Page 27 of Sinful Deception

“You said you’d call me later, asshole. A big brother is apt to worry when he’s hearing certain rumors spreading from the West Coast to the East.”

I turn into the bathroom and relieve myself, even with Lix listening in. “We got busy and clearly had priorities that were more pressing than giving you a life update.” I shake my cock and tuck myself back into my jeans, then lowering the lid, I flush and hold the phone between my shoulder and ear, so I can wash my hands. “We had to tell Mia about her mom. That’s what we were doing when you called.”

He exhales a tired sigh that almost sounds like a puff of smoke. But I know he quit, so I no longer picture the sticks of nicotine pinched between his fingers. “There’s something to be said for knowing since birth your mother is dead. What you don’t know, you won’t miss, right?”

I wipe my hands on the towel and hold the device again as I move into the hall and start toward the kitchen. “I guess there’s a silver lining to every tragedy. We didn’t know ours, so we never wept for her. Mia sobbed last night, Lix.” I pass a sleeping Cato and move into the kitchen, not to start the coffee—though I will, soon—but to take a Factor pack from the fridge and pull the liquid vial from the packaging, so I can roll it in my hand and bring the temperature up. “She cried so fucking much, it was like I was swallowing razor blades.”

“She’s okay though…” He doesn’t sound so sure. “Right?”

“As okay as anyone can be, I guess. She’s four, so she’ll rebound eventually. But unlike you and me, she knew her mom, and even if Jada wasn’t emotionally or mentally healthy, she was still that little girl’s mom. Never seeing her again, and never being able to say goodbye, is gonna hurt no matter what.”

“Can she go see the body? Maybe that’ll help?”

I slip the vial into my pocket momentarily so it rests against my thigh while my hands are busy. Then I take a mug from the cupboard and place it beneath the coffee spout. “I don’t know that that’ll help.” I hit the button and start the machine, the delicious scent of coffee hitting my senses a mere second later. “She was beat to hell and back, Lix. Bruised all over. Busted face. Her lips were split and her cheek was shattered. Her skull was basically split open. Her arm was re-broken when it hadn’t even healed from last time. And then there’s the damage the doctors did, slicing her throat to get a trach in and all that shit. Not even the most skilled autopsy tech will make her look decent enough for a little girl to see.”

He noisily scratches his stubble and groans. “I would come over, Arch. You know I would, but?—”

“Christabelle needs you there.” I stare down at the mug as pitch-black liquid slowly brings the level higher. “It’s okay. I doubt Fletch wants you here, and he doesn’t have the bandwidthto be dealing with anything more than he’s already got. You stay there with Christabelle and make sure she’s doing okay. She still sick?”

“Yeah. Some days, it’s better. Some days, it’s not. Her head is in a bucket more often than not, so I feel pretty fucking shitty, considering it’s my fault she’s like that.”

“Growth.” Chuckling, I turn from the machine and move to the fridge to get creamer. “Felix Malone isfinallylearning a little humility. Looks good on you.”

“Arch—”

“You wanted to breed her,” I taunt. “You got what you asked for. Now she’s puking every day, and your conscience is making you feel like crap for it. That’s character growth if I ever saw it.”

“You’re being an asshole.”

“She’s gonna be fine.” I grab the creamer and slam the fridge shut, only to jump when Minka’s eyes meet mine. “Jesus! Woman!”

“You left without me.” She walks straight into me, wrapping herself around my chest like she’s grown extra arms and legs. “We talked about this, remember? Leaving me alone in there is basically saying you hate me.”

I wrap her up in a hug and press a kiss to the top of her head. But I linger, breathing warm air against her scalp and inhaling the scent of her shampoo until it fills my lungs. “I definitely don’t hate you, Minnnka. But I’m warming your diluent so you can take your meds.”

“Character growth for us all,” Felix teases in my ear. “Younger Archer would have stayed in bed and fucked her while she sleptwhiletaking a phone call. There’s no need to waste a perfectly good situation, even if the phone rings.”

“I’m hanging up now. You had my attention while my wife was sleeping, but now she’s up, and you’re no longer of interest to me.”

“Cold motherfucker.” He laughs. “So cold. What can I do for Fletch that’ll help?”

“I don’t know. I?—”

“Groceries,” he decides easily. “I’ll send someone out to fill his fridge and cupboards. And I’ll have a warm meal delivered each night, at least until the funeral is done and out of the way. And I’ll cover the cost of burying her since we know that shit is expensive.”

“Do we?” I cut in. “Tim usually tosses them into the orchard and calls it a day.”

“Cold,” he repeats on a quiet laugh. “Jesus, Arch. Some could say you have less of a heart than me. That’s new. I’ll cover the funeral and all that shit, but tell him whatever you need to tell him so he doesn’t get his panties in a knot. Like it’s a partners-of-the-police-program or whatever. Say what you’ve gotta say, so he doesn’t try to refuse. And I’ll have those ladies come back and clean his place. I want him to worry about nothing but him and that cute little kid of his.”

“Funny you mention hearts, as you wear yours so shamelessly on your sleeve.”

“Don’t tell anyone. That would be embarrassing. Cato okay?”

I glance across to his long, long leg hanging off the edge of my couch, and at the other end, a mess of midnight-black hair, growing a little too wild since he decided to move in half a year ago. “Yeah. He’s secretly obsessed with Mia, so I know he’s feeling it. But he was raised a Malone, so he’s good at pretending nothing hurts. I’ll keep an eye on him, and Fletch,” then I look down, only to see the top of Minka’s head, “and my wife, too. Because everyone around me is gonna be feeling what they’re feeling, and none will admit they need help. I’ll catch them if they stumble.”

“Less talking about me,” Minka grumbles. “More hugging.”

“She’s so cute when she’s needy,” Felix snickers. “And how are you doing?”

---