Bound In Secrets : A Death Kings Novel

**Sawyer**

"Sorry to ruin your night, boss, but I can't get Dillian to stop blubbering so he can get back to work. He keeps saying I don't understand his feelings because I'm not a woman." Cruise keeps his rubbing chin while pacing in front of the door to my office.

My other bestie is not having a good night.

I sigh, needing to first calm Cruise down so that I can deal with my emotional employee. I pull Cruise into a hug. "It's alright, big guy. Dillian will be fine. You did what you needed to do."

"My biggest concern right now is that Carmen and Jeremy are taking the kids for ice cream. It's going to be difficult to put them to bed, but that's on those two." I tease him, giving him a wink.

This is effective in disarming him and lightening the mood. Cruise chuckles, pulling away from me. He is now much more relaxed. "We love to spoil those kiddos of ours," he says proudly.

A smile pulls at my lips. I adore they think of my spawn as much theirs as they are mine. Half the time, it's as if Carmen and the guys birthed both my children instead of me.

I love this family I have created for us. Now if I could focus on something other than how good the other guys were with my children.

Poor Storm was so out of his element with them. It was as if he were afraid Katie and Darius were made of glass and he would break them. Little does he understand my demon spawn will soon have him wrapped around their tiny pinky fingers soon enough.

I heard a heart-wrenching wail coming from my office. I look at Cruise with concern. "If you're feeling better, call someone in to take Dillian's shift. I'll tend to him and then send him home or more than likely to my house after we stop for ice cream and Bailey's for him to drown his sorrow in," I tell him.

"You think this is because of his boyfriend?" Cruise asks incredulously.

I nod to him before entering my office while he goes to make some phone calls.

"Okay. Dry those tears, D, and tell me all about it. You have practically made a waterfall off my desk," I joke lightly.

Dillian rushes to me, wrapping his arms around me with tears falling to the shoulders of my black v-neck shirt I've tied into a crop top. I paired it with high-waisted skinny jeans to disguise the mom pouch.

"He is such an asshole," he gasps between words.

"What happened?" Dillian sniffles at my question.

His mascara is running down his face. "He broke up with me as soon as he dropped me off. He told me I was just someone to pass the time with. That he never cared for me the way I did for him. He has been fucking another guy behind my back! He told me he loved that guy. He has been cheating on me for over three months!" He sobs angrily.

I rub my hand down Dillian's back. Dillian was so happy with his boyfriend that I thought nothing was odd in their relationship.

"Oh, D. You want me to slash his tires and threaten him with castration for breaking your heart? You know I'll make him bleed for hurting you," I assure him softly. I mean every word.

Dillian releases a breathy laugh. "Oh, hooker, I know you will. He isn't worth it," he says and then takes a shaky breath.

I smirk at him. Damn right, I will.

"Although slashing the tires of his Ferrari will make me feel better," he says mischievously and then winks at me with a grin.

"Let's do it then, on our way to pick up ice cream. I have a brand bottle of Irish cream liquor waiting for you," I taunt, winking back.

Dillian groans stepping away from me. "Oh, yes, please, bitch. We can discuss all the things we hate about that man. You can then tell me about the sexy piece you went to lunch with," he says conspiratorially and wipes his face with his shirtsleeve.

If Dillian were in the right mindset, he never would have wiped his nose on his shirtsleeve. He would be aghast at himself for ruining his glittery pink shirt.

It's interesting how he stopped sniffling at the mention of my love life.

Wait. No. Not love. Sex. Yes, sex I can deal with.

"Yeah, no. We aren't discussing him, D. You can play dress up with Katie instead. I'll even let you raid my closet," I say enticingly to get his focus on something other than Storm Diesel Benson.

"That's too good to pass up. You have some sexy clothes I've been dying to try on!" I laugh at him, moving to my desk and pulling out a package of baby wipes. It's probably a good thing Dillian is thinner than me.

"Come here and let me clean your face," I suggest, holding up a wipe. He does as I ask, so I remove the mascara from his cheeks. "There, that is much better. He doesn't deserve to see you've been crying while we slash his tires," I proclaim, causing Dillian to chuckle again.

When we leave, I pause, seeing a tall, broad tattooed man with purple hair in the crowd.

I know that man.

I turned to Dillian, handing him my car keys and some money. "You go get the ice cream and I'll have Cruise bring me home. There is someone here I need to see. We'll slash your ex's tires another night when he least expects it," I suggest. "All right, hooker, but don't do anything I wouldn't do.” Dillian gives me a playful wink and smirk. There isn't much that man wouldn't do, so that leaves me open. Not that I would do any of those things with the man who I think I saw. I pushed my way through the crowd to get to him. The purple-haired man is sitting in a booth at the back of the club. He must be waiting for someone.

One of my servers takes his order with a healthy dose of flirting that will get her nowhere with this man. He is hopelessly devoted to his committed relationship.

I sauntered up to him. "What are doing in my town with no phone call to your favorite niece?"

"Me cie! Is that you, Sawyer, ma petite cherub?" His gray eyes are wide at the sight of me. He looks the same as the last time I saw him, with a few laugh lines around his mouth. The dimples on his face showed in his smile. He stands, opening muscular tattooed arms out to me. "Come here, you."

I ran to him with a squeal, launching myself into his powerful arms. I wrap my legs around his waist as he hugs me tightly. He sets me down on the floor. "What are you doing here, Uncle Tee?"

"I not here to see you, me. Though now that I know you to be here, I might as well stay for a few days to catch up with you and Nate." His Cajun accent is not as pronounced as I remember it being when I was a child. Etienne "Tee" St. Juste is my step-uncle. My grandfather married Tee's mom when he was eighteen. That was sixteen years ago when I was eight years old.

My grandfather is about eight years older than Tee's mom, but they are perfect together. I love my Mémeré and Pèrèrè dearly.

I take Katie and Darius on a trip to visit them for a few weeks every year in the summer. Occasionally, Tee will be there while visiting with his husbands and wife. It's been at least since Katie was an infant that I've seen any of them in person. "Do you have a place to stay?" I ask him since I seemed to have changed his plans.

"I was just going to get a hotel room for the night, but I'm sure I can extend my stay," Tee says, running a tattooed hand through his violet hair.

"You could stay with me? The couch folds out into a bed." I suggest.

I know Etienne has plenty of money, what with him being married to a millionaire and two of his other husbands being billionaires. That, and he is the current Light Heavyweight MMA world champion.

"It's been a while since slept on a couch, me. It sounds perfect. I miss the simplicity of not having a penny to my name," he says with a sigh.

I smirked since I knew being rich was getting to him. He always cursed about those rich men he loved so much, saying they had more money than sense sometimes.

"Then it's settled. You're staying with me. The kids have grown so much. You won't recognize them. Give me your phone," I say, not giving him a choice to say no. He hands me his phone while murmuring about how time flies by.

Don't I know it?

"Call me when you get done here. By the way, you drink here for free since your family and I own this club. I'll tell my employees you're on my approved list." "Good for you, cher. I'm proud of you, me. Looks like you're doing well despite your Pa being in the slammer," he says.

I chirp "Yes, I am" while offering him a goodbye. On my way out, I tell Cruise about my uncle first.

Before I walk to the back door, I see my boys gathering in the booth around Etienne. Tee takes a black folder, sliding it to Storm. Storm nods and they all take the drinks Tee had ordered earlier. How do my boys know my uncle? As far as I remember, they never met him. Uncle Tee has an explanation to do tonight.