Brooklyn Sinners 3 -A Sinner Born (20 page)

Strong arms lifted Syren. His lashes fluttered when dry lips pressed against his brow. With a sigh he burrowed into the hard chest then froze.
He opened his eyes. “Kane?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” His lover held him close and started up the stairs.
“Hmm. Wh-where were you?” He’d finally curled up on the couch when it became clear Kane wasn’t going to be coming back soon. Fool that he was, he couldn’t make himself leave.
“I went for a drive, I needed to clear my head.”
Syren made a sound and closed his eyes again. “Where are you taking me now?”
“To bed.”
Ah, well.
“My bed.” Kane stopped walking.
Syren’s eyes flew open and he lifted his head. Kane stood in front of his bedroom. Not the guestroom, but the master bedroom, the one Syren was sure he’d never be invited into. “What—”
“I want you in my bed.” Kane met his gaze with a somber expression, half of his face in the shadows. “I want to wake up with you in my arms. That is what I want.”
Syren sank his teeth into his bottom lip and gave him a small shrug. What else could he do? “Okay.”
Kane nudged the door open and Syren closed his eyes tight, never opening them until Kane settled him onto the mattress then climbed in beside him. A finger touched his brow and he looked up into Kane’s eyes, lit by the lamp on the nearby nightstand.
“I’m in your bed.”
Kane nodded gravely. “Where you belong.”
That shit had his head spinning fast. Dizzying, the happiness bubbling up inside. Too much to take in, too careful to accept the hope and the change. He had to know. He needed the words. Sleep had long abandoned him. He lifted himself up on his elbow.
Words, they needed words.
“Despite the fact that we like cock, we’re men. We don’t share our feelings.” He swallowed as Kane waited patiently. “That’s usually reserved for females—whiny, clingy females—’cause I’m sure the real ones know enough to let a tight pussy do the talking.”
Kane threw his head back and laughed. The sound rumbled in the room and echoed in Syren’s bones, leaving warmth behind.
He smiled. “That being said, I want— I need the words.” He balled his hands into fists and broke eye contact. “If I had the chance to bring him back, to give you a second chance with him, I wouldn’t.”
Kane lifted an eyebrow. “Why is that?”
“You’re mine.” The words burst from him, fierce and possessive. “He had you and I want it to be my turn.” He should be embarrassed, he should feel ashamed, but the time had come to lay it all on the line. Go for broke. “There has to be space in your heart for both me and him.” His breath hitched when knuckles grazed his cheek.
“You’re crying.”
He snorted. “No, I’m not.”
The mattress groaned when Kane shifted. His lips brushed first Syren’s cheek then his lips. “Yes, you are.”
Syren licked his lips and tasted the salt. Okay fine, maybe he was crying. A little. He sniffed delicately. “Fine, you win.”
“Not yet.” Kane stretched out next to him and caught Syren’s hand in his. “You want to hear a story?”
“Depends.” Syren ran his tongue over his teeth. “What kind of story?”
“A story about Bailey and Kane.”
Syren considered it. He really did and in the end he nodded. “Is it a love story?”
“Yes and no.”
Well, that sold him. “Fine, I’m all ears.”
“I was twenty-five when we met. He was nineteen and in a relationship with his high-school sweetheart.”
Not what Syren expected to hear. He pulled the covers up and over them then settled back on the pillows. Kane stared straight ahead, his face stoic.
“He ran out in the middle of the street, directly in the path of my cruiser. I was on the local PD then. He was hysterical because apparently he’d caught his boyfriend cheating on him. Again.” Disgust dripped from Kane’s words. “He wanted me to arrest the boyfriend on some trumped-up charges and while I stood there in the middle of the street trying to calm his crazy ass down, up comes the boyfriend with the sweet words and false promises and I saw Bailey shift from strong to weak in a blink.”
“He took him back.”
“He took him back.” Kane nodded. “But I gave him my card. I didn’t expect him to call. He didn’t, but he showed up at the precinct two years later. He identified himself, but I already knew who he was.” His voice grew hoarse. “I hadn’t stopped thinking about him. He was beautiful, man, and he glowed with something I didn’t know, but wanted to.”
“What did he want when he showed up?” Syren asked.
“He wanted to ask me out, on a date.” Kane chuckled. “He’d left the boyfriend, he said, and I made an impression ’cause I was such a stuck-up shit, that he was pretty sure I was lacking fun. And regular dick.”
