Page 12 of Kade

He rolled his eyes but stood and wandered into the bedroom. The fear came rushing back, pushing the anger aside for a moment. These people were dangerous. Everyone in Miami knew you didn’t fuck with them, but still, they’d been raided before. Most arrests never stuck. What made Kade different from any other undercover cop? The thought of them getting their hands on Kade terrified her. She’d only just found him again. They couldn’t take him from her, not after everything she’d lost.

They just couldn’t.

Sighing, Angel dried off. Ten minutes later, dressed in her flannel pajamas, she marched into the bedroom, determined to be strong. She wasn’t that same nineteen-year-old kid with stars in her eyes. She was a strong woman who survived the death of her brother, her child, and suffered at the hands of a criminally insane psychopath. She’d handle this too.

Kade watched her storm into the room, those cat eyes glowing with fire. It tilted his lips in a smile. That was his Angel, prepared to fight to the death for the person she loved. He just hoped she’d never be put into a position to do that again.

He was sprawled out, and she sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed. He snorted. She knew better than to get closer. He’d distract her with sex.

Arching her eyebrow, she simply waited for him to start talking. It was very reminiscent of his mother’s inquisition techniques.

“I thought they would have forgotten about me by now, or at least moved on. What happened was the cost of business. Tomás Rivera should understand that.”

“What happened, Kade? It’s got to be more than the raid.”

“Miguel Rivera died in the raid. I shot him. He pulled a gun and started shooting. I had no choice. I had to protect myself and the men with me. I’d never killed anyone before, and I didn’t even really think about it until days later. By then, I’d lied to you and gone to Atlanta. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen. His face still haunts my dreams sometimes.”

“Oh, Kade…”

He held up his hand to stop her sympathy. “I took a boy’s life. I need to remember and accept the guilt that comes with that. Anyone who takes a life needs to understand exactly what that death means. Was it necessary? Yes. He would have killed me or my men. I had a responsibility to protect them, but at the same time, I have a responsibility to Miguel. I will always remember that day and what I cost his family. It’s made me a better cop. I haven’t killed another person since that night because I find ways to honor his death bynotkilling.”

“Was he…was he related to this Tomás?”

Kade nodded, folding his hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. Odd how he’d never noticed the swirl pattern in the texture around the ceiling fan. It was only in that one spot.

“Tomás Rivera used to be the second in command of the cartel. Miguel was his little brother.”

“Shit.”

“In a nutshell, Angel girl, we’re fucked if he knows we’re in New York.”

“How could he know?”

“Dylan said the cartel moved into the city spring of last year. Even if they don’t know it yet, they will. The company deals with a lot of different jobs. Chances are we’re going to run into the drug dealers, and since the hit is still out on me,Los Muertoswill find out.”

“What if we leave? Go to Europe or something.”

His laugh was hollow. “It won’t help. My brothers are here, Angel. The cartel will pick them off one by one to get to me. Tomás knows I won’t sacrifice my family to hide from his wrath. He may have been focused on gaining control and expanding the cartel, but he never forgot what I did.”

Her head dropped into her hands. “What are we going to do?”

“Fuck if I know.” He sat up and hauled her into his lap, needing to touch her. Images of what Tomás would do to her tormented her. Feeling her safe and sound in his arms calmed him enough to think rationally. “But no one is going to touch you, Lily, or Becca. I swear it.”

“Lily…” Her eyes widened as realization dawned. “They’d hurt her or even Becca?”

“Lily belongs to Nik and Becca to Dimitri, so to Tomás, they’re fair game.”

Angel tucked herself into Kade’s side, laying her head on his chest. He looked like a lost little boy. “I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,moye serdste.” He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tight. “None of this is your fault. It’s mine. I’ve gone and dragged you right back into the lair of the monster I walked away to protect you from. I’m the one who’s sorry.”

She leaned up so she could look him in the eyes. “First, that was just plain stupid. You made me think you didn’t love me or the nugget. I thought we were only a means to an end. A way to get into Peter’s good graces. I spent six years with that, Kade. You should have told me the truth from the start, and we could have grieved our son’s death together.”

His dark eyes turned pitch black, his own grief pooling in the obsidian depths. Angel knew he still blamed himself for Matthew’s death, but she didn’t. Maybe one day he’d realize it wasn’t his fault. He had no way to know the police bursting through the door would startle her badly enough to fall down the stairs.

“Second, you didn’t drag me into that world. Peter did, whether he meant to or not. He had drug dealers and God only knows who else in and out of the house while I was growing up. Don’t blame yourself for something my brother started.”

He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her lips to shut her up. “I love you,moye serdste.”

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