Page 36 of Kade

“Curiosity killed the cat.” The flat, cold tone made Kade shiver. Who was this man, and what had he done with his little brother?

Andrew tilted his head in an acquiesce. “So it did. When would you need the weapons?”

“Within the next few hours.”

Andrew’s nose flared. “I can have everything you need by nightfall.”

“No.” Conner stood and tossed a scrap of paper on the desk. “You have three hours, or I move to the next person on my list. A list of everything I need is on that paper along with an untraceable cell number. Call before time is up, or the deal’s off.”

He turned and walked toward the door. Kade wasted no time in hurrying after him. They strode down the hall, the stairs, and out the door. Their SUV sat where they’d left it, in one piece. He breathed a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t wanted to replace the vehicle. There were a lot of extra bells and whistles that were extremely expensive.

Conner drove away and headed down several more side streets before emerging into the flow of traffic.

“What the hell was all that, and why did you call yourself the Executioner?”

“Nickname I picked up in the service.” He rolled his window down to let in some fresh air. “That was a business negotiation. Andrew Tolliver is someone who can get what I need when I need it. He just needs motivation to do as he’s told. Losing that much money is motivation enough.”

“We need to go back to why the word ‘executioner’ scared the shit out of those guys.”

Conner shrugged. “I’m a scary-ass motherfucker. You know this.”

“That…”

“Leave it alone, Kade.” His brother glanced at him, those black eyes looking more like those of a demon than the person he knew. “I’m not going to answer you, and it’s only going to piss me off. Leave. It. The. Fuck. Alone.”

Kade was quiet the rest of the way back to the office. Conner asked if he could borrow one of the company cars to take care of a few more errands. He said he’d swing by the hospital and get Kade when it was time to pick up the shipment.

No wonder Angel had been scared of his brother. Kade was a little afraid too. What happened to him in Afghanistan? Executioner was a nickname. God only knew what he’d done to earn it. At this point, he wasn’t sure if his brother could come back from the dark place he was in…or if he even wanted to.

His head spun with all the problems currently invading it. He pushed everything out and focused on one thing. Matthew. Once they got his son back, he could figure out a way to help Conner. Make him remember the man he used to be. Kade knew his brother would never be the same man as before, but if he could find a way to bring out glimmers of the old Conner, he’d live with it.

That was a problem for next week, though, and one he’d need all his brothers’ help with.

Today was about Matthew.

And they would be bringing him home.

The smell of food woke Angel. She was starving, having only picked at the food Nikoli brought her. She’d been too upset to eat. Now, though, her stomach growled.

“I’d recognize that growl anywhere.” Kade leaned down and kissed her. “Hungry much, little mama?”

She laughed and opened her eyes. “Starved.”

“Good. I picked up your favorite from Joe’s. I still can’t believe Nik convinced him to move his shop here to New York.”

Joe’s was a restaurant Nik fell in love with back in Boston. It was his and Lily’s go-to place when they wanted to have good food and not be bothered. Angel remembered Nik telling her he’d taken Lily on their first date there, not because he thought she’d like it, but because it was the one place he figured none of her friends would be. Much to his disgust, her best friend, Adam, had shown up.

“Well, when you have millions of dollars and offer to invest in the restaurant to get the owner, who is also your good friend, to move, I’m betting it doesn’t take too much persuasion.”

“Kid was a multi-millionaire by the time he was twenty.” Kade shook his head and rolled the little hospital tray over to her bed. He’d set out the classic Reuben sandwich, fries, and a bottle of Coke. Her stomach let it be known quite loudly it needed to be fed.

“He earned it, though.” And he had. Nikoli worked his ass off for every ounce of success he had. Her stomach growled again when the smell of the food hit her nose.

“I forgot how much your stomach talked when you were pregnant.” Kade pulled up a chair and unwrapped his own sandwich.

“Hey!” Angel stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m eating for two. I’m allowed to be starved all the time.”

“You eat as much as you want, baby.”

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