30. Angel
Chapter thirty
Angel
Daisy crawls back into bed, lying on top of the covers and turning so that we’re facing each other.
I reach for her waist to draw her close, keeping the bedding as a boundary between us and grateful that she doesn’t pull away.
Even though I can see that she’s alive and well, holding her brings as much comfort to me as it does to her.
Hours ago, I’d thought I’d lost her…again.
I move my hand to Daisy’s face, gently running the tips of my fingers across the scrape that has already begun to heal. It will be a few weeks before her skin is no longer marred, but even now, she is the most beautiful of God’s creations I’ve ever seen.
She possesses an inner strength that surpasses any woman I have encountered, including my mother and sister.
Daisy doesn’t need a hero, but the protective nature inside me wants to be that for her, if only to remind her that she’s not alone in this fight.
“Tell me who did this to you, and I’ll make sure he never does it again. ”
With a soft laugh, Daisy smiles at me. “I believe you would, Angel, and that’s very sweet of you to say. But when it comes down to it, and once you learn the truth, you’ll understand why it needs to be me who ends this.”
I listen intently as Daisy shares the memory she had while unconscious; a memory that morphed into a dream.
“I didn’t want it to be him,” she says when she’s through.
My blood boils with rage when his name is whispered on her lips, yet I still have to ask the question.
“Are you sure it’s not your subconscious playing tricks on you?
You were tranquilized with the same, or close to the same, fast-acting paralyzing agent the Southern Knights use to incapacitate their targets. In essence, you were drugged.”
“You don’t believe me.” By the way she says it, I know she hears more than skepticism in my question.
“That’s definitely not it,” I tell her. “But I doubt I’ll be the only one to ask. So, before you tell everyone, I just want you to be confident that it was a vision; not just a dream.”
Daisy fiddles with the sleeve of my T-shirt, picking pieces of imaginary lint. “Uri was with me at the end, which is enough for me.”
“Then it’s enough for me, too.” I kiss her forehead and roll out of bed, noting the FBI shirt I’m wearing and then the FBI sweatpants Owen dressed me in. Even though my sister warned me about my attire, hearing it and seeing it are two very different things.
Daisy chuckles when she notices the grimace on my face. “It really is the highest compliment my brother can pay you, Angel. Owen is basically welcoming you to the FBI with open arms if you want the position.”
“Maybe I’ll be a Southern Knight,” I tease, but Daisy doesn’t laugh.
Biting her lower lip, she looks up at me through her long lashes. “It’s not a bad idea. You’d make an excellent addition, and we make a pretty great team.”
I pull her up from the bed so that I can wrap my hands loosely around her waist. I need her in my arms so that she knows what I’m about to say isn’t a rejection.
“Daisy, I’ve never told a woman that I love her in the romantic sense because I’ve never been in love until you came along.
Our connection was strong from the beginning, and kissing you was like everything coming into focus.
Exciting, scary, mind-blowing, and all-around amazing. It terrified me.”
Daisy smiles. “You said a lot of that in your apology, except for the love part. Tell me more!”
I chuckle, feeling blessed to have this woman in my life and praying that we’ll both live long enough to experience the joy of forever together. “I’m getting to that part!”
Inhaling deeply, I find the courage to share my latest fear, one that has only surfaced since falling head over heels for Daisy.
And that fear is loving someone deeply only to have her snatched away.
“I didn’t deserve a second chance, but you gave me one anyway.
I don’t intend to waste it. That said, we’ve been trapped in a mine near death.
You’ve been almost blown to bits, and then shot.
It wasn’t a bullet, but it easily could have been.
That’s just this week. I’m afraid in a way I’ve never been before.
While I’d take ten minutes with you over a lifetime without you, I’d much rather go the lifetime route. ”
“Are you proposing?” Daisy asks with an adorably confused and somewhat eager expression.
“No,” I say, bursting her bubble without meaning to.
Though it’s nice to know that the idea of a future with me is something she seems to want wholeheartedly, and that giving me a second chance wasn’t the hypoxia speaking or because we thought those might be our last moments on this earth.
My heart thumps against my rib cage at twice the normal speed as I say the three words I’ve never told a woman romantically.
“I’m telling you that I love you and that I want to spend however long we have together focusing on living, not on the next life-ending event.
Working with you at the Southern Knights would be perfect if it weren’t for having to watch you put yourself in danger. ”
“Ignorance is bliss,” she jokes.
I chuckle. “In this case, it most certainly is.” Stepping back, I gesture to the FBI attire I’m in.
“Just like this outfit, knowing it’s a reality and seeing it firsthand have two very different effects on the psyche.
Awareness of what you do is easier to handle than actually being a part of it.
I don’t know how Jaxon and my sister do it; constantly watching each other put themselves in danger while being unable to do anything about it. ”
Daisy lays her hands on my chest and feels my racing heart.
“They have each other’s backs, Angel, just like I’ll have yours.
Just like you’ll have mine. And for the record, I love you too.
I have ever since the day you barged into our offices demanding to be a part of the mission to rescue your sister, slapped a folder full of information down in the center of the table, and then locked eyes with mine.
In that moment, I knew you were a man of valor who put the needs of your loved ones before your own.
