by Jenny Penn
Both women cocked their heads as they listened to the sound of an engine pulling into the driveway. That was her cue. Shoving away from the table, Angie tossed Hailey a quick smile before darting for the door.
“I better get packing.”
“Angie—”
“Don’t worry, Hailey. Everything will work out.” That was probably more of a hope than an assurance, but it was something to cling to.
Of course, she should have known that she wasn’t going to escape that easy, but Angie, at least, bought herself a few seconds more to try and erect her defenses before Brett and Mike banged into her room. She heard them coming. Hell, she’d heard them from the second they slammed into the kitchen and started arguing with Hailey.
“What the hell were you two thinking?” That was Hailey’s greeting.
Brett’s was no less abrupt. “Where the hell is Angie?”
“Where the hell are Cole and Kyle?” Hailey shot back.
“Those two pussies ran away almost the second they let us go,” Mike retorted, his voice sounding closer, as did Hailey’s.
“They bailed you out,” Hailey complained, her words somewhat muffled by the heavy pound of footsteps coming down the hall. “You think you’d be a little nicer to them!”
That got no response except for the slam of the bedroom door against the wall. Brett burst into the room, his gaze cutting across it to land on Angie, where she stood by the bed. Mike was right on his heels with Hailey bringing up the rear.
“What are you doing?”
“Why do you have a suitcase out?” Brett followed up almost instantly on his brother’s demand for an explanation.
She could tell that this was about to get ugly. Actually, it already had. Ugly and hard. Sucking in a steadying breath, Angie glanced over both men’s shoulders, ignoring them and their questions to address the worried looking woman lingering behind them.
“Hailey, do you mind giving us a little privacy?” Angie asked, knowing what was to come was best done without an audience.
“Are you sure?” Hailey hesitated, sounding both concerned and uncertain.
Angie knew she understood what was about to happen. She wasn’t alone. The panic rising in Mike’s gaze was as clear as the anger darkening in Brett’s. This was not going to be easy, but that didn’t change her answer.
“Yes.”
“Okay then.” Hailey slowly nodded before casting a dark look in her brothers’ direction. “I’ll go, but this isn’t over yet. We’re going to talk about this. Got me?”
“Fine.”
“Sure,” Brett echoed his brother once again.
Neither man spared their sister so much as a look as they crowded into the room, shutting the door on Hailey and confronting Angie with matching scowls. That wasn’t what had her cringing as she finally glanced up at them. It was the sight of the bruises, proving that Dean hadn’t gone down without a fight. It also made her worry that he might be in a lot worse condition, but she was just too afraid to ask that question.
“What did the two of you do?”
“Where the hell were you last night?” Mike countered. “Cole said you were here, but we looked and—”
“I was in your bunk bed.” Angie cut him off, irritated by the accusation in his tone. “I left a trail of clothes to your door. Didn’t you notice?”
That caught them both by surprise. She could tell from the look they shared they hadn’t noticed, or if they had, they hadn’t figured out that obvious message.
“We just thought you were messy,” Brett finally answered for the both of them, drawing a frown to Angie’s brow as she puckered up at that comment.
“What? I’m not messy.” Angie huffed, amazed he’d even suggest such a thing.
“Uh-huh,” Mike agreed without a hint of sincerity as he glanced pointedly around the room. “This is just organized clutter, right?”
“What?” Angie glanced around the room, not certain what he was trying to say. The room looked clean enough to her. “This is normal. I’m sorry if I don’t starch my sheets and run white gloves over everything, but I live in the real world…the one where you don’t go around beating people up!”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“We thought you had hooked up with him!”
This time it was Mike talking over his brother. He actually had the audacity to take a step up with that retort, as if he were confronting her with it, but Angie wasn’t impressed.
“So?” Angie shot back. “That doesn’t give you the license to beat the crap out of him. This is the real world where people are expected to settle their problems without violence. Of course, you two seem to have a problem with violence.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Mike snapped as if she hadn’t been clear enough, leaving Angie no choice but to be brutally honest.
“That means…I’m not good for you.”
Just the idea had Angie fighting back tears, but she couldn’t control the trembling that started deep within her stomach. She could feel herself breaking down as the reality of her decision started to cut through her. There was just no hiding that kind of pain.
“Angie—”
“No.”
She cut Brett off, holding her hand up for him to stop both trying to talk her out of what had to be done and to assure he didn’t tread any closer. It wouldn’t take him much, not more than a plea, a kiss, and her defenses would crumble. That was the problem with love. It made strong women weak.
Sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Angie tensed every muscle she had and forced herself to say what really needed to be said. “I’m leaving.”
“No.”
That popped out of Mike’s mouth, a hard command filled with pain. Angie hated to cause him even a second of anguish, but she had to do this.
“Yes.”
“Angie—” Mike tried again to get a word in, but she couldn’t afford to give him that chance.
“No. This has to be done.”
Angie didn’t know if she was talking to them or to herself. They all stood there, frozen in the moment, before Brett finally broke it as he stepped back and lifted his chin.
“Fine. Then go.”
