“That’s the only home Trace has ever known. His friends are there, his school. Everything he knows and loves.” She sounded like she was grasping at straws, and I was more than willing to call her out on it.
“What about me? And what about his school you’re so worried about? He just gonna miss weeks of school while he’s here and pick back up?” I wanted her to see for herself that staying was the best choice, but regardless, I wasn’t letting her go.
“We’ll work something out. I won’t keep you from him if you honestly want to have a relationship with him.”
It wasn’t only my son I wanted a relationship with. Because having her in my orbit showed me why I hadn’t wanted a relationship with anyone else in the past. It wasn’t because I was afraid of having children.
It was because I was afraid of having children with someone who wasn’t her.
Unable to stop myself, I curled a hand around the back of her neck and dragged her close enough to brush my lips against hers. At the electric zap that shot through me the second we touched, she groaned softly and clutched my sleeve. When her lips opened, I dove in. Tasting her, twisting my tongue with hers, we found each other again.
Every emotion slammed back into me. What had been mere shadows in the back of my mind flooded every cell in my body. My other hand slipped between her legs, clutching her inner thigh tightly. Every second was building the desire I’d thought long buried.
It wasn’t long before my fingers brushed the seam that ran along her pussy. I could actually feel the heat of it through the layers of her panties and jeans. She moaned into my mouth, and I swallowed the need that poured from her.
A clearing throat had us pulling apart with gasping breaths. I glanced up to see Ghost giving me a knowing smirk. His hands each held a seat back, caging us in our row and providing a slight bit of privacy. “I was coming back from the shitter and couldn’t help but notice you’re starting to draw an audience.”
I scanned the area. Thankfully, Trace was still sleeping peacefully in the seats next to us. I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, then gave Ghost a chin lift in thanks. God knows how far I’d have pushed that if she’d let me. We might’ve ended up in the airplane bathroom.
Actually, that idea still had some merit.
I looked back to see the woman who was in the seats behind Korrie and Trace’s watching us with wide eyes. Honestly, I wanted to flip her off and tell her to mind her own fucking business, but it was too late. Korrie had pulled back, and I tried to stop her from putting up the walls I could see her erecting. Ghost went back to his seat.
Korrie leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. “Oh my God! What the hell are we doing? That was a mistake.”
“Korrie? Are you going to tell me I don’t affect you in the least? That there’s nothing between us anymore? Because if you are, I’m gonna call you a liar.”
She dropped her hands and looked at me like I was nuts.
“Obviously you do something to me, but it doesn’t mean it’s right,” she said with a furrowed brow.
“Baby, there’s nothing more right than the two of us together, and I’m not gonna let you turn your back on this. We’ve both had our moments of sheer immaturity and stupidity. I’m not gonna sit by and let either of us fuck it up this time.”
The prospect pulled up, and we dragged our tired asses to get in the SUV. It had been an early morning flight and none of us had slept much after all the events of the night.
“You get the back seat,” Phoenix said to Ghost.
“Man, fuck you. You get back seat. It’s cold back there,” Ghost grumbled.
“I got the vents fixed while you were gone,” the prospect offered, looking impatient to get on the road. His eyes darted around the busy pickup lane. Something about his actions put me on high alert.
“Get in the SUV,” I said in a demanding growl. Ghost stopped whining, seemed to freeze a bit as he stared off at nothing. Then he jumped in back without a word. Phoenix got in as I bustled Korrie and Trace inside the vehicle.
Once the doors were closed and we were rolling out of the airport, I leaned forward. “What was that back there?”
The prospect looked over his shoulder at me, then glanced in the rearview at Korrie and Trace. He gave an imperceptible shake of his head and refocused on the road.
Korrie looked at me with worry in her eyes, and my jaw tensed. The rest of the trip was made in silence. We pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, and the prospect at the gatehouse closed it as he gave us a wave.
