by Apryl Baker
“Hey, Nik. What’s up.” Viktor’s voice was deep and rich like Kade’s. His Russian accent was also much more pronounced than either of the two brothers.
“Did you get my messages?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why for fuck’s sake didn’t you call me back?”
“Don’t give me grief, Nik. I just got back from Russia this morning. I’m fucking tired, and I don’t need your shit. I been busy, okay? I do run a company. What’s so fucking urgent you can’t wait for me to call you the fuck back?”
What was it with the f-bombs that dropped out of the Kincaid men’s mouths? It was like a permanent part of their vocabulary. Angel glanced at Kade and saw his panicked expression. A giggle bubbled unbidden. He looked so terrified right now. It reminded her of the time they’d gone swimming in the ocean and a jellyfish had gotten near him. He’d been stung as a child, and the things scared the hell out of him. He was wearing the same expression as Nikoli talked.
“We have a sister, that’s what’s so fucking urgent.”
Kade snarled, and Angel let her head hit the table. Why couldn’t he keep a secret a secret?
“What the hell are you talking about?” Viktor snapped, sounding more irritated than anything. “I’m in no mood for jokes, brat.”
Angel laughed when she heard him call him a brat. He was being a brat at the moment. At least Viktor called him on his shit.
“It doesn’t mean what you think it does, Angel.” Kade tapped his fingers on the table. “Although the American term fits right now. Brat in Russian means brother.”
“Kade?” Viktor sounded confused.
“Yeah.” A sigh rumbled out of him, and Angel turned her head sideways so she could see the kaleidoscope of expressions flickering on his face.
“What is going on, and who is Angel?”
“Angel, say hello to Viktor.” Angel raised her head long enough to stick her tongue out at Nikoli, which only made him laugh and blow her a kiss. He was such a sweetheart.
A wave of tears threatened her as she looked at him. In that split second, she caught a glimpse of the old Kade she’d known when she was nineteen in his brother. The devilishly charming, fun, and adventurous man who’d won her heart. She missed him. So much.
“Hey, now, what’s wrong?” Nik asked gently.
“Nothing.” She wiped her tears and sat up. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Viktor’s voice growled into the phone.
“Well, it seems Kade went and got himself married and didn’t tell us.”
“I swear to God, Nik, I told you not to say anything…”
“No, you didn’t.” Nikoli held up a hand. “I only told Viktor because we need his help.”
“Married? What the hell are you talking about, and why do you need my help?”
Kade took a deep, steadying breath, wrestling between his desire to strangle his little brother or maybe thank him. Nikoli ripped the Band-Aid off without even understanding how much it freed him. It brought him a step closer to admitting what he really wanted.
“You remember the Boston serial killer case I’m working?” He scrubbed at his face with both hands, suddenly tired. When Viktor grunted his version of yes, he continued. “Angel got a look at him, and now he’s set his sights on her.”
“And Angel is?”
“My wife.”
“The fuck you say.”
He gazed at her, and the wide green eyes were more than shell-shocked. She might be trying her damnedest to hide how affected she was by not only the serial killer, but by him, but it showed in the hollow, haunted look in her eyes.
“I do say. It’s a long story, Vik, but I need help. I’m working this case, which means I can’t watch her twenty-four-seven, and I need someone who can. People who are trained to see and deal with this type of psychopath. Nik tells me you hire only the best, and that’s what we need.”
“You’re serious?” Viktor’s tone got very soft. “You’re married?”
“Da.”
“Well, fuck. We finally got a sister. Do Mama and Papa know?”
“No, and I’d prefer to keep it that way until I tell them.” Kade shot a glance at Angel, who looked ready to argue, but he warned her with his eyes and hoped she’d heed him.
“Why don’t you want them to know?”
“It’s complicated.” He ran a hand through his hair, aware he’d nearly killed it as much as he’d done that today. “Please, Viktor. I’ll explain later, I promise. Do you have some men who can keep her safe?”
“Da. I’ll get them there within the next few hours. And Kade?”
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you, man. And Angel, she is there with you now?”
“She is.” Wariness crept back into Kade’s voice, and he glanced at her. As mad as she was with him, God only knew what she’d tell Viktor. He’d rather explain this fiasco to his brother in person and not over the phone.
“Dobro pozhalovat' v sem'yu mladshey sestry.”
“I have no idea what that means.” Angel looked up at him, confused.
Kade smiled at her. “It means welcome to the family, little sister.”
“I will get you the Rosetta Stone for Russian,” Viktor promised, chuckling. “Otherwise you will forever be confused when we are all together. Did you get Lily the program, Nik?”
“Uh, no, not yet. She’s got enough on her plate with finals coming up. Soon, though.”
“I must go. I have a lot of work to catch up on, as well as find you some guards. We’ll talk soon.”
“One thing, Vik.”
“Yeah, Kade?”
“Thanks.”
“She’s our family now, brat. We take care of family. I got shit to do now, motherfuckers. Aw, hell, I shouldn’t have said that with Angel there. Damn, I did it again.”
Kade laughed, imagining the disgusted look on his brother’s face. The man tried hard to watch his mouth around women; he just wasn’t used to doing it when taking to his brothers.
