by S K
After they were alone, Nikki stood up and slipped her shoes on, trying to keep her anger in check. She didn't want to argue with Angel in front of anyone, but he would definitely hear her feelings about this when they were alone.
"Come on," she told Raven. "We're going to get A.J."
Chapter 26
After taking the elevator up to the third floor, Nikki stepped into the hallway and led the way to Angel's office. Raven looked around with undisguised interest, having never been on this side of the enormous house before.
She glanced at her sister, noticing the stiffness in her body. "What's wrong?"
Nikki shook her head, reluctant to confide in Raven about her concerns. As close as she was to her sister, this was between Angel and herself. Besides, if she divulged what she was thinking, it would give credence to Raven's earlier claim that Angel was incapable of changing, and she wasn't in the mood to hear the 'I told you son’s'.
Coming to a dark, solid oak door, Nikki squelched the urge to barge in. Although security cameras would've alerted Angel to the fact that she was standing there, Nikki knocked impatiently then opened the door when she heard him call out for her to enter.
Walking in, Nikki's eyes went directly to Angel, who was sitting behind the heavy custom designed cherry wood desk holding A.J. A long conference table sat on one side of the huge room which was decorated in dark, masculine colors. A 60-inch flat screen television adorned one of the walls, and hundreds of books were on the opposite wall tucked into a bookcase that took up the entire expanse of the area.
Seated in chairs in front of the desk were four extremely handsome men who stood up respectfully when the women entered. Nikki absently noticed three seemed to be carbon copies of each other with the same features, just different complexions. All four were tall with broad shoulders, tapered waists, and long muscular legs. She heard a soft gasp from Raven, but Nikki's focus was now on Angel.
She took note of the way his razor sharp gaze went from Nikki and lingered on Raven for a few tense seconds before coming back to rest on his wife. Nikki realized belatedly that she probably shouldn't have brought Raven with her, but the only thing on her mind had been getting her son. Raven was her sister, but Nikki knew Angel saw her as a lawyer with the New York Department of Justice first and foremost. She ignored his scathing glare. They would be gone in just a second, as soon as she retrieved her son.
Angel stood up slowly and held Nikki's eyes with a piercing stare. "Nicole. Raven."
Nikki only barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. The fact that she was reduced to 'Nicole' was proof enough that Angel was furious, but she really could give two shits about that. He never should've had her son in here in the first place.
"Angelo." She returned his greeting in the same tone then nodded to the men still standing. "Gentlemen."
The oldest of the four returned the nod. "Mrs. LaCroix."
Angel reluctantly performed the introduction. "Nicole, I'd like you to meet a few associates of mine who were in town. This is…"
"Let me," Raven interrupted with an exaggerated politeness which did nothing to hide the cold dislike in her eyes. Nikki looked at her in surprise as she took over. Studying the older man, she started with him first. "This is Joseph Pattel, once one of the biggest drug lords in New York before he 'retired' and supposedly went legit." Raven's upper lip curled, making her skepticism obvious. "The D.A.'s office has reason to believe he and his sons still have their hand on the pulse of the east coast underworld. It's only a matter of time before we prove it."
As if she were in a courtroom trying a case, she took slow steps and went down the line to the man standing beside Joseph. "This is his oldest son, Lucas Pattel."
"Ms. Randolph. Nice to see you. I heard rumors of you being Angel's sister-in-law. However, I'd like to advise you that you shouldn't go around throwing unsubstantiated accusations that have no merit." Although the words were said casually enough, the hard glint in Lucas' eyes seemed to be sending Raven a message.
"People have been known to get in trouble that way." The words were delivered with a flirty wink from the third man in front of them who seemed younger than the rest.
Nikki's entire body stiffened at the statement. "Excuse me, but are you threatening my sister?"
"Not at all, Mrs. LaCroix. There's all kinds of trouble someone as beautiful as your sister could get into." His teeth bit down on his bottom lip as his eyes skimmed over Raven's body. "Matter of fact, I wouldn't mind getting into trouble right along with her."
