Loving the Wild Card (Kingdom Book 5)

When they finally stood before him, Josh moved with lightning speed. His first punch was at Saunders in the hope that a busted lip would shut him the fuck up. Bonetti rushed him, spinning he extended his leg and scored a direct hit to his gut.

Josh used more force than intended but felt no remorse. Squatting down beside the sprawled men, he pointed his index finger at them. “That was just for starters. Don’t you two pieces of shit ever come to my father’s house again uninvited, and seeing as an invitation will never be issued; if you show up, I will really hurt you!”

Getting up, he straightened his winter coat and looked down at them. “Hell, if you two are New York’s finest, I pity the people of this city!”

With nothing but contempt, he turned his back on them and walked away. Even if he hadn’t sensed their movement, he heard it. Feigning to the side, Josh avoided the punch Bonetti threw at him. In one continuous move, he surrounded the tall officer’s fist in his hand. He then twisted it into an unnatural position and shoved him into his hapless partner.

Somehow both detectives managed to stay on their feet. Josh saw Saunders’ hand hovering over his firearm. “Go on and try it, but you better make sure you don’t miss because if you do, I’m going to shove that gun down your throat.”

When Saunders’ hand moved away from his side, Josh laughed in their faces. “Just what I thought, you’re a * and so is your partner,” he mocked. “Oh, and one more thing; give your other boss a message from me. You tell him if even the air around my wife is disturbed, I will find him, and I will kill him. Then, I’ll come for the both of you and hurt you in ways you’ve never imagined.”

The look of fright on their faces told its own story; he wasn’t their only cause for concern. If they failed in their off the books job, questions would be asked; and Josh knew he was the least of their worries. He’d shown them his hand because he had no choice. Now he would just have to wait to see how everything played out.





Chapter 14



A few days later, Josh was surprised that persuading his brother’s and their wives to accompany him and Lux for dinner had been so easy, especially when Jackson unusually called babysitting duties.

Josh knew some of his family still had misgivings about Lux, but whether they liked her or not, she was his choice. The sooner everyone accepted that fact, the sooner they could begin to really get to know her.

Although they were all leaving for the same destination, everybody traveled to the restaurant separately. This told him they were still unsure of Lux. Traveling independently gave them an easy way out should the need arise. It was a tactic he and Jake had perfected during their youth. That his brothers were using it now was a source of amusement he would keep to himself.

Josh hoped his choice of venue would be somewhere they would all enjoy. The restaurant was a cross between mood lighting, pulsing music and just enough sophistication he hoped would keep everyone happy.

Tonight was important to him and he wanted everything to be perfect. That said, his brothers were wild cards and Aviva was just as bad. One misplaced word could turn their dinner into a success or a massive failure. He knew his happiness was important to his family, so he hoped they would follow his lead.

So far only Jason and Aviva had arrived. When Aviva lifted her phone to check it for the sixth time, Josh knew something was wrong. Just then Jason removed his phone from his pocket and lifted it to his ear. A series of grunts and grimaces later he ended the call.

“Apparently, due to some form of mysterious affliction, visited on whom, I’m still unsure, Jake and MacKenzie will not be joining us for dinner.”

On hearing the message, Josh smiled. If Jason’s expression was anything to go by, it seemed he currently wished he’d been the one to delay their arrival and place a call of apology.

“Maybe next time,” Josh suggested to his brother.

“Hmm,” Jason retorted.

“What’s going on?” Aviva asked.

The wine waiter saved Jason from having to give a reply as he chose the wine. At the same time, Josh knew the interruption wouldn’t be enough to distract Aviva if she really wanted an answer.

The wine order given, Josh glanced at Lux, who appeared to be busy looking for something or other in her purse. He was just in time to see a look pass between Aviva and Jason that he interpreted to mean further discussion of the subject was out.

Aware she still had reservations about his wife, Josh was pleased she was unwilling to make the meal uncomfortable for Lux.

Silence that bordered on the uncomfortable settled over them. Josh supposed it would be up to him to start a conversation to break the ice and searched for something innocuous to say.

“I love those braids you’ve got going on, Lux,” Aviva said taking the direct approach of complimenting his wife.

For the life of him he’d never seen Lux, so bashful. It was as though the compliment took her by surprise and she was unsure how to respond.

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