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“How could believe you’d get away with it?”
Another shrug. “I was going to plant her phone across town and make it look like she was kidnapped out of the car, but Angelo grabbed me.”
Stupid fucking plan.
I swung the axe. It swished through the air before coming down on his skull. It crunched as it gave way. Blood poured down his face. In an instant, the light vanished from his eyes.
His body collapsed forward, pulling the blade from my hands. His head smacked on the concrete. It was a rather disappointing death, but I had other things to worry about. Family to get back to.
“Still no solid information,” Angelo grumbled as he gave me a wet cloth to clean my palm. There was surprisingly little blood on my skin.
We knew who it was. There was only one person selling people in Sayton City. But we knew it was deeper. And we couldn’t risk a war without more intelligence.
“We’ll get him.” Guilt and anger were an inferno in my chest, eating away at any pleasure I had in Mike’s death.
I was going to run them out of the state, but not if it was the last thing I did. I planned to live a very long life with my beautiful young wife and our children. Because one wouldn’t be enough. She was already getting round, and I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
I wanted a million more kids. More smiles. More ‘I love you’s’. More of everything.
52
Vander
“Good one, little man.” Cole said, and laughter erupted around us as Angelo passed his son to Isla. He reached for the baby wipes and started cleaning the orange-colored spit up from his clothes.
“What are you looking at?” He glared as I hid my chuckle behind my hand. But seeing the orange streaks in his beard was making it hard to fight down the laugh. “It’s going to be your turn soon.”
“I can’t wait.” And he loved being a father, too, as surprising as it seemed.
We didn’t know what it was to be parents. But we had an intense desire to try. To not raise them as monsters like we were. To do better for them. Be better.
They’d have to be tough; our world wouldn’t allow for anything else. But they could also be loved. We would protect them instead of being the thing they feared.
Angelo gave a rare smile as Isla leaned over, trying to help him clean up while she balanced the baby in her lap. But he grasped the back of her neck, rubbing his dirty beard along her face. She shrieked and slapped his chest, even as she laughed. The baby giggled, clapping his hands together like it was a game. And soon, he was being showered in kisses.
Alessandra’s mouth twisted in disgust while sitting on Cole’s lap. But I saw it in his eyes; they’d be close behind us.
Nathan sat separated from the group. We were all gathered at a large wood table in my new backyard. We’d built this brick patio with the giant sun shade extending from the house and all the seating to accommodate our growing families. There wasn’t a better place to hold Grace’s baby shower.
I glanced at Nathan again, staring at us like he didn’t understand what was funny or why we were happy. I wondered if he’d ever settle down. Or if he even wanted to. It was no secret that he was unique. His differences made more stark by the fact that he hadn’t grown up in a normal family.
But if the damage inflicted on Cole, Angelo, and I could end with us here, I had hope for Nathan. He’d find the right match. Someone who understood him. Just like I had. Speaking of.
“Where’s Grace?” I sat a little straighter, looking around the yard. She’d gone into the house to get the cake a few minutes ago.
“Still inside, I think,” Alessandra answered.
My chest tightened as I stood. I didn’t like her being out of sight. Her pregnancy only amplified the primal protective urges I had. I stepped over tissue paper, bags, and boxes, discarded wrappings from her gifts, as I moved to the backdoor.
The house’s interior was cool and dark. No visible signs of trouble, yet I felt it. The shift before the tiny sniffle reached my ears.
I was around the corner, stomping into the kitchen a second later. Grace stood at the counter, one hand on the marble next to a bright pink cake, the other pressed into her belly. Adrenaline filled my body as a tear slipped down her cheek, landing on the white stone.
“Are you okay?” I rushed to her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. I barely got the words out over the constriction in my chest.
“I’m fine.” She hiccuped, covering my hand over the one on her stomach. Her head fell back on my shoulder. She gave me a watery smile as she saw the disbelief on my face. “I promise. Nothing is wrong.”
“She’s good?” I stroked my thumb over her slight baby bump. We still had a few months to go, but I doubted this anxiety would ever leave me.
