Chapter 27 Angel #2
“I’m sorry,” I told her, leaning forward. “I know how hard it is for people in the spotlight.” And I did. I had clients with the same problems, the same issues. I wondered how many of them thought the money was worth it.
“But you’re not in the spotlight,” Chrissy said suddenly. “And this shit is not for you to be threatened with,” she told me as she fixed Cooper with a glare. “Why aren’t you fixing it?” she demanded.
“I’ve been trying,” he told her as he continued to work on her legs.
“No, you haven’t,” she scolded. “Because it’s Angel. Well, that shit stops now. Get it fucking done, Coop.”
He laughed out loud and raised her legs from his lap, placing them on the couch gently as he stood.
“I’ve been working my ass off, mama, but I should’ve listened to Onyx.
He knew there was something wrong with Dallas, and I dismissed it as him being too involved.
” He glanced at me and then leaned down to Chrissy.
“They started banging again. It’s making him, being objective, slightly awkward. ”
Chrissy grinned as she patted his cheek. “I know, babe, they were always going to. All that boardroom rivalry had to spill over somewhere.”
“It’s a really fucked up form of foreplay,” Cooper muttered as he regarded me. “Whatever happened to dinner and a finger bang under the table?”
Chrissy guffawed with laughter as I died of mortification. “Okay, we’re no longer talking about my sex life,” I told them both.
“But you blush so well when they do,” Onyx said as he came up behind me. “Cooper, you and I are leaving. Chrissy, Jer says it’s nap time. You . . .” The way he looked at me made my tummy dip. “Come with me.”
I didn’t look at the others as I followed him upstairs to his room.
He crossed to the wall and then uncovered a panel I wouldn’t have noticed.
“Panic room,” he told me. “Fingerprint access only.” He held his hand out.
“Hand.” I gave him my hand, and he added me to his system.
From Onyx, it was better than a bunch of flowers.
“You hear anything, you suspect anything, you just want to try it out, you come in here.”
He opened the door, and I looked into the surprisingly comfortable-looking space. “How do I get out?”
He showed me the panel.
“And if I think I need to go in here?” I asked him. “How do I know when to come out?”
“When I come and get you.”
I nodded as I stepped back. “And if you don’t?”
“I’ll be the one to get you,” he assured me.
“You can’t hurt him,” I said suddenly. “He’s a boy — just a young boy.”
“Leave it with me,” he said as he stroked his thumb over my cheek.
“Onyx, you can’t. Your Mayhem isn’t right for this.”
His lips brushed my forehead. “I’ll see you soon. Don’t leave this house.”
He walked quickly from the room, and I knew he hadn’t listened to a word I said. Looking at the wall, I contemplated just going in and closing the door. Instead, I went back downstairs to where Jer was sitting on the couch, his wife’s head in his lap as she slept soundly.
“This late, she wears out easily,” he said quietly.
“You didn’t need to come. I’m sorry,” I told him.
“Course we did,” he said gruffly. “You’ve been through hell, but they’ll sort it out.”
“Their way?” I asked, and I heard the contempt in my own voice.
“You always judged us wrong,” Jer said with a sigh.
“In college, no one was listening to those girls, no one. Except us. You know why? One of the fuckers was the son of the head of campus security. His daddy wasn’t listening to girls with short skirts and tight tops.
” Jer looked down at his wife. “It doesn’t matter how the girl looks or who she is; when your son’s a piece of shit, your son’s a piece of shit, and you do the right thing. ”
“I know,” I said, and I did know. I had listened and paid attention after the night with Dave.
I may have thought at the time that the Devils were immoral bastards with empty souls, but they did keep order on the campus.
Yes, some incidents slipped through, but in my years of being there, Cardinal Saints College was a safe campus.
“And you went to the police, after you were finished.”
“We did.”
“Will they do that today?” I asked.
“If someone put a knife to Chrissy’s throat when she was sleeping and cut her . . . when I got my hands on him,” Jer looked me dead in the eye, “I’m not pulling my punches.”
“That’s different. She’s your wife.”
“And you’re Onyx’s girl,” he told me flatly.
“Don’t even argue, we all saw this coming for years.
” He gave me a wide grin. “If you think you and him bouncing off each other like you do was anything other than old-fashioned passion, you’re delusional.
” Jer laughed at my stunned expression. “Go rest. You look tired, and she won’t be awake for a while. I got you covered.”
I hesitated, my mind refusing to process that Onyx and I were a “sure thing” at any time in our lives. However, I couldn’t deny I was worried for him, for them, now. “Onyx and Cooper, they’ll be okay?”
“Charlie’s with them.”
That did make me feel a little better. Three was better than two, right? “I’ll go change,” I said as I realized I was still in my pantsuit.
“Lay down. I won’t tell anyone,” he added with a wink.
I smiled. “You’re a good guy, Jeremy Pittman,” I told him. “Amazing tight end player,” I added. “Pity about the carrots.”
His soft laughter followed me up the stairs, and when I looked in the room I was using, I couldn’t find my clothes and went looking in Onyx’s room.
Finding my overnight bag, I changed into sweats and a long-sleeved T-shirt.
I looked at his bed and contemplated going back to the other room, but he had put my things in his bedroom, no doubt for his guests’ benefit, but still, I crawled onto his bed and inhaled his pillow.
It smelled so good.
I was worried for him. For all of them. But the boy . . . Was I being na?ve? He was just a kid, and I was worried for him more than I was the three grown men seeking him out.
Going to my purse, I pulled out my cell phone. Should I call the police? Warn them? Rubbing my head, I didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t right. They weren’t the law. As I struggled with my own moral compass, my cell rang, causing me to jump with fright.
“Jesus, Angel, it’s only the phone,” I scolded myself, taking a deep breath to calm down. “Hi, this is Angel.”
“Miss Balan?”
“Yes?” I asked as I checked the caller ID.
“I need your help, Miss Balan.”
“Who is this?” I asked as I sat on Onyx’s bed.
“It’s Ronnie Christie, ma’am. You knew . . . you knew my brother.”
“I did,” I told him as I stood. “What’s wrong, Ronnie?”
“He’s going to kill me if you don’t come here.”
“Come where?” Fear froze me, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. “Onyx?” I gasped when I could speak.
“Who?”
“Who’s going to hurt you?” I asked him as I slipped on sneakers. When he told me where he was and who had him, I ran for the door.