Angel: RBMC: Ankeny IA

by Kristine Allen

  After we should’ve had them all taken out.

  “Nope,” I said but continued to stand there. After a silent standoff for a few minutes, I finally traipsed back to the room and climbed into bed. Tugging Korrie against my front, I wrapped an arm around her and cupped her tit in my hand. With a brush of my lips to her shoulder, I closed my eyes.

  My dreams were full of Korrie and our future, but a restless nervousness still simmered in the back of my mind.

  “Ten Thousand Angels”—Mindy McCready

  My mother hadn’t contacted me, and from what Facet told me, she’d gone back to Kentucky. Angel had held true to his word, and he’d been working with Trace every day. They sometimes talked for hours; other times, the guys helped and did things that seriously turned my stomach.

  “Argh!” Chains had shouted. “Goddamn it, you sonofabitch! You didn’t need to stab it all the way through! Not only does that hurt like a motherfucker, I’m stuck to the fucking table!”

  “Quit swearing so much,” Angel said with a partially suppressed grin. “You’re teaching my son bad things.”

  Trace rolled his eyes, completely unfazed by everything. Part of me wondered how I’d raised this little mini adult that was okay seeing shit like that.

  My ass literally clenched and I went queasy at the sight of Chains sitting there with a big, long knife sticking up out of his hand. Ghost was laughing, and Phoenix was doubled over holding his abdomen. Voodoo stood behind them with his arms crossed and a raised brow.

  “There is something seriously wrong with you guys,” I muttered. Kira made a sound as she sat next to me holding her son, Parker. At first, I thought she was gagging, but she was snickering at their antics.

  “You don’t think this is abnormal?” I asked her incredulously. She snuggled Parker and nuzzled her nose into his plump little belly. The big German shepherds looked up at my question, then lazily dropped their heads to their paws again with a huff. As if my question was ridiculous.

  “Well, is there anything about these guys you would term normal?” A smirk followed her question, and I had to concede to the validity of it. From the little I’d found out, the majority of the members had exceptional gifts.

  “You have a point,” I agreed with a shake of my head as I averted my gaze from the spectacle. An involuntary shudder passed through me.

  “Help me distract myself. Let me hold that little cutie pie,” I said as I made grabby hands toward little Parker.

  With a mirthful sparkle to her blue eyes, Kira handed him over. My lips curled softly as I gazed at his pursed lips and the curve of his cheeks. Memories of the first time the nurse laid Trace in my arms assaulted me. I’d never realized I could experience such a profound and all-consuming love as I had that day. I remembered thinking there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him. No lengths that I wouldn’t go through to ensure his safety and happiness.

  But I hadn’t truly understood the depths of those feelings until he’d been taken and my own mother had shown such complete disregard for my son being abducted. I trailed a fingertip over Parker’s wrinkled brow as he quietly blinked up at me.

  “You look good with him,” Kira quietly said, and I glanced up to see her watching me with a fond tip of her lips. “Do you think you’ll have more?”

  I bit my lip, and though I fought it, my gaze flickered to Angel and back. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”

  Jasmine looked up from the book she had been quietly reading. “You don’t want more?”

  “There will be plenty of bebés for you and the angel.” Madame Laveaux startled me when she spoke in my ear from behind the couch.

  “Oh, um, I don’t know,” I tried to argue, but she clucked her tongue at me.

  “I wasn’t asking for you to agree, I already know,” she said with a slight lift to the corner of her mouth. Then she moved around the couch to sit next to me. She gazed with love at her great-grandson.

  Unsure how to respond to that, I chose to change the subject. “Now that Trace is safe and things have settled down, I really need to go see my father,” I murmured. I’d wanted to tell him we were in the area, but I didn’t want to pull him into the shitstorm that had been squalling.

  “Your father lives around here?” Kira asked in surprise.

  I nodded. “Yes. He moved from the home we lived in when he and my mom split, but he stayed in the Des Moines area.”

  “Why don’t you call him?” She tipped her head inquiringly.

  I gave a heavy sigh. “I will.”

  “You and your father have much to discuss. Don’t put it off too long,” Madame Laveaux cryptically murmured. Her eyes were locked on the beautiful baby in my arms, but I knew she was speaking to me.

  “Yes, we do.” She’d hear no argument from me.

  Her pale blue eyes lifted to meet mine. “Remember that the mind gets clouded when love is involved. Try not to judge harshly.”

  “What do you mean?” My brow furrowed in confusion. How could she possibly know my suspicions about my father? Then I reminded myself that she had a very powerful gift. Chills rippled through me, skating across my skin.