It had me wondering why the automatic gate wasn’t on. The only time that happened was when there was trouble. We hadn’t gotten a call, but then again, we’d been in the air for hours. It had me checking my phone for any text messages.
Nothing.
Once we parked, I hurried them inside. It was cold, and Trace was barely recovered from healing me. We hurried through the clubhouse to the rooms in back.
“You guys have your clubhouse on a farm?” Korrie asked in confusion.
“Sort of. Hawk inherited it, and we turned this building into a clubhouse since we didn’t need it for equipment like it had been.” I shrugged and brought them back to two of the rooms we used for guests.
“This one has a connecting door to the one next door. It’s a little smaller, but I figured it would work for Trace.” Korrie followed me in the room with a protective hand resting on Trace’s head.
“Are there any kids here?” Trace asked as he hopped up on the bed, making it bounce. I sat down next to him.
“No, I’m sorry, buddy, there aren’t. I can maybe bring you an X-Box in here if you want. We have a couple in the main room. What do you say?” I asked him as I studied the characteristics that I remembered seeing in the mirror once upon a time. My hand itched to touch his hair to see if it felt like mine. Instead, I curled it tight in my lap.
He appeared to contemplate my offer. “Do you have Bomber Crew?”
I scratched my short beard. “Um, I’m not sure. I can check.” I doubted we did, but I made a mental note to get it for him. I’d also buy him his own system, but for now, I’d snag one of the consoles from the dayroom area.
One of the prospects passed by in the hall, and I called out to him, asking him to grab the system.
We had it set up in no time and had Trace happily playing some arcade games.
“Trace, your mom and I need to talk for a minute, but we’ll only be in the room right here, okay?” I said as I pointed into the adjoining room. He nodded without looking my way.
I chuckled at his singular focus on the game. “Typical kid,” I said with a grin. More than anything, I wanted to stay with him. If all I got to do was stare at him as he played video games, I’d be happy. After years of accepting I’d never have children, to find out I had a son was surprisingly… mind-blowing. Amazing.
After reluctantly stepping away from him and ushering Korrie into the next room, I closed the connecting door most of the way. She sat on the bed and her shoulders curled. “Jude,” she began.
“Angel,” I corrected. Her gaze rose, and her brows dropped in confusion. Moving forward, I sat next to her. “Call me Angel. No one calls me Jude anymore.”
Hurt flitted across her face. “Angel, then,” she conceded. “You can’t really believe no one is going to look for Lester. This isn’t over. I’m worried about his safety,” she motioned toward the room Trace was in, “and yours.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve survived worse.” I nudged her with my shoulder and gave her a tip of my lips. Her face flushed beet red.
“Ju—Angel. You have no idea how sorry I am. I swear I had no idea it was you. All I saw was someone who had killed Lester Damon and then turned his gun on me. I thought you were going to kill me. I never thought I’d hit a damn artery—I really thought I’d give you enough of a flesh wound to make you drop your gun or at least buy me time to get out of there.” She covered her face with both hands, then looked over at me. Tears glistened in h
er eyes.
Without a thought to the consequences, I reached out to cup the back of her neck and pulled her close. Our noses were touching, and her breath feathered over my lips.
“I know. No one blames you.” She bit the corner of her lip, and I groaned. Stealing a moment, I brushed my lips over hers, giving a nip to her lips until she opened to me. Her fingers dug into my shoulders as she leaned in and gave as good as she got. Like they did every time, the years fell away and we were in the treehouse learning about love.
“Mom?” The small voice had us jerking apart and turning guiltily toward our child. For me it wasn’t because I was ashamed of wanting her, but that I wanted to be able to sit down and talk to him about us. Not have him catch me groping his mom.
“Trace!” She jumped up and gave me a worried glance. I simply waited to see what she was going to say. Because now that he’d seen us like that, I wasn’t planning on hiding how I felt about her.
What I’d been denying to myself for years was screaming in my head. Insane though it might be, I still loved her.
“I’m hungry.”
