Angel (Great Wolves Motorcycle Club Book 12)

by Jayne Blue

  I waited in the shadows for the better part of an hour. Finally, sanity started to set back in. “What the fuck am I doing?” I said to myself. Maura was fine. I’d had a damn dream. I needed more sleep like I got last night. I needed a beer. Hell, maybe I just needed a good fuck. Or better yet, all three.

  I got ready to start the bike when something caught my eye in the alley on the other side of the street. The woman from yesterday got out of her car. She shot a nervous look behind her, then started for the front of the clinic. But there was someone else watching her. A rough-looking dude came out from that alley and walked toward her with purpose. He had a light jacket on, the collar pulled up to his jaw. Except it was over ninety degrees today.

  Instinct drove me. I checked the nine I always carried in my hip holster and charged across the street, getting in between the woman and the guy before she reached the clinic doors.

  The guy stopped short. He was average sized, maybe five nine. I had a good five inches on him and maybe forty pounds. As long as he didn’t draw down with his own, I wouldn’t need my weapon. He sure as shit had something in his jacket pocket though. He kept his hands shoved inside.

  “Lee!” the woman shrieked as she finally saw him. She started to tremble.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Tonya?” he said. “I’ve been calling you all night.”

  “There a problem here?” I asked, keeping myself between this Tonya and what appeared to be her asshole boyfriend or husband. I’d lay money he’s the one who made those bruises on her cheek.

  “Why don’t you mind your own fucking business?” Lee said. He was scared though. His eyes darted back and forth. He saw my cut. He knew who I was.

  The door to the clinic opened and Maura stepped out. Twin emotions slammed through me. There was the irrational relief I felt that my dream wasn’t real. She was here. She was whole. Then there was protective rage. This guy was evil. I knew in my gut if I hadn’t stepped out, he would have grabbed Tonya and made her go with him.

  “Lee, it’s good,” Tonya said. “It’s all good. What do you want?”

  “We need to talk, baby,” Lee said. “In private.”

  “Tonya?” Maura said. Her eyes registered shock. Probably at seeing both me and this Lee in one place.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  “You sure about that?” I asked, turning to her. The woman was scared to death and I knew instantly that I wasn’t helping. The last thing I wanted to do was intimidate her more than she already was.

  “Come inside,” Maura said, stepping out of the office. She stood right next to me and put an arm around Tonya. I locked eyes with her. She gave me an almost imperceptible nod. We were on the same page. She would get Tonya inside. I’d stay right here. Maura mouthed a silent thank you as she ushered Tonya into the building.

  I turned my back to the door and crossed my arms. Lee’s mouth dropped open. Rage colored his face purple. But he backed the fuck down. As Maura locked the door behind her, Lee’s shoulders dropped. He brushed past me and kept walking down the street.

  For my part, I wasn’t fucking moving until I saw Maura safely home at the end of the day.

  Chapter Six

  Maura

  I spent almost an hour trying to convince Tonya Corley to let me go ahead and file the paperwork to get her a restraining order. The fear in her eyes was palpable.

  “He followed you here,” I said. “No, he was lying in wait for you, Tonya. That’s not normal behavior. You need to set boundaries and stick to them. Let me help you do that. It’s going to be okay. Are you sure he doesn’t know you’re staying with your sister? How did he know you would be here today?”

  “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I really and truly don’t know.”

  “Well, don’t go directly back to your sister’s after this. You can stay here for a while. There’s nothing I can legally do to get him to leave without that order in place. But I have a few friends with the sheriff’s office. Maybe they can do a walk by so he gets the idea.”

  Beverly loudly cleared her throat from the other room. When I looked up, she pointed toward the front door.

  “Will you excuse me for one second?” I said. I closed the door to my office and walked to the lobby.

  “Don’t need to call the sheriff,” she said. “Your man’s got it under control.”

  “My man?”

