She couldn’t help it when words started spewing from her mouth, uncaring that Tom was there, too. “Do you have a freaking problem with me or something?”
The car fell silent for several moments before his cold, uncaring voice slashed through the air. “Other than you talk too fucking much? Not really.”
Stunned, her mouth dropped open. Asshole.
Tom laughed. “For once, I think she might be speechless.”
“We can only hope,” Angel mumbled under his breath, making Tom laugh harder.
Her chocolate depths flashed as she hatefully stared at the thieving, sexist, piece of shi—
An evil smile began to finally touch her lips. I know how to fix this.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her phone and searched through her contacts. Clicking on the name she wanted, she went to send a text message, quickly typing in what she wanted to say. She then wasted no time pressing Send.
Adalyn stared down at her phone with a smug look on her face. Reading the name at the top, she finally felt satisfaction. Lucca.
Looking back up at Angel, she watched him finally turn his head back to glance at her, seeing a slight bit of concern finally showing through his eyes. It wasn’t concern for her, however. It was concern for him. Little did he know that it was too late.
Her eyes travelled back down to the screen, reading the message she had sent.
I need to talk to you about Angel.
Spending the school day with Angel, she couldn’t help really concentrating on him. She concluded that she had no fucking clue who he was. He was like an enigma. The more she tried to figure him out, the less sense she made of him.
He should be nice to me, right? I watched him steal the ring …
That was the biggest mystery of all. He should want to be nice to her to keep her mouth shut, but he was doing the complete opposite, like he was trying to piss her off.
She wouldn’t understand it next to his careless attitude. He damn sure wasn’t much of a bodyguard, considering he was never on alert the way the Carusos were.
A Caruso always stood with his eyes constantly scanning the room, something she never saw Angel do. She wondered if that was the reason for his harsh appearance and tattoos. Maybe he wanted the don’t-fuck-with-me look so he didn’t have to worry about anyone messing with him. She figured it probably worked, knowing not many people here saw men covered from head to toe in tats.
He was like a rare … creature, and there was no way anyone else like him existed.
“Adalyn? Adalyn!” Lake snapped her fingers in front of her face, finally getting her attention.
Adalyn quickly stood, grabbing her things. “Sorry.”
“You all right? You’re acting kinda weird today.”
“Yes. How am I acting weird?” She brushed it off, heading toward the door.
It took Lake a second to figure out what was different about her. “I don’t know. You’re just awfully quiet, I guess.”
“Probably because I was told I talk too effing much by Angel.”
“He did what? Did Tom hear him say that?” she asked.
“Yep. He laughed.” Adalyn went through the open door, halfway hoping it would hit Angel in the face.
“What a dic—” Lake cut herself off when she saw the two bodyguards on the other side of the door.
Rolling her eyes when she saw Angel resting his head against the wall behind him in boredom, Adalyn figured he wouldn’t last much longer, so maybe talking to Lucca wasn’t necessary anymore.
She continued to walk right past them, starting the journey back to the car since they were leaving their last class of the day.
I bet he’s not going to last one more—
A cold hand was wrapped around hers, pulling her backward. It wasn’t until Angel’s back had somehow managed to end up in front of her did she realize it was his hand.
Angel abruptly thrust his other hand and arm out, stopping the male student who had almost ridden his skateboard right into her.
By the smile the guy on the skateboard had and the laughter from a small group of students who were watching, it became apparent it wouldn’t have been an accident if he had collided with her.
Angel twisted his ink-covered fingers into the student’s shirt. “You could’ve fucking killed her.”
Adalyn looked down at the hand that had slightly tightened around hers as he’d said those words. A strange feeling washed over her, reminding her of the feeling she had gotten when she had first met him, making her realize that feeling had never left but had just hidden deeper inside her the more he ignored her.
The greasy-haired kid smirked even wider, clearly unaware of the serious shit he had just stepped into. “I had to make sure you goons were doing your job.”
As Tom stepped forward, Angel shoved the skater with one powerful move, making him fall to the ground. “Now you fucking do.” Then he reached out with his foot, flipping the skateboard up into the air and grabbing it with his free hand.
What the fuc—
Her hand was tugged on to begin walking beside him.
Did that really just happen?
“Hey! That’s my board!” the kid still sprawled on the ground yelled behind them.
Okay, it did, but did he just flip it … then catch it?
That feeling that was creeping up on her got stronger.
Dammit, stop it! Don’t think it!
When he dropped his hand from hers once they left the building, she felt it again—that bizarre sensation that happened when their skins were pulled away from each other’s. She felt another piece of her leave with him while she captured another piece of him. It was unlike anything she had felt before, a feeling that should frighten and bring her to her knees in fear of losing herself to him. But it didn’t. At least, not yet.
When Angel continued walking, he left her still very much too shocked to move.
Lake stood beside her, apparently just as shocked. “That was, um …”
“Fucking hot,” Adalyn finished for her, unable not to think it anymore.
