“Don’t you pass out on me.”
I screeched when pressure suddenly gripped my leg and fresh pain shot through my body.
“Good girl, open your eyes.”
I snapped my eyes open and glared at the scumbag before me. He removed the hand that he placed on my leg and sat back in the chair.
“Tell me,” Philip smiled, “what is the sex of Kane’s brat?”
I placed my hands on my stomach in a protective manner.
“We don’t know yet,” I whispered.
Philip hummed to himself but said nothing.
“What do you want with me?” I asked, my body trembling.
Philip laughed, “It’s a pity for you, but I need to hurt Kane and to do that, I need you. You just happen to be a good woman involved with a bad man.”
That struck a nerve.
“Kane is a good man, and you won’t be hurtin’ him at all.”
Philip snickered, “You’re goin’ to stop me, are you?”
You bet your arse I am.
“Does this make you feel like a man?” I asked. “Injurin’ a pregnant woman.”
Philip’s face hardened. “I don’t see gender - just a person who is my key to getting want I really want.”
“Which is what exactly?” I snapped.
Philip didn’t hesitate as he said, “Kane’s misery.”
I blinked. “Why do you want to hurt Kane?”
“Because he hurt me,” Philip hissed. “I tend to level the playing field.”
My eyes automatically zeroed in on the scars that covered half of his face. Philip caught my staring and evilly grinned, “Yeah, he caused this.”
I swallowed but said nothing.
“Why would Kane do that do you?”
Philip snarled, “He did it indirectly.”
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion then groaned as a severe pain began to pulse in my leg.
“How-” I cut myself off to gather my bearings. “How could he do it indirectly?”
Philip set his jaw. “He set the fire to purposively burn someone else and got me as well as them. He locked me in a room to burn.”
I blinked. “He wouldn’t do that.”
Philip sat forward, reached out and smacked me across the face so hard my head snapped to the right. I screamed and lifted my hands to my face, shielding it.
“You don’t fucking know Kane Slater like I do. I created the prick, I know exactly what he is capable of.”
I uncovered my face and stared.
He created me.
My thoughts went back to a conversation I had with Kane over a week ago when he was telling me about his past. I stared at the man before me, annoyed with myself that it took me so long to figure it out.”
“You’re Big Phil,” I murmured.
He laughed, “Big Phil is what my boys call me, you can stick to Philip.”
“I prefer dickhead,” I grunted then widened my eyes because I didn’t mean to say it out loud.
Philip laughed so hard he had to wipe under his eyes. “Ah, I like you, darling.”
I grunted in response.
“Can I ask you a question?”
I looked away. “I’m sure you will ask me anyway so go for it.”
“Why Kane?”
That caused me to look at him.
“What?”
“Why Kane?” Philip repeated.
I blinked. “What do you mean ‘why Kane’?”
“Well,” Philip began, “most people judge him based on his appearance - like they do me. They are frightened of him, and peg him as a bad guy. I mean, he must be bad to have so many scars, right?”
I growled, “He told me those scars are because of you and Marco.”
“He forced my hand. He could have remained pretty as a flower had he done his job.”
I seethed in anger.
“His life would have been a lot different. He looks big and scary now, but he wasn’t always like that,” Philip mused, a grin on his ugly face. “It’s amusing to me how he got to look like a monster by trying to do the right thing.”
I hugged my body. “What do you mean?”
“He told you how he got the scars, right?”
I slowly nodded my head. “He said they were from his old job, the shit you made him do.”
“That’s a no then,” Philip chortled. “He didn’t tell you the details because he thought you would see him as evil. Predicable Kane.”
That piqued my interest.
“If you’re goin’ to tell me what you’re talkin’ about, spit it out already,” I growled. “I don’t have all day.”
Philip cackled to himself, “Little hellcat.”
I glared at him.
“Okay, little miss pushy,” Philip chuckled. “Your man is the best enforcer I’ve ever come across. It’s like he was created to work for Marco, just like his brothers. Alec has a knack for making people come, Dominic has a knack for knocking people out, Ryder has a knack for moving very fucking large shipments of product undetected, and Kane? That boy has a knack for making people scream in a very terrifying way.”
My stomach contents rolled around my stomach.
“You see,” Philip smirked, “Kane is very aggressive when he is mad. He has a tendency for blacking out during a fight. He turns into an animal without being aware of it, and I like to take credit for it.”