Page 10 of Kade

“Sí?”

“I want them alive. Both of them. And bring the boy to me.”

“Of course.”

Juan hung up the phone and looked at the child. He was playing a game and not paying attention to the conversation, but he had no idea his parents were being discussed. Juan felt a twinge of something like fear run through him. Tomás would use Mateo to torture his parents. He’d brutalize the kid before killing him in front of Kincaid. Juan had put distance between him and the boy over the years, but he had cared for him all this time. If he had to be the one to butcher him, it wouldn’t be as easy as his other marks. He might not love the kid, but he was responsible for him.

He’d butcher him in the end, but he wouldn’t enjoy it.

Sighing, he left Mateo to his game and went to find his whore.

Kade shut off his laptop and leaned back. He’d left Angel over an hour ago in the trustworthy hands of Watkins to parcel out assignments to the security team Nikoli acquired for them. He’d pulled another of their men, Max Sheridon, to watch Lily until Able could be pulled from a security detail for a pop singer in town. She was one of their bigger clients, so Kade was hesitant to upset her. She knew Able and trusted him, even though he wasn’t who they usually put on bodyguard detail. Kade still wasn’t sure why the man was assigned to her every time she called. He’d make a note to ask Viktor about that.

He’d called Watkins earlier, and Angel was still sound asleep. Her breakdown had taken a lot out of her. The doctor hadn’t returned his call yet either, but it was the weekend, and the man probably didn’t return non-urgent medical messages. While that was all well and good, it left Kade in a bad spot. It drove him nuts not being able to help Angel. It fucking killed him.

“I thought you went home.”

Kade looked up to see Dylan lounging in the doorway. It was Saturday evening. What the hell was he doing here?

“I’m waiting on some information for a case. Why are you here?”

Kade pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. The man was uncanny. There might be a psychic bone in his body somewhere, hidden behind all the badassedness.

“Nik hired extra security for the girls. I met them here and gave them their assignments.” Kade rolled his neck, wincing when so many bones popped and cracked. Damn, he felt old.

“Why do you still look like hell?” Dylan wandered in and plopped down in one of the chairs across from his desk. “They’re protected now.”

“Angel had a bit of a breakdown.” Kade explained that they’d lost their son and about the boy she’d seen at the store. “Lily said it might be a physical manifestation of her grief, and I called the fucking shrink, but he hasn’t called me back. I don’t know how to help her.”

Dylan was silent for a long moment before finally leaning back in his chair. “My daughter died in a car accident. Black ice. My wife survived, but she couldn’t come to terms with the fact she lived and Holly didn’t. Grief can do all sorts of things to you. She ended up taking her own life, so I get how worried you are.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your family.”

Dylan shrugged it off, but the tortured look in his eyes remained. Grief never truly went away. “I don’t make a habit of telling people. I’m only talking to you because I don’t want your wife to get so depressed over this it drives her to do something she normally wouldn’t. I like Angel. She’s a spitfire.”

“That she is.” A smile tugged at Kade’s lips despite how worried he was. “I just wish I knew how to help her.”

“Maybe it’s as simple as showing her who the boy belongs to.”

“What do you mean?” Kade sat up, intrigued.

“I can do some investigating and find out who his parents are. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”

“I don’t know his name. Angel didn’t get it either.”

“You know what hotel it is?”

“The one across the street from Macy’s.” Could it be that simple? Show her who his parents were and make her understand the kid wasn’t theirs?

“I know it. The head concierge over there is a friend of mine. He’ll be able to tell me who they are. It’s easy after that. I’ll call you later tonight once I have the information.”

“Thanks, man. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

“I do, because I wish someone had been there to help Lisa. I’ll do what I can for your wife.” Dylan didn’t say anything else and left to start digging into the mystery man and his son.

Kade grabbed his keys and locked his office, heading home. Typically, he’d walk, as it was only a few blocks away. He and Viktor decided to find places as close to their business as possible since they would potentially have clients staying in the brownstone. It was why they chose the building over some modern office building. There were bedrooms upstairs and a full kitchen downstairs for guests to use as well as the staff.

The security system Mason, their youngest brother, had installed was top-notch. He knew computers almost as well as Nikoli did. He liked to try his hand at hacking too. That was why Viktor was trying to move Mason into the business. He and Kade both feared their little brother would do something that landed him in jail. At least, working with them, his hacking would only be at the request of the client, and they’d have permission to hack private work products.

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