Aggro - CoraLee June Page 0,55
want to go to Chase’s house. I just…”
Kai lightly squeezed my hand and pulled me toward his truck. The moment I was seated in the cab, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Kai got in the front seat. “Mind if I have a smoke?” he asked while pulling a pack of cigarettes out of the center console.
“I guess. That’ll kill you, you know,” I said as he pulled out a Zippo and lit up. The smell of tobacco hit my senses, and we rolled the windows down. “Where are we going?”
“My favorite place on the island.”
We left downtown and drove until leaning mile markers were the only thing on the side of the road. There was an occasional passing car, but he drove to a part of the island not usually inhabited by people.
It wasn’t until I saw a lighthouse in the distance that I realized where we were going. The cylindrical, domed structure stood proudly on a peak overlooking the water. The flashing, rotating light at the top beckoned us closer, and when Kai parked his truck, we both got out and found a bench overlooking the water to sit on.
“Here,” Kai said before handing me the to go box. I opened it and grinned at the grilled cheese and french fries. “I hope that’s okay. You were always eating grilled cheese when you and Violet came to my work.” I was surprised he remembered that detail. Violet liked to stop by the restaurant and flirt with Kai. He wasn’t usually the type to enjoy the attention, and more times than not, we’d leave with her pouting because he didn’t kiss her. Kai didn’t do public displays of affection.
“What can I say? I have a refined pallet,” I joked back.
I picked up a gooey triangle and took a bite, moaning slightly at the delicious deep-fried treat. “So good,” I said with a full mouth while leaning back on the bench and staring up at the rotating light above. “Makes this shitty day a little better.”
“Wanna talk about it?” Kai asked.
I did want to talk about it, but I also didn’t. Part of me just wanted to sit here with Kai and look at the lighthouse while eating my grilled cheese and pretending everything was fine. I closed my eyes and savored the moment before taking a deep breath and telling Kai about my encounter with Lex.
“Your brother showed up,” I began slowly. I really didn’t want to tell Kai the rest of what I had to say, but I needed to. “When the detectives came to Chase’s house to deliver the autopsy report, I told them that they should look into Lex, and he was pissed.”
Kai shot up from the bench and looked at me. “You did what?”
“It was right after we found out Violet was pregnant. I know Lex is your brother, but they asked me if I knew of any suspicious characters in her life. Hell, even you wonder if that’s who Violet was cheating on you with.”
“You shouldn’t have done that, Breeze,” Kai said while thrusting his hands through his hair. “You don’t know what my brother is capable of.”
“I don’t?” I asked sarcastically, scoffing at his words. I suddenly didn’t feel very hungry. “Because I have a dead best friend that says otherwise.”
Kai kneeled in front of me, making us eye level. He stared with such intensity and sincerity that my breath hitched. “My brother deals drugs. Big time drugs, he’s not just slinging dime bags. And when people don’t pay, they get hurt or disappear,” Kai said in a low voice. “He’s ruthless, scrappy, and damn good at what he does. He might not have an empire, but he commands his little group of misfits with an iron fist. He’ll do whatever it takes.”
Kai paused, breaking our intense eye contact to look at the ground. He scrunched up his brows and puffed out a breath of air. I wanted to reach out and run my fingers through his hair or pull him in for a tight hug to soothe his anxiety, but it didn’t feel right. So I sat and watched him until he kept talking.
“I told you how bad it was growing up with Lex, especially after my father died. Lex made me do things for him. He had me dropping off drugs to clients on my way to school. There was a hidden pouch in my backpack where he would put them. He used to say that nobody would suspect a