Kris"s heart stopped a bit when Ace mentioned Lena.
"So..." Kris was not going to let Ace tempt him. "She"s a big girl, she can take care of herself."
Ace patted Kris on the shoulder. "Oh I am sure the woman you choose to be with is wonderful. I am also sure she"ll be able to chase out any woman that comes near you. But...." Ace stepped back away from him. "Can she handle the women that are from our world?"
Kris chuckled. "I am not like you Ace, I don"t leave my targets capable of coming back for revenge."
"That"s right, but I am not talking about your targets, only those that are closest to you. After all, your real enemies are the ones closest to you." Ace looked at Keso, and then at Collin.
Kris sensed that Tye was finally here. He looked over at the doctor who was rus.h.i.+ng in with his emergency bag.
"Take Keso away. You leave with them too." Kris was directing toward Collin.
Collin did not want to leave but what Kris said goes...
When they all left, Kris gave his attention back to Ace.
"Ace.... you"re the second person that I didn"t choose to shoot, so stay away. There won"t be a next time." Kris patted Ace"s shoulder this time.
Kris turned around and started to walk out.
"You know that I never betrayed you, brother. Not once have I told your grandfather about Hugh."
Kris stopped his footsteps and turned to look at Ace. "I don"t care what you told the old man. And don"t call me brother, we are no longer brothers."
"You"ve changed... after you met Hugh. Even before your mother came along." Ace walked quickly and blocked Kris" path. "Have you forgotten all the things that we went through together? The training we did and all the blood that we shed together. It was a dark place, Kris... but we had each other. You can pretend that you no longer need me, but I know... we"re inseparable."
"You could have left with me..." Kris replied.
"No, I couldn"t. I was not strong like you. YOu think that I chose to stay... but I think you left me." Ace chuckled. "So tell me... how does it feel like to be loved? Lena... that was her name right... how does it feel to touch her? Soft...?"
"Don"t mutter her name" Kris pushed Ace aside and started walking toward the exit.
"Do you think I"ll be able to hug her too? I want that too."
Kris stopped again, but this time he landed a straight punch to Ace"s face. Ace faltered back and hold his position. He touched it lips that got cut from Kris" punch.
"Your grandfather thinks that love had made you weak... but I know it"s the exact opposite."
"Stay away from her, Ace. Final warning."
Kris glared at the man and then left him alone in the building. Ace licked the blood from his lips and smiled. "I only wanted to meet my future sister-in-law. You want me to stay away from her... but how can I when she is in danger? I will protect you and everything you love Kris... so at least one of us can be happy."
As Kris left, he quickly pulled out his phone and check the security system of the apartment and his penthouse. He was quite thankful that he did the upgrade on Lena"s apartment.
He found nothing suspicious. And with Gary updating the system too, it should be flawless. Even the best should not be able to get in unless they used heavy weaponry.
His cameras spotted Lena on his sofa, lying on the couch and watching some late-night romance drama. He considered calling her but then he remembered that Keso was injured. He walked out to Tye"s car where he was treating Keso.
"How are you?" Kris touched Keso"s shoulder and he groaned in pain. "Opps, sorry."
"His shoulder got dislocated. I fixed it but it will still be painful. He has a cracked rib and some bruises all over the body but... he"s Keso so he will be fine." Tye explained.
"Take the week off to recover."
Keso looked at Kris... he wanted to reject but he knew that in his state, he was no use being around the boss. He nodded.
"What are we going to do about Ace?" Collin asked.
"We don"t have to do anything about him. I will take care of him myself. I want all of you to stay away from him." Kris commanded. "Especially Hugh. Ace is here on a personal agenda, his attention is on me. The less you care about him, the less he would care about you too."
"Understood." Collin replied.
"Take Keso with you, Tye. And Collin, you will have to oversee Keso"s work until he is better. I know you have your wedding to plan, but you can do it, right?"
"Yes. Don"t worry... Stella is taking full charge of it."
"Then, I"ll be going home first." Kris smiled and walked to his car.
Kris actually stopped at a place first before returning home. By the time he got back, it was past midnight.
Lena was already asleep on his bed. Kris went to shower and get ready for bed.
He slowly removed the blanket and crawled in bed with Lena.
"Hey.." Lena could feel him. She moved closer to him, and cuddled in closer to him.
"Did I wake you?"
"No... I couldn"t sleep well without you anyway.. on your bed that is."
Kris hugged her closer and kissed her forehead.
"Everything okay?" Lena asked.
"Yeah. Go back to sleep."
"Mhm..." Lena mumbled and fell asleep again. This time, she slept without a sense in the world knowing Kris was next to her.