Czar found himself spiraling.
The moment he heard the report that the boy was missing, he should have been thinking about how to hunt down the kidnappers, how to make them beg before he killed them. That was the kind of man he was. But instead, all he could think of was Kaden's face. That goofy, infectious giggle.
He'd barely spent time with Kaden Leclair. Kids just weren't part of his world. He'd never had a reason to care about a child before, never wanted to. But every time he saw Kaden, the boy was polite, always smiling, always laughing at something. Somehow, the kid made people softer. It crept up on Czar, that feeling.
He didn't want to admit it, but he liked seeing the boy around.
People talked about Kaden all the time. Soren doted on him and David practically melted whenever Kaden was around even the first day they met. Frederic pretended to be annoyed, but Czar saw the way he enjoyed arguing with the kid. Even Mr. Hawke had asked after him, and that meant something.
