His words were laced with pain and anguish. The kind only a man who’d lost the woman he loved could feel. I wanted to hate him the way I hated Steele. I wanted to make him pay for Kaylah’s suffering. Knowing he couldn’t save her any more than I did was his penance. Like me, he would have to live with the regret of not being enough. Of not being aware of everything Kaylah had endured, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.
The front door opened, and I turned to see who it was. Kyllian walked in with Firestride right behind her. I slid off the stool, and when I saw Angel follow, I snapped, “Don’t fucking move.”
“Kyllian?” I met her halfway, unsure if I should hug her, when she walked into my arms and made the decision for me. “I’m so glad you came.” My voice was raw and harsh, so filled with emotion as I held my niece in my arms.
“I wasn’t sure at first,” she said, her face buried in my chest.
“Come sit down.” I led her to a table in the corner, away from everyone. When I looked at Angel, he stood up, and I shook my head. He sat back down, his expression a mix between pissed off and heartbroken. He’d have to get over it. I wanted some time with Kyllian to make sure she was okay.
I knew he cared for her, but she was my family. My sister’s child. My niece. The time I had with her would be brief. Angel could fucking wait.
“Are you okay?” I asked, looking her over. The bruises had faded some. But they were still there. A reminder of my failures. My jaw clenched as I thought about what she’d been through. I wanted to know how much of it mirrored Kaylah’s life.
“I’m okay.” She smiled slightly.
I looked across the room; Firestride was talking to Ravage and Declan. When I turned back, I asked, “Are you safe?”
“I am.”
“Sweetheart, are you there because you want to be?”
Kyllian’s eyes dropped to her lap, and I felt my body stiffen. I placed my hands on the table to stand, and she stopped me.
“Wait.” She looked at Firestride. He must have felt her eyes on him because he turned and looked at her. That was when I saw it. The smile. It was so small that if I weren’t concentrating, I would have missed it.
“It hasn’t been easy, but I’m there because I want to be.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “It’s a lot like living in the dark ages with cavemen who have no social skills whatsoever. But I think I’m rubbing off on them. At least a little.”
I threw back my head and laughed. Everything I’d heard about the Brotherhood told me what she was saying was the God’s honest truth.
“He’s treating you right?” Again, her eyes dropped. “Kyllian?”
She looked up and blew out a breath. “He is treating me better than anyone ever has. They all are. It was rough in the beginning,” she admitted. “None of them really knows how to treat an old lady. But we’re all learning together.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” I grumbled.
“If it ever changes, I have somewhere to go now.” She smiled at me, and I returned one of my own.
“Damn right you do,” I agreed. “There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
“Your old lady?” she asked with a hopeful look.
“Soon, yes. She’s in the office with some of the others.”
I stood up from the table and held out my hand. When she took it and stood, I squeezed her hand in mine. My sister was gone forever, but at least I had a small piece of her in Kyllian. Iled her over to the bar, where Angel looked about ready to jump out of his skin as he stared at Kyllian.
“Fuck, you look just like her,” Angel said. He slipped off his stool, but he didn’t move. He looked terrified as his eyes traveled over Kyllian.
When I turned to my niece, she had a strange look on her face. She studied Angel with curiosity, and I wondered if she remembered him.
“Kyllian, this is—”
“Angle?” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You remember me?”
She shook her head as her eyes watered. “Not until just now.”
“I’m sorry, Kyllian,” Angel said, his eyes on the ground. “I didn’t know. Steele told us Kay took you girls and ran off.”