  I peered out the window where Beverly pointed. Sure enough, Angel Bishop was still out there. He leaned casually against his Harley on the other side of the street. Two of the prosecutors I knew had just walked out of the courthouse and crossed the sidewalk. One of them, Ed Bowery, raised a hand and tapped his companion Jody Ripley’s chest. The two of them walked straight up to Angel and started shooting the breeze. They knew him. They were comfortable together. Angel must have cracked some kind of a joke because Ed’s face split into a wide grin and Jody’s laughter carried all the way across the street.

  “He’s not my man, Beverly,” I said. “He’s ... he’s just ... a nuisance.” Even as I said it, my blood flared hot in protest. Ed and Jody were straight shooters, in my experience. I never in a million years would have guessed they’d be friendly with someone like ... like Angel Bishop.

  “Honey,” Beverly said. “Do you even know who you’re talking about? That’s Angel Bishop. I mean, you’ve lived in this town your whole life. You’ve never heard of him?”

  “What? I mean ... sure, I’ve heard of the Great Wolves. I know their president is that Sly Cullinan. I also know one of them did hard time for drug trafficking.”

  Beverly chuckled. “Maura, you’re too much. You’re talking about Dex McClain. That boy was framed and he proved it. I know Sly Cullinan. He’s a good man, honey. He’s done more for this town than pretty much anyone. And Angel’s his bodyguard. At least, he was. You want to tell me why he’s taking such an interest in you?”

  “In me? I don’t …”

  Beverly narrowed her eyes in her patented “don’t bullshit me” expression. She gave it to me quite a lot.

  “It’s no good, honey,” Beverly said. “I saw the whole thing. I was just about ready to call the sheriff when I saw Lee Corley pop out of that alley. Angel did you a favor. Or he did Mrs. Corley a favor. If Corley’s smart and he thinks the Great Wolves are hanging around our office doors, he’ll steer clear.”

  My heart hammered in my chest. Chivalry. That’s what Angel Bishop was doing out there? The instant I thought it, I realized how desperately I wanted to believe it. I’d only known him for two days, but Angel Bishop had me spun.

  “I’ll do it!” Tonya came out of my office. She was breathless, her cheeks flushed. “Maura, I’ll do it. I’ll sign the paperwork for the restraining order. Just tell me what to do.”

  I went to her, smiling. “Good. I already have it typed up. I just want to add an affidavit for you to sign about what happened here this morning, then I’ll …”

  “Already done,” Beverly said. “You want me to sign one too?”

  “Can’t hurt,” I answered. The woman was worth her weight in gold. She was only supposed to be here for the first year until I got the clinic truly off the ground. If she really retired again in six months, I didn’t know what I would do.

  Within fifteen minutes, I had Tonya’s petition prepared. It was early enough in the day, I might still have a chance of seeing a judge.

  “If we get this entered,” I said, “I need you to understand what it means, Tonya. No matter what Lee tries to say or do, you need to have no contact with him. If he shows up like he did today ... anywhere ... you call the sheriff immediately. No exceptions. And no matter what, this is just a piece of paper. We need to make sure you and Cooper are safe. My offer to get you into a safe house still stands. It’s what I recommend.”

  “Not yet,” she said. “I told you. He has no idea where my sister’s new house is. It’s not even under her name. And Ross, her husband, he’s a corrections officer. He knows what’s going on.”

>   I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t force Tonya to do something she wasn’t comfortable with. It was good she had a support system to rely on and I knew Cooper got along great with his cousins. Satisfied that she understood the severity of the situation, I walked her out to her car.

  Angel and the two prosecutors still chatted it up across the street. Angel kept his casual posture, his head turned toward Jody and Ed, but just for an instant, his eyes flicked toward me. They seemed to hit me like a laser beam, warming me from the inside out. I knew his whole reason for being there had to do with me.

  Tonya reassured me she understood the plan. I’d file for her orders this afternoon. Next week, we’d follow through on the custody motion. In the meantime, she was to lie low and document any calls Lee tried to make to her.

  I crossed my arms as Tonya pulled away from the curb. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I tried to play it cool, pretend like I hadn’t even noticed Angel standing there watching me. But he had other ideas. As soon as Tonya was gone, he made some excuse to Jody and Ed, then sauntered across the street, heading straight for me.

