Angel of Redemption (28 page)

“
Not that I know of, sweetheart,
”
I laugh.

“
Damn.
”
She
’
s quiet except for heavy breathing. I think she might have
fallen asleep.

“
Kayla?
”
I ask. No answer.
“
Kayla?
”

“
Hmmmm?
”

“
Hang up the phone and go to sleep.
”

“
M
’
kay. Love you.
”

“
Good night, sweetheart.
”
I hang up and set my phone back on my nightstand.
“
Fuuuuuuuck,
”
I groan.

* * *

In the morning, I arrive at Wyatt House before 8:00 a.m.
Aiden
’
s
not surprised. We sit drinking coffee and talking for almost an hour before he
has to head out for Ashley
’
s swim meet.

Once
he
’
s gone, my mind drifts to Kayla just
like it does every time I don
’
t have any distractions. I think about
our conversation. She said she thinks I
’
m
sexy. She was essentially opening the door for something more physical
—
granted, she was drunk. I grit my teeth. As much as I
’
d love to go down that road, I can
’
t. Kayla
’
s a woman who deserves a relationship
with a stable guy without the kind of baggage I
’
m
carrying.

I
head down to the basement and strap on my gloves for a session with the heavy
bag. This should help with the pent-up frustration. I
’
m about half an hour into a good workout when I hear Logan.

“
Dean?
”

I look up, dripping with sweat. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“
Am I still on restriction?
”
he mumbles.

I
nod.
“
Until Monday morning.
”

“
Oh. Can I play ball outside with my
brother?
”

“
Don
’
t you think it
’
s a little cold?
”
I ask, looking at the tiny window across the room. The sun
’
s hitting at just the right angle to show off the frost
crystals.

“
I mean later.
”
He leans against the wall, looking dejected.

I
wipe my forehead with my forearm.
“
I
guess so. As long as you stay on the property and there are no guests, you can
play ball,
”
I answer.
“
And remember, you have to go with Em to the bank this
morning.
”

“
Yeah, I know.
”
He lingers, and I take this as a sign that he wants to
talk.

“
Strap on some gloves. Let
’
s spar.
”

I
throw a few more jabs at the bag while I wait for him to get ready. When he is,
we tap gloves and begin.

“
How
’
s your girl?
”
I ask, dodging a hook.

Logan
looks at me suspiciously.
“
What do you care?
”

I
shrug.
“
Thought I
’
d ask. Make conversation.
”

He
scowls, but after a couple of seconds and a few more punches, he gives in.
“
Her mom and pops are assholes, but whatever. I think it
’
s in the rules somewhere that you can
’
t be a parent unless you know how to
fuck your kid over.
”

“
Not all parents are like that, Logan,
”
I sigh heavily.

“
So I guess everyone I know just got
the shit end of the stick, then,
”
he says sarcastically. He lands a
particularly hard hit to my chin.

I
can
’
t
tell him he
’
s
wrong. Every kid in this house has a horror story of his own. Edgar was
abandoned at a bus stop when he was four. He was raised by his grandmother and
locked in the closet when she had to go to work so she didn
’
t have to pay a babysitter. I think it
’
s a rite of passage for the boys to
share the basics of their stories, if only to gauge who had it the worst.

I
shake the rattle out of my head in time to defend another jab.
“
My parents aren
’
t perfect, but I can
’
t say they ever screwed me over. Even when I thought they were
being unfair, everything they did was for a reason.
”

“
Are you trying to tell me my mom had a
good reason for making us dig through trash cans for food because she spent all
her fucking hook money on drugs? Or are you saying it
’
s okay that she tried to sell us into
a kiddie sex ring?
”
he snaps. I block another hit, but he
comes at me again and nails me in the stomach. The kid
’
s better at sparring than most.

I
take a minute to catch my breath and gather my thoughts. I know that Sheila
Davidson was a prostitute and an addict, and that she attempted to sell Matty,
but I don
’
t know the details. Kayla said Logan
never talks about his childhood. I want to push for more, but by the look on
his face, that
’
s
all I
’
m
going to get.