  “It’s not my story to tell, but you need to go see him. It’s important.” The older woman seemed insistent, so I nodded. Her gaze flashed to Jasmine, then back to mine.

  “Okay. I’ll call him in the morning.”

  She patted me and gave me a pleased grin. “Now pass me the child. It’s time for this old lady to have a turn.”

  With a chuckle, I gently handed him over to her. She began speaking to him in what sounded like French, and hell if he wasn’t watching her like he understood every single word. It was the strangest thing.

  No, that was a lie. What was going on at the table was possibly the strangest. I glanced over my shoulder and grimaced.

  Jesus, my life had taken a seriously bizarre turn, but I wasn’t so sure that was a bad thing.

  I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t flutter like a million butterflies were bursting to get free every time I looked at Angel.

  I loved him.

  And I was going to make sure he knew it once and for all.

  Bring on the ink.

  “Angels On The Moon”—Thriving Ivory

  Blood welled up from the cut across Phoenix’s palm as he laid his knife to the side.

  Trace met Phoenix’s eyes, then squared his shoulders, and we got back to work.

  “Focus on the injury and try to imagine you can control how fast you’re healing him,” I murmured into my son’s ear as I watched his progress. With the exception of stabbing Chains through the hand, we were still working on very small things. I’d helped with that one, so Trace didn’t get completely wiped out. It was a difficult process to get a kid to understand, yet he seemed to be catching on much quicker than I ever had.

  Korrie was sitting off to the side with a grimace on her face as she watched.

  “You know you don’t have to be out here,” I said with a chuckle. It was rather unconventional, but it was the only way to train Trace without it taking forever.

  Chains hadn’t stopped glaring at Ghost for impaling him to the wooden tabletop. The guys had been fucking cool as shit during our training sessions. Blade had offered himself up, as did Ghost. It was better than I’d had for my training, but then again, I hadn’t been raised around a bunch of bloodthirsty assholes willing to slice themselves open on a whim.

  Crazy fuckers, but I loved each and every one of them.

  “Always be aware of your surroundings and the situation you’re in. You know how weak you get afterward, and you cannot leave yourself vulnerable.” My son nodded, but continued to close the wound like a pro. It was uncanny.

  We’d been working off and on since I’d brought them home to Iowa, yet he was easily at the level I was at after two years of practice. He seemed to be extremely adept with our gift, and we’d figured out that not only had he spoken with my dead mother for years, he could see other spirits too. Ghost had been blown away. We’d
never seen someone who had multiple gifts at his age.

  “Son, I think that’s enough for today,” I said after he was through. His eyes were getting heavy, and his body looked drained. He’d gotten through far more than I’d expected though. “Come on, I’ll go start your movie, and you can watch it while you rest.”

  “Okay, Dad.” He shuffled along beside me until I got him set up like I promised. Little dude was so wiped out, he was zonked by the time I closed his door.

  “Did he do too much?” Korrie asked, expression riddled with worry when I returned. I wove my fingers through her hair before clenching it to tip her head back. Biting her neck, I followed it with a soothing kiss, then met her gaze.

  “He’s fine. But don’t be surprised if he sleeps through the night. It’s been a long day for him.” Since we’d gotten him home, we’d tried to get things back to normal for him. Korrie had continued homeschooling him during the day, then I’d work with him a bit in the afternoons and again after dinner.

  “You still up for your tattoo in the morning?” I asked with a tilt of my head and a half grin. I’d broken down and told her about it yesterday. She’d taken it surprisingly well.

  Her gaze was intense as she stared into my eyes.

  “Yes,” she firmly replied.

  “Good,” I said before pressing a quick kiss to her full lips.

  “But I wish you’d tell me what it was going to be,” she grumbled.

  “Tradition, babe. In this chapter, the ol’ lady doesn’t get to see it until it’s done.”

  “I still say that’s fucked-up. What if they hate it? What if I hate it?”

  “It’s about trust. You gotta trust that I wouldn’t put anything on you that I thought you’d be upset about.”

  She huffed out a disgruntled sigh.

  A vibration in my pocket had me pulling out my phone to check the notification.

  There were two missed calls and a text from my father. Instinctively, my eyes locked on Jasmine where she lay curled up on the couch watching the movie with expressionless eyes and her Kindle cast to the side. She rarely left the clubhouse, though several times this week we’d offered to take her out to at least get groceries or hygiene items.

  Venom had cleared everyone to come and go as long as we weren’t alone.

  “When is he going to figure out I have nothing to say to him?” I grumbled as I shoved my phone in my pocket without reading the message. Korrie watched me carefully, trying to gauge my mood, so I gathered her in my arms.

