Page 102 of Fighting For Light
Kai pulls me closer and tosses his arm over my shoulder. He winces and shifts around, making himself comfortable. “It will be a nice wedding.”
I stare at him, thinking about all they have had to go through. All the things he and his family have had to do. “Do you think you will ever be free of him? Do you think he will ever just…leave us all alone?” I ask him.
He glances at me and starts rubbing his thumb on my shoulder. “I don’t know,” he sighs.
“Have you ever thought about…uh, getting rid of him?”
Kai’s head snaps to me in surprise.
“Sorry,” I mumble, looking away from his scrutiny.
He lets out a gruff laugh. “Yeah, gem, all the time. My brothers and I have looked for ways to do it and even thought of hiring someone to take care of it. Emerson thinks it should be us, though. There’s a certain…Biblical justice to it. When I say that, I mean ridding the world of evil that helped bring you into it. It’s morbidly ironic. But Emerson has always thought that would be too easy of an end for a man like our father. He’s selfish and thrives on power. The best way to make him hurt is by stripping him of it all.”
“I hate that you’ve had to do the things you’ve done to keep everyone safe.”
He lifts a shoulder and tilts his face up to the large windows. “Sometimes we have to do things that we don’t want to. Sometimes, the ends justify the means, only it feels like it’s stained our souls from the beginning. My mom didn’t want this for us but saw no other option. When we were younger, thechances of him catching up to us were higher. It’s why we were in hiding, it’s why we didn’t get to play with kids down the street, it’s why she hired people to train us so if someone did come for us, then we had a chance at making it out alive.”
“Do you ever feel like you are as bad as…” I snap my mouth shut because it’s a question I shouldn’t ask. It implies that they could even be on the same level when they aren’t even close.
“What would you do, gem? What would you do to protect your family, the people you love?” he asks me.
I lean into his side as his thumb continues and consider his question. I think most people would say anything but not actually mean it when they have to face it. It’s easy to say things, but it’s different to carry the heavy words themselves.
“Anything, Kai. I would do anything,” I say confidently as I look down at my belly. I would do anything. If it was between me or Kai, it would be me. If it was between me or my son, it would be me. I wouldn’t hesitate.
Love is powerful like that. It is the ultimate sacrifice to die for someone you love so that they may live. It is an example of the ultimate love that was shown to us. I glance up at the cross, then look at Kai. He’s already staring at me, and I smile softly at him.
“So would I, gem. So, to answer your unfinished question, yeah. Sometimes, I do feel like we are just as bad as him. But then the other part of me says we have protected what’s ours at all costs. We can only hope He forgives us,” Kai says, looking back up at the large cross.
“I’m no expert, but I do know we should protect our family, especially from evil. Ours happens to have evil attached to it,” I say.
“Hopefully not for much longer,” Kai mutters.
“Does that mean there’s a plan?” I ask him.
He shrugs again. “We’ve been planning off and on for a long time, but in order to carry out that plan, you have to anticipateyour enemy’s movements. We’ve been unable to do that. My fear is that he surprises us, and we are given no choice but to retaliate,” he says.
I hate that he has to even think about these things. He should be thinking about our wedding and our son. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“I really hope it doesn’t, gem.”
45
Kai
Cordelia is sitting onthe sectional with her feet kicked up, eating ice cream out of the container while watching TV. When we got back from the church a few days ago, I started reevaluating the security of this house. Cordi’s questions made me think about how secure this one is. It has good vantage points based on the way it sits, but it’s not perfect, and I need to improve it before the baby.
I grab a spoon and sit down next to my wife, digging into the strawberry ice cream. I swear she hardly notices I’m here because her eyes are glued to…the shirtless Thor on the TV. I slip the spoon in my mouth as I look between the TV and Cordi as she watches.
“You know, babe, I have a six-pack, too, if you want to stare at it. All you have to do is ask.”
Cordi nods absently as she takes another spoonful of ice cream. She’s always been like this with movies she likes. She gets locked in, and it takes some random thing to pull her out.
I take another spoonful of ice cream and slowly slide my hand up her thigh. She shifts but doesn’t seem to care. I like that shewears dresses a lot. She says it’s easier than trying to find pants, but I just consider it easier access.
Stopping my hand at the apex of her thighs, I watch for any sign of life, and her eyes slowly turn to mine. “If you’re going to start something, then you better make sure you can finish it, daredevil,” she taunts.
I graze my fingers across her, and she gets another spoonful of ice cream. “Is that a dare?” I ask her.