Syren laughed. “He sounds…feisty.”
“He was feisty, fun and spontaneous. He breezed into my life and took it over completely, I didn’t stand a chance.” Kane rubbed a hand over his face with a sigh. “We were inseparable after that first date. To this day, I can count on one hand the amount of times I heard my name on his lips.”
“What did he call you then?”
“Babe.” The word cracked. “I was his babe and he was my partner for ten years. I gave him all of me and he did the same. I never doubted his love for me. I never hid him or my feelings for him. Loving him was easy and quick and no surprise.”
Jealousy was a living thing in Syren’s stomach, eating away at him. He pressed his lips together and nodded as if he got it. As if he understood.
“On our fifth anniversary, he came home with a tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. A ‘K’ tucked inside a heart.” Kane smiled with a shake of his head. “I looked into his eyes and I knew I’d live forever with that man. I knew we’d have children and pets and we’d be fine. Just fine. Bailey and Kane.”
“But it didn’t last.”
“No.” Kane took a deep, long breath. “He wanted to help people and he did, but one of those people took him away from me. He was a legal aid lawyer, and a former client held him hostage and shot him in his office.”
Syren could only imagine how Kane took that. “You blame yourself.”
“We bought this house six months before he died. In preparation for the kids he wanted, the kids I kept putting off. Not because I didn’t want them, but I thought we had enough time. ‘We have time’, I’d always say when he brought up the idea of us starting the surrogacy process.”
Wow. Syren’s heart banged against his rib cage.
“We’d had a fight,” Kane confessed. “He was working hard on a case and I thought he needed time off, to recharge. I promised to take him away for a weekend, but then I got called in to work. I had to go out of town. He was mad at me for leaving, but I made him promise to stay home and rest. In turn I promised to make it up to him.”
“He didn’t stay home.”
Kane shook his head. “He didn’t like staying in the house by himself. I guess he figured he’d make a quick trip to the office, keep occupied until I came home.”
Kane’s hand trembled in Syren’s hold and he squeezed it tightly.
“I don’t remember where I was when Gabe called me with the news that he was gone.” Kane’s voice shook horribly. “I only remember falling to the floor and screaming until I couldn’t anymore.”
Fuck. Syren’s eyes watered at the pain that poured from Kane’s every pore.
“He was stubborn, you know. Stubborn and so damn headstrong. A fighter. And all I can think is that I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there when he died. The guilt was…potent. Gabe and Vince thought I’d hurt someone or myself, that’s how Vince ended up with my keys. He’d check on me every few days. Make sure I was still among the living.”
“I’m sorry.” Syren needed more words than that, but he couldn’t find them.
Kane turned to him. His eyes were sad but dry, and he simply stared at Syren. He allowed it until he couldn’t.
“What?”
“Remember that day I left you standing on my front porch? The first time you broke in?”
“Um, I did not break in, but yeah.”
A flash of Kane’s teeth. “I was at his grave. Saying goodbye. I told him I wanted you.”
Syren inhaled. “That’s…nice.” Crap. He grimaced inwardly.
That’s nice?
What the what?
Kane smiled at him, all tender and understanding. “I thought so. I still do.”
“Well good.” He looked away then back at Kane. “You want this relationship?”
“I do.”
“All right then. But you know, you could’ve simply said so, Marshal.”
“I know.”
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Kane’s thumb caressing his. Syren took quiet, deep breaths, allowing Kane’s words to settle. They needed to sink in, become real. What he wanted, the only thing he’d allowed himself to wish for was his for the taking and the biggest secret, the one hidden away in Costa Rica rushed to the tip of his tongue. Here he had the perfect opening, the perfect opportunity to spill. To let Kane have the last piece of himself he’d kept under wraps, but fear stayed the words.
He’d never been more afraid of losing everything as he was then. He shook his head to distract himself. “Tell me something you’ve never told anybody. About you.”
Kane though for a minute, a frown of concentration on his face. “My parents died when I was eighteen, you know this?”
Syren nodded.
“Our grandmother came to live with us, to take care of us, but really it was me and Gabe against the world. I took care of him, but there were times…” His voice dropped lower as if he were afraid someone other than Syren would hear. “There were times when I resented it. I love my brother,” he quickly pointed out. “He’s my best friend and I’d die for him, that shit goes without saying, but back then, I was still a kid and learning about myself. He clung to me, I was his lifeline and it was too much at times.”