  “Your father?”

  “Yeah.” I sighed before giving her a teasingly light kiss that ended with me tugging her lip between mine. Languidly, I suckled on her before giving her a gentle nip.

  A soft sigh escaped her as she pressed her body into mine and nuzzled into the crook of my neck. We stood there for a few minutes, simply enjoying the feel and scent of each other.

  “I think I’m going to go lie down too. You going to be up for a while?” she asked me. Hands pressed flat to my chest, head tipped up to look me in the eye, she waited for my answer.

  “I’ll be in there in a bit. I want to talk to Venom tonight. He’s gotta head home tomorrow morning, and I have a few things to run by him. I also want to check on Squirrel.” She nodded, then after one last kiss, she wandered off down the hall toward the room we’d been sharing.

  Once I was certain she wasn’t coming back, I pulled my phone out again. My teeth grinding at what I read, I went to Venom’s office.

  The door was open, but I knocked on the frame. Venom was behind his desk with a bottle of Vanilla Crown Royal, Raptor lounged in one of the chairs, and Voodoo was leaning against the wall. They each had a shot glass.

  “What’s up, Angel?” Venom asked as he took his shot. I walked in and set my phone in front of him. He glanced down at it and swore under his breath. Raptor shot me a questioning look, and I motioned for him and Voodoo to read it too.

  Sperm Donor: Need to see you. Important. Russians want their money. I don’t have it. Said they’re gonna kill me and they’re coming for J

  “I thought what Facet found said your father was in debt to the Bloody Scorpions for his gambling?” Raptor asked as he stroked his jaw.

  “It would appear they were merely middlemen. I’m more concerned that it could be Kira’s family somehow. I thought it was Kalashnik that the Bloody Scorpions were working with, but it could be further into the Russian network than just him. You think this has something to do with that fucking shooter?” Voodoo questioned as he narrowed his eyes.

  Venom poured another shot and slid it my way as I shrugged.

  Without hesitation, I raised it to my lips and focused on the sweet burn as the rich whiskey slid down my throat. Shaking my head, I set the glass on the desk with a thunk. “Can I get another?”

  “Sure thing,” he said and filled the glass again. After I’d downed it, he held the bottle up in offer of a third, but I waved my hand over the top of the shot glass.

  “You think it could be one of Kira’s brothers?” I asked Voodoo.

  “No way. Dmitry plays hockey, and Viktor is a fucking sculptor. The cousins aren’t involved in the family business either. Jericho plays hockey down in Texas with Dmitry, and the rest are girls.” Voodoo frowned as he absently tapped on the desktop.

  “Now what?” I asked as my shoulder muscles tensed. My father was a pain in my ass, and I was pissed that he’d pulled us into his shit.

  “You shoulda let us take care of him years ago,” Venom muttered. I couldn’t argue. He was right. It hadn’t been due to some misguided sense of family, that’s for damn sure. I’d simply wanted my father to suffer alone.

  Now it was coming back to bite me in the ass.

  Fuck.

  “I’m gonna check on Squirrel, then try to get some sleep. What time you heading out?” I asked Venom.

  “Probably about zero four.”

  “Goddamn, why so early?” I asked, and Raptor snorted out a laugh.

  “Grams has an early appointment, and I wanna be there. Her doc’s up in Fairmont, Minnesota. I think she’s blowing smoke up my ass, so I wanna hear what the doctor has to say firsthand.” Scrubbing a hand down his face, he poured himself another shot and tossed it back.

  “You sure you don’t need one of us to ride with you?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nah. This is personal, not club, and I’m caging it. Already secured my cut with Raptor.”

  “Well, if you change your mind, let us know. I could bring Korrie and Trace and we could follow you up.” If he needed me, I’d be there. I could take advantage of spending time with my family by bringing them with. Maybe I’d even get Jazzy to go, getting her away from this area.

  “I’ll let you know, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  I sighed. “Roger that. You need anything from me before I hit the hay?”

  “You’re good.”

  Venom stood, we said our goodbyes, and I left to stop by Squirrel’s room. He’d been cleared to leave the infirmary.

  After knocking, I stuck my head in.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey, yourself.”

  “You doing okay? Need anything?”

  “Nah, bro, I’m good. Thank you again,” he said eyes bouncing from me to the wall before blinking rapidly.

  “No thanks needed,” I said with a slight lift of my chin. He seemed decidedly uncomfortable. The faint scars were visible on his chest, side, and abdomen from where I’d healed him. I got where his head was, because I could attest to the mental disruption at being faced with one’s own mