Page 33 of Kade

Please, God, he prayed,please take care of our son and help us help him when we get him back.

It was all he could do until his brother arrived.

The hours ticked by. Kade nearly lost his mind waiting for his brother to show up. Between worrying about Matthew and trying to keep Angel from checking herself out, he was near his breaking point. She’d agreed to stay until the doctor cleared her. At first. Then her mother instincts kicked in, and it had been all he could do to keep her here. She was finally sleeping. Thank God for small miracles.

He also had to contend with the nurses freaking out over one of their own being murdered. It was all they could talk about. He’d already had to warn them to keep their voices down. He refused to let Angel get more upset than she already was. Reliving what she’d been through was not on the menu for the night, even if the nurses were determined to keep talking about it. The hospital had also called in extra security, but it did little to alleviate the fear or the tension running rampant among the staff.

The gasps he heard from the nurses’ station pulled his attention away from his phone and toward the desk. His brother was striding toward him. He could understand the women’s reaction. Conner was a good-looking motherfucker. Tall, hair darker than Kade’s, and smoldering black eyes. Women loved that smoldering look. So did men, for that matter. Conner was bisexual. His brothers knew, but their parents did not. They were Catholics, and Conner feared what they’d think of him. Kade thought they wouldn’t care because they loved him, but none of them pushed Conner on it.

That wasn’t what put the darkness in his eyes though. He’d stayed in the Marines when Viktor decided to not enlist for a second tour. Conner had been part of some kind of special ops team that did shit he wasn’t allowed to talk about. He came back damaged with a darkness that ate away at the man he’d been.

Hell, Conner had been the happiest, most carefree of them all. Always smiling, joking, and being straight-up fun. Kade hadn’t seen him crack a real smile since he’d come back a year ago. He’d been released early, not finishing his four-year tour. Conner refused to talk about it. Kade hoped one day he’d open up about what happened to him in Afghanistan. He wanted to help his brother come back from the dark hole he was in.

But not right now.

It was selfish. He knew it, but right now he needed the badass motherfucker standing in front of him.

“Nikoli said to give this to you.” He handed Kade an envelope. “Said you were waiting for it.”

“Where is he?” Kade accepted the envelope and tore into it. DNA results. He scanned it, and that tight band that had been constricting his airways since last night expanded and released its grip. The kid was his. He’d known it, but he hadn’t let himself believe it until this moment. His son really was alive.

“DNA results?” Conner dropped his duffle bag and leaned against the nurses’ station, completely ignoring all the women staring at him.

Kade nodded. “He’s mine.”

Conner simply nodded, accepting it. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk.”

Kade led him into Angel’s room and closed the door, leaving Watkins on duty. Fucker had better not let one more person slip past him. Kade was so furious it was all he could do to not beat the shit out of him. The only thing that stopped him was Angel. She was fond of the asshole.

Conner walked over to the bed and gazed at the now sleeping Angel. “You forgot you were married to this looker,brat?” He snickered. “How drunk have you been the last six years?”

Kade shook his head. The fact he’d forgotten he was married was a running joke among his brothers. They never let him forget it. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten so much as he’d not let himself think about it and bring back all the painful memories that came with remembering his Angel.

Kade pulled his wallet out and removed the folded photo he’d stuck in there last night. “This is your nephew.”

Conner walked over and took the photo, studying it. “This kid has seen some shit.”

That was what Kade was afraid of.

“He’s yours, though. No denying that.” Conner dropped into one of the empty chairs, keeping his voice down so as not to disturb Angel. “How do you want to get our kid back? Legal or a snatch and grab?”

Kade smiled at the way Conner simply accepted he had a new nephew and called him our kid. God, he loved his family. “Legal is the best way. Nik pointed out it was going to be hard to explain how we suddenly just ‘found’ Matthew.”

“We can do legal, but I have a plan B.” He pointed to his duffel bag.

“We might need a plan B after what happened this afternoon.” He filled his brother in on the attempted hit on Angel.

“Motherfucker.”

Conner swore so loudly it woke Angel. She came awake, sitting straight up and staring wild-eyed around the room.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to wake her up.” Conner stood and walked over to the bed, pulling Angel into a bear hug. “Welcome to the family,sestra.”

“Angel, this is Conner.” Kade laughed when she squeaked. Conner sometimes didn’t know his own strength. “Let her breathe,brat.”

“If this fucker forgets he’s married again, you let me know, and I’ll beat his ass.” Conner kissed her on the forehead before releasing her.

“If he forgets he’s married again, you’ll have to get in line behind me. I’ll justshoothis ass.”

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