Nikoli disconnected the call before Viktor said anything to embarrass himself further.
“Why didn’t you tell him the truth?” She looked between them both, and Kade shrugged. He honestly didn’t know.
“I wanted to watch him squirm.” Nikoli grinned. “Besides, Viktor’s services are expensive as fuck. He’ll either give me a discount or do it for free if he thinks it’s for Kade’s wife.”
“Swear to me, Nikoli, not a word to Mama or Babushka.”
“Hey, man, I only wanted to see you squirm a bit, not get you thrown into the fires of hell.” Nikoli held up his hands. “They’d be on the next flight out of Russia. Babushka is terrified of flying, but if she thought Angel was in danger, she’d brave the plane.”
They would too. That was how much family meant to them all. They’d drop everything to help each other. He glanced over at Angel and saw a single tear fall from the corner of her eye.
And that was when it struck him.
What he’d really done to her.
She had no one. He’d taken everything from her, stripped her of her home, her family, her pride, and broken her heart to seal the deal. He was the villain in her story.
Hearing them talk so casually about their family had to be breaking her even more. Seeing her cry was more than he could handle right now.
“I need to check in with Bailey and go over some things with Jeremy. He’s on my team at the BAU. I have to get him up to speed on the case. Nik, can you take Angel back to the apartment for me?”
Nikoli wasn’t looking at him, he was staring at Angel, who didn’t seem to be aware of the fact she was crying.
“Yeah, but me and you, we’re gonna talk later.”
Kade nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Eleven
She stared at the stick, willing it to show her a result. She’d been arguing with herself for weeks, but when her period didn’t s
how up for a second month, she bit the bullet and bought a pregnancy test. Combined with her queasy stomach that never seemed to go away and her ability to sleep at the drop of hat, Jasmine told her to get herself to Walgreens and buy a test.
The clerk at the drugstore had given her that knowing look, and Angel told her where she could stick that condescending expression. She hated when people looked at her like that, like she was worth less than a normal person. Yes, she wasn’t married and she might be knocked up, but so what? The world today was full of unmarried mothers.
Her body went cold at the thought. All the bravado in the world wasn’t going to change facts. She wasn’t married, and she might be a single mother. She was only nineteen. How could she be anybody’s mother when she barely knew how to take care of herself? She was a stripper. Pregnant women didn’t strip. What would she do? Get a job flipping burgers? Every cliché scenario she could think of ran a marathon race through her head.
The toilet seat caught her when she sank down, her knees going weak. What the fuck was she going to do? She was barely an adult, just learning about life. How was she going to take care of a tiny human? One who depended on her for everything? Hell, she barely depended on herself.
What the hell was she going to do if that test came back positive?
A baby. Tiny human.
Her hand went to her stomach. A tiny little life growing inside her.
She picked up the stick again. Nothing. Stupid thing.
What would she tell Kade? She used birth control, dammit. They used condoms. There was no way she could be pregnant.
Only there was. When she’d had the stomach flu and skipped her birth control for three days because she’d been too sick to keep anything down. Then there was that one time in the shower. One time. Only one freaking time they hadn’t used a condom, and she’d promised him it would be okay because she was on the pill, not thinking about the previous week.
Oh, God, would the birth control pills hurt the baby? She’d been taking them religiously since then. Could they cause birth defects?
What if Kade was furious? What if he told her to fuck off and he didn’t want any part of it? She didn’t see him as that kind of person, but they’d only been dating for six months. There was still so much she didn’t know about him, so much he refused to talk about. Whenever she tried to talk to him about his family or his past, he shut her down. Never in a mean way, but in a joking manner, and changed the subject.
What if he wasn’t the man she thought he was? What if he was like the boys she knew who would run screaming from the situation?
Did she even want the baby? There were options. Abortion was out of the question. She respected other women’s right to choose, but it was abhorrent to her. Adoption was still open to her. If things didn’t work out between her and Kade, that option was there. A baby deserved a real home with a parent or parents who could give it everything it needed.
Angel grew up with parents who loved her, who sacrificed everything for her and Peter. They had been their parents’ entire world. Could she do that for her child? Could she be that unselfish? Or would she hate the restrictions it put on her? She’d seen what happened to the girls in high school who’d gotten knocked up. Some of them grew to resent their babies because of how much they had to give up.
The last thing she could bear would be to resent her own flesh and blood.
This was driving her crazy. Still no lines on the stick. Had it been fifteen minutes yet? Her watch laughed at her. Eight minutes.
“Out of the bathroom, Angel! I have to get ready for a date.”
Peter pounded on the door, and she ignored him. What was she going to tell her brother? He’d sacrificed everything for her. And here she went and got herself knocked up like every other idiot girl who thought it would never happen to her. She took precautions, dammit, and it still might have happened to her.
Three more minutes ticked by, and she got up and looked at her pale face in the mirror. Tears made wet tracks down her cheeks under red, swollen eyes. How could she be crying without even realizing it? Her breathing slowed, and it became harder and harder to pull air into her lungs. Spots danced in front of her eyes, and she fought for air.
