Page 30 of The Sinners Touch

Kade looked over, in askance, alarmed at the grim expression.

“Angel is here with your brother. That’s all I know.”

Panic rose from Kade’s gut, settling in his throat. He yanked out his phone to check for messages and discovered thatsometime between this morning and now, it died. God, what if she’d tried to call him? What if something happened? Had the unsub tried to take her? A million questions ran through his head, driving him mad while they waited for the elevator to take them to the floor where homicide was located.

His eyes found his brother first, talking to one of the officers, holding two Starbucks coffee cups, and he headed straight for him. When Nikoli spotted him, his expression morphed to one of complete fury, and Kade slowed.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Nikoli’s voice went flat, hard, and mean. Kade couldn’t recall ever seeing his brother this pissed.

“Telling a couple their child is dead.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What happened?”

“Your sick fuck sent Angel a package.”

His knees went a little weak. How the hell did he know where she was? “What was in it?”

“A note that said ‘soon, my angel’ along with a curl of red hair.”

“Shit.” This from Bailey, and the brothers turned to see him right behind them. “What time did it arrive at the apartment?”

“Around twelve thirtyish. As soon as she opened it, we called Kade, who never fucking checked his voicemail or his texts.” Nikoli’s glare was hot enough to scorch hell itself. “When we couldn’t reach you, we came here.”

“How many people touched the box?” Bailey asked, pulling out his own phone.

“Not sure, but I can tell you the front desk attendant at the apartment building brought it up to us, and I accepted the package. Angel was the only person to touch it after that. An officer already took it down to forensics.”

“Where the fuck is she?” Kade barked, his panic fueling his anger.

“She’s in the conference room.” Nikoli held up the coffee cup. “I stepped across the street to get her some coffee. She’s pretty shaken up.”

Kade turned and all but ran down the hall, bursting into the room, and only when he saw she was there, safe and whole, did he let out the breath he’d been holding. She was okay.

He didn’t give her a chance to say anything. He strode over, hauled her up, and hugged her tighter than he’d ever done in all their time together. She was safe.

Angel gasped when Kade burst in, his eyes wild with panic. He let out a full body breath when he saw her. She certainly didn’t expect him to hold her like there was no tomorrow. He was shaking with fear. The realization stunned her. He wasn’t just afraid, he was terrified. For her.

It. Made. No. Sense.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt?” He relaxed his grip enough to lean back and study her face. She stared up into those onyx eyes and tried to figure out what he was doing. What kind of game was he playing?

“Answer me, Angel!” He shook her slightly. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she murmured. “I’m fine.”

“Thank fuck.”

“Kade?” Nikoli stood in the doorway, confused and holding her coffee. “What the hell is going on?”

A question Angel had been asking herself since Kade pinned her to the bed.

Nikoli set her coffee on the table and then took a seat. “Explain.”

Kade let her go, and she sank back down in the chair he’d pulled her from. She wanted to know what was going on herself.

“Later.” Kade went from scared and concerned to Mr. FBI Agent within a blink of an eye. His entire demeanor changed, and he became the professional cop she’d only seen once, andit was enough. It was her last image of him, the one that had broken her.

“Angel.” Bailey closed the door behind him and took a seat beside of Nikoli. Kade remained standing. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“There’s not much to tell.” She picked up her coffee and let the heat from it seep into her cold hands. “A package arrived, and I opened it. There was a note and some hair inside. Red hair.”

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