“No!” Mike turned on his brother. “You can’t just let her walk away.”
“She wants to leave.” Brett breathed in deep and shrugged. “I’m not going to force her to stay.”
“But you don’t want her to go…oh God.” Mike gasped as if the truth had finally hit him. “You’re giving up. You’re just like Dad! Son of a bitch! I trusted you!”
Mike’s tone grew from a horrified whisper into a roar that ended as he launched himself at Brett, proving just why Angie had to leave. Now they were fighting among themselves. This wasn’t an argument that was just a little out of hand. They went crashing to the floor in a heap of legs and arms that quickly began kicking and punching out in a whirlwind that would have caught her up in it if Angie hadn’t leapt out of the way.
She darted for the door, fleeing without a backward look.
Chapter 19
Patton was waiting on the back porch to greet Angie with open arms. Angie didn’t ask how the other woman knew what had happened or how badly she would need a friend right then. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Angie could break and not worry over the consequences.
So, she did. She sobbed and rambled on as Patton prodded her toward the truck waiting at the curb. She sniffed and bemoaned fate as Patton drove her back toward the club. Then she finally let Patton hand her over to the sympathetic spa attendant who escorted her back into the Harem for a no-frills-spared day of pampering.
That didn’t make Angie feel better, but it didn’t make her feel worse either. Dean managed to do that. He showed up at the edge of the Harem, demanding to speak to Angie, and she didn’t have much right to deny him. She did don a robe, though, before joining him in the courtyard area in front of the entrance to the Harem.
He was sitting, waiting
with his leg stretched out before him. It was sheathed in a white cast, and a pair of crutches were leaning against the side of the garden bench. As if that didn’t make her feel bad enough, Dean’s face was as bruised and swollen as his knuckles. It was clear from the sight of him that he had lost the battle, but that didn’t make him any less of an ass.
“Angie.” He cast a critical eye over her, just one because the other was swollen shut. So, too, were his lips too puckered to really draw up in a smirk, but she could sense him making the effort. “You’re looking good, if a little overdressed.”
“Dean…I’m so sorry.” Angie chose to ignore the last of his comments to focus on the reality of his situation. “I never even dreamed this would happen.”
“Eh, my dad used to beat me worse.” He waved away her concern with that failed attempt at humor. She wasn’t even sure if it was a joke. Not the way he sighed and shook his head. “Of course, he never got put into jail for it.”
The implication was clear. Dean was pressing charges. Angie knew she should have seen it coming. She certainly had considered it, but knowing now that they really would be going away cut deeper than she had anticipated. She felt her knees weaken and quickly settled down on the bench beside Dean. He watched her with a one-eyed gaze that clearly saw too deeply.
“You don’t want Brett and Mike to go to jail for it either,” he murmured, his words slurred slightly by the swell of his lips.
She didn’t, but neither did Angie have the guts to admit that to Dean. The last thing she could do in good conscience was plead their case because they simply had no case. That should matter. That should change things, but it didn’t. Angie still loved them. She was just really bad for them.
“You care about them,” Dean stated, a hint of disgust in his tone. “Even after all of this, you don’t see what kind of monsters they are?”
“They’re not monsters,” Angie shot back, instantly bristling. “They were just jealous. Really, this is all my fault.”
“You believe that?”
“I do. If you’re going to blame or punish anybody for what happened, it should be me.” That sounded noble and grand, but Angie didn’t honestly expect him to take her up on the offer. She was in for a shock.
“Okay,” Dean agreed without a moment’s hesitation. “I got a deal for you.”
Angie had a sense he’d had one all along. Why else would Dean have sought her out? It was as though thought occurred to her that Angie realized she was probably already in trouble. So it was with a sense of foreboding that she prodded him along.
“Yeah? What kind of deal?”
“First, you’d have to agree not to see or talk to either Brett or Mike until after our deal is completed,” Dean stipulated, giving her a pretty big hint as to what was coming next.
“Then what?” Angie lifted a brow. “I have to sleep with you?”
“Please, I don’t need to blackmail women into my bed,” Dean snapped, instantly insulted. For a second Angie felt bad, but Dean ruined the moment when he qualified his denial. “I just want the chance to convince you that I can satisfy you better than either of those assholes can.”
Angie doubted that completely, but she didn’t take up the argument. Instead, she narrowed her attention on the three little words that mattered the most. “And by a chance, you mean…”
“A date.”
“And?”
“And I’m going to make some passes.”
“And?” Angie pressed, certain there had to be more, but if there was, it was up to her to figure everything out.
“And nothing.” It looked as though he tried to smile again. “I’m just looking for a chance here, Angie. An honest one…though, it might be a month or so before I’m back to looking normal enough to make any passes. So, like I said, you can’t have any contact with either Brett or Mike.”
She didn’t want to have contact with them. If she did, she’d crumble. Angie knew she didn’t have the strength to resist them. In fact, she knew she should flee, but she couldn’t leave them to end up in jail.
“Fine.” Angie pinned Dean with a hard look. “I’ll give you the time and go on the date, but you can’t press charges against either Brett or Mike. Deal?”
