Free The Absolution of Aidan (The Syndicate Series Book 3) by Kathy Coopmans

true. However, I owe my healing to my son and to this man sitting next to me, trying so hard not to burst out of his skin with the same excitement I did when I first held my newborn son.
    Unlike me, Aidan was raised without love. I knew he was estranged from his family, and now, after walking in here and hearing the way his mother talked to him, I know why. She’s a fucking bitch. A selfish woman. How she’s lived this long without a heart baffles the shit out of me.
    What really surprises me is Aidan. I mean, I knew he wouldn’t turn his back on his responsibility. He’s proven his loyalty by coming here and protecting me. Standing by his friends’ sides. Roan and Cain are his family. Blood doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to choosing whom you consider family. Your heart chooses for you.
    Aidan’s mother deserves none of the credit for the man he is today. There’s someone in his life who does, someone who showed him how to love. One thing is for damn certain, that fucking cow and her low-life son will have nothing to do with my child. It’s obvious they somehow know Aidan’s involvement with the mafia. I know firsthand that there is a lot of bloodshed. People die or disappear to never be heard from again. But Aidan’s not one of the ones who kills. He’s a thief, which I’m not particularly fond of, either. But this is my life. I am the daughter of one of the mafia’s attorneys. Diesel will be loved and protected. There’s danger all over this world. As much as I wish I could shield my son from it all, I can’t deny either one of them to bond like a father and his son should.
    I realize now that when we first met and I kept telling myself how I hated him, that it wasn’t true. In fact, it’s so far from the truth, it scares me. I took my anger and frustration out on him the same way he took his out on me. The two of us couldn’t leave for fear of the consequences that lingered right outside my apartment door, which would even make a married couple want to claw each other’s eyeballs out.
    He blames himself for not being able to help me. But I’ve never blamed him. I pray with everything I have he believed me when I told him he’s the one who saved me. He did. Even when I gave birth, I could still hear his deep voice, his words of reinforcement telling me to hang on. To not give up when all I wanted to do was scream and tell the doctors to get the baby out of me now. To stop pushing with every hard, painful contraction that ripped through my stomach. Every bit of pain I’ve been through this past year was worth it, not only because I’ve been blessed by becoming a mother, but also because of this moment right here, where I’m watching my son’s father fall in love with the greatest gift god can give to a person.
    “Let’s go.” Aidan’s words snap me out of my little daydream bubble. He stands, holding his hand out for me to take.
    “I hope you have more photos of him, because these are mine.” Letting go of my hand, he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket, sticking the photos inside. Instinctively, I want to snarl at him, tell him to give them back. I have plenty of photos of Diesel, that’s not the point. But those few photos are my favorites. I bite my tongue though, which is hard for me to do. He deserves to have them. He’s his son too.
    “Are you all right?” Aidan shoves his wallet back in his pocket, a look of concern on his handsome face.
    “I’m great. Why?” I frown, confused. Shoot, I don’t want him to think I’m upset about anything. This is a happy time, for all of us. I’m being selfish, so unlike the man standing in front of me. He doesn’t have a selfish bone in his god-blessed, candy-coated, rippling, muscled body. And there I go again, thinking about his body. I’m worse than those men who cannot seem to hold back their drool when they hit you up with those cheesy pick-up lines. Only I’m not lying or trying to pick him up. His body is like freshly