Page 6 of Kade

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” she asked, her hand coming up to stroke his hair. “Did you get hurt?”

“Dios mío!” The little boy was lifted off her, and a hand thrust down to help her up. “Thank you,señora!”

She let the man pull her up, still unable to stop staring at the boy, who stood still and silent, his green eyes vacant. The bright curiosity of before had fled. What was wrong with him? “You should have been watching him. I saw him from across the street and barely made it over here in time.”

“You are right, of course. I was on the phone and not watching. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.”

Yeah, right, she thought sourly. He’d be back on his phone in five minutes, ignoring his son again. That was how men like him operated. She’d seen enough of his kind in the bar where she’d worked back in Boston.

Angel looked up to give him the tongue-lashing he deserved, but she couldn’t get the words out. This man was looking at her like he knew her. He glanced from her to the boy and back again. Recognition sparked in his eyes, but it made no sense. She’d never met him.

“Mateo,di gracias a la señora.”

“Gracias, señora.” His voice was soft, but strong. It even held a hint of defiance. Her heart clenched. He looked so much like what she imagined her son would. Her eyes burned as the grief of losing her baby washed through her.

“De nada,” she whispered. When the man put his hand on top of the child’s head, everything within her wanted to rip the boy away from him and scream, “Mine.”Stop it. He’s not yours.

“Again,Señora…?”

“Kincaid. Angel Kincaid.”

“SeñoraKincaid. Thank you for saving my son.” He gave her a smile and took the child’s hand, leading him into the hotel.

It took everything she had not to follow them into the hotel and…and what? Was she seriously standing here considering kidnapping another man’s son just because he looked like Kade? Shaking her head, she looked around for her phone that had fallen when she dived for the little boy. It was over by one of the planters along the hotel sidewalk.

Lily had not hung up. In fact, her tiny voice was squawking loudly.

“Hey, I’m fine.”

“What happened? One second you were there, and the next it looked like the phone was flying through the air.”

“An idiot wasn’t watching his son, and I dived to get the little boy before the car hit him.” She rubbed her hip, which started to sting about the same time her back did.

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah, but his father is an ass who’s just going to go back to talking on the phone and not paying attention to his kid.”

“That’s terrible. Some people don’t deserve kids.”

“No, they don’t.” She glanced at the hotel entrance once more, before going back to hailing a cab. The instinct to find the little boy was so powerful, she dug her nails into her palms.

“Are you okay, Angel?” Lily’s question snapped her attention back to the phone. They were using FaceTime, so she wasn’t surprised at Lily’s concern. She couldn’t even imagine what her expression must look like.

“Yeah, it’s just the little boy…” She shook her head and climbed into the taxi that came to a stop in front of her. She gave him the address.

“The little boy?” Lily prompted when she didn’t say anything.

Angel sighed, her heart breaking as they sped away from the hotel. Her stomach clenched, and her muscles tensed. This was not good. It had been a while since she’d let herself feel the grief of losing her son. She hadn’t even gotten to hold him. The hospital disposed of him as medical waste. Standard procedure, they told her.

“It’s just that he looked so much like Kade.” A small smile tilted her lips as she remembered staring up into his green eyes. “His eyes were green, like mine, and I kid you not, Lily, he had my brother’s nose. He’s exactly what I pictured my own son would have looked like.”

“Oh, honey.”

“I’ll be fine.” She brushed away a stray tear. “Sometimes the grief hits me when I’m not expecting it. I need to go home, take a hot bath, and ride it out.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Lily asked, her expression soft and gentle.

“No, but thank you. Now, back to Nik. If you want to come to my place instead of waiting there like the obedient little woman, you are more than welcome to. I could use the company, honestly.” This time a bath and a box of chocolate wasn’t going to get rid of the awful feeling rolling around in the pit of her stomach or the pain in her heart. She needed a distraction.

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