  “Got a minute to talk?” he asked; it felt more like a command than a question and I hesitated. The truth was, he had made things easier for my client this morning. I was grateful. That, and I was curious as hell what his angle was.

  “Come inside,” I said. “It’s hotter than hell out here.” How he could manage to look so cool and comfortable in that leather vest and jeans was yet another mystery to Angel Bishop. As I turned and walked to the office door, Angel beat me there and held the door for me.

  “Thanks.”

  Beverly gave me a knowing wink as we walked past her desk. “Good to see you, Mrs. Holzer,” Angel said, surprising me yet again. He reached for her hand and actually kissed it. She blushed.

  “Avery, you’re looking a little rough around the edges,” she teased. Avery. His name was Avery?

  “And you know you’re one of the few people who can get away with calling me that.”

  She laughed. “Just yanking your chain, honey. Maura, go on in your office. I’ll hold your calls. You don’t have anything scheduled. And I’ll have one of the interns run your paperwork over for filing. Give it an hour, then I’ll bet Judge Saul might have had the chance to take a look at it.”

  “Thanks, Bev,” I said. “Truly.”

  Then Angel followed me into my office and closed the door. Once again, I was struck by the size of him. In the confined space of my office I had to crane my neck to keep eye contact with him. His leather was warm from the sun and the earthy scent of it filled my nostrils. I had a flash of desire run through me as I imagined sliding my hands over that vest. I knew I’d find his abs beneath it hard as granite.

  “Thank you,” I started. “I mean, for this morning.” I didn’t want to presume he’d spent the last hour standing outside my office on my account. Except every instinct in me told me he had.

  “That guy,” he said. “You need to watch out for him. That’s his wife, or his girlfriend, I figure. He wants to hurt her. You need to trust me when I tell you he will, if given a chance.”

  We were in dangerous territory here. It wouldn’t be ethical for me to tell him anything about Tonya’s case or even that she was officially my client. “I appreciate that. I really do. But I hope you understand, I can’t really discuss …”

  “I’m not looking to consult with you about a client, Maura. The way you run your business is your business. But this place ... you’ve got some serious security issues. You have any idea what might have happened if I wasn’t out there this morning to scare the piss out of that jackoff?”

  My back went up. The rational part of my brain knew Angel was probably just trying to help. And he had helped. I wasn’t an idiot. Still, I didn’t want to owe this man anything. I knew in my heart he might exact a price I wasn’t willing to pay. Worse yet, it might be a price some deeper part of me might desperately want to pay.

  “Your concern is noted,” I said. “Not that it’s your business, but my bosses are trying to work out a security contract with the sheriff’s department.”

  Angel took a seat in front of my desk though I hadn’t offered. He put one booted foot over his knee and looked me up and down. “Guy like that one this morning? He’s not afraid of the deputies around here. Hell, he’s probably got a friend or two in the department. Tell me I’m wrong.”

  Goddammit all to hell, I couldn’t tell him that and he knew it. Lee Corley was a smooth talker. A bullshit artist of the highest order. One of the problems Tonya had with him over the years was his friendship with a deputy who used to live next door to them.

  “Sign outside says you do mostly domestic law. Divorces, custody shit, I’m guessing. I know what that means. It means you’re running a practice with more volatile people than if you were defending dirtbag criminals. You’ve got a big glass window for a door out there. You’ve got dark alleys on either side of your front entrance. No on-site security. No metal detectors. Let me guess, you’ve maybe got a number to the courthouse. So what ... if that guy from this morning took things to the next level, how long do you think it would have taken them to get here? They are overstaffed and underpaid. The whole department.”

  “Mr. Bishop,” I said. “I appreciate your assessment. But what are you really doing here? Let me guess, you’re going to tell me you’re the only person who can provide me with the type of security I need. Is that it? Because if it is, that sounds an awful lot like a shakedown.”

  He dropped his foot to the ground. It made a hard thump that shook the floorboards. “It’s not a shakedown. I told you before, you’ve got the wrong idea about who I am and what my club does for this town.”

  “I know you have security contracts with a lot of the local businesses.”

