Page 152 of To Tango, with Desire

“Fuck,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes. “How long was I out?”

“I dunno, but you can’t stay in a heated fucking car like this. You’re lucky today isn’t very warm or you’d have died of heat stroke in this thing.”

Kade rolled his shoulders then cursed again. “Crick in my neck.”

“Let’s get you in the house.”

Gently, I helped him out of the car, but Kade took no more than two steps before he slumped to the ground. I maneuvered him so his back was propped up against the car door.

For a split second, I thought he was laughing, and then to my shock, I realized there were tears rolling down his face.

I did the only thing I could think of at that moment and sat down beside him.

“It’s a fucking mess.”

It was. But it didn’t help either of us to say so.

Even though I wanted to stay mad at him, this time around, I couldn’t. I knew the truth about Omar, and I understood Kade’s hatred, the bitterness that plagued him. What Kade needed was support.

“I’m sorry.”

His apology surprised me. Glancing at his weary face, I knew it was genuine.

“For what exactly?”

“The money. The business. I screwed you over again, and I’m sorry for it.”

“You need help, Kade.”

He shrugged. “Been there. Done that.”

“Yeah, well, this time it’s got to stick.”

We sat in silence. It felt like we were kids again. Like we’d been transported back to a time when there was nothing more important than our plan to nick ice pops from the freezer without getting caught.

“I watched the video.”

Kade’s head whipped around and it was relief that I saw in his eyes. “So you know.”

“I do. Officially. And I’m so damn sorry that Omar put you in that position. For decades, you had to keep that secret, and it wasn’t fair. He had no right.”

“No, he didn’t. But he did it anyway. It wasn’t the first time he’d cheated on your mom, you know. Over the years, he threatened to disinherit me if I didn’t keep my mouth shut about all those women. Then your mom wrote the letter and I had leverage.”

“That’s fucked, but I can understand why you did it.”

“Do you? You were loved in a way I wasn’t. You were his protégé. His project. He could mold you into a replica of himself. Successful, hard-working—”

“I wasn’t always like that, you know. I never fit in. Not in your world, not anywhere.”

“You didn’t need to. You made your own path, carved your own way. And I hated you for it.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Kade smirked. “Welcome.” His eyes sobered. “Is it crazy that a part of me regrets not being there when he died?”

“No. Now that I know what happened between you two, I understand it. At the time I thought you were a heartless bastard. But no, you shouldn't regret that at all.”

“A part of me wanted to be there, to say goodbye properly, even if it was only to curse at the bastard. The other part of me just couldn't bear to lose him.”