Page 40 of Making the King

Mateo chuckles in front of me, holding his hands up and taking a step back.

“Okay, okay. I won’t lay another hand on her. For now.”

I growl right as Cain’s voice joins the fucking party.

“You know, I have no such fucking obligations to Mrs. King, other than keeping her safe, so I’m more than happy to paint the room with your fucking blood.”

“Cain.” Cara warns, and he chuckles.

“I’m almost tempted to do it just to have your wrath aimed at me, Señora. You fight like a badass.”

“And if Cain doesn’t do it,” Tex’s voice comes from the other side of where we stand, low and menacing, “I’ll fucking shoot you simply for disrupting business.”

I smirk, believing both my friends’ words. Cain is a crazy fucker, and Mateo’s lucky he even got a fucking warning, and Tex, the quiet guy behind the bar, well he’s there for a reason, and it’s not just because he knows how to make those fucking fruity drinks the Diamonds love so much. The Diamond Crew only recruits the best, after all.

“I hear you loud and clear.” Mateo still grins, and I wonder if he’s a match for Cain’s energy. Something we shouldn’t take lightly.

Straightening his clothes, he leans to the side, his eyes traveling past me to where I assume he’s looking at his sister.

“Always a pleasure, sis.”

He shoots her a fucking wink as he steps over an upturned chair and makes his way to the exit. Keeping my gun trained on him, I watch Cain and Tex follow behind him as they make sure he leaves the premises.

As soon as they disappear through the curtain, I lower my gun and spin to Cara.

“Are you okay?”

My eyes dance over her face as I tuck my piece into the back of my jeans, before I run my hands down her arms, searching for injuries.

“I’m fine,” she says quietly, her attention shifting to the exit, which is when I see her swelling jaw and red cheek where I saw the fucker slap her from the security cameras I was watching her on while I spoke with Cain.

Pressing my fingers to the other side of her jaw, I tilt her face so I can get a better look.

“Jesus.” I mutter, hating to see her marked like that. I should have killed that fucker, if not for this, but for the way he left her scarred after the punishments he gave her as they grew up.

“Alana! Sasha!” I call, not taking my eyes off Cara’s inflamed skin, even as she tries to jerk away from my touch.

“Yes?” Sasha’s voice gets closer, but I don’t bother looking at her. “Can you get an ice pack for Cara, please?”

“Yes. Of course.” She agrees just as Cain and Tex re-enter the club.

“Is he gone?” I ask, and Cain beams, strutting toward us like a fucking king that just won a war.

“He’s gone, but he’ll be back. He’s as excited at the idea of playing as I am.”

“This isn’t a game.” Cara snaps, shooting Cain a glare, and he rolls his eyes.

“Everything is a game, mi pequeño salvaje.”

Shaking her head, a grin tugs at Cara’s lips as Cain struts by, and I frown, trying to figure out what the fuck he just said to her.

“What did you say?” I ask Cain, who shrugs before disappearing down the hall and I turn my gaze back to Cara. “What did he say?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She shrugs before stepping around me and moving to the bar to take a seat.

“Yes, you do. It was something in Spanish.” I interject, moving to her side as I hear Tex chuckle to himself while he re-stashes his shotgun under the counter.

“I must have missed it.” Cara shrugs but the smirk on her face tells me fucking otherwise and I growl.