He felt grief so deep that it nearly suffocated him, guilt that had been accumulating inside her for years, horror over what had been done to her son, and a helplessness so profound that it threatened to consume everything else.
Beneath all of it was a mother's fury, primal and merciless, awakened by the sight of her child suffering before her, while beneath that fury was an even deeper fear that had nothing to do with herself.
Dakota was terrified for Cooper, and every bruise on his body felt like an accusation against her, reminding her of the years she had lost and the child she had once believed was safe somewhere beyond her reach.
Kade could feel the thoughts tearing through her mind and the unbearable belief that she should have been there when Cooper needed her, until he understood that she wasn't simply angry anymore. She was completely shattered by what she was seeing.
