This is the KYOLINE he's caught glimpses of in snatches. Moments of fleeting revelation when she's shown him the real person. This is the KYOLINE who's insinuated herself into his life. And he came so close to losing her.His heart tightens, and he is unable to speak as he looks at her. He longs to reach out and touch her. Erase the tears from her face and tell her that she, her brothers, and her baby are the most valuable things in the whole wide world to him.But she won't listen to him.Not yet.And he doesn't blame her."KYOLINE…" But his voice cracks.Because he has no clue how to fix this.How to prove to her that he means every damn thing and promise he's made to her.How to fucking prove to her that he loves her.Now comes the hard part. The sweaty palms and racing heart. How he proves to her that he loves her, he has no fucking clue. But he has to discover that—or lose her forever. And that is not going to happen. He assures himself that it's just another game of chess he has
He hangs up before he can continue. Of all the things he's thought could possibly happen in his head a million times, KYOLINE getting herself goddamn arrested wasn't one of them. He leans back into his chair, letting the weight of the past week wear off a bit as he sits, his head against the headrest. A bitter incredulous laugh rips out of his throat. "Only you, KYOLINE.". Only you." Shakes his head as he dials VINCENT DANZA'S number."ISAAC. What is it?""Nothing. He found her. Call PELLA and NIKKI.""Where?""It doesn't matter. She's safe.""Thank God. PELLA and NIKKI have lost their minds.""Yeah, he can sympathize." That's the understatement of the century. He's gone out of his goddamn mind in the last few days, each worse than the last one."ISAAC, are you going to do something he needs to know about?""Nope.""Not talking reassuringly, I assume," he bites back."Whenever has he ever done anything for a good reason?""ISAAC—""He just called to inform you that he'll be out of tou
He stands up and removes the papers from Vincent's hands. He sits back in his chair. His face twists into a scowl as he reads through them. "So, Armando Barbieri?""Yeah."He shakes his head. "Kill the fucker. Never liked him to start with.""Consider it done, boss."VINCENT DANZA pokes his head out from behind the papers and glares at him intensely. "And Carmine Cicconi was involved too?""Yeah." He doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "All he'll ever need is in those documents."He looks at him. "You mean, all he'll ever need if anybody ever asks him why he ordered Carmine to be killed?""Yeah." He never could keep anything from VINCENT DANZA."Kill him too," he whispers.He nods. VINCENT DANZA knows why he must do it. He knows that he's pinned Carmine so that he can take him out and keep KYOLINE safe.He addresses Barbieri first, taking him out cleanly and efficiently. One shot to the head. Regardless of how much he would enjoy toasting the fucker and keeping him all day, he is
His heart tightens. "He'll practice more today and tonight, so hopefully by tomorrow, he'll be a little better." And speaking the words, he makes up his mind to master these damn French braids no matter how long he has to practice it to get it down.After washing DAMON'S hair in the bathroom sink, when he finally drops off the children at school, they're late. And he knows that he's doing a rotten job with them so far, but he's going to get it together. He's going to show KY that he can be the man she wants him to be and that he's one hundred percent on board with her, the children, and the baby.The following day, after seven failed attempts and three more online tutorials, he finally succeeds in L'OREAL'S hair nearly braided when they have to leave for school.As he tightens the hairband properly and hands it to her, she gives him a beaming smile. Not perfect, but hell a whole lot better than yesterday's debacle.The small girl leans forward to peck at his cheek, and he stands there
"DEBORAH, just leave her alone, yeah? She's only trying her best for them all, and it can't be easy for her sometimes.""She does. She's just…" Her voice fades away."Very KYOLINE?"DEBORAH grins at him. "Yeah, exactly." And with that, he opens the door and leads L'OREAL up the stairs, with DAMON and DEBORAH following on behind.DEBORAH rushes straight to her bedroom, and twenty minutes have elapsed before he's succeeded in getting L'OREAL and DAMON into bed."Is KY coming home to take them to school?"L'OREAL sleeps from under where she's burrowed into her pink down comforter."He doesn't know." He doesn't wish to lie."Will you take them, Mr. ISAAC?""Of course.""Good.""Don't worry, L'OREAL. He's staying. He'll even give them something decent to eat for breakfast."She smiles drowsily at him. "Goodnight, Mr. ISAAC.""Goodnight, kid. Sleep tight."His legs are leaden as he walks down the dark corridor to his unoccupied room. Wearing him down is exhaustion, but his mind is racing. F
"Hello?""PELLA,""ISAAC? What's the time?""Where is KYOLINE?""What?""Where. Is. KYOLINE?""Look, she left the kids here. They were supposed to stay with her for two weeks anyway and were looking forward to it. She has gone off to the Bahamas on her own. She needs the break.".When she tells him all she knows, he hangs up and calls the airline to confirm. But she never boarded the plane. Shit. Where the devil is she?He rings PELLA again. "She never boarded the flight. What else did she say?""That's all she told him.""Her best friend," he grinds out, trying not to put irritability in his voice. Because screaming at her and demanding something isn't going to get him what he wants. "Will you let me know if you find out anything?""What are you going to do, ISAAC?""Just ask about him.""ISAAC, he thinks?"Once he knows more, he'll let her know." He gets up on her before she's got any chance of finishing talking. Another staccato breath ripples past his lips as he walks towards the