“I think that’s understandable.” Syren rubbed his shoulder. “Also, your brother is really not a fun person to be around. Just my opinion.” He offered a shrug and a grin.
Kane leaned over and kissed him, chuckling against his lips. “What about you? What haven’t you shared with anybody else?”
“I think you know more about my past than even Henri and Isa.” Syren clutched the sheets. “I discussed this with Henri once and never again. This would be the first time in a long, long time I’m thinking it much less voicing it out loud.”
“What is it?” Kane peered down at him. “You’ve gone pale.”
Syren huffed. “I’m naturally pale.”
Kane waved away his words. “More so.”
The words were heavy and burned his eyes, but he forced them out anyway. “There’s a possibility that my father wasn’t my father.”
Kane didn’t speak for a while and Syren couldn’t bear looking at him. He stared up at the contoured ceiling instead.
“What makes you think that?” Kane finally asked.
A laugh burst from Syren’s dry lips. “Have you seen me? The hair color, the eyes?” He tugged on his hair. “None of it is fake. None.”
Kane squinted. “I kinda thought they were dye and contacts.”
“Nope.” Syren shook his head. “My father had dark hair and brown eyes, my mother the same, but here I am.”
“Wow.” His marshal had gone speechless.
“Henri brought it up in the early days of my rescue when I told him my name. I didn’t look anything like the people in the newspaper articles he’d found.” He brought his hand up, the one that gripped Kane’s fingers so tightly, and pressed it against his heart.”‘The thing is, I remember that life, I remember bits and pieces of it and I was happy.” His voice cracked a little under the emotional weight. “I remember my father’s arms around me. I remember his smile and the dimple in his chin. I remember always feeling secure and happy. If I wasn’t his child he didn’t care.” He’d had to know, there was no way to hide Syren’s light eyes and hair.
“Then you have your answer,” Kane murmured in his ear. “He was your father and it shouldn’t matter who or what you look like.” He pulled back and searched Syren’s gaze. “Do you care?”
He didn’t. Not when he’d been loved unconditionally. Syren shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “No.” Family wasn’t defined by blood. Family was the people who loved you without reservations, who accepted you, who cared enough to make sure your happiness was realized.
Kane held him firm in his strong arms, nice and secure in the little cocoon they’d created in the space they shared. All he ever wanted and yet a shadow hung over him, over them.
“You good?”
Syren smiled where his face rested on Kane’s shoulder. “I’m good.” “We good?”
He drew back and lifted an eyebrow. “Who, us?”
“Yes.” Kane’s eyes danced. “Are we good?”
In answer Syren pushed him flat against the pillows and climbed atop him. “You were inside me without any barriers tonight.” He wiggled, pushing his semi-erect cock into Kane’s lower stomach.
A hand landed on his hip, holding him still as Kane bucked up. His eyes shot blue sparks when he bared his teeth in a wolfish grin. “I was.”
Syren dipped his head and flicked his tongue over the tip of Kane’s nose. “I liked it. A lot.” A shiver raced through him at the remembered feel of Kane, hard and hot inside him, the feel of his cum spreading creamy warmth through his channel. “The feel of you.”
Kane palmed the back of his neck and drew him into a kiss. “I liked it too. A hell of a lot more.” He took Syren’s mouth, tongue plunging deep. When he finally allowed him up for air, Syren panted in his ear.
“Then we’re both on the same page.” He slid backward, kissing his way down Kane’s chest and torso. “Let’s do it again.”

That shit was not a dream. He hadn’t imagined the talk, the sex, none of it. And after all the time he’d waited, after everything he’d been through he had gotten what he’d wished for most.

“Marshal, is that any way to wake someone?” he grumbled. “Kiss me proper, damn it.”
His lover did. Holding his face in both hands, Kane kissed him. A delicious nibble on his lips before he came inside. Soft and tender. No rush, no plunder, just a careful exploration of Syren that made him moan and grasp Kane’s biceps. He hung on tight, allowing his lover to lead him wherever. Whenever.
Sunlight shone in his eyes and he closed them, shuffling closer to Kane. He threw a leg over the other man and placed a hand on his hip. Savoring the kiss until Kane lifted his head, eyelids lowered.
“Hi.”
Uh-huh. Syren licked his lips. “Hi there.”
The smile on Kane’s face started small and grew bigger and wider. “Hungry?”
“Sure.”