I stood up and waited by the door for him to follow. “Come on, let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.”
“Okay, Dad,” he said as he passed under my arm where I held the door open.
My heart imploded as I wondered if he’d actually heard us talking at some point. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out when he might’ve heard.
“Trace, why would you say that?” Korrie questioned.
“Grandma told me.”
“Fallen Angel”—Three Days Grace
My steps faltered as my son’s words hit me.
“What did you say, Trace?” Stunned, I asked his retreating back.
He stopped and turned to look at me with his head cocked. His hair fell over his forehead like his father’s had. “What?” he innocently asked with his little brows furrowed.
“You said Grandma told you Angel was your father? When?” My mother hardly ever spoke to him.
“Oh. When she told me bedtime stories,” he said like it was no big deal and like it was true.
“Grandma has never told you a bedtime story in your life,” I blurted out without thinking.
He looked at me like I was the one who’d lost my mind. Then he looked up at Jude—Angel—who stood waiting on him.
“Yes, she did. Every night until it was time for Dad to come. She told me he was coming and he was going to bring me home. I was scared cuz I thought she meant he was going to take me without you. But you’re here, so it’s cool.” He shrugged and looked up at his father like he hadn’t dropped a bomb of massive proportions on both of us.
Angel’s face was blanched, and I worried about how he was handling what Trace had said on top of his recent injury. He rested both hands on Trace’s shoulders as he crouched to put himself at his level.
“What did she look like?” he asked in a raspy voice.
Trace appeared to think for a minute as his nose wrinkled and then he brightened. “Kinda like that book Mom used to read me. With the girl with black hair.”
“That’s not narrowing things down much,” I said.
Angel pulled out his wallet and then a tattered photo from the inside pocket. “Was this her?”
“Yeah! That’s Grandma!” He smiled, pleased that we knew who he was talking about.
Angel met my gaze over his shoulder, and we both swallowed hard. I nearly choked. How the hell does one process that within a week they discovered their son has the ability to heal others, his father didn’t know anything about him, someone lied to keep us all apart, and said son has been having conversations with his dead grandmother. Nightly.
One hand braced on the wall, I clutched my heart. Holy shit.
“Is it okay to call you my dad?” He suddenly looked worried as his brown eyes flickered from Angel to me.
Angel let out a deep breath. “Little man, it’s absolutely perfect if you want to call me Dad. I’d be honored. We’ve got a lot to catch up on. Huh?”
Trace nodded sagely.
“Okay. Wow. Um, let’s get you something to eat.” I tried to sound like everything was normal and I hadn’t heard the things I’d heard.
Angel stood and guided Trace down the hall. We entered the large room again but skirted the wall to where he pushed through a swinging metal door like you’d see in a restaurant. The man he’d called Ghost and three other guys were all sitting around the table drinking coffee. They wore leather vests with the same patch on the back.
“Trace, Korrie, this is Ghost, Chains, Squirrel, Facet, and you remember Voodoo?” My brow furrowed, then understanding dawned.
“Oh my God! Ogun Dupré? It’s been years.” From the chin lift he gave me, he didn’t look too keen on me being there. His eyes trailed to my son, and surprise flared in them briefly.
“Korrie.” His deep voice carried over the brim of his mug. He set it on the table after taking a slow sip. “Who’s this little guy?”
My heart cracked when Trace grabbed Angel’s hand and crowded his side. Though it was strange to see after all these years, it amazed me. He’d taken to the man who was his father as if he’d known him all his life. Then again, if what he’d said about Angeline was true, maybe he had.
Jesus Christ.
“This is my son, Trace. Say hello, son.” He wrapped an arm around Trace and squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. Trace looked up at him for confirmation, and my chest ached more that the little boy I’d raised single-handedly looked to the man he’d just met over his mother.
“Hi.” Trace gave a little wave.
