Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(108)

Once Caine changed him, and the bastard would change him or he'd kill the bitch, his arm would grow back. From what he'd heard and read over the years, his arm would grow back if, when, Caine transformed him into a Pyte since the blood would correct anything wrong with him. It would take a hell of a lot more blood during the transformation because of all the damage, but he'd have his arm back and that's all that mattered to him. Well, that and killing the bitch as soon as he woke up changed and then getting his revenge on everyone who'd ever pissed him off.

It was a long list and he planned on starting at the top with Caine and the Master that crossed the line.

********

Boston Compound

"I love you, sweetheart," Chris said in a syrupy sweet voice while Kale tried not to gag.

It was bad enough that he somehow got stuck with the bastard and the Pyte currently babying his mate, but this was ridiculous. For the past ten minutes he'd been stuck standing here while the bastard drew out a goodbye that when all was said and done should only take a minute, two tops.

"Are you going to miss Daddy?" Chris asked, smiling hugely and completely oblivious to his mate's murderous glare or the fact that he'd asked the squirming little girl in his arms that question a hundred times already.

"Oh, for all that is holy!" he snapped. "How long does it take to say goodbye to a baby?" he demanded even though he fully planned on taking his time when it was his turn to say goodbye to his goddaughter. As her godfather it was his duty to spoil her and make sure she knew to scream her cute little head off whenever her mother tried to eat any of the candy out of the bowl in her office that he decided was his.

"Be good for your mommy," Chris said as he carefully handed the giggling baby girl off to her pissed off mother.

With a heavy sigh, he gestured for Izzy to give him little Jessica. She ignored Chris' glare as she did that, which of course the bastard took advantage of. While Jessica giggled and grabbed onto his chin with her two little hands, Chris knelt down and started what had better be a short goodbye to the baby boy in Izzy's large belly.

"Are you going to miss Daddy?" Chris asked as he cupped Izzy's stomach through her vintage Goonies tee shirt.

The man was pathetic, he thought as he pretended to nibble on Jessica's little hands, growling softly as he did to amuse the little girl in his arms. He'd never been big on children until he'd met this little girl. It also didn't hurt that he didn't have to be there for all the little things like diapers, baths and all that crap that he didn't want to deal with. He could come and go, in and out of this child's life as he pleased, which of course was the way it should be.

He didn't want children and he sure as hell didn't want a mate, which was why he avoided female shifters like the plague. There was no way that he was about to allow fate to f**k him over and stick him with a mate, not now, not ever.

Not that he would actually care if it happened. Well, that wasn't true. He'd really care about his c**k no longer working since he'd only be able to get hard for the woman that would share the mating mark he would get once he came into contact with her. It didn't matter that the last time he had sex, Reagan had been in office, or was it Kennedy? It didn't really matter because sex wasn't important and he didn't need it, not like junk food. Speaking of junk food, maybe he should hit the cafeteria for something sweet. He'd need it if he was going to be stuck with these two surly bastards.

"Alright," Chris said as he came to his feet and looked down at his mate expectantly, "you may now shower me with kisses and profess your undying love for me."

"No, I'm mad at you," Izzy mumbled, trying to come off as stern, but failing miserably. The woman was madly in love with her mate, one of her few faults as far as Kale was concerned, but he was willing to overlook that since she was his closest friend.

"I'll cry," the man said as he playfully pouted for his mate and made him resist a well deserved eye roll.

"Good," Izzy said with a sniff.

"Does it not bother you that I could possibly be going off to meet my death and that you might never see me again?" he demanded in mock outrage and this time Kale did roll his damn eyes.

This was just pathetic.

Like he'd allow the bastard to make his little Izzy a widow or hurt her in any way. Nothing was going to harm the Sentinel male while he was stuck with him. Having the male along was a complication, one he apparently couldn't shake or Izzy wouldn't use Tattletale for him ever again. That was a reminder that he needed to figure out what the woman was up to and he knew that she was up to something.

Once she found out that Chris and Ephraim wanted to tag along she couldn't blackmail his ass fast enough to push her mate and father-in-law on him. If it hadn't been for her program he would have simply snuck out of the compound with her bowl of chocolates and sent her a text message telling her hell no, but he needed Tattletale. Having that program at his disposal would cut time off his jobs and bring him closer to his goal that much faster. He'd do anything to reach his goal, even put up with the bastard who'd better damn well make sure that he didn't hurt Izzy in any way.

"Just make sure that you pick me up a yummy surprise when you come home," she said, clearly dismissing the possibility that she might lose her mate and showing so much faith in her man that for a minute there he was actually envious and wanted a little of that for himself.