“Okay.” Kane brushed a lock of Syren’s hair off his forehead. “I’m gonna make us something to eat.”’ He nodded to the bathroom. “Toothbrushes and whatever else you need are in there.” He moved away and climbed off the bed. “Come down when you’re ready.”
Syren watched him walk away, his golden skin exposed except for the black shorts covering his tight ass. Damn the man for taking over all his senses. He sat up and grimaced at the ache in his ass. He’d taken a pounding last night. A smile broke out.
Man. He couldn’t get enough of that.
He threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood. Three steps across the room and Kane’s cum began to leak out of him. “Fuck.” Syren hardened instantly. The feeling was…sublime, knowing that even then Kane was inside him, his possession thorough.
In the bathroom he managed somehow to brush his teeth and wash his face without ever meeting his own eyes in the mirror. He’d have to get over that phobia, he knew that deep inside, but not quite then. Not when Kane was downstairs, pots clanging as he cooked.
For me.
Back in the bedroom, he pulled on a pair of boy shorts, yellow with pink bows all over, then wrapped himself in his favorite robe, short, purple and silk, and went downstairs.
Kane stood in front of the stove when he entered the kitchen. Syren walked up to him and placed a kiss on his nape. “What are you making?”
Kane leaned back against him. “Sausage and tomato omelets. I’ve got some muffins in the freezer, gonna thaw them out. You want coffee?” He pointed to the coffee machine at the opposite end of the counter. “Orange juice in the fridge.”
“Need help?” Syren circled his waist with one hand and pressed his cheek to the hard plane of Kane’s back. This shit was scary domestic. Scary, but good.
“Nah.” Kane shook his head at Syren’s question. “I’m almost done, just need to heat up the muffins. Chocolate chip good for you?” He moved out of Syren’s arms and over to the fridge.
“That could work.”
“Your phone’s been going off.” Kane placed the muffins on a baking sheet then bent and slid them into the oven.
Syren sipped his coffee and ogled Kane’s ass with what he knew had to be the stupidest grin. “I’ll check it later.” No interruptions. He hopped onto one of the high stools at the island and placed his elbows on the cool granite countertop. “You like to cook, don’t you?”
Kane met his eyes briefly with a shrug before he focused on his omelets in the pan. “I like it. Bailey on the—” His shoulders stiffened.
“It’s okay, you know,” Syren said in a soothing tone. “You can talk about him. You can share him with me.” He took a sip of the coffee. “If you—if you want.”
Kane didn’t pause in what he was doing, but his shoulders visibly relaxed. “He couldn’t cook to save his life.” He chuckled softly. “He didn’t like coffee either, but he made it for me every morning. Shitty coffee, but he made it so I drank it.”
Syren remained silent. He found he could do it, he could bear to hear about the life Kane once had with Bailey as long as it stayed where it should be—in the past. He waited until Kane finished cooking and they sat opposite each other, eating, before he broached the subject foremost on his mind.
“Retirement, huh?” He kept his attention on his plate as he forked the great-tasting omelet into his mouth.
“Yeah. I’d thought about it in the early days after Bailey died.” Kane dropped his knife and Syren raised his gaze to his. “I stayed because it was the only thing I had and I needed something else to focus on.”
“But now?”
“I put the papers in before we met. The day Vince ambushed me with a kiss. I just…” Kane dragged his fingers through his hair. “I’ve got about a month left to go, but I’m over it, you know? And this thing with Vince.” He shook his head.
Syren understood that. He saw the strain around Kane’s eyes and the needy gleam in Vince’s the night before. “What will you do with yourself without your job?” He couldn’t see Kane as a man of leisure, lazing about.
Kane shrugged at his query. “Money isn’t a problem. Gabe and I inherited our parents’ estates. We’ve never really had to work if we didn’t want to.” He sipped his orange juice.
“That’s nice, but not what I meant.” Syren fake-grimaced at him. “Are you gonna just lay around all day, eating bonbons and shit? ’Cause I’m not sure I want to sign on for that.”
“Why not?” Kane grinned. “I’ve earned that right, don’t you think?”
Syren rolled his eyes. “Really?”
Kane burst out laughing. “Calm yourself. I plan to spend some time fixing up the backyard. The pool and stuff back there need upgrading.”
“I’ve never seen your backyard.”
Kane lifted a brow. “And whose fault is that? You can see it when you’re finished eating.”
