Page 9 of Kade

“Don’t worry, Lily, we will keep you safe.”

Before she could respond, they heard the key in the lock, and then the door slammed against the wall. Nikoli stormed in and stopped inches from Lily. He looked mad enough to wring her neck, but he didn’t touch her. Lily had a phobia about being touched. No matter how upset Nik might get, he always put her first, which meant giving her time to realize what he was about to do. According to his brother, her fear wasn’t nearly as bad as it used to be, though.

She took a steady breath and gave him a half smile. Nikoli wasted no time grabbing her, hugging her so tight it looked like he might choke the air out of her lungs.

“Lily Bells, I swear to God, if you ever do that to me again, I will…shit, I don’t know what the hell I’ll do. Just, please, for fuck’s sake, don’t do that to me again.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured when he let her move enough to breathe. “I didn’t know what was going on. You should have told me before you summarily decided to go all caveman.”

Nikoli let out a breath so hard, her hair fluttered. Kade watched him swallow his irritation. His little brother had a thing about authority. He might get away with that in Lily’s bed, but she sure as hell wasn’t letting him act like a domineering asshole outside the bedroom.

“I mean it, Nikoli.” She pushed away from him far enough to look him in the eyes. “I will not be spoken to like that. Ever. For any reason.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry,dushka.” He kissed her forehead, almost reverently. “I was scared…and…”

“And Kade explained it to me,” she interrupted. “You get a pass this time, but never again.”

Kade broke in before the heat pouring off them scorched the walls. “Now that that’s settled, Nik, have you put in the call for more security?”

“Yes, Blackhawk Security will provide us with six men. Three more will be heading to Becca on the next flight to Chicago. They should arrive at your offices in about an hour.” His arms tightened around Lily, his face fierce. “No one is going to get near our women.”

“You head home, and I’ll go to the office as soon as Watkins gets here.” Kade rubbed his forehead, the migraine blooming enough to make him wince.

“Where’s Angel?” Nik frowned, looking around. Took him long enough to realize his sister-in-law wasn’t in the room.

“She got upset earlier and had a bit of an episode. She’s sleeping now.”

“Episode? What…”

“Lily can tell you about it on the way home. I have some calls to make, so I’m throwing you out.” He didn’t want to get into how Angel reacted to the child until he could wrap his head around it himself. He’d call Dr. Horn. The therapist might know how to help her. He’d gotten her through the worst of her fears from being kidnapped and tortured, or at least shown her how to emotionally handle them.

Once Nik left and he checked his voicemail, he went back to their bedroom. She was still sound asleep, her vibrant red hair splayed out behind her on the pillow. His Angel looked pale and haunted, even in sleep.

How the fuck was he supposed to help her?

Juan tossed his keys and wallet onto the small desk in the hotel room, his mind running a thousand miles a minute. Did she know? How could she, though? She thought the boy was dead. Hell, Juan had been surprised the kid survived. Children born at twenty weeks were not viable, but Mateo had defied death. It was why Juan agreed to train him. Even as an infant, he’d had the strength of will most adults lacked. That strength would serve the boy well in the cartel.

He told his whore to get into bed. Mateo sat quietly on the couch, staring straight ahead. Juan tossed him the iPad to keep him occupied while he was busy. Then he pulled out his phone and called Tomás.

“Juan, my friend. I trust New York is handled?” The jovial voice belied the murderous bastard it belonged to. Tomás ran the cartel because he was ruthless and not afraid to punish those who disobeyed or turned disloyal. He’d seen him cut the fingers off a four-year-old and feed them to her father once. The man was insane.

“Sí, Tomás. The issue has been resolved, but I have other news to report.”

He kept his tone serious to alert his boss of the gravity of the situation. The man had a hard-on for Kincaid. Tomás’s little brother had been killed in the raid Kincaid led down in Miami. It garnered him a death sentence, and Tomás had stolen his child from him just as Miguel had been taken from Tomás.

“Speak.”

The coldness in that one word sent shivers racing over his skin. Juan was an evil bastard, but Tomás scared him. “I ran into an old friend. Angelique Kincaid.”

“Kincaid.” Tomás went from cold to downright scary. “I thought they separated.”

“That was the last intelligence we had. She moved to Boston, and he was in Atlanta. Sometime between then and now, they reconnected.”

“And they are in New York?”

“She is. I am not sure of Kade.”

“Find out. And, Juan?”

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