Page 54 of The Sinner's Touch

His little brother sounded as pissed off as his wife. Damn, but he’d fucked everything up.

“I’m sorry, Nik. I’m so sorry for everything.” His shoulders slumped, and tears he’d been holding in for so long spilled over. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Hey, now, don’t do that.” Nik got up and came to squat beside him. “I’m angry, man, so fucking angry, but not pissed enough to not understand how much you’re hurting right now. That’s why I’m mad too. You went through this without us, without your brothers. We could have helped you. We’d have mourned with you. I love you, Kade, and I would have loved your son too.”

“His name was Matthew.”

“Matthew.” Viktor rolled the name around on his tongue. “It’s a good, strong name.”

“It was Angel’s father’s name. He and her mother died when she was fourteen.”

Nik hugged him. “We’ll do a memorial service for our nephew, unless you’ve already done one?”

Kade shook his head. “No. There wasn’t time, and the hospital…” He closed his eyes. “The hospital disposed of his body before we had a chance to make any decisions.”

“What the fuck?” Viktor muttered.

“Hospital policy. We never even got to hold him.”

“Fuck, man.” Viktor got up and came around to Kade’s other side, hugging him as well. “I’m so sorry. Kid’s right. We’ll do a small memorial service for Matthew once all this is over and done with. It’ll help you and Angel. Whatever you need,brat, we got you.”

“Now, why don’t you tell us everything from the beginning?” Nik asked, holding him as tightly as only his brother could. “It might help you get a handle on some of this grief. At least enough to convince your wife you’re worth a second chance.”

Kade sighed. There was no getting around this, and the kid might be right. So, he settled himself and launched into the whole story.

Angel paced back and forth across the living room, her anger hitting new heights. Sleeping? He’d been sleeping! While she sat out here and agonized over every minute of the last six years, the what-ifs torturing her. And he’d been sleeping!

Bastard.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked.

“Hell fucking no, I’m not okay. That…that…”

“If he’s even a tenth as bad as Nikoli, you probably want to wring his neck.”

“More like cut off his balls and feed them to him,” she muttered.

“Ouch.”

“Why are men so stupid?” She flopped down on the dry section of the couch. “Are they born with a stupid gene, or is it a learned trait?”

“I have no idea, but it would make for a great study.” Lily walked over and sat on the coffee table. “Or a good book.”

“Maybe we should have Dimitri write it.” Angel huffed out a long breath, trying to calm her temper.

“Dimitri?”

“The brother who writes romance novels.” She sat up and looked over at Lily. “Nikoli didn’t tell you?”

Lily shook her head, frowning. “No, he never said a word.”

“Kade said they all like to torment him for his chosen profession. He should be here sometime today.”

“Really?” Lily started twisting her fingers. She sounded anxious.

“You okay?”

“Me? Yes.”

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