“Yeah, she claims me,” he chuckles.

“Great. Is she here by chance? Because you see, my husband here said she would go shopping for me today, and well,” I look down at the t-shirt that has now fallen off my shoulders, baring a lot of skin. “I kind of need some clothes.”

“Calla?” Cain growls my name.

“Yes, dear?” I respond without looking at him, tossing a wink at Bronzer.

“Here.”

A cup of black coffee appears in front of me. The rich aroma sets my nose twitching.

“Thank you,” I say pleasantly.

Manny chuckles. Cain swears and I feel everyone’s eyes on my backside when I leave the room to try and find some paper and pencil to spend a hell of a lot of my darling hubby’s money.

“Have you ever been spanked?”

I cock my head and glare at Cain, who is standing on the threshold of the bedroom. I’m sitting cross-legged on the bed finishing up with my list. I glance at it one more time before I answer him to make sure I have all my sizes down. There’s a big star next to the lingerie shop in Birmingham Hills that I know carries my favorite bras. I stick the pen behind my ear out of habit.

“Are you cross examining me?”

“Cut the smart ass lawyer bullshit. I thought I made myself clear when I told you to respect me in front of others. It’s a shame Bronzer is one of the cool guys and doesn’t treat his wife like shit, because I want nothing better than to turn you over my knee and crack that ass.”

I grind my teeth and shake my head at this fool.

“Look, respect goes both ways. I apologize. Give me a break, would you? I mean, how was I supposed to know you would be having some man meeting in the middle of your kitchen early in the morning?”

“You didn’t, and that’s on me, but you prancing around with nothing covering your ass in front of my buddies really pisses me off.”

His muscles are tense as I stand and approach him.

“Whatever.” I wave him off.

“Goddamnit. I don’t care if it’s the pope who’s in this house. I do not want anyone else seeing what’s mine.”

Now it’s my turn to shout. I’m livid as hell.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me! I didn’t do a damn thing wrong. It’s you. All of it is you! The way I see it, this t-shirt covers more of my body than the clothes some of those women had on last night at that party. And I am not yours. I can show my ass to whomever I want.”

“Fuck. You are so stubborn. Those women’s asses weren’t hanging out. I’m having Priscilla buy a gunny sack, granny panties, and a damn muzzle for your mouth.”

I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, good luck with that one, buddy. You’d be better off spanking me.”