That was only reinforced when you directly disobeyed an order and stayed to fight with us. ”
Rising on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to mine, she whispers, “Whether or not you choose to join the ranks of the Southern Knights, know that we already consider you one of our own. All I ask is that you think about it, okay? And if you have reservations about working together, talk to your sister. Better yet, talk to Jaxon; man to man.”
When Daisy puts on her coat and boots, I press my hand against the door to stop her from leaving. “I promise to give it serious consideration if you can make me a promise in return.”
Already knowing where I’m going with this, Daisy shakes her head.
“I won’t promise to let everyone else put themselves in danger when it’s me he wants.
I’m still our best bet at finding Eva, and now Genevieve.
If my vision is true, and I know it is, then he wants me to be a part of whatever he’s doing.
Angel, the look in his eyes when he removed the mask was full of pain, but there was also a moral code.
Not moral to us, but to him, his cause is just.”
Daisy gently nudges my hand out of her way, opening the door and letting in the cold air that sends my mind right back to the frigid waters. A shiver runs through me, both from the temperature and from her next words.
“I promise that when this is over, I won’t take any unnecessary risks. But for this mission, the risk is mine to bear. We have one more chance, Angel, and like you, I don’t intend to waste it.”
By the time I finish praying to God for His hedge of protection over us, for Daisy to stop throwing herself on every sword, and for us to come up with a plan that works instead of making false assumptions, she should have shared her dream with the rest of the team.
I get my boots, gloves, and jacket on, and despite the layers of warmth, there’s a coldness inside my chest I can’t shake. It doesn’t get any better as I trek down the hill to the “Command Center,” where no doubt everyone will have suggestions about what to do next.
“Why do you keep insisting on jumping into the fire? What if that jerk face had shot you with a gun instead of a tranquilizer?” Jack shouts.
Daisy retorts with her usual sass. “Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation, Jack.”
When I enter the cabin, I notice that Jack has his arms folded across his chest and is glaring at Daisy. “Not funny.”
Jeremy steps in between the two. “Jack’s right. We didn’t expect the kidnapping to happen in broad daylight, and we were scattered like roaches when the lights come on. Daisy, we need to be unified; no one going off on their own. No sacrificial lambs without a plan.”
Scott clears his throat. “Daisy, if you truly believe that you are his target, then this will be a rescue operation; possibly even a recovery depending on Genevieve’s and Eva’s status, both of which are currently unknown to us.
Owen and I are best suited for that. You really should let him in on this.
Keeping it from your brother will ultimately destroy your bond as the trust between you slowly erodes. ”
Roger gestures to Vinny and himself. “We’ll formulate a strike plan once we have more information; information that Owen should be arriving with shortly. But just so you know, I agree with Scott. We should not keep this from Owen.”
With no room left on the rack to hang up my coat, I toss it in the corner before joining the conversation.
“Daisy is trying to protect her brother from doing something rash, which is likely what I’d do if I was in the same situation.
So, let me ask each of you this: now that you know who is behind the kidnappings, what is it that you want to do to him when we catch him?
Be honest with yourselves before answering.
What was your first reaction when you saw Daisy lying face down on that trail in the dirt?
I’ll go first. It isn’t to put him in handcuffs or some prison in Siberia.
I’d much rather he be six feet underground. ”
Faith’s jaw drops open at my declaration. “That is not like you, Angel!”
I agree because it’s true. “You’re right, Faith.
It’s not like me to wish ill will, but it’s honestly how I feel.
Will I do such a thing? The answer is an emphatic, ‘No.’ That’s not who I am.
But I’ve only known Daisy for six months and have fallen in love with her.
Imagine a brother who grew up with her, waited on pins and needles for any news after her abduction, and likely thought she was dead.
Or worse! It affected Owen more than any of us in this room, Daisy excluded.
Even then, maybe it affected him as much as Daisy, albeit differently. ”
“Owen became an FBI agent hoping that he’d one day help me slay my demons,” Daisy says. “Now that the day is upon us, I’m afraid of what he’s capable of doing.”
Jack growls dangerously low. “Then you have even less faith in your brother than we do. I won’t be a part of a plan that starts with lies. And in this case, omission would be a lie.”
“We tell Owen everything,” I say, and this time it’s Daisy’s mouth that hangs open.
The look of betrayal on her face stings worse than a thousand bees.
“I’m sorry, Daisy. I understand your desire to protect your brother from himself.
But he’s a grown man capable of making decisions about how to act or react to the news.
If any of my family members kept something like this from me, it would be devastating.
Forgivable, but our relationship would never be the same. Is that what you really want?”
Suddenly, the perimeter alarm beeps, and Vinny looks at the screen. “Well, it’s now or never. Owen is coming this way, and he doesn’t look happy.”
Daisy sighs. “There have been enough secrets. No need to add more, I suppose.”
I walk over to her and pull her into my arms. “It was with good intentions, and your heart was in the right place. We all see that. But if you’re going to offer yourself up as bait again, then everyone needs to be on board.”
Jack’s shoulders loosen as he closes the distance between himself and Daisy. “Owen spent weeks wondering what had become of you. Please don’t put him through that again. The wondering is far more destructive than the knowing.”
Daisy releases her arms from around my waist and hugs her teammate. “Thanks for speaking up. Sometimes tough love is what’s needed to get through my thick skull.”
Owen raps on the door twice before coming in, holding up an old-school dumb phone. “This may be the key to finding Eva and Genevieve.”