Page 66 of Broken

“Good luck, brother,” he says. I nod, my throat tight. Kayden kisses her boy goodbye, and Lyla does the same with Tam-Tam. Kayden takes my hand, giving it a squeeze.

“How did you know?” I ask.

“Mom.”

I nod, because I figured that was it. “And you’re okay with it?”

“Are you happy?”

“More than I thought it possible to be,” I answer at once. Kayden smiles and fuck me if I don’t see tears shining in her eyes.

“And her?” she asks guardedly. I can see the mistrust there, but she’s fighting through it and suddenly, I’m realizing I sold Kayden’s worth short.

“She loves me. She’s trying to push me away, but that’s not really working out for her,” I murmur.

“My support is with King,” Kayden answers loudly. Then she takes the baby from Thea. “I’ll go help my man. Dom, T? Don’t be assholes. Family is all that is important in this world. Our whole lives, our parents have taught us that. Don’t forget that lesson.”

“That’s it. What the fuck is going on here?” Dom growls.

“And why d-does it f-feel like everyone knows but us?” T adds.

That’s when Nicole shocks me and comes to stand behind me. Dragon follows her and I don’t think the significance of that is lost on anyone here. I clear my throat, getting ready to speak up, when I feel Dragon’s hand clamp down on my shoulder.

“King has claimed him an old lady. It might not be a popular choice in this family, but I want you four to remember this is a family and we will remain that. I expect you to rally around your brother, and even if you don’t support his choice, you respect it and set the rest of that shit aside.”

“Why wouldn’t we support him? What the fuck aren’t you telling us?”

“Gabby,” Thea responds, proving she’s smart as hell.

“No way,” Dom laughs, but I just grin at him and lean back.

“You’re f-fucking kidding me,” T snaps.

“King?” Lyla responds and I hate I hear the hurt in her voice, but I don’t understand why it bothers her quite so much. I get Dom and Thea being in a position where they don’t want Gabby as a daily reminder. My woman went to extremes there—even if Dom made choices which fed to those. Still, Gabby hasn’t bothered T and Lyla since they got together. Fuck, she even apologized to them. I get T got taken for a ride, but it’s a ride he went on willingly. Sure, Gabby strung him on a bit, but T is a grown ass man, and he knew what was going on, even if he tries to pretend he didn’t. Iknowthe man. He’s too sharp to have been that blind to the shit—not for that long. He didn’t force the issue, just like Dom didn’t. Gabby made shit choices, but hell, so did they.

“I love her, Lyla. Fuckingloveher in a way I’ve never felt before with anyone—I meananyone,” I stress, knowing she’ll get Shelby is included in that. “She settles the emptiness inside of me and somehow I do the same for her.”

Lyla goes pale. She looks at me like she can’t believe what I’m saying. Maybe she can’t. I don’t want to hurt her. I know the way she and T met was hard for her, but Gabby can’t be responsible for the fact T was attracted to Lyla at first because she and Gabby look similar. That’s on T—and honestly—the more you get to know them, the only thing apparent is they are two completely different women.

“No. No fucking way. Listen, you don’t know that bitch, but whatever game she’s played on you, you need to run the fuck away now!” Dom growls, standing up.

I get up immediately and I lean over the table to get his attention. “Call her a bitch again and this will change from a family meeting to me teaching you how to respect a man’s woman.”

“You want me to respect that bitch? Do youknowwhat she did to me?”

“Dom,” Thea whispers, reaching out to hold his hand.

“I know,” I admit. “Gabby and I have no secrets. Straight up, it was fucked-up. I’m not saying it’s not.”

“You’re fucking right it’s not. How the hell can you even look at that cunt after what she did to me?” Dom demands, his voice raw.

I swipe the shit in front of me off the table and then round it to get to the little asshole.

“Dom! King! Stop!” Nicole yells.

Dom meets me, keeping me away from Thea. He takes both his hands and pushes me in the chest. “What the fuck are you thinking? That bitch already tried to destroy two of us. Should have known she’d be hot to try the trifecta. I thought you’d be smarter than that.”

I don’t think at that point. I bring my fist back and slam it into his jaw. His head goes back with the force of my hit. He recovers quickly and gets a hit in against my stomach. The wind whooshes out of me, but I shove the bastard back. Before I can lay into him again, Dragon has his arms wrapped around me. I notice T is doing the same with Dom. Dom pulls to get free, but T is holding on strong.

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