Archangel (Black Reign MC #11)

Chapter Ten

Archangel

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here, Gloria.” I’d never wanted to hit a woman in my life more than I wanted to hit the woman in front of me.

“I’m your wife, Colm.” She waved off my words like they were of no concern to her. Figured. “I have every right to be where you are.”

“Bullshit. What do you want? Why are you here?”

She stuck her chin up in a stubborn mien, but as I studied her, I could see she was mostly bluster and bravado. Underneath, the woman was uneasy. I held her gaze, never letting up. Then she huffed out a breath. “Fine. I need a place to stay.”

I just stared at her, unsure if I’d heard her correctly. She was going to have to explain, and I wasn’t asking her for the courtesy. I took a threatening step closer, and her eyes widened. It was easy to see the exact moment she realized she’d underestimated me, this club, and the entire fucking situation. Her unflappable demeanor shattered.

“No, wait!” She stumbled backward in those ridiculously high heels. She fell against the hood of her Maserati. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Just a suggestion, Gloria. When you trick someone into marrying you, you should really find out what kind of person you’re scamming. I gave you a pass in Vegas. I felt sorry for you and had no reason to think I’d be coming home alive. Not to mention killing someone right before you deploy to a place you’re likely to get killed is just really bad karma.”

“I’m sorry, OK?” She tried the pretty pout, but it did nothing to soften anything inside me. Especially after watching Sonya riding away from me as hard as that fucking Mustang would go. “I was in a bad financial spot. I overheard you and your buddies talking and seized the opportunity.”

“What opportunity? Why did you trick me into marrying you? You were never going to get rich. Hell, I don’t even remember fucking you. Did we even do that?” I was getting increasingly agitated. Mostly at my younger self.

She shrugged like it was really no big fucking deal. “I needed the money. Once I got myself out of my tight spot, I realized I had a nice little nest egg, so I saved the rest. Mainly because I didn’t need it anymore, but also because I felt bad about tricking you out of it. As to the fucking part, Colm, you were really way too fucking drunk to fuck, if you know what I mean.” She gave me an angry, embarrassed look. Did I have to reference our hooking up on what she’d made our wedding night? Not at all. Didn’t mean I wasn’t going to continue this confrontation. Just because I did my best to keep the peace didn’t mean I wouldn’t be passive aggressive.

“You could have contacted me anytime and given back the money, as well as freed me from a marriage neither of us wanted.”

“Who said I didn’t want it?” She looked almost as outraged as she had when I’d asked her if we’d fucked. “A strong man to protect and look out for me?” She gave me what she probably thought was a seductive smile. “I came back hoping you’d be my husband in truth as well as name.” Gloria reached out and slid her hands up my chest over my T-shirt and tried to wrap her arms around my neck. I grabbed her wrists -- hard -- and shoved her back into her car. She had to grasp the mirror to keep from falling and, because she’d already swiped Caroline’s Mustang with the driver’s side, the mirror fell off and Gloria landed on her knees on the pavement.

She sucked in a pained breath, and it took everything in me not to go to her immediately. The poor prospect wasn’t so disciplined. He lunged for her and helped her to her feet.

“You all right, ma’am?”

“No, I’m not all right!” she snapped, reaching for him to help her up. Of course, the guy did.

Ben was barely more than a kid. He’d been taken in at Black Reign when he was sixteen or seventeen and had begun prospecting immediately. More for him and his street brothers who’d been taken in with him to feel like they were contributing than for any real desire for them to patch in. El Diablo had started letting teens prospect in cases like Ben’s, and the first thing he’d instilled in them was respect. Whether or not someone had earned it. When they were old enough to know the difference, they were to treat everyone they met with respect. No matter what. Both of his street brothers as well as Ben had taken to that lesson with gusto. Even if I’d dressed Gloria down and called her every derogatory name in the urban dictionary I could come up with, I doubt any of those three young men would have followed suit. It wasn’t who they were. And they’d have called my ass out on my treatment of her, too.

“You should be careful in those heels, ma’am,” Ben offered helpfully as he made sure she was steady on her feet before he let her go and stepped away from her. “At your age, you could easily break a hip.” I never said the kid was smart.

“Excuse me?” Gloria clenched her hands into fists and took an angry step toward Ben. “What exactly does that mean?” She gave him a saccharine smile.

He blinked at her guilelessly. “Just that as you get older, your bones get fragile. I’m surprised you didn’t break something when you fell this time.” Ben looked so distressed I nearly missed the way his lips twitched as he fought a grin.

“I’m not that old!” Gloria screeched and struck out at poor Ben. The kid didn’t miss a beat but caught her swing with a level expression. He didn’t retain his hold, but let her go and stepped back again, ceding his ground but also letting her know he wouldn’t let her abuse him. Gloria gasped, turning to me immediately, cradling her wrist in her other hand, her lip trembling. “Did you see him? He crushed my wrist, Colm! Is this the kind of people you run with? You’d stand by while he hurt an innocent woman?”

I glanced at Ben who just grinned and shrugged. He was willing to take the fall. Kid was definitely smarter than he looked.

“If I say yes, will you be scared and go away?” I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but I couldn’t take it back. Ben, who might not be smarter than he looked after all, laughed unapologetically. He didn’t even try to cough or anything to cover up his laughter.

“Sorry, Angel. I know it’s not polite. I swear I’ll get on my knees and apologize later, but I can’t help it right now.”

“Don’t worry, kid. I got your back with El Diablo.”

“Who’s El Diablo?” Gloria demanded. Probably more to bring my attention back to her. Granted, I didn’t know the woman. I might be married to her, but I’d spent less than twenty-four hours with her in total. Probably closer to twelve than twenty-four, and most of that time was in Vegas where I was passed out. I couldn’t even remember how I got back to the hotel room that night.

I took a breath to explain El Diablo, but before I could say anything, Ben’s street brother, Gray, answered for me. “He’s the Devil.” Simple. Straightforward. And the truth. It was right there in his name.

Gloria rolled her eyes. “Does he own this place? Seems really big.” I could practically hear the wheels turning in her mind. I almost wanted to see what happened if she tried to get her claws into El Diablo. It wasn’t the Devil she had to worry about. El Diablo’s wife, Jezebel, was just as deadly as her husband. And El Diablo was an assassin.

“He does,” Ben answered cheerfully. I was beginning to see I needed to keep a closer eye on this kid. “It’s really huge. Several buildings and all kinds of private homes for the club members who don’t want to stay at the clubhouse. El Diablo owns all of it.”

If we’d been in a cartoon, Gloria’s eyes would have lit up with solid gold dollar signs. “Ben…” I practically groaned his name. “You’re gonna cause so much fucking trouble.”

Kid shrugged. “Sorry, not sorry.”

“I demand to see El Diablo about my treatment!” Gloria had an almost gleeful look in her eyes.

“Ma’am,” Gray had come closer, putting himself between Gloria and everyone, He guided her back to her car with a hand in the middle of her back. “I think it might be best if you leave.”

“I can’t leave!” she yelled at the younger man. “I don’t have anywhere else to go!”

Ben, who it seemed loved stirring the shit, peered around Gray to grin and wave at her. “You got a nice vehicle, ma’am.”

Still eyeing trying to get around Gray, she straightened but stayed near the car where Gray had opened the door and was trying to urge her inside. “It was a gift! I don’t have to give it back!” The car was clearly a point of contention with her and whatever had happened.

“Didn’t say you had to, ma’am,” the prospect continued. “Just… I mean, you could sell it. Get a more practical vehicle and probably a nice house.” The look of abject horror on Gloria’s face sealed her fate with me. But not before I got what I needed from her.

“Bring her and that fucking ostentatious car to the clubhouse. Keep her outside until I come for her. She tries to get past you, fuckin’ shoot her .” I didn’t wait to see what Gloria’s reaction was, but I was riding a fine line between keeping the peace and killing the bitch because she’d upset my woman. Except that it was more my fault than Gloria’s. Sort of.