"Hawk." The warning Lucas issued was uttered from under his breath. The man who'd taunted Raven gave her a slow, sexy grin but remained quiet.
Nikki glanced at her sister and was surprised when she saw her reaction. Raven normally would've verbally ripped a person to shreds who dared toy with her like that, but she seemed a little bit flustered.
Raven tilted her head. "Hawkins Pattel, the youngest of the pack, whose loud, obnoxious personality is more than likely an attempt to compensate for less...developed aspects of his anatomy." Raven's sympathetic gaze dropped down to his crotch before traveling back up to his face.
The arrogance on Hawk's face dimmed as sparks of anger shot from his eyes. Two steps put him in front of Raven. "You got a smart mouth. Anybody ever told you that?"
Raven lifted a perfectly sculpted brow, but remained silent.
Hawk moistened his lips with his tongue and moved closer. "Maybe you need something in it to fill it up and keep it busy."
"I'll pass."
One hostile glare reflected off the other until the fourth man spoke, his drawl slow and lazy like thick molasses.
"Hawkins. Enough."
After several tense moments, Hawk moved back reluctantly, still staring at her with a silent promise which said they would finish this later. Ignoring the message, Raven switched her attention to the final man left. "And last, but not least, Kingston 'King' Marks, adopted by Joseph Pattel at an early age, but definitely one of the favored sons."
King nodded. "Ms. Randolph."
Raven's gazed touched them one by one again, lingering on the three younger men. They spanned every color of the chocolate eye candy spectrum, and they drove the women in her city absolutely crazy. Damn shame she planned on being the one to take them off the streets and lock their shady asses up.
Speaking of shady...
Raven pivoted on her heel and gave Angel a look of pure, antagonistic dislike. For Nikki's sake, even though it went against everything she believed in, she'd tried to ignore the type of person he was, but to have these men around her sister and nephew was unforgiveable.
"Great company you keep, these 'associates' of yours," she spat out sarcastically. "But then again, birds of a feather, right?"
Holding his son, Angel kissed the top of A.J.'s head then ran a hand over his soft, curly hair. He smiled when A.J. patted his face. His child's hazel eyes, which had a touch of mint green in their depths, sparkled with laughter when Angel rubbed his nose against his. Looking at her nephew, an indulgent smile touched Raven's lips. She couldn't have loved him more if he was her own child. He was such a sweet baby, and...
Raven's smile disappeared abruptly as a persistent urge she couldn't explain demanded her attention. She shifted her gaze a fraction and froze. Angel was staring at her with a glare so menacing and formidable; she had to fight the impulse to take a step back even though he hadn't moved an inch. She shivered in trepidation as his eyes literally faded from the warm, loving glow he'd directed towards his son. They were now ablaze with a spine chilling emotion so threatening it practically leapt across the room and slapped her in the face. An instant later it was gone.
Raven blinked rapidly and peered at Angel closely. Yes, his eyes were cool with displeasure now but... she couldn't have imagined his previous look because she still felt the chill in her bones. Raven's eyes shot to Nikki. Surely she'd seen it, but Nikki's attention was directed on A.J.
The corner of Angel's mouth lifted as if
he could read each and every one of her thoughts. "Raven, if you're finished being rude to my guests, get the hell out of my office."
Raven's lips tightened in annoyance.
Nikki held out her arms for the baby. "I'll take A.J. and we'll be out of your way in a second."
Angel squinted at her, making no move to hand A.J. over. "He's fine."
Nikki frowned, not sure Angel was serious. "It's okay, Angel. I know you've had him all day."
"And I said he's fine. You and I will talk when I finish my meeting. Hm?" Angel's voice had reached a sub-zero temperature.
Nikki looked as if she wanted to argue, but seeing the firm set of his jaw, she knew it wouldn't do any good. Her eyes conveyed a message of their own: Yes, the two of them would definitely talk later. Noticing the other men watching with interest, Nikki turned around and angrily walked to the door with Raven following behind her. Angel stopped them before they left.
