[Moreno Brothers 01.0] Forever Mine

by Elizabeth Reyes

The park couldn’t be too crowded on a day like this, and he knew the car that asshole drove. He’d find them, and when he did, Angel was going to relieve all the pent up tension he’d been building up since he broke up with Sarah. He felt ready to kill.

  “I’ll find her.”

  After hanging up, Angel stormed past Eric and Romero. He heard Alex ask them, “What’s with him?”

  He was almost at his car when Eric called after him. “Hey, Angel. What’s up? Where you going?”

  “Gotta go find Sarah.” He reached for the door handle on his car.

  “What’s the matter?” Romero asked.

  Angel turned just before getting in the car. “That pervert Rudy has her up at Mount Soledad all by herself.”

  He saw Eric and Romero run to Eric’s car just as he gunned the engine. The image of Rudy walking away with Sarah at school and the snide way he’d looked at Angel fueled his already murderous temper, and he stepped on the gas.

  ***

  After running for about four miles, the coach slowed down and stopped near a grassy area. They’d been running along a trail that wound along the side of the road. At times the trail veered a bit far from the road, but they were always within eyesight of it. Sarah hadn’t seen a car drive by the entire time they ran.

  Coach Rudy grabbed the bottles of water out of his backpack and handed one to Sarah. In between heavy breaths, he reminded her not to drink too fast or too much. Sarah walked over to a giant boulder off the side of the trail and leaned against it. She was glad for the cold weather; now the cool air felt good in her nose.

  He walked over and joined her on the boulder. His thigh touched her leg when he leaned on the rock. “How’s the ankle feeling?”

  “Good.” Sarah looked down and wiggled it. “I was a little nervous, but it feels fine.”

  The coach took a sip of his water. “Can I ask you something personal?”

  Sarah put her foot down and turned to him. “Go ahead.”

  “Your boyfriend last semester—he seemed pretty crazy about you. Just wondering what in the world would make him let you go?”

  He must’ve seen the hurt in her eyes because he put his hand on her leg. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring you down. I was just curious.”

  Sarah shook her head and stared at her feet. “No, it’s okay. It’s just been hard, but I’m getting over it.”

  The coach patted her leg then rubbed it gently. “Was he your first?”

  Sarah looked up at him.

  “I mean first love.”

  She hadn’t really thought of it that way. But he was. No other boy had even come close to the way she felt about Angel. And she had an aching feeling that no one ever would.

  She nodded and turned her attention to her water. “It was my fault.” She took a small sip. “I was really stupid.”

  Sarah stood up. The pain was still so raw she was afraid she might get all sentimental. But the coach grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

  “Come here. It’s okay.” He spoke softly. His words were kind, and his touch felt warm. Except for the night of the awful scene and the day she went to see her mom, all the times she’d cried for Angel, she’d done it alone in her room. Sydney was usually on the other end of the phone, but she still couldn’t help feeling alone.

  She sat back down next to him. He kept her hand in his and spoke to her, looking directly in her eyes. “Listen. You don’t have to talk about it. But you’re a beautiful girl, Sarah, not just on the outside, and I hope you know that there are plenty of guys out there that would be dying to be with someone like you.”

  Sarah wasn’t sure about that. She didn’t care either. There was only one guy she wanted to be with, but she knew the coach meant well. The lump in her throat was getting heavier with every word he said. She could feel her eyes welling up. Damn it. That was exactly what she didn’t want, especially not today—the day she was supposed to be getting away from all the sorrow. She gulped hard, trying to hold it together.

  “Can I hug you?”

  Sarah leaned against his chest without answering, and he put his strong arms around her. She felt him kiss the top of her head, and somehow it felt right. It’s what Sydney would’ve done. The tears ran down her cheek as she took in the clean smell of his shirt.

  She pulled away a little to face him, and he wiped the tears from her face. “Do you have any idea how special you are?”