No. You know what? Hell no. If I’d had an inkling of what my future held, I’d have taken care of this little problem with Gloria and told Sonya everything from the very beginning. Before I’d been in a situation to be alone with her. So this wasn’t my fault in the way it was handled. What was my fault was letting it go on this long.

I stomped inside the main clubhouse, not even bothering to calm myself. Bandit was behind the bar and gave me a chin lift when I shut the door. Took him a second to register the look on my face because when he did, he raised an eyebrow and picked up his phone. Probably to give Samson a heads-up there might be trouble.

“Shotgun!” I yelled as I went deeper into the structure toward the tech officer’s command center, as he loved calling it.

“Yo, Angel. In here,” Shotgun called from the room across from his office. Looked like he was expanding or something. Or could be he and his kids needed a bigger game room. Could go either way.

“I need you to look into someone. Right now.”

Shotgun gave me a curious look but was also all business. He led the way across the hall and sat at his desk, clicking a few keys on his keyboard. “Wassup?”

“Gloria Turcot.” I gave Shotgun her birthdate and social security number. “Look her up.”

He typed as he talked. “She the viper out front?”

“Yep.” I waited to explain further until Shotgun glanced at the initial results.

“The fuck? Colm Flynn? Gloria Turcot is… your wife ?” Shotgun shoved back from the desk and stood so fast he nearly knocked over his chair. “Your fuckin’ wife ? And you and Sonya --”

“Keep looking.” I pointed at the computer screen, interrupting him before he could give me the beating he thought I deserved. “You tell me what you find, then we’ll talk about my beatin’.”

Shotgun gave me a wary look. “How’d you know I was gonna throw you a beatin’?”

I gave him an exasperated look. “‘Cause it’s what I would fuckin’ do.”

He narrowed his gaze at me, but rolled his chair back over to his desk, sat, and got to work without questioning me further. It didn’t take him long to lean in closer to the monitors, that frown on his face deepening.

“The date on this marriage license is fifteen years ago.” Shotgun punched some buttons and clicked his mouse or whatever. “Two-thirds of your pay goes to her. Even what you make here.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Two-thirds?” I frowned. “I thought it was half.” I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck and groaned.

“Well, sixty-five percent. This started the next deposit after the license was issued. No other withdrawals other than normal bank fees. Only major withdrawals come every May and November. Women’s shelters in the spring, children’s charities in the winter.” He kept typing, clicking, and reading. Then he looked up at me again. “Have you even seen this woman since you married her?”

“Not after my first mission. Not until I came back. I’d been in deep fuckin’ cover. So it was a couple years before I even had the chance to contact her. To be honest, I kind of forgot about her. Yeah, there was a piece of paper with our names on it saying we were married, but she was a drunk hook-up for me. Only reminder I had of her was the missing part of my paycheck. I didn’t need money for myself. I lived the job. Anything I needed was provided for me. It’s why I give so much money away. I don’t need it, and there are plenty of people who do.” I sighed. “Anyway, the last time I talked to her was about four or five years ago. She was supposed to meet me to sign divorce papers, but never showed up. There was no indication anything was wrong, then El Diablo needed me in Argentina and I was gone another year.”

Shotgun stared at the screen for a long time. “So… what you’re saying is, you… forgot? You were married?”

“My life isn’t normal, Shotgun, and I don’t have to explain myself to you. What I want is simple. I want to not be married to her anymore. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the money, but she’s not a nice person and I don’t want to give her any more.”

“No, I can see that.” Shotgun squinted at the screen just about the time Eden, his wife, stormed into the room, an angry frown on her face.

“Archangel? Does that woman out there in the expensive-looking car belong to you? Because she says she does and that you’re expecting her to be waiting on you in the common room to introduce her to El Diablo.” Eden huffed and stomped over to me, pointing a finger in my chest. I figured I was going to get yet another dressing down. Fuck my life.

“No,” I said, then shook my head. “Well, technically yes, but not for any longer than it takes Shotgun to make her not belong to me.”

