Free Angel of Redemption by J. A. Little Page A

the matter. It ’ s been a long day. Hell, it ’ s been a long week. I ’ m just ready for a break. ”
    My
brother sits down and crosses his ankle over his knee. “ You ’ re full of shit, but nice try. ”
    I
don ’ t
want to listen to this. “ Just leave it alone, please? ”
    “ Okay. Fine, I will. But tell me this
first, ” he starts. I know he ’ s about to piss me off because he
scoots his chair back a little, out of reach. “ Is
it because Stephanie really fucked you over that badly, or is it because you
don ’ t
think Kayla will understand about the Wildes? ”
    “ Fuck you! ” I shout, standing up and sending my chair flying backward
into the wall. He ’ s
lucky this desk is between us. My brother shakes his head.
    “ I just think it ’ s a shame, ” he says, standing up and walking toward the door. “ In the five minutes of interaction you had with her when
she first got here … Man, I haven ’ t seen you look at a woman like that
in ten years. Ten years, Dean. That ’ s how long it ’ s been. Do you realize that? ”
    I grit my teeth together so hard I think I might
chip a tooth.
    “You are so worried about people understanding,
but if there’s one person who could, it’s most likely her. And you’re going to
let her walk away? You’re an idiot.”
    I want to punch him, but I can’t. We don’t allow
physical violence on Wyatt House grounds. Hitting Aiden now would make me a
fucking hypocrite. “By the way, Mom and Dad want you to stop by their house on
Saturday night for dinner. Mom seems to think you’re avoiding her.” He walks
out and shuts the door firmly behind him. Prick.
    I
pick up my stapler and am about to hurl it across the room when I realize it
might leave a nasty dent in the door. Instead, I grab the stress ball Brayden
got me for Christmas and hurl it across the room. It hits the door with a dull thud and falls to the ground unceremoniously.
    I
know how fucking long it ’ s been. I don ’ t need my brother or my parents — or anyone else for that matter — reminding me. Fuck them. They have no idea.
    I
glance at the clock on my phone. It ’ s
time for me to go home. Standing up, I pick up my coat, grab my shit, and head
out, locking my office behind me.
    “ I ’ m outta here, ” I say, popping my head into the den where most of the boys
are.
    “ Adios,
amigo , ” Edgar sings.
    “ Ciao , ” Curtis waves.
    “ Gute Nacht , ” Logan says, making the rest of the boys snicker. “ What? I thought maybe we were doing some sort of
international farewell thing. ”
    “ You ’ re such a douche, ” Brayden laughs.
    “ Where ’ s everyone else? ” I ask, scanning the room.
    “ Matty ’ s probably in his room, ” Logan tells me, looking back down at the book in front of
him.
    “ All right. Tracey ’ s supervising dinner tonight. Edgar. ” I wait until he ’ s looking at me again before I continue. “ You and Eric better not give her a hard time, understand? ” Edgar stares at me with a blank look on his face, and I
have no idea if he ’ s actually heard what I said. “ Edgar? ”
    Brayden
kicks his foot out, knocking against Edgar ’ s thigh.
    “ Ouch, asshole. ”
    “ Edgar? ” I say a little louder and much more aggravated.
    “ What? ”
    “ Did you hear me? Do not —”
    “ Give Tracey a hard time. Yeah, I heard
you. I won ’ t. ”
    “ Thank you. ”
    Making
my way to Emily ’ s
office, I knock on the door even though it ’ s open. She ’ s sitting at her desk, staring at the computer screen, but
looks up when I enter.
    “ Hey, you leaving? ” she asks.
    “ Yeah. I ’ m going to go crash for the next
twelve hours. I didn ’ t sleep well last night. ”
    “ Surprise, surprise. ” She frowns. I shrug, and she continues. “ I ’ m heading out in a few, too. I promised my kids I ’ d eat dinner with them at your parent ’ s house tonight. Oh, did Aiden tell
you —”
    “ That my presence is required on
Saturday night? ” I