  “That’s right,” he said. “Legitimate contracts. You’ve been watching too many bad movies, Maura. I’m not going to lie. The Wolves have earned our reputation. But I’m not suggesting anything illegal. And I’m not trying to con you. You can believe me or not, but I think you’re doing good work here. Your client out there. She’s got a kid or two, right? And you’ve probably got dozens more like her. Without you, they’d have nobody to help them. But like it or not, that’s going to make you a target. I know that life. I was those kids. And I would damn sure hate to see something bad happen to any one of them if it’s in my or my club’s power to stop it.”

  He broke my heart a little as he spoke. I could see the scared little boy in his eyes for just an instant. But then the hardened, formidable man he’d grown to be came roaring back as he rose to his feet.

  “What are you suggesting?” I finally asked.

  He smiled. “Dinner.”

  I blinked hard, struck by his words. “I’m sorry ... you’re ... what?”

  “Dinner,” he said. “I’ve got some things I’ve got to take care of this week. But Saturday night. I’d like to take you out.”

  I shook my head, trying to clear it. “I’m sorry. I thought this was a shakedown. Now it’s ... you’re asking me out on a date?”

  I sat on the edge of my desk. Angel came forward and rested one hand on either side of my knees, temporarily caging me there. I got a whiff of leather; his body heat enveloped me. I struggled to keep my knees from knocking together as his hot breath caressed my cheek. God help me. Desire roared through me and I wanted to kiss him.

  “A business meeting,” he said. “Over dinner. You pick where. You pick when. In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to track down your sister. That’s a promise.”

  “I don’t ... I haven’t …”

  He had me dumbstruck. Angel pushed himself away from the desk. He pulled a black business card out of his jacket and flicked it on the desk. “Call me when you figure it out.” He smiled.

  Then he turned and swaggered out of my office, leaving my heart thumping.

  Chapter Seven

  Angel

  I hadn’t meant to ask her out. Shit. Since the second I lay e
yes on Maura Denning, it was like all the good sense I had just flew out the damn window. I meant what I said though. I could barely keep my mind off her for the better part of that week. She hadn’t said yes. If she had half a brain, she’d blow me off and steer clear. Still, I couldn’t stop checking my phone like some frickin’ teenager just to see if she’d called or texted.

  “You ready?” Sly asked. He’d just slid his helmet on. We stood in the sun, just outside the Den. Today was supposed to be easy. A quick ride out of town and winding around near Sacramento to check out the warehouse property he had his eye on. Dex would stay back to hold down the fort. Under normal circumstances, I would have dragged Judd along. He needed more road time. But the shithead had yet to resurface. I wondered if Maura’s sister had checked back in. If not, there was a good chance Judd had taken her on some kind of lost weekend. Not smart. Not smart at all. We took Josh instead.

  Josh was a good kid. He’d been working on bikes at his Uncle Benny’s knee for as long as any of us could remember. He was smart. Loyal. A good candidate for a full patch. But part of that depended on how he handled more responsibilities. Gunn had been grooming him for a bigger role at the auto body shop if we could settle on a location and finalize the rental car contracts.

  The ride was just what I needed to clear my head. We took the longest route we could, through cattle country and circling the base of the mountain. With each mile, I felt my heart soar. I needed this. Fresh air in my lungs, wind ripping through me. Power and control of the machine between my legs. On a monster of a bike like I had, you could feel like a god on the open road like this. Like nothing could ever stop you. You could fly. For so much of my life, it had been all I needed to feel whole, to feel peace. It did that now too, but there was also something missing.

  Once again, the thought ran through my mind. I was thirty years old. Dammit, I was never supposed to live this long. Superstition. That’s all it was. The echoes of my mother’s voice whipped along my skin with the wind. The club will be the death of you, Angel. It will save you, then it will bleed you dry. But it hadn’t happened like that. I didn’t lose my soul when I became a Great Wolf. Instead, I’d found it. I’d found freedom and purpose. I found family. I found security. But now, as the years ticked by, I knew I wanted something more. I wanted ... dammit. Every time I thought I knew, I’d see the blood on my hands from Emily’s wounds.