“Yes sir.” Syren snapped a salute.
“I’m also thinking of getting myself a dog.”
“Sounds great.”
Kane’s phone went off at his elbow and he picked it up with a grin. “Gabe’s calling me.”
Ah, okay? “Answer the man already.”
“Are we a secret?”
Syren threw him a death glare. “Why would we be a secret?”
“Just checking.” Kane shrugged and answered the phone. “What’s up, bro?” He continued eating, occasionally flicking his gaze to Syren. “Yes, I’m chewing in your ear, it’s fucking breakfast time, Gabe. You’re interrupting.”
Syren chuckled.
“I’m fine, as I’m sure you can tell so quit it.” Kane sat back and met his eyes with a wink. “Uh-huh. Syren is here, would you like to say good morning?”
Syren jerked in his seat and mouthed the word “no”.
“Yes, we’re together. Yes, he spent the night and I made him breakfast.” A grin split Kane’s face. “The sex is great, thank you for asking.”
Syren thought really hard about sliding down the stool and cowering under it. His face burned and he refused to meet Kane’s eyes.
“Sorry, bro.” Kane chuckled. “I can’t share any more otherwise the man opposite me right now might stab me with his fork.”
Damn right.
“Besides, I recall asking you the same thing about you and what’s-his-face and you didn’t share.”
Fuck. What was this and how could he get out? He wanted no one knowing about their sex life, no one and especially not that Gabe. Smug bastard. He’d had the nads to warn Syren away from Rafe the first time Syren visited them in North Carolina. Like Syren had even an ounce of want for Rafe. He hadn’t been interested, but he’d smiled calmly in Gabe’s face and more or less implied—okay more—that Rafe and he had a connection.
They didn’t and Gabe obviously knew, but it was all kinds of fun to yank on his chain. Of course he’d had to make tracks quick before some kind of “accident” happened to him; he’d seen the way Gabe eyed him. That fucker was crazy. Things had definitely calmed down though over the months and now that he and Kane were together he’d have to see more of Gabe.
Bet he’d just love that.
“Yeah, we’ll talk later. Bye.”
Syren didn’t bother hiding the huge sigh of relief when Kane ended that call. His lover only laughed.
“Most uncomfortable conversation ever.” He narrowed his eyes at Kane. “Don’t let it happen again and for the record, our bedroom antics are not for public consumption. Else I will fuck your ass up.” Speaking of which, his tough talk reminded him. “I have to go into New York. Brooklyn to be exact.”
Kane returned his gaze to him slowly and Syren forbade himself from squirming, but damn it, Kane’s gaze seared into his flesh.
“Wanna come with?”
Kane’s mouth twisted. “Brooklyn, huh?” He got up from his chair and stalked over to Syren and stood there, hovering. “To see who, your kiss buddy?”
“Jealous?” Syren couldn’t help the tease.
Kane shook his head and cupped his jaw. “Why should I be? I’ve got you.” He rubbed his nose against Syren’s.
“I’m no prize,” he murmured and tilted his head, giving Kane more space to nuzzle his neck.
“Hmm. So you say.” Kane’s breath licked at his skin. “I think I will accompany you on your journey into the big city.” He affected a haughty British accent. “Wouldn’t want you to get lost. Or hurt.”
Syren rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Whatever.” He sobered. “I need to let Castillo know that Delatorre is going down.”
Kane pulled back and frowned down at him. “I thought the Feds weren’t letting people know about Delatorre being locked up?”
“They’re not, but…” He slid a hand over Kane’s shoulder. “He needs to know he has an out. Delatorre is his only gun supplier and if he doesn’t have guns he can go legit.”
Kane still looked confused. “Castillo has been in that life for practically forever, why would he want to go legit?”
Syren smiled up at him. So cut and dry, this one. “Why did Rafe go legit?”
“For Gabe, but—” Kane’ eyes grew wider. “Wow.”
“Yeah. He’s in love with a DEA agent who was working undercover to get to the Nietos.”
“Damn. Is that the same guy who joined the two of you that night?”
Syren didn’t play himself by asking what night. “He didn’t so much as join us as he walked in on us, but yes. He’d learned—” He stopped himself. “I found out the guy’s real identity and shared it with Castillo.” He met the censure in Kane’s eyes with a grimace. “He loved him and I think finding out the man he was sleeping with was DEA was a blow. He wanted to prove there were no feelings between them.”