What was happening to her? She gripped the edge of the counter to try to stay upright as the world tilted and started to spin. She blinked several times, a whimper escaping. Panic clawed at her throat and she fell back, unable to stop her legs from folding beneath her.
The resulting crash brought her brother pounding on the door. “Angel? You okay? What happened? Did you fall?”
She tried to say something, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
“Angel? Answer me, dammit!”
She drew in a strangled breath as Peter rattled the door handle. It had to be a panic attack.
Peter’s shoulder hit the bathroom door and it burst inward, hitting her left arm with such force, she fell sideways.
“Oh my God, Angel. What’s wrong?”
He pulled her up, and she winced when he grasped her arm. Damn, but it hurt enough to penetrate the panic. She took a few small breaths and concentrated on breathing, telling herself over and over that she was okay. She made herself focus on the throbbing pain in her arm. Slowly, the world stopped spinning and she could breathe. She blinked several times, ignoring Peter’s attempts to get her to speak. Her gaze zeroed in on the little white stick that had rolled off the countertop when she’d fallen.
One line meant she wasn’t pregnant.
Two lines meant a tiny human nestled under her heart.
She leaned forward and grasped it, closing her eyes. If she looked, that meant it was real. If she simply refused to look, she could go on like nothing was wrong, like nothing had changed.
“Angel, talk to me. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
She thrust the little white stick at him, unable to look. “What does it say?”
Bewildered, he looked down. “Uh, it doesn’t say anything?”
“How many lines, Peter? How many lines are there?”
Please don’t say it, please don’t say it, please don’t say it.
“Two lines.”
She sagged against the wall. He said it.
A tiny human.
“Is this a pregnancy test?”
She nodded, refusing to look him. What if he looked at her like that stupid cashier had? With scorn, derision, and condemnation?
“Two lines means what?”
“A baby.”
He sat on the floor next to her and leaned his head against hers. “You okay?”
She shook her head. She wasn’t okay. She was never going to be okay again. “I’m scared, Peter. I can’t do this.”
“It’s a scary thing, that’s for sure,” he agreed.
“What am I gonna do?” The waterworks burst and she started to cry, her breath coming out in loud sobs. Her brother pulled her into his lap and rocked her like their dad used to do when she got hurt. He let her cry until she was spent.
“It’s okay, Angel. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
His soothing words washed over Angel, and it calmed her down a bit. “I’m too young to be a mom, Peter.”
“Yeah, you’re young, but Mom was a year younger when she had me. I think you’re selling yourself short, kid.”
“But what if I don’t want to be a mom?” she whispered, and her stomach cramped up in protest. Shit, could the nugget hear her? No, surely not. It didn’t even have a brain right now, did it? Shit, she had no idea.
Peter stilled, but only for a moment. “I’ll support whatever you want to do. If you don’t want this pregnancy, I’ll go down to the clinic with you, and we’ll face it together. I’m here, kid. Whatever you want, I’m here.”
Angel knew for a fact how he felt about abortion, but he was telling her it was okay if that was what she decided. She hugged him tighter. Despite his own personal beliefs, he put her ahead of himself. That was what brothers were
for. That was what he’d done her whole life. He stepped up and did what needed to be done.
“No, Peter. No abortions. I won’t do that.”
His whole body sighed with relief. “Okay, kiddo. Then we’ll deal with it. Have you told Kade?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Don’t you think you need to?”
“What if he acts like an ass and walks away?” She hiccupped.
“Then I’ll beat him bloody, and we’ll never worry about the bastard again. Uncle Peter will make sure the kid never misses a good-for-nothing absent father.”
He always knew just what to say to make her laugh when she was crying. God, what would she do without her big brother?
“Do you really think I can do this?” Peter handed her some tissue he’d snagged from the roll, and she blew her nose. “What if I screw up? I might hurt it accidentally or something.”
“You will screw up. Mom and Dad screwed up. I screwed up all the time…”
“You did not,” she interrupted him. “You were always there, doing exactly what I needed.”
“I was terrified, kid. Every second after Mom and Dad died. Constantly worrying about you, if I was doing what I was supposed to. Remember that first temper tantrum you threw over me grounding you for skipping school? I was so scared you’d hate me forever.”
“I only hated you for about an hour.”
“Trust me, kid, if I can do it, you’re gonna be a pro. And you won’t be by yourself. Kade or no Kade, you and me…” His index finger went back and forth between them. “We’re stuck with each other. I got your back. Always. We’re gonna get through this together.”
“I love you, Peter.”
“I love you too, Shortcake.”
She snorted and a stream of snot shot out, making Peter curse when it landed on his shirt. He hadn’t called her that since she was little. She used to love Strawberry Shortcake, and with her red hair, it was Peter’s nickname for her.
“Nugget’s going to love you too.”
“Nugget?” He looked down at her curiously.
“The baby. I’ve been calling it Nugget since I took the damn test.”
“Nugget. It’s not a bad name until we figure out if it’s a boy or a girl.” He moved to help her off his lap, and she cried out when he grabbed her arm. His face paled. “Shit, Angel, your arm is purple, and it’s swelling.”