  She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Sarah knew he was just trying to make her feel better, but it made her uncomfortable. The level of tenderness in his eyes had changed a bit. He kissed her forehead softly and then the corner of her eye.

  “You have the most beautiful eyes,” he whispered.

  Sarah felt an icy shiver up her spine. He was just consoling her, she told herself. But his kisses continued down her face, and his strong body leaned a little heavier against her. He pulled her against him by the waist, and his lips caressed hers.

  She put her hand on his chest. “Coach?” But he didn’t even budge.

  “Call me Rudy,” he said and kissed her on the side of the mouth.

  “What are you doing?” She pushed him harder but was no match for him.

  “It’s okay, Sarah. Don’t fight it. I felt the attraction all along.”

  The heated craze in his eyes alarmed her. It was almost as if she were looking at a different person. The reality finally sunk in. “What are you talking about? You’re scaring me!”

  His grip on her loosened for just a moment. “C’mon, Sarah. We’re both adults. This has been building between us long enough.”

  The panic she’d begun to feel spiked, and she used her foot to push him away. He stumbled back awkwardly but caught his balance and reached for her again. Sarah moved away. The sorrow she’d felt earlier was now replaced with anger and fear. She’d trusted him. “How dare you?”

  “You can drop the act now, Sarah,” he said coldly. “We both want this.”

  “What? You’re crazy! I can’t believe you would even think that.” Sarah moved away from him cautiously, but he never backed down.

  “Crazy?” He grabbed her hand and thrust her to him. In an instant, she was locked in his arms, and she squirmed with all her strength to get away. “Don’t act stupid. Why else would you be up here with me?”

  Sarah kneed him, missing his groin by just an inch, but it was enough to stun him, causing him to let her go. The second she was loose, she bolted back toward the parking lot.

  “Sarah, wait!”

  Without looking back or the slightest hesitation, Sarah was in the run of her life. She did what she did best and turned on the wheels. Her mind raced, and the tears streamed down her face. How could she have been so stupid? Even with all the warnings, she had put herself in this horrific situation. She thought of the few cars in the parking lot and prayed someone would be around when she got there. She still hadn’t seen a soul.

  Halfway to the parking lot, she realized the coach was still running after her. He was yelling something, but her ear hummed with the wind, or maybe it was dread. Raindrops began to bounce off her face. The adrenaline thrashed through her body, and she picked up the speed.

  When she finally turned the corner and saw the parking lot, her heart sank. Of the few cars that had been there when they arrived, only two were left. Her heart pounded as her eyes searched around for anyone. She heard a car’s engine and tried to make out what direction it was coming from.

  The car sped around the corner up toward the direction she’d just come from.

  “Hey!” She yelled, waving her arms in the air. But the car was going too fast. It was out of sight, and she dared not run back in that direction. She could barely catch her breath and didn’t think she could run anymore anyway. Her stomach bottomed out when she saw the coach turn the corner.

  “Sarah, wait. I wanna apologize.”

  He ran slowly, and Sarah could see he was just as exhausted as she was. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon.
There was nothing and still no one in sight.

  “Don’t come near me.” Sarah could barely get the words out she was breathing so hard.

  But her words did nothing to deter him. He charged at her with that crazed heat still in his eyes.

  Chapter 29

  Angel skidded to a stop when he realized it was the coach he’d just seen running up the trail. But he was alone. Where was Sarah? He looked down the trail. Maybe she’d fallen behind. Would the idiot really leave her alone?

  Eric and Romero had eagerly volunteered to help him find Sarah and were driving around the park as well. He texted Eric to let them know he’d found them and where.

  Angel peered through his rearview mirror and saw the coach turn into the parking lot he’d just passed up. The rain was beginning to come down harder now. He put the car in reverse and backed up fast.

  The tires screeched as he turned into the parking lot and saw Sarah talking to the perv next to his car. He was too close to her, and her stance seemed defensive. Angel pulled up next to them, turned off the car, and jumped out.