“
No. I
’
m not. Your mother had no right to do
that to you.
”

“
But?
”

“
No buts. That
’
s it.
”

“
So how come you ended up in jail?
Brayden told me you said you were innocent. If your parents always had a good
reason, how come they didn
’
t get you out?
”

“
First of all, I
’
ve never claimed that.
”
I tap his shoulder a little harder than I intend to.
“
I said I didn
’
t
do what I was accused of, but I certainly wasn
’
t
innocent. And my parents didn
’
t bail me out because I made a stupid
decision. I made a lot of stupid decisions. They did me a favor by making me
serve my time.
”

“
That doesn
’
t even make sense,
”
he sneers.
“
If you
’
re guilty, you go to jail. If you
’
re not guilty you don
’
t. You went to jail, you were guilty.
”

“
Life is not that black and white,
Logan. You should know that by now. I made mistakes. Big ones that led me to
get mixed up with bad people. And if you hang around bad people long enough,
you
’
re
going to get caught up in shit that will get you in trouble. And sometimes you
’
re left to take the fall for something
you didn
’
t
do.
”

“
Well, then that was your own
stupidity,
”
he scoffs.
“
I
’
d never go down for something I didn
’
t do.
”

“
Never?
”
I ask. He shakes his head confidently.
“
You love your brother, right?
”

“
Yeah, so what?
”

“
What if he did something that could
land him in jail? What if he vandalized a car or broke into someone
’
s house? Would you sit back and watch
him fall? Or would you do everything in your power to try and protect him?
”
Logan opens his mouth, but then closes it again. I raise my
eyebrows. He looks annoyed. I look over and see Matty standing in the doorway.
I have no idea how much of our conversation he heard.
“
You hungry?
”

He
grunts affirmatively. I smile at Matty and stand up to make breakfast.

Over
the next twenty minutes, the rest of the boys begin trickling into the kitchen.
It
’
s
loud and rowdy with their chatter and laughter. Curtis and Matty are the only
two not really participating. Matty I understand, but Curtis? I wonder what
’
s happened to make him look so on
edge. No one else seems to notice, so maybe I
’
m just reading into it too much.

Later,
as I sit in the library watching Logan and Matty playing basketball outside, I
consider calling Kayla. I wonder how she feels this morning. I wonder if she
remembers calling me. Will she be embarrassed? Laugh it off? I should call her
just to make sure she
’
s okay. Although, if she
’
s hungover I should wait. I should
definitely wait.

I
decide to join the boys outside instead. Soon, we have a three-on-three game
going. Jax is at work and Curtis is hiding in his room. Something
’
s definitely up. I
’
m going to give him a day to come to
me before I go to him. The rest of the guys are in a good mood. Even Logan
’
s lightened up a little since this
morning. He and Matty, who are now playing on opposite teams, are giving each
other shit. It
’
s
funny. They remind me so much of Aiden and me at that age. I was definitely
more outgoing than Matty, but their relationship is similar.

We
break for lunch when the boys start getting hungry. I watch as the kitchen
becomes a free for all. Tracey
’
s going to kill me. A loaf of bread sails across the room,
followed by a jar of peanut butter. It
’
s a good thing the jar is plastic because it hits the floor
with a
thud
. Edgar, who was meant to
be catch it, glances at me sheepishly. I shoot a warning look at him and then
at Brayden, the one doing the throwing. Brayden just grins. Cheeky fucker. I
honestly don
’
t
know how I
’
m
going to feel the day he leaves Wyatt House. He
’
s been around here longer than I have.
My dad has warned me multiple times about getting too close, because,
inevitably, they all have to leave
.
And in most cases, I won
’
t know what happens to them. The more attached I get, the
harder it is to let go.

Logan
pulls out ingredients to make nachos, including ground beef. I grab a can of
Coke and a box of Oreos and leave the boys to it.

“
Clean up your mess!
”
I shout back to them.

Back
in my office, I look at the clock. I
’
ve
given Kayla enough time to sober up. I pull up her number and hit
SEND
.

“
Hello?
”
she answers, her voice sounding groggy.

“
Ah, nice to know you
’
re still alive,
”
I tease.

“
Um
…
yeah.
Why wouldn
’
t
I be?
”

I
chuckle.
“
How much did you have to drink last
night, Kayla?
”

“
What?
”
she asks.

“
You don
’
t remember calling me?
”
I lean back in my chair and grin.

“
No,
”
she squeaks.
“
Oh,
God, Dean. What did I say?
”