* * * *
It took over a half-hour for both brothers to wear themselves out, and by then, Angie was long gone. Brett kind of figured that was a good thing, given they’d trashed her room. Actually, Hailey was the one who would probably be pissed. It was her furniture, after all, that had gotten broken.
Lying there with his legs bent over the busted-up bed with his back stretched across the floor, Brett stared up at the ceiling as he silently categorized all of his aches and pains. He hurt, that was for sure, but he didn’t think anything was broken. Anything more than his relationship with Angie.
She’d left. Walked away. Just like their dad.
As much as Brett told himself he didn’t care, he knew it was a lie. So maybe he did have some daddy issues himself. Maybe pounding on the old man hadn’t helped relieve them. Maybe there wasn’t anything that could. Nothing that is but Angie.
Brett wanted her back already, and she hadn’t even been gone a whole hour. Pretending as if he didn’t care didn’t change that fact one bit. That didn’t mean that Brett knew what to do, as if he had the energy to do anything other than lie there beside his brother, staring up at the popcorn on the ceiling.
The seconds ticked past into minutes, and slowly, the heavy pants of breath that filled the air quieted back down, allowing the silence to thicken around them until finally Mike spoke up.
“I think we should buy the house out from Hailey.” That came out as if they were having an actual conversation, which they had not been having. That didn’t stop Mike from continuing on. “Then we can build a second story with bigger bedrooms and open up down here into one big living space.”
Brett turned his head, allowing his cheek to rest against the cool wood floor as he studied his brother for a moment. “What do we need a big living space for?”
“For the kids,” Mike shot back, his own chin dipping to the side so he could shoot Brett a dirty look. “This house isn’t going to be big enough for the family as we grow, and I don’t really want to do renovations while Angie’s either pregnant or trying to keep up with whatever hellions we spawn.”
“Angie?” Brett blinked, wondering if Mike’s head had taken a blow. “Angie left.”
“We’ll get her back.” Mike shrugged as if that weren’t even a problem. His nonchalance was just shocking, and Brett didn’t even know what to make of his brother’s attitude.
“We will?” Brett cocked a brow. “It’s just that easy? You’re not even the slightest bit panicked over the matter?”
Mike blinked and shook his head. “Nope.”
“Nope? Nope?” Brett felt like hitting his brother all over again. “That’s all you have to say? Nope.”
“What else is there to say?” Mike countered, giving Brett a moment’s pause.
“I don’t know,” Brett finally snapped. “But I do know two days ago you couldn’t touch the girl without wetting yourself—”
“I never wet myself.” Mike took instant offense at that, but Brett wasn’t listening.
“And now, all of a sudden, you’re all relaxed and unconcerned. What the hell is with that?”
“What’s the point in getting all upset?”
“Are you on drugs?”
“What?” Mike drew back as he stared at his brother in shock, but Brett wasn’t backing down.
“You can tell me. Did you pop some happy pills?”
“Yeah. I took happy pills. That’s why I helped you redecorate Angie’s room.” Mike snorted and rolled his eyes before answering in a more serious tone. “No. I’m not on drugs. I just…enjoyed the workout.”
“Maybe Angie’s right,” Brett muttered as he shook his head and turned his gaze back to the ceiling. “Maybe you do have an issue with violence. After all, this is the second time you
’ve appeared happier after a fight.”
Before Mike could respond to that accusation, Chase’s voice rang out from the kitchen as he called out a greeting. Neither brother responded as they both lay there silently listening to the stomp of footsteps and the rumble of voices. Chase hadn’t come alone. He’d brought his brother Slade. From the direct route they took out the kitchen and down the hall to Hailey’s room, Brett was betting he knew who had sent them over.
Angie.
She’d obviously gone running to the Davis brothers. Actually it was more likely that she’d gone running to Patton, who had sent her men after them. The only question was what they wanted, because Brett wasn’t up to another fight.
* * * *
The morning breakfast crowd at the Bread Box was loud and lively. The weekend news was full of juicy tidbits, and the gossips were having a field day, just about everybody mulling over the rumors and adding their own interpretations on to them.
All anybody wanted was a little proof to run with, which explained why almost everybody fell silent as Chase and Slade led Brett and Mike into the bakery. A heavy wave of anticipation and expectation followed the four men as they cut a path to the back booth Heather had reserved for them. Even she glanced at them with speculation glinting in her eyes as she came over to offer them menus and take their drink orders.
Chase and Slade went first. Brett went next. When Heather’s eyes finally landed on Mike, he tipped his chin up and spoke loud enough to assure everybody could hear him.
“I’ll take a coffee, and the answer to the other question you’re wondering about is, yes. I am going to ask Angelina Motes to be my bride.”
Heather’s eyes rounded as Brett groaned, and both Davis brothers shared a look, but it was too late for any of them to do anything about the bomb Mike had just set off. Already the aftershocks were rippling through the diner as the conversation around them grew once again. No doubt by the end of the day there wouldn’t be a single person in the county who hadn’t heard Mike’s grand declaration.