They stared as he confidently walked away with the skateboard still in his hand.
“Yep.” Lake’s voice was a little heavy.
“Do you think he knows how to ride it?” Her voice might have been a little heavy, too.
“We can only pray.”
When the two girls began to pray, they prayed for two different things.
Dear Heavenly Father, if you want to keep me a virgin … don’t let him ride that damn board.
Nine
A Bullet with Your Name On It
“Where are we going?” Adalyn asked when he didn’t turn off to head to her house.
Tom looked up in the rearview mirror to look her dead in the eyes. “Lucca asked to see you.”
Her eyes grew wide before she quietly nodded. Oh shit.
The car ride was silent on the way to the casino hotel, and the walk to Lucca’s office was quieter. When they had gotten off the elevator, there was a moment when Angel looked at her, telling her that he knew what she planned to do. His eyes didn’t plead with her, however. No, there was something else in them. Disappointment.
Knocking on the door, she exhaled, not realizing until then that she had been holding her breath the whole way up.
“Come in.”
She walked into the smoke-filled room, taking a seat in front of the beautiful demon. His blue-green eyes practically glowed in the dark room.
Finally, it was his voice to break the silence. “You wanted to talk to me about Angel?”
“Um, yes …” She cleared her throat, trying to pull her thoughts together. She pictured him taking the ring off Lucca’s desk. “He …” She trailed off, looking down at her hand that had held Angel’s.
“He what?” Lucca asked.
It was time for her to make a decision. She only hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
Taking a long, deep breath, she made up her mind. “Angel’s a dick.”
&nbs
p; A slow smile appeared. “A dick? How?”
“Yep. And sexist.”
“Sexist?” Now he looked a little confused.
Nodding, she continued, “You heard me; he’s sexist. He will only talk to the men.”
“Well …” He took a moment, seeming to process this. “He’s there to protect you, not talk to you.”
“He could at least say good freaking morning.”
“Yes, he could.” He smiled slightly before it disappeared. “Do you in any way think he’s not capable of protecting you?”
“No,” she admitted in defeat.
“And is there anything else he has done that could change my opinion of him?”
Her last chance was here. If she was ever going to tell him what Angel did, it would be now. Instead, she whispered the word that would seal her fate. “No.”
“Then this is an issue between you and Angel to solve.”
She gave a solemn nod as she stood up and headed for the door.
“You sure there’s nothing else you wanted to tell me?” His dark voice stopped her as he flicked his lighter, lighting the cigarette he held between his lips.
Does he know?
“Y-yes.”
“All right.”
Adalyn said a little prayer, thanking God that Lucca didn’t know about the ring.
She tried to leave once more, but again he stopped her.
“Room 22008.”
What? She looked back at him, confused.
Warm smoke escaped his mouth as he said, “Go talk to him.”
She stared at the number 22008 before her, wondering if she really should do it or if this was a test. Her mind was telling her this was a bad idea, whereas her body was already raising her hand to knock on the door.
Did Lucca really say this was okay? Her knuckles meeting the door answered for her.
The longest minute of her life passed before the door was finally swung open to reveal an angel dressed in jeans and a snug black T-shirt that revealed his full-arm tattoo sleeves to her for the first time. It took everything she was to stop looking at the inked skin and to look up at his face.
“H-hi. I was wondering if we could talk.”
Not moving from the doorway, Angel pointed up at a camera in the hallway that was focused on his door. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Lucca actually told me to come see you.”
He stared at her for a few seconds before he finally moved to the side to let her in.
Walking in, she saw the room was just a basic hotel room with a queen bed, a TV, and a little table and chairs. It wasn’t on the penthouse floor but the floor below the Caruso residence.
As he closed the door behind him, she grew nervous, never considering she would have gotten this far.
Angel was the one to break the ice as he crossed his tatted arms over his chest.
“So, I guess, since you’re here and not Lucca, you decided not to tell him about the ring.”
“I don’t know wha—”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Adalyn. I’m not stupid,” he cut her off coldly.
“Maybe if you weren’t such a dick to me, I wouldn’t have wanted to tell him,” she said matter-of-factly.
As if she wasn’t nervous enough, Angel stalked toward her.
“Understand I’m not a nice person, and I treat you no differently than anyone else. Have you even seen me talk to the other Carusos, besides Tom?” He didn’t wait for her to respond, knowing the answer already. “I talk to Tom because I have to. So, don’t worry, sweetness; you’re not special. I don’t like anyone.”
“Then do yourself a favor and just leave, jerk,” she spat.
Having had enough of his attitude already, she headed for the door.
“You misunderstood.” Snatching her wrist as she passed, he pulled her back to look up into his dark eyes. “You think I want to fucking be here? I’m being forced to stay here.”
“W-what?”
“I’m collateral, sweetness. Lucca’s keeping me here to keep peace between the families, to keep the Lucianos in line.”