  Sarah’s expression crumbled when she saw him, and she hurried to him. His fist tightened, and he was immediately between Sarah and the coach.

  “What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked her.

  Her frightened eyes enraged him. The coach answered for her. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

  Angel turned away from Sarah’s tearful eyes very slowly. His pulse throbbed in his ear. He spoke as calmly as he could manage. “What was a misunderstanding?”

  The coach seemed to take it in stride. “We were talking, you know, about you and the break-up. She got a little emotional. I was just trying to comfort her.”

  Angel’s jaw tightened. The word comfort had never sounded so obscene. He could hardly contain himself anymore. He looked at Sarah’s frightened eyes. “Is that what happened? Tell me the truth.”

  Something in her eyes flickered when he said the word truth. Her trembling lips tore him apart.

  She put her hands over her mouth then said it. “He attacked me.”

  No sooner had she said the words than Angel was lunging at the coach. “You son of a bitch!” he growled, landing a nose-crushing punch to the face.

  The coach stumbled back, and his hands went immediately to his nose. His face was a bloody mess. Angel raged after him, landing another blow to the chin, knocking the coach against the car. Angel charged at him, ready to pound him unconscious, but his arms were held back by Eric and Romero. He managed a hard kick that caught the coach right in the groin, tumbling him to the ground, moaning.

  “Holy shit, Angel. You kicked his ass!” Romero stared at the coach writhing in pain on the ground.

  Even as he watched the bloody trail from the coach’s face run down the parking lot, he wasn’t satisfied. He’d been enraged many times before but nothing compared to what he felt now. The bastard was lucky Eric and Romero had shown up, or who knows what may have happened.

  Angel ignored Romero and rushed back to Sarah. He put one hand on her shoulder and searched her stunned eyes. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

  Sarah shook her head. “No, he just scared me.” She sniffed. “He tried to kiss me and held me hard, but I got away and ran. He’d just caught up to me. Oh, Angel, if you hadn’t gotten here, I don’t know what would’ve happened. He was crazy.”

  She threw her arms around his neck, and he held her tight. The smell and feel of her in his arms was the only thing that calmed the tornado inside him.

  They left the coach there to fend for himself, but Angel drove straight to the La Jolla police. He insisted Sarah make a report immediately. He sat with her the entire time, holding her hand. They put out a warrant for the coach’s arrest. The police woman warned Sarah that it would probably get messy being that he was a teacher but encouraged her to be brave and stick with it so he wouldn’t be free to do this again to anyone else.

  Angel would make sure of it. They walked out of the station. He’d seen her send her calls to voicemail the whole time they’d been in there. Angel was sure it was Sydney. Just as they put their seatbelts on, Sarah’s phone went off again, and she finally answered it.

  She greeted him, and then her voice broke. “I know. I’m sorry. I was at the police station. No, I’m okay. Yes, I’m with Angel. I’ll tell you about it later, okay?” She lowered her voice, but Angel heard it and wished to God he hadn’t. “I love you too.”

  The blatant jealousy scorched through him. He stepped on the gas. Just a few hours ago, he was anxious to kill for her, and now he just wanted her out of his car—his life.

  He sped into her driveway. The rain was really coming down. He didn’t bother to turn the engine off or even attempt to soften his tone. “I hope you make sure that asshole goes to jail.”

  Sarah nodded and gathered her things and the plastic Ziploc bag the police woman had stuck all her paperwork in to keep it dry from the rain. “Thank you, Angel. You really saved me today. I don’t know what else to say to you. I just wish . . .”

  She didn’t finish and opened the door in a hurry to get out.

  He was out of patience. “Wish what, Sarah?”

  “That I could understand how you got over me so fast.” She got out and closed the door.

  Angel let his head fall back on his seat. Unbelievable.

  He turned off the engine, opened the car door, and jumped out. “You really think I’m over you?” he yelled over the hood of car.

