Page 51 of Black Heart

Excuse me?

My attention whips to the furry black ball nestled in my comforter. “Her brood? She has kittens?”

Vaguely, I remember Kaden threatening to feed Bonesaw’s corpse to kittens, but I thought he was just being creative.

Risking turning my back to Kaden, I stride toward the bed and notice at least four kittens suckling on their mother.

“I told you,” Kaden grunts behind me. “Family is everything. I wasn’t about to leave them.”

I stare at the kittens, their tiny bodies squirming against Reaper’s belly. Their eyes are still closed, pink noses twitching as they nurse. The sight softens something inside me, a welcome contrast to the strain that’s been building since Kaden’s arrival.

“How old are they?” I ask, my voice barely above gushing.

“About three weeks,” Kaden replies, and I nearly jump out of my skin.

He stands just behind me, his hulking frame casting a shadow over my head. “They’ll be prowling around soon.”

I turn to look at him, struck by the kindness in his voice. It’s at odds with the man who nearly strangled me earlier, who’s now setting up a military-grade command center in my spare room.

“You knew she had them before you brought her to Greycliff,” I say. It’s not a question.

Kaden keeps his attention fixed on the babies. “Reaper isn’t mine. I found her at the warehouse, half starved and trying to feed her litter. They’ve grown on me.”

His expression remains blank. More than anything, I wish I could know what was going on behind those tempered blue eyes.

“You shouldn’t put them in that room with you,” I say, breaking the moment. “Your equipment generates too much heat. It’s not safe for the kittens in there.”

Without waiting for my response, Kaden leans over and scoops up the blanket Reaper and her brood are nestled in with one fluid motion. The cat doesn’t protest, seeming to trust him implicitly. He places them gently in the corner.

I follow, watching as he arranges pillows around them, creating a makeshift nest. His hands, capable of such violence, now move with surprising delicacy.

“They’ll stay here for now.” He straightens. “I’ll need to procure supplies for them. Food, litter, toys.”

The domesticity of his words, said with a confidence that he’s done this before and taken care of something vulnerable, creates a cognitive dissonance that makes my head spin.

“Kaden,” I start, not sure what I’m going to say.

Yet I have so many questions.

I clear my throat. “I’m sorry for what happened earlier. What I said about?—”

“You should get some rest.” He cuts in. “I’ll stand watch.”

“Stand watch?” I repeat, incredulous. “You expect me to sleep while you’re ... what? Patrolling the house?”

“Yes,” he replies, his tone leaving no room for argument. He moves past me, back toward his newly established commandcenter. “Lock your bedroom door. Don’t open it unless you hear me give the all-clear signal.”

“What’s the all-clear signal?” I ask, trailing him.

He pauses at the threshold of the spare room, looking back at me. “Three short knocks, followed by two long ones. Anything else, you stay put and keep quiet.”

With that, he steps into the spare room and closes the door, leaving me alone in the hallway with more confusion than answers.

I retreat to my bedroom, locking the door as instructed. Reaper spies me in her claimed corner of my room. I smile a greeting to my new roommate, then undress, my mind racing with the events of the day.

Who is Kaden, really? What kind of life has he led? And why, despite everything, do I feel safer with him here?

The soft purring of Reaper and the tiny mewls of her kittens fill the uncomfortable atmosphere as I slip under my covers. Outside my door, I hear the faint hum of Kaden’s equipment and his occasional movements.

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