Page 39 of The Sinner’s Touch (Manwhore #2)

His eyes closed.

“No, damn you!” Her fist hit him in the chest. “You can’t leave me.”

Viktor tried to pull her away from Kade, and she fought him.

“No. I won’t let him die.”

“Easy, Angel. Let EMS work. He’s not dead yet. He’s a fighter, and he has something to live for. He has you.”

Another crew of EMS swarmed her, but she didn’t pay them any attention.

She watched as they worked on Kade, praying and cursing God all in the same breath.

When they loaded him on a stretcher, she made Viktor help her over to him, and she leaned down so her lips were against his ear.

“I forgive you, Kade. Do you hear me? I forgive you for all of it, but I swear if you die on me, I will never forgive you for that.”

Viktor pulled her back and picked her up, his gentle movement belying his savage appearance. EMS rolled another stretcher in for her, and Viktor guided her onto it. They made her lie face down and put a wet sheet over her burns. She felt nothing. Her whole body was numb.

She was empty.

Alone.

Kade couldn’t die.

He couldn’t.

“We’ll get you to the hospital in no time, Miss Lemoraux,” the EMS woman told her.

Angel took a deep breath, daring God and fate and whoever else was listening to let him die, before she looked at the woman. “It’s Mrs. Kincaid.”

“How is she?”

Kade looked over to see Dimitri wheeling himself through Angel’s door.

Dimitri was still having problems with his legs.

Not all of the feeling had come back, and the doctors were concerned about the effects of the homemade neurotoxin.

It had been a little over a week since the capture of Boston’s now most notorious serial killer.

Two of Viktor’s men were having problems as well.

Angel wasn’t suffering the same effects. She’d told Bailey she’d yanked the dart out as soon as she felt it. The doctors thought it saved her from the same complications as the others who’d had that dart in them far longer. She wasn’t out of the woods, but they were hopeful.

“Better. She’s been in and out. Her burns are healing nicely.

Thank God, they were only second-degree burns.

She hasn’t been awake long enough for them to test her sensory depth, though.

I know they’re still concerned about her movement.

” Her nightmares hadn’t let up, though. She woke up screaming almost every time she closed her eyes.

“And you?” Dimitri inquired. “It’s not every day you get stabbed multiple times.”

Viktor told him he’d been in surgery for hours while they worked to repair his spleen and liver.

The knife had done some serious damage. He could barely move without pain, but he refused high doses of pain meds.

He’d almost become an alcoholic, so he knew how easy it was for an addiction to take root. He’d deal with his pain.

“I’d be better if they moved me into the same room as Angel.”

“You two had a chance to talk yet?” Dimitri yawned.

“No. Every time we get five minutes, people are rushing in to visit or the nurses are kicking me out.”

“They need to kick you out or you wouldn’t eat.”

Kade smiled when he heard Angel’s voice. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Did we wake you?”

“No, my stomach woke me. I’m starving.”

Dimitri laughed. “Finally, someone who can eat as much as I can. How about I order us some delivery?”

“Pizza?” Angel asked hopefully.

“Pizza it is, sestra . I’ll be back when it arrives. I need to go convince the nurses to let me sneak it in.”

Angel shook her head as she watched him wheel himself out of the room. He was quite a character. He flirted with every nurse who so much as looked at him. At least she now knew where Nik got it from. Dimitri was the original manwhore.

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

Kade’s anxious voice pulled her attention back to him. He’d lost weight. It worried her. He didn’t look good. His skin was still ashen. “I’m fine. Sore, but fine. You, however, look like shit.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t look like roses, either, Mrs. Kincaid.”

She scrunched up her nose. Her hair was an oily mess. She could smell it. The nurses promised her a shower in a day or two. The plastic surgeon had better give her the go-ahead. Sponge baths were not her thing.

“You up for talking?”

She swung her gaze back to him. He sounded so serious. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Me and you.” He bit his lip. A new habit she’d noticed he did when he was nervous. He looked more than nervous. There was fear in his eyes.

Angel had been trying to find a way to talk to him about their relationship too. The fear that plagued her the first two days after his surgery was still like a live wire in her stomach. She’d almost lost him. She wasn’t prepared to let him go.

“I’ve been thinking about us too.” She fiddled with her blanket.

“I’m hoping you’ll think about giving us another chance.” Kade wheeled his chair closer to her bed so he could take her hand. “I know I don’t deserve a second chance, Angel, but I’m asking for one. I love you. More than you can ever possibly know.”

“I’m not going to promise it’ll work out, Kade, but I love you too. I always have. A wise old flower told me fate sometimes gives us a good kick in the ass when we fall off the path. Seeing you almost die was my kick in the ass. So, yes, Kade, I’ll give us another chance. No more lies, though.”

“No more lies,” he promised and gave her the biggest shit-eating grin, which made her laugh.

“Aww, isn’t this just precious?” Nikoli waltzed in. “So, you’re staying in the family, Angel Girl?”

“It appears so. At least for now. Kade and I still have a lot to talk about, but it looks promising.”

Nikoli slapped Kade on the back then leaned in to carefully hug her. “Welcome to the family, sestra .”

“You always did have the worst sense of timing,” Kade grouched.

“Don’t be a sore loser.” Nikoli pulled up a chair and plopped down. “You have all the time in the world to spend with your wife. I came to visit. Lily and I are leaving tonight for Florida to visit her mother. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need me for a few days. I can stay if you do.”

“No, I’ve got Viktor, Dimitri, and Angel. We’ll be fine.”

“Look what I found!” Dimitri rolled back in, Viktor behind him carrying bags of food, the labels proclaiming they were from Joe’s.

“You could have helped me, motherfucker.” Viktor glared at Nikoli, who blew him a kiss.

Angel looked over at Kade, and he smiled, shaking his head. There went their alone time.

But it was good to be surrounded by family. They would have all the time in the world to spend alone later. Right now, they would enjoy their family.