Page 171 of Shadow

The front door opened, and Stitches, Sin, and Shadow came in. Sin moved quickly and sat on the L of the couch, his focus on Cady and me.

“What’s the verdict?” Stitches demanded. “Tell me something good, man.”

Shadow sat on the couch next to Cady and rubbed her back.

“Cadence. Tell them. Tell Sin,” Church instructed softly.

Cady wiped her eyes and licked her trembling lips.

“S-Sin?”

“Yeah?” Sin sat forward, looking sick to his stomach.

I held my breath. I didn’t know what I wanted. Either way felt like it would be bad. Sin would lose it. I knew he’d try to hold it together, but we’d only just gotten him out of his funk. This would set him back. And if it were Adam’s…

I held her hands tightly.

“Sin,” she repeated.

He got up and kneeled beside me. He reached out and cradled her face.

“Tell me. I can handle it,” he said, his voice wavering.

“It’s…the baby isn’t yours. I’m almost a month further along. It-It’s Adam’s.”

Sin’s hands shook for a moment before he let out a sob and hugged her.

“I-I’m sorry, Cady. I am. I’m sorry,” he said, holding her as she cried. I wrapped my arms around them, hugging them tightly.

Relief flooded through me.

I hated that it did, but it was there.

Sin released Cady and dragged me against him, kissing my forehead fiercely.

“I love you, Sirena. I fucking love you,” he whispered. His hold didn’t linger. Instead, he released me, got to his feet, and walked out the door.

“Where is he going?” Shadow asked.

“He needs some time,” Ashes murmured. “He’s been stressed. He’ll be back.”

“I’ll go check on him.” Stitches got up and left, leaving us.

In a surprising move, Church moved from his chair and sat next to Cady. I watched him pull her in for a hug and kiss the top of her head.

“You have me,” he said softly. “You’re family. That baby is my family. I’ll take care of you guys. You won’t be alone. You’ll have us.”

I smiled, my heart filling at his words. It was completely out of character for him, but I loved that he was growing. She clung to him, crying softly.

I wrapped my arms around them, vowing we’d all make sure that baby had a good life and everything it would ever want.

It was just more reason to kill these monsters and free us all.

SIN

Ifell to my knees at the lake, my rosary in hand as I wept. My prayers had been answered. While I didn’t want that baby to be Adam’s, I sure as hell didn’t want it to be mine. I’d have stayed in its life, but now I had this sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in weeks. Or hell, maybe ever.

Everything had finally lined up.

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