“Excuse me.” A pregnant woman with golden blonde hair stepped around me as she laid a hand on my arm. She gave Angel, then me a questioning look before sitting down next to Voodoo. God, what was with the weird names?
“Korrie, this is my wife, Kira.” The woman he introduced smiled and gave a little wave.
“Nice to meet you,” I said through the mouthful of cotton I suddenly seemed to have.
“Is there any breakfast leftover?” Angel asked the room. They motioned to the covered dishes on the counter. There was a shuffling behind me, and I tried to see who was joining the shitshow that had become my life.
“Oh my God! Is that you, Jasmine?” I exclaimed as the dark-haired, dark-eyed yawning woman stopped behind me.
She started to respond but was interrupted by the sound of a chair scraping on the floor.
“Should be plenty. I need to get to the shop.” The man covered in tattoos drained his mug and left the table. “See you all tonight.”
The tension rolling off him made me wonder if I’d said or done something wrong.
We moved further into the room so he could pass and Jasmine could come in. Angel had Trace sit at the table next to Ghost. As one, Trace and Ghost looked over to the corner of the room, then at each other. Surprise registered on Ghost’s face as he narrowed his eyes at Trace, then cast a glance to Angel, who shook his head.
“Is Venom around?” Angel asked as he dished up a plate for Trace.
“Naw. Said he’d be back tomorrow sometime.” Facet was the one who replied. At least, I was pretty sure that was his name.
“Mmm” was Angel’s reply before he raised the plate at me. “You hungry? If so, come make yourself a plate.”
A little uncomfortable, I didn’t feel like eating. But then my stomach growled, reminding me that none of us had eaten since the night before. Well, except Trace. They’d swung through a drive-through for him after the airport.
Angel set Trace’s plate in front of him and gave him a fork. The boy dove right in like he ate brunch with a bunch of bikers every day.
Once I’d sat next to Trace, Angel sat across from me and Jasmine sat next to him in the seat Chains had vacated. She yawned again before drinking some of her coffee. Then she looked at me and shook her head. “Lord, girl, it’s been years.”
When she gave my son a good look, her fork clattered to her plate. Food forg
otten, she stared. Then she looked at me. Then Angel.
“What. The. Hell?” she mouthed as she blinked rapidly.
“Long story,” Angel murmured before he dug into his food.
“Heard from Coy’s crew this morning,” said Facet. The men all looked in his direction. I tried to stay focused on my food and my son.
“Yeah?” asked Ghost, who had been staring a hole in my head since I’d sat down. I was thankful to Facet for taking his attention from me. Trace was seated between us and seemed oblivious to the heavy air in the room.
The man they called Squirrel had been quiet since we’d walked in, but suddenly stood. “Nice meeting you. I gotta run.” He didn’t wait for my reply before he hauled ass out of the room. My mouth was open to answer him, and it stayed that way.
“Don’t mind him. That’s Squirrel for you,” said Angel with a shrug. I shut my mouth and gave myself a little shake. Strange group of guys.
I noticed Voodoo and Angel having what seemed like a wordless conversation, and my eyes went back and forth between the two. Ghost then rubbed a hand over his mouth and nodded to the door. I looked, but no one was there.
“I’ll be right back,” said Angel to us, and all the men got up from the table and left the room. Voodoo kissed Kira before he left, and I wanted to whimper. More than anything I wanted that, but I knew better than to hope for it.
Sure, Angel had shown he was still attracted to me, and he’d said we weren’t leaving but surely that was because of Trace—not me. My heart wanted to hope, but my mind shut it down.
“So how old are you, Trace?” Kira asked my son in a friendly tone.
“Seven. I’ll be eight June!” he burst out, then shoveled the last of his eggs in his mouth. I cast a quick glance in Jasmine’s direction and could see her wheels turning.
“Wow. You’re so big for your age and so handsome. You must look like your dad, huh?” My gaze snapped to Jasmine’s. She looked at me in challenge.
Angel: RBMC: Ankeny IA Page 8