  Sarah didn’t answer. She didn’t even turn around; she was halfway up the walk.

  Angel charged around the car toward her. He called her name again, and she stopped and turned around. Angel saw she was crying. “I can’t even imagine being over you and moving on, Angel, but you’re already with someone else.”

  “What?” He couldn’t believe she was doing this. “Don’t throw this shit back on me, Sarah. I’m not the one who—”

  “I know you ran back to Dana two days after we broke up.”

  Angel could see she was furious, and his mind raced to think about what she’d just said. “I went to talk to her; that’s all.”

  “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I hope you two are happy.” She began to turn back toward the house.

  “No, no, wait!” Angel took a few steps forward. He wasn’t about to let her turn this on him. “Only reason I wanted to talk to her was because she had information on you.”

  Sarah spun around. “What the hell would she know about me?”

  “Someone saw you that night. The night you and Sydney were holding hands and hugging on the beach.” Just the image tossed his insides. “She called me that night to tell me, and it made no sense to me. I ignored it. But after finding out the truth, I wanted to confirm exactly what it was she had seen.”

  Thinking about sitting there and getting the confirmation from Dana made him relive the pain, and he started to walk away. He was so done with all of this.

  “I’m so sick of crying over you, Angel,” Sarah sobbed. “You’ll never understand about me and Sydney, and he’s always going to be a part of my life.”

  It killed him to hear her so upset. But she was right. He’d never accept it. He couldn’t. He turned around to face her. She looked as broken as he felt. But it only made him angrier. She’d done this, damn it—not him. “What do you want me to understand, Sarah? You really expect me to be okay with you moving in with this guy? This guy you’re in love with?”

  “I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM!” she yelled. “I love him. It’s different.”

  They were both getting soaked, but it didn’t matter. Angel had a feeling this would be the last time he’d ever talk to her, and he wasn’t holding anything back. He laughed in disbelief. “Like a brother, Sarah?”

  “Yes!”

  He stalked forward but stopped a few yards away from her. “What about the dress?”

  Sarah stared at him, wide-eyed at an apparent loss. Angel was glad the storm was so loud or his booming voice might bring out the
neighbors. He could see Sarah trying to make sense of what he was yelling about.

  “That fucking dress, Sarah! You’ve never dressed like that for me, but you wore it for your brother? You expect me to believe—”

  “It was for you!” she cried.

  She was still lying. Incredible! Angel clenched his teeth but was unable to calm his voice. He was too riled up. “I wasn’t even gonna see you that night!”

  “But you were!” Her eyes lit up. “Remember? You were supposed to pick me up, but then Sydney showed up last minute. I didn’t want you to find out like that, so I left with him and called you.”

  Angel thought about it for a second, still breathing hard. It didn’t make sense. She never dressed that way.

  Sarah dropped everything in her hands on the lawn and hurried toward him. She stood right in front of him, and Angel looked into her flooded eyes. “This is gonna sound so stupid. I was gonna tell you that night about Sydney. I swear. I worried about it the whole day. Valerie came up with the idea that dressing that way would distract you—I don’t know—make things easier. I didn’t have time to change when he got there. But the dress, the hair, all of it was for you, Angel, not him.”

  Feeling an enormous weight lift from his heart and being so close to her, he had to resist pulling her to him. But he did move the wet strands of hair away from her face. Her eyes searched his. For the first time since they’d broken up, he began to feel a glimmer of hope. If only he could get past her going back to live with Sydney. “So, when do you go back to Arizona?”

  She sniffed and bit her lip. “I may not.”

  Angel’s heart had just started to calm, and he felt it start up again. He lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  “My mom may be getting out of jail sooner than we thought—maybe a couple months. That’s why I’m still here. I went to see her, and she asked me to hold on a little longer. But she also said it was up to me where we would live once she’s out.”

  His eyes searched hers now. “So what are you gonna do?”

  “That depends.” She had that crinkle between her eyebrows.