Kane nodded slowly. “What did you want to prove?”
Syren tugged his bottom lip between his teeth. “That you hadn’t just cut me to the quick. That if I wanted to I could move on. Like that.” He snapped his fingers.
“How did that work out for you?”
Syren flashed his teeth. “Worked out quite well, actually.” He moved to stand and Kane fisted his hair, holding him in place against the counter.
“You have no idea what that sight did to me,” he said roughly. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t spank the shit out of you if he touches you again. In any way.”
Damn. Syren’s knees shook at the sound of those words. So forceful. Possessive. He had no idea that shit turned him on until Kane. A whimper escaped his throat and Kane drank it, kissing him hard and bruising, never letting up until Syren tasted blood.
Kane released his bottom lip with a wet plop. “Let’s get dressed, we’ve got a long drive.” He turned away then threw a wink over his shoulder.
Shit. Syren adjusted his dripping cock and followed him to the bedroom. Maybe he could lure Kane into some hanky-panky before they left.
The drive to Brooklyn was full of sulking on Syren’s part. Kane refused to ease his sexual frustration, even after he did a sexy striptease for him. Damn man was giving him blue balls. He voiced his displeasure loud and clear, but of course, Kane simply grinned at him.
Torture. Pure torture.
As Kane drove, Syren took out his displeasure on his phone, checking messages and returning texts from Isa, who wanted to know all about his time with Kane. As if he’d ever kiss and tell. Still, he did let her know he was quite satisfied.
Which, despite Kane’s holding back on the goodies, he was. Content. Now if all else would fall in line like it was supposed to. Which brought him to Patel’s calls. The agent called damn near half a dozen times, but only left a message once, a terse, “Call me. Now.”
Syren frowned at the phone. Patel had some kind of nerve. He glanced up from his phone screen as Kane crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge and exited on the Brooklyn side. “You know the way from here, right?”
“Yep.”
He reached over and tugged on Kane’s earlobe. “I have to make some calls. Give me a few, okay?”
“Do your thing.” Kane glanced at him. “I’ll try not to listen too hard.”
“Yeah. Try.” Syren dialed Patel and threw his head back on the headrest.
“Took you long enough.” Patel sounded out of breath.
“Unlike some people I’ll refrain from naming—you—I do have a life outside of that, Patel. What’s up?”
Patel exhaled in his ear. “What the fuck isn’t up? We had to rush Delatorre to the hospital a couple hours ago. Something’s wrong with him.”
Syren sprang upright. “The fuck you say?” He felt Kane’s eyes on him. “Something’s wrong? You better give me more than that, Patel.” What the hell? His fingers were cold where they clutched the phone to his ear.
“He said he couldn’t breathe, that he felt dizzy and then he sorta keeled over. He’s been unconscious for a while.” Voices came through the phone as Patel broke off to speak with someone else on his end. “Listen, the doctors are running tests. We won’t know what’s wrong until the results come in.”
“What the hell, Patel?” Syren didn’t know he was screaming until Kane pulled the car to a stop and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I left him in your fucking care. You wanted him, I gave him to you and this is what happens?”
“Hey, calm down. We don’t even know if it’s anything serious.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” Syren shoved unsteady fingers through his hair. “I’ve got plans for him. Plans that require him to be breathing and let me tell you something, if he isn’t I will be bringing shit down on your head like you won’t believe.”
“Don’t threaten me, you son of a bitch.”
“Oh trust me,” Syren snarled. “That’s no threat. It’s a motherfucking promise. A check you sure as hell can take to the bank.” He ended the call and flung the phone away. It bounced on the dashboard then landed right back in his lap.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Kane’s voice sounded as if he spoke from far away, as if his voice drifted to Syren through a tunnel.
He had plans and that bastard Patel was fucking them up. “Delatorre’s in a hospital, unconscious. Doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“That’s—”
“Fucked up, that’s what it is.” He turned to Kane. “I’m not done with him. I’m not done making him pay, watching him suffer. He doesn’t get to fucking bypass all that and just die!”
“Come.” Kane unbuckled his seat belt and did the same to Syren before hauling him into his arms. “You don’t know what’s happening. Why go with worst-case scenarios?”
Syren held him tight. Held on to Kane like a lifeline as the panic attack swept up. He couldn’t breathe. Sweat dampened his collar and armpits, chilling him. His control was shot, frayed beyond recognition and just like that his calm was gone.