REESE

chapter twenty two.

Reese POV:

"Excuse me?"

I let out an exasperated sigh as Kade stepped away from me with his face contorted in confusion. I looked over at Carver and was not surprised to see a blank look on his face, but his eyes shone with curiosity. The Rutherford brothers were looking directly at Renato, who was still glaring intently at Kade. Eli and Simon stood to the side with barely contained  amusement, while Raf looked pleadingly at his younger brother who paid him no mind. Since everyone had seemed to lose their voice in the midst of the awkwardness, Kade looked around and then back at Renato, just to make sure that boy in front of him was actually speaking to him.

Renato simply ignored Kade's confusion and turned directly towards me.

"Ree baby, who's he?" Renato spit out the 'he' while looking at Kade in disgust. I cringed as Carver's eyes immediately narrowed onto Renato. Kade's eyes widened as he turned his attention to me.

"Baby?" Kade questioned with his head tilted.

Renato scoffed. "Yeah baby." He walked towards me and gripped my waist with his left arm. "This is my girlfriend that you were all over."

A groan cut through silence. Raf looked at the sky with an expression that displayed complete and utter defeat. "Why couldn't I be an only child?" He muttered.

Eli and Simon laughed loudly at Raf's expense.

"Stay away from her, little boy." Renato started up again. "If you don't, you'll regret it. Reese is mine."

I frowned at Renato's words. Usually Renato's antics amused me but this time Kade was involved. I knew Kade wasn't accustomed to confrontation, he lived in fear for the majority of his life and was still new to the whole concept of harmless rivalry. I also knew Renato was just being dramatic, but the only problem was that I didn't know if Kade knew that. I opened my mouth to put a stop to Renato's threats, but to my surprise and everyone else's, Kade took a step towards Renato.

Kade squared up directly in front of Renato who had now let go of my waist. Kade was a year younger than Renato and had a more skinny frame but the two boys were almost identical in height. The confusion had disappeared from Kade's face and been replaced with irritation. "I don't know who you are, but I'll see Ree wherever and whenever I want. She is not yours." Kade shoved his finger into Renato's chest.

Renato was visibly seething. His small jaw clenched as he moved even closer to Kade. The two boys were now face to face, inches apart. My eyes widened as I watched the hand's of both boys form into fists.

"Oh shit, here it comes." Eli smirked while pulling out his phone to record.

"Don't touch me." Renato harshly pushed Kade back a few steps.

"Then don't talk to me." Kade returned to his original position and shoved Renato right back.

"Okay, okay." I immediately moved forward and grabbed Kade's shirt in one hand and Renato's in the other, effectively pulling them apart. "Let's calm down."

Both boys stumbled as I pulled them back, but continued their glaring contest. The second I let go of their shirts, both Kade and Renato immediately gripped my hands tightly in a show of possessiveness. I rolled my eyes and bit my lip in an attempt to hold in my laughter. When I realized that the glaring wasn't going to stop anytime soon, I decided it was time for introductions.

"Kade meet Renato, he's the youngest son of the Spanish Mafia family. Renato meet Kaden, the youngest son of the English Mafia family. You guys are only one year apart, and since the English Mafia is now in alliance with us, you two are going to be seeing a lot more of each other, so I suggest you both cut the theatrics and get over whatever problem you guys seem to have."