Page 21 of Kade

“9-1-1?” Nik honked the horn and hit the gas. “What’s wrong with Angel?”

“Passed out. Some bastard sent her photos from when she was in the hospital in Miami.” At least that was what he assumed. She might have been hospitalized in the six years they were apart, but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach this was the cartel announcing they knew who she was.

They arrived the same time as the ambulance. Kade almost knocked the EMTs down in his rush to get to Angel. Watkins was sitting on the floor, Angel unconscious in his lap. Another man he didn’t recognize stood behind them. He dropped to his knees beside them and took her face in his hands. “Moye serdste.”

She looked so pale. Whoever caused this was going to suffer.

The EMTs forced him to move and let them work. They lifted her to the stretcher and started taking vitals. Watkins followed and handed him the photos. Just as he suspected, these were from the day they lost everything. Bastards took photographs. Sick, fucking bastards.

Rage burst over his skin like a flash fire through a forest. A sound somewhere between a growl and roar left him. Nik took the photos from him and started cursing in a mixture of Russian and English, a bad habit they shared.

“Sir, we’re going to take her to the ER. I would feel better if she had a CT since she hit her head when she fell, and we can’t wake her up.”

He barely heard the EMT, but he nodded. Nik promised to meet him at the hospital, and he climbed into the ambulance, working hard to keep his anger under control.

Los Muertos.

Rage turned into a cold, hard determination.

They would pay for this and for his son if it was the last fucking thing he ever did.

The sterile scent pulled old memories to the surface for Kade as he paced in the waiting room of Presbyterian Hospital. The vinyl covered chairs, the magazine rack, the tile floor…he shook his head and buried those memories. Now was not the time to let that awful night get in the way.

She still hadn’t regained consciousness by the time they’d arrived at the hospital, and he could see how much it worried the EMTs. It only made his own unease deepen. What was taking so long? They’d taken her back an hour ago.

“Angel girl is going to be fine.” Kade glanced at Nik, who stood lounging against the wall among the magazine racks. His expression betrayed the assurance he tried to convey. The boy looked as scared as he did.

Sometimes Kade forgot how well Angel knew his brother. The two of them shared a bond it had taken Kade months to understand. He and Nik had almost ruined their relationship over a woman once. If he didn’t know how much Angel loved him, he could easily have gotten jealous.

Watching them, however, he grew to understand they’d naturally fallen into more of a sibling relationship. Nik had no family in Boston, and Angel needed someone to fill the hole the death of her brother left. It was as simple as that, and instead of jealousy, he felt nothing but gratitude toward his brother for helping her stay sane until he could find her again.

“Why the fuck haven’t they come out and told us something?” Nik pushed off the wall and started to pace.

A question Kade had no answer for.

Another half an hour ticked by until finally the doctor came out and called Angel’s name. Kade and Nik both rushed him. He heard the men behind him hurry over as well, but he focused his entire attention on the doctor.

“What’s wrong with her?” he blurted.

“You are…?”

“Her husband, Kade Kincaid.”

“Mr. Kincaid.” The doctor nodded and spoke directly to him. “I’m Doctor Blake. Your wife’s CT is clear, but she does have a concussion. Given her condition, we are going to keep her overnight.”

“The shock, you mean?” Kade asked, already thanking God nothing serious was wrong.

“She is in shock, yes, but I wasn’t referring to that.” The doctor frowned. “I’m referring to her pregnancy.”

“Her what?” Kade’s entire body went slack, and Nik caught him. Pregnant?

“You didn’t know?” The doctor smiled. “Now I’m wondering if your wife knows. She hasn’t been conscious long enough to ask her.”

“What do you mean? I thought she just had a concussion.” He wanted to reach out and shake the man.

“From what I was told by the EMTs, she had a shock severe enough to make her faint. We ran bloodwork when she came in. Her pregnancy showed up in the labs. It worried me that she wasn’t waking up for more than a minute or two at a time. We ran a head CT that showed no anomalies. It could simply be the shock to her system she suffered, but I’d rather be safe and keep her overnight for observation even if she does fully wake up in the next few hours. We’ll run another CT later to make sure we didn’t miss something small. All her labs and her scans are clean, Mr. Kincaid. We’re just taking precautions.”

It did nothing to ease his own worry. She should be awake. Shock should not keep her unconscious.

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