“Will do, man,” he promised. We watched Saint stride away, then Knox gently gripped her elbow to lead her closer to the ring, with Drew and I following close behind. The aisles were packed with people making their way to their seats, but everyone moved quickly out of our path. Most of them knew who we were, and those who didn’t took their cues from the ones who did. It didn’t take long for us to reach the front row, and Knox gestured to four seats with reserved signs. “This is us,” he explained to the girl who still looked a little shell-shocked. He removed the signs and pointed at a chair on his right.
She immediately dropped into it without protest, then scrubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t understand what’s happening here,” she sighed.
Laughter bubbled up through my chest, and I lifted my brow at Drew and Knox, who looked as though they were in the same predicament.
“What’s your name?” Drew asked after a moment.
The girl hesitated but finally answered. “Angelique.”
“Well, Angelique. We’d tell you, but it’s more fun to discover on your own,” Drew said with a smirk as he took the seat to her left.
Taking the seat on Drew’s other side, I added, “It’s good for Saint that our wives aren’t here because they’d definitely fill you in.” I couldn’t hold back the chuckle this time. “And then you might get it in your head to run in the opposite direction.”
Knox laughed and cocked his head to the side, giving her an amused smile. “Not that it’d do you much good,” he said, shaking his head and leaning back in his seat before stretching his long legs out in front of him.
“True,” I conceded with a nod. Then I adopted a similar position as Knox, and my grin turned wicked. “But it makes it more fun for those of us enjoying the show when they try to resist.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I know my brother isn’t going to like it,” she mumbled. There was that fear again, and it made my jaw clench in anger. If I wasn’t positive that Saint was going to give her brother the beating he so richly deserved, the three of us would have been waiting for his ass after the fight to deliver justice ourselves.
“I wouldn’t worry about him being pissed at you, Angelique.” Knox patted her shoulder matter-of-factly. “Vince was already outmatched in the fight against Saint. Now that he’s managed to piss him off and make it personal, the little asshole is about to get what’s coming to him.”
Knox’s prediction was spot-on. Saint almost killed the son of a bitch. His sister seemed to be conflicted about the whole thing, which was very interesting. She gasped every time Saint got in a good blow, and her worried gaze flew to her brother. But her hands told a whole different story. They were grasping the arms of the chair, and every time Vince managed to land a hit, her knuckles turned white from squeezing the plastic so hard. She also held her breath until it was clear that Saint was unharmed before blowing it out as her shoulders relaxed in relief.
After the fight, we let Knox handle the situation with Saint and his woman and the piece of shit she called a brother. Drew and I made our way to the exit, discussing some logistics and issues that had surfaced as we prepped for the next event in the arena. We stopped when we reached the lobby where the doors on either side led to his casino or mine. “How’s Amelia?” he asked.
I grinned, bursting with pride. “She’s gorgeous, brilliant, and an incredible mother.” Amelia had grown her little blog into an online magazine with a small staff and a cache of writers. She grew more beautiful every day, and I had no fucking idea what I did to deserve her, but I didn’t care as long as she was mine.
Drew studied me for a few beats, then he grinned. “Yeah, but that’s not why you look smug and are practically popping the buttons on your suit coat.”
I schooled my features and replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. “Sure. Just remember, I’ve had that look on my face four times.”
I shrugged, but the smile crept back, and before I said something that would piss off my wife, I waved and jogged to the entrance of my casino. I’d made the mistake of opening my big mouth too soon once before, and Amelia had made sure it never happened again.
After collecting Amelia from my office, we headed home to our waiting family. When we walked in the door, we halted at the sound of giggles and the pitter-patter of little feet.