Guilty Pleasures English Version

Kat~

A funeral has an eerie way of uniting families, and ours seemed to be drawing closer with every passing day.

“Does it seem like we’ve done a few too many of these lately?” I muttered, my voice barely audible over the din of the room. We had been paying our respects far too frequently.

I leaned against the long wooden bar at Midnight Mass, surrounded by my brothers and family, and felt a sense of dread wash over me. We were all gathered together to celebrate Lance Decker's life. And his widow just walked in.

“Fuck, yeah. Too many,” Virgil growled and took a fortifying sip of whiskey before he smacked the bar and walked off toward Maisie, who’d barely escaped this fate a few months back.

“It’s the nature of the business,” Jasper said in his usual gruff, rational tone. “He was a good man, though. A damn good man.”

I nodded as a pretty brunette with big sparkling blue eyes walked around, looking completely overwhelmed. I pushed off the bar, turning to Jasper with a grin.

“Good try at being a human. Add a bit more emotion and say that to his widow, Vanessa.” The poor woman looked devastated and out of place, how I imagined most women would look if they lost the man they loved. “Come on.”

“Do I have to? This is more your thing, or Ma’s.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved away from him. “You’re the big brother, act like it.”

"Jesus, Kat. Do you ever stop?"

"No." I laughed and shoulder bumped Jasper. “You can kill a man without blinking an eye but an emotional female sends you running? Pathetic.”

I made my way through the crowd, greeting people and accepting condolences as I went. It was a somber affair, but that was to be expected. When I finally reached Vanessa, she looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes.

“Vanessa? I’m Kat Ashby. Lance was an incredible man. I’m terribly sorry for your loss. Really.” I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a tight squeeze that made her breath hitch.

“Thank you for this,” she said softly.

“Of course. Lance was a good man. He will be missed.”

She nodded and took a deep breath.

I reached out and squeezed her hand gently. “It’s the least we can do. If there’s anything else we can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you, Ms. Ashby.”

“This is my brother, Jasper. Drink?”

She flashed a hesitant smile at my scowling brother before her blue gaze met mine once again. “I would love a drink. Strong and on the rocks.”

I glared at Jasper until he took a step forward and wrapped his big hands around Vanessa’s delicate, slender hands. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Decker. Lance was our loss as well.”

His words sounded sincere and she nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Ashby.”

I listened as my brother talked with Vanessa, offering his words of condolence and comfort. We would take care of her, just as Lance would have wanted us to. She was family now.

Family was everything to us. It was the only thing that mattered. And we would do whatever it took to protect our own.

Then with a grunt of sympathy, Jasper took off in the direction of Ma, who looked like she was having a serious work-related discussion with her butler.

“Don’t mind Jasper. He’s a bit of a robot at times. Not good in moments like this, but otherwise, it’s an excellent quality.”

In a leader, sure, but it was also the reason Jasper was single. Perpetually single, in fact. Not that I could talk when it came to matters of the heart, but at least I knew my flaws. “Let’s go get that drink.”

Vanessa nodded, her thick chocolate waves falling around her shoulders in a way that had some of the guys eyeing the beautiful widow in ways they shouldn’t. At least not quite so soon.