Page 26 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

“Morning.” I stopped in front of her. It took everything inside me not to throw my arms around her and thank her for giving birth to Elias. That would definitely raise suspicion, and I wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell his mom about us yet. Soon, though. I hoped. Not that I was going to rush him or this. Or… God, I was so happy. “What can I do to get started today? Anything you need from me to help make your day easier?”

My smile must have been contagious because she returned it. “It’s pretty slow this morning. Elias is working on some designs for three new clients that need to be finalized soon. When he gets here, check with him to see where he is with them.”

“Will do.” Sipping my coffee, I walked to my office.

As I stepped inside, I noticed my phone screen light up. I was about to ignore it yet again when I saw it was my brother. “You miss me?” I teased in greeting.

“Like a bad hangover,” he grumbled.

“Ah, you say the sweetest things.” Placing my bag on the desk, I took another savory drink of the coffee I’d stopped to get at the bakery and sat down. “What do you want, Ryan?”

He might love me, but my brother never called me without a reason. And he didn’t make me wait to find out the reason for this particular phone call.

“You have been ignoring Mom’s calls.”

Tossing my hair over my shoulder to get it out of my way, I placed my coffee safely to the side and took the sketch I was working on from my bag. “I tend to do that when I don’t want to be constantly bitched at. If you would like to be added to my list of people whose calls I avoid answering, please do annoy me.”

His heavy sigh told me more than if he had started yelling. Ryan didn’t raise his voice often. When he did, it typically had something to do with Nova. Aggravating my brother was a fun hobby, but that sound alone told me he wasn’t in the mood to be fucked with. Too bad for him I was the least likely person to care.

“What’s this tension between the two of you, Samara? I’ve felt it building for a while now. I don’t like it.”

“You know how it is with us,” I excused. “We’re too much alike.”

“What I know is that Mom is stressed enough over Pop, and you are adding to it by not answering your fucking phone.”

“You think she’s the only one stressed over what’s going on?” I whispered, my glow fading as hurt sliced through me. “Ryan, I can’t even go near Papa because I trigger him. We both know he has more bad days than good ones when I’m under the same roof with him. Last time…” My throat tried to close up, and I had to blink hard to keep the tears from spilling.

Damn it.

Damn him.

“Last time, he cried. He fell to his knees in front of me and begged me to forgive him for not being there when our brother died, Ryan. He thinks I’m Mom. Just seeing me sends him back to the past. He has so much regret in him that he can barely live with himself. And I’m the catalyst. My face causes him pain.”

Slamming my hand on the desk, I attempted to rein in my emotions. “So don’t you start on me about Mom being stressed. We are all fucking stressed right now!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Closing my eyes, I squeezed the bridge of my nose.

“But why won’t you take her calls?”

Fighting a hysterical laugh, I shook my head. “Because she says the same thing every time, and I’m tired.”

“Of what?” he demanded in exasperation. “What the hell doyouhave to be tired of, Samara?”

Scrubbing at the tear that spilled down my face, I glared out the window. “I realize you have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders, Ryan. That it can weigh you down and make it seem like no one else understands. And I know… God, Iknowyou have a lot of baggage from your biological mother and losing Nova for a little while. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us are just skipping through life with no worries of our own.”

“Samara—”

“You have your demons, but try to understand that I have some of my own. The world might seem to stop and go at your command, but the rest of us have to live in it even when you hit pause.”

A heavy silence stretched between us, and I could picture him trying to digest my outburst. But if I thought he had any empathy for me, the joke was on me. “Just talk to me, Samara. Tell me why you’re so angry with Mom.”

“I’m not angry,” I assured him. “Anger requires too much energy. I’m simply numb where she’s concerned. And honestly, I’m growing numb with you as well.”

“Tell me why,” he commanded.

But I wasn’t one of his soldiers. That tone didn’t scare me. There were bigger boogeymen in the world, and none of them had the power to make me quake.

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