“Already done,” Shotgun said, his fingers moving again. “Dissolving your marriage was way easier than fixing the money issue, but I can get Ripper to help. Breaking into a government system, while not out of my reach, isn’t something I want to do without backup.”

“Understood. The money’s not worth exposing you or the club. If it’s too risky, leave it. I’ll go through the old-fashioned way.”

“Nah, I can get it. Do you want anything taken out of her accounts? Any of the money she already has?”

“No. Just stop any more payments from going to her.”

“On it, Angel.”

“Never mind that.” Eden waved Shotgun off. “If that woman belongs to you, bring her inside. That way, when you spank her, no one will come to investigate.” Eden crossed her arms over her chest. “That one is rude. Teach her some manners.”

“Oh, I’m fixin’ to. Just not the kind of lesson she’s gonna want.”

“You need anything else from me?” Shotgun pulled out a lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.

“Yes. I want to know where Gloria’s been all this time. She indicated she had a rich man keeping her up and that they no longer have that sort of arrangement.”

“Yeah,” Shotgun grinned, talking around the sucker. “Looks like her boyfriend is some kind of oil billionaire. It’ll take me a while to find out everything -- they weren’t married, and therefore no legal documents. Give me a few hours and I should be able to find something.”

“Main thing I want to know is if the guy’s dangerous and likely to come looking for her, or would hurt her physically. I’m not taking care of the woman anymore, but I’m not a bastard either.” I took out my phone. “I need to talk to El Diablo,” I muttered.

“And, as luck would have it, Archangel, I’m here.” El Diablo, the president of Black Reign MC, stood at the door to Shotgun’s office and he didn’t look happy. “Come with me, please. My office is quieter.” His light English accent was deceptively calm.

“Good news travels fast, huh?” I sighed and stalked after my president and friend. El Diablo was the man I’d sworn to follow without question for the better part of my adult life. I’d met him in the middle of my first mission and I knew beyond any doubt, he was the only reason I survived. Now, he might be the reason I died right there.

“Indeed.” His clipped tone told me he was, indeed , pissed to shit and back.

He led the way, stepping into his office and behind his desk while I sprawled in the chair in front of him, scrubbing a hand over my face.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning.” El Diablo didn’t believe in wasting time. He wasn’t above toying with someone before the real interrogation began, but only for his own amusement. Not when the conversation was this important.

“Of which story? Because I have more than one you need to hear.”

“Start with the woman outside. Not how you being with her came about or all the circumstances surrounding the meet. That’s between you and Sonya. What I want to know is the plan for her and her involvement with you up to this point.”

“I haven’t seen or communicated in any way with her in at least four years. Probably closer to five. We were supposed to meet to sign papers to get our marriage dissolved, but she never showed.”

“Who had the papers? You or her?”

“I did. Still have them in my footlocker.”

“I’m assuming Shotgun is taking care of everything with regard to the divorce? Or are you staying with her now that she’s come home?”

“No, I’m not staying with her. I did everything in my power to make sure she was taken care of. I reached out to her once after she didn’t turn up. I was kind of concerned something had happened to her. All she said was that she was fine and would call me later. After that, nothing. I was too busy to worry about her after that. There was no expectation I’d ever want a woman of my own since my life was too damned dangerous to bring anyone else into it.”

“Then you met Sonya.”

“Then Sonya met me.” I wanted to make this perfectly clear. “I had no intention of ever going after her, El Diablo. The second I realized I saw her as more than a child, I kept as far away from her as I could.”

“Why?” There was no mistaking I didn’t have the option of not answering his question.

“You know the life I’ve led. Why would I want to expose any woman to that kind of life?”

“Not what I want to know. Why would you believe you’d be exposing her to your past life?” I knew exactly where the bastard was going. He was going to make me admit my feelings for Sonya and to gauge how deep they ran.

“Because the first time I saw her after she came home from her first semester of college, I knew I’d never look at another woman the way I looked at Sonya. I couldn’t have her, and she’d never want me. Seeing her living her life and playing around with some hapless boy unable to resist her would have… not ended well. For the boy.”