It was all making sense now. She had wondered why the hell he was there after Chloe had been kidnapped by his father. She couldn’t help asking the question that now filled the air between them … “What happens if your family doesn’t stay in line?”
“What do you think?” Releasing his tight grip on her wrist, he lifted his hand, making a gun with his fingers, then pointed it to the side of his temple.
Adalyn swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. The look behind his eyes showed her something wasn’t quite right about him. He was beginning to let her in; let her see what his eyes truly held.
She backed up slowly, fear settling in, though she didn’t know if it was hers or his at this point, but she could see it—see how he felt.
He was trapped. Trapped like an animal.
“You should have told him what I did.” He followed her until the back of her legs hit the nightstand and there wasn’t an inch of space between them. “Because sooner or later …”
She closed her eyes when he moved the mock-trigger of the finger gun he held to his skull. It was like the sound of a gun went off in her mind.
Feeling a tap on her head, she opened her eyes again to see his fingers were still in the shape of the gun, but now it was pointed at her. Breathing heavily, she tried to back up again, but the nightstand kept her in place. All she could do was hold on to it to keep her stable.
“Now, if he finds out you know”—he lightly pressed the tip of his inked finger deep into her skin—“there might be a bullet with your name on it, too.”
“You’re fucked up,” she whispered, realizing the depths of which he was.
He moved his cold fingertips down her face until they disappeared to his side. Shutting off his gray eyes to her, they became dead again. “Like father, like son.”
“I refuse to believe it.”
Angel’s jaw flexed. He didn’t realize that he had made a mistake. He had let her see the bad, yes. However, he didn’t realize she had found the paranoia and behind that, she had found the scars.
“You wouldn’t have pushed that guy out of the way today if you were like him. You would have just let him hit me.” That she truly believed.
Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, giving her a warning he never gave others until it was too late. “Don’t underestimate me, Adalyn. It’ll be the last thing you do.”
Did he just threaten me?
Watching him walk away, she started to move her hands off the nightstand when she felt something metal move against her skin.
“You should leave now.”
Adalyn walked to the door he held open, looking into his eyes one last time. She now understood the fallen angel better. She was going to have to be more careful.
Her eyes traveled down to his neck where the black wolf was inked. You could only keep an animal caged for so long before they broke; either giving up to die or going insane trying to become free again.
“Goodbye, Angel.”
Ten
Checkmate, Asshole
Angel sat on the floor, staring at the wooden door that held a metal padlock, knowing it had been quiet for too long.
Getting up, he headed for the living room where he found Dominic cleaning their father’s Glocks at the table. Even though Dominic was only thirteen, their father had been teaching him about guns since he was ten. By now, his brother could break down a gun and put it back together in seconds.
Lucifer happened to be sitting next to him at the table, counting money that Angel assumed wasn’t his in the first place.
Sitting on the couch, he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, flipping to a program that he probably shouldn’t be watching as gunfire was going off rampantly.
“Turn that shit off, Angel,” Lucifer snapped without looking up from the money he was counting.
His little finger hovered over the button for a moment before he pres
sed it. Then again, and again, and again.
“I said to fucking turn it off!” Lucifer growled as the television’s volume was only turned up higher.
He ignored him as he held the remote tightly in his sweaty hands.
With the noise making it impossible to count the money, Lucifer set down the wad of cash before he flew up to stand in front of his son. “Stand up.”
Angel looked up at his frightening father, who was seething in anger. He stood up on shaky legs, knowing if he didn’t, what was about to come would be much worse.
When the back of a hand met his cheek, it sent his eight-year-old scrawny body flying to the ground. Then everything went blurry as a hand grabbed his wrist and dragged him across the floor. The clicking of metal was all he could hear as Dominic began putting the gun he had been cleaning back together.
He was being pulled down the hallway when he saw his older brother block the view to the living room.
Dominic raised the Glock. Narrowing his eyes, he aimed at the back of their father’s head with his finger hoovering over the trigger.
A smile was brought to Angel’s lips while he was being dragged across the floor.
Click.
Even though the two brothers knew it wasn’t loaded, they both hoped the sound of the gun wasn’t one of an empty one. He watched as Dominic disappeared from view as he was dragged into a room, but before he fully disappeared, he saw the visible pride in his older brother’s eyes for the very first time.
When his arm was dropped to the floor, he heard a key going into a lock, making him turn his head to see his father slowly opening the padlocked door.
The shaking little body revealed inside the tiny closet started to move when light hit his face. It was like Angel was looking into the very near future of himself when his identical twin brother was pulled from the closet and he was dragged in.
“A-An … gel.” Matthias tried to speak, but his voice was weak. With horror on his face, he started to realize what Angel had done.
The two had a bond, a connection, so when Angel hadn’t heard a noise from the closet in hours, he knew Matthias had been broken. And he had known that if he didn’t do something soon, he would have been too far gone.
Angel (Made Men Book 5) Page 4