"And Raven? Pack your shit. I want you out of my house immediately." He sat down and turned back to the men, effectively dismissing both women.
Nikki whirled around, eyes glittering dangerously, but Raven placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "Nik, it's okay." She scanned the room in disgust. "The stink in this place is making me sick anyway."
"How 'bout I give you a call when I get back home and you let me nurse you back to health," Hawk said in a voice that dripped sex.
"Screw you!" Raven scowled.
Hawk's eyes burned blisteringly hot. "Any time."
Raven mumbled something extremely unladylike under her breath and flew out the door. Nikki stood for several moments staring at Angel, angrier than she could ever remember being when he ignored her presence and started resuming his conversation with the men as if she wasn't even there.
Chapter 27
An hour later, Nikki stood at the front door, watching as Raven drove away in the rental car on her way to the airport. She'd tried to talk her out of leaving but Raven had been adamant that she wasn’t staying under the same roof as Angel a minute more than she could help. As Nikki climbed the stairs, she thought about what her sister said before she left.
"Nikki, I'm begging you, begging you. Please get away from Angel, if not for yourself then for your son. Seeing the Pattels in his office made me realize I can't just ignore the type of person he is. You have no idea some of the things he's done, the people he's hurt. I'm telling you now, if anything happens to you, I will shoot him dead. And I mean that shit."
"He would never hurt me, Raven. Or A.J."
"Not intentionally maybe, but eventually the darkness that surrounds Angel will touch everything around him. It's inevitable. I want you far, far away when that happens."
Nikki walked into her bedroom and went over to stare out the window. She tried to block out the ominous undertones of Raven's warning, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't. She brought her hands up to cover her face, feeling confused and lost. Raven had filled her in on some of the things she knew about the Pattel cartel, and it wasn't pretty. Drugs, prostitution, racketeering...murder. The authorities hadn’t been able to make anything stick, Joseph Pattel seemed to be the African American version of the 'Teflon Don'. And if Angelo counted men such as the Pattels among his associates, what did that say about him?
The opening of the bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. Nikki turned around to face Angel. "Where's A.J.?"
With his hands in his pocket and a hint of the impending hell he was getting ready to raise clouding his face, Angel advanced into the room with the steady movements of a panther. "Asleep in his crib. You don't have to worry about him, Nicole. I'm always going to make sure he's safe and well cared for."
Angel's voice whipped around Nikki like a biting, arctic wind. She steeled herself and lifted her chin. Any other time, Angel would've admired this part of her personality and the fact that she never backed down from him. He'd figured out a long time ago that this was one of the reasons why he fell so quick for her. He needed a woman like her by his side who was strong and tenacious. But he also needed her to know her place. Nikki obviously didn't, so he was getting ready to give her a quick lesson.
"What did you think you were doing?"
Nikki didn't pretend to misunderstand the question. "I was there to get my son. Why would you even have him around those men!"
Angel's fury erupted and spewed directly at her. "Nikki, let's get something straight. I'll take my son any got damn place I please. Who in the hell do you think you are to question me about that?"
"I'm his mother, Angelo!" Nikki's hands were curled at her side into tight little fists. She'd never in her life wanted to take a swing at someone but she had to fight off the urge to do so now. "You don't get to dictate what I can or can't concern myself with when it comes to him. I told you this once before and was hoping you'd take steps so that this argument wouldn't have to be revisited again, but apparently I was wrong."
Angel leaned back and looked down his nose at her. The only movement in his face was the muscles of his jaw which worked furiously, like an uncontrollable tick.