“So, you’re telling me you stayed away from her because you wanted her to be yours. Am I understanding you correctly?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you agree to bring her to the Oasis when Thorn asked you to help her channel her energies and find her future?”

“What was I supposed to say, Liam?” I snapped angrily. “‘Sorry, Thorn. I can’t help your daughter out because I’d rather be fuckin’ her’? I can imagine how fuckin’ well that’d go over.”

To my surprise, El Diablo laughed. Not a sinister laugh that said I was getting ready to die, but one of genuine humor. “Yes. I can see where that would have been a problem. So, what about you and Sonya?”

“She’s going to be mine.”

“Unless Thorn kills you first.”

“There’s that.”

El Diablo studied me for a long time, then sighed. “Only you could ever get so caught up in something you forgot you were married.” There were equal parts irritation and amusement in his expression. “But I suppose it never had an occasion to come up.”

“It did not. After she didn’t show to sign the papers and basically said don’t call me, I’ll call you, I didn’t try to contact her again. She knew how to find me, as evidenced by her showing up here for her bad timing award, and I had more important things to worry about.”

“Yes. As I recall you were hunting a particularly nasty drug lord.”

“Which is yet another reason I suppressed it all. I have no family, Liam. Only you and Black Reign. If the tie between Gloria and me had gotten out back then, she’d have been as good as dead.”

“And Sonya?”

I stood abruptly, glaring down at the man I considered a brother. “I’ll kill anyone who comes near her.”

El Diablo raised an eyebrow. “Don’t growl at me. I’d never hurt that girl.”

That’s when I realized I had bared my teeth and tensed to spring. At El Diablo. I cleared my throat and straightened. “Sorry.” I sat and gave him a sheepish grin. “I should say, I will protect her with my life and God help anyone who comes between me and her.”

“I’d expect nothing less. Now. Next question. What are you doing to do about little Miss Sunshine out there?”

“Who the fuck let in that skank ho in the car compensating for her personality?”

“Ah, my sweet Jezebel.” El Diablo held out a hand to his wife. She flounced to him and plopped down in his lap. “You sound displeased.” He frowned at her, but winked at me when she spoke.

“The bitch is flirting with anything with a dick. Which, I could care less about. What I do mind is how she keeps asking for El Diablo. President of this club.”

“Me?”

“Oh, yes. Apparently, she wants to be the woman of the president because everyone else is beneath her.”

El Diablo gave me a look. “I think I’m beginning to see why you forgot her so completely.”

I shrugged. “Apparently, it was a defense mechanism. As to my plan, Shotgun is going through everything he can find. Given Eden had about as good an encounter with Gloria as you did, Jezebel, she’ll help him. He’s doing the divorce as well as redirecting my payment deposits. Once that’s done, he’s looking into her life and the man she was in a relationship with until recently.”

“How long does Shotgun think that’s gonna take?” Jezebel obviously wasn’t liking where this was going. The woman had good instincts.

“Not sure. Several hours at minimum, but I’m sure he’ll want a little more time than that. She can be confined to a room in the club whores’ wing. Lock her in. Give her food and some clean clothes. Though from the looks of her, I’m sure she’d bitch about anything we gave her.”

Jezebel huffed out a laugh. “Do you honestly care?”

I grinned. “Not in the least.”

There was a chime and a buzz as both El Diablo and Jezebel got messages. Jezebel pulled hers out and read the message before handing it to her husband. Neither of them gave anything away with their expression. I checked my phone in case I’d missed the thing buzzing. If Shotgun had sent out a club message, I needed to check. Nothing.

“Everything OK?” I asked, looking from El Diablo to his woman and back.

“Yep.” Jezebel gave me a friendly smile that made me entirely too uneasy. “Just got a couple of things to take care of.” She stood, then leaned down to kiss her husband. “I’ll start working on this now and meet you later tonight. I’m sure she’ll need all this sooner rather than later.”

“This is your forte, my dear. Spare no expense. Funding your good deeds is my forte.” He grinned at Jezebel and she gave him a merry laugh before kissing him once more, then hurrying out of the office, closing the door behind her.