"Whatever you decide to do, I can't stop you. It's apparent you're going to do whatever you please and disregard my feelings, but I told you before, our son won't be a part of your choices, Angel. Tell me, is your goal to be like Joseph Pattel, have A.J. stand by your side one day with the threat of prison or death hanging over him like a black, looming cloud? Raven says…"
"Yes," Angel interjected. "Let's talk about Raven." Her name was spat out with repugnance. There was not an ounce of love lost between either of the two. "What even possessed you to bring her to the place where I conduct my business?"
Nikki's eyes faltered and dropped away from his for a moment before she lifted them defiantly, meeting his head on. "You're right. I'm sorry. The only thing I was thinking about…"
"That's my point, you didn't think at all!" Angel roared, stepping closer to her. "You feel because she's your sister she wouldn't hesitate to use anything she can get her hands on to destroy me?" By this time, Angel towered over her, chest heaving, rising and falling, his temper slipping away with each second that ticked by. "Tell me you're not that fucking naive!"
"Do not talk to me like that! I'm not one of the women from your past you can treat like some mindless idiot who has no thoughts of her own other than the ones you give her permission to have!"
"You're right. You're not them because they knew their fucking place and never dared to step out of it!"
Nikki gasped in indignation. "Oh really? 'My place', Angelo? Really? Is that how you see me voicing concern for our child? Not staying in 'my place'?"
"This is what I think, Nicole. You're a very intelligent woman, but I think you've taken leave of your senses to walk into the middle of a meeting I'm in and try to handle me. I don't let you do it when we're alone and I damn sure won't allow it in front of other people. Nobody handles me, sweetheart." Angel slipped a hand around the nape of her neck and held her securely when she tried to struggle. He brought his face close to hers, his eyes resembling frozen icicles as he stared at Nikki with a hypnotic intensity. "Listen to me and listen closely. I love you, Nikki. I do. But don't you ever, ever in your life embarrass me the way you did today. You understand me?"
Nikki was so angry she trembled. "I hear you. Now you listen to me. It's very simple, actually. Either you walk away from the activities you're involved in or we're through."
The hand on the back of her neck tightened for the briefest of seconds before Angel smiled. Releasing his hold on her, he took a step back, needing to put some distance between them. "Ultimatums, Nikki?"
"I prefer to think of it as laying my cards on the table."
Angel nodded, his expression suddenly relaxed. "Really? Quite a gamble you're taking."
"It is."
They faced off with one another, both knowing this confrontation was a long time coming. Angel's lashes lowered momentarily, hiding the turbulence brewing until he could control it. Finall
y, he looked up at Nikki, all but reading her thoughts. The corner of his mouth lifted as he all but read her thoughts. He knew she didn't realize how expressive her face was, but he could always tell what she was thinking. What she was feeling. She was scared. As scared as he was of losing what they had. But she needn't worry about that. He had no intention of losing his family.
Angel stepped closer, framing her face with his hands, his thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. When he lowered his lips to hers, Nikki's mouth was stiff and unyielding beneath his but as he continued the undemanding kiss, her lips softened and parted, exhaling a surrendering sigh that he inhaled as part of his life strengthening air. Their tongues curled together, mating like two bodies playing the Twister game where one moved and the other performed a strategic counter move until there was a decisive winner who was none other than Angel, of course.
He continued to pilfer her mouth, his tongue thrusting forward in an erotic frenzy until Nikki reached up and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt in order to remain upright, bunching the expensive material into a wrinkled mess. By the time he lifted his head, her body was leaning against him, weak like the bowed branches of a tree that had just gone through a horrifying storm.
She slowly opened her lids which felt weighted with the passion and desire she felt for this man. "Angel..."
Angel placed a finger over her lips to stop her words. "You love me." It wasn't a question but Nikki nodded. "We'll get through this together."
"How, Angelo? Does that mean you'll do what I ask? Are you going to…"
"Nikki. Just slow down. Please. I was waiting to talk to you when you got back. I have to go out of the country for a few days." When she started to protest, he shook his head. "I just found out this morning, and if it was something that didn't require my immediate attention, believe me, I wouldn’t go. When I come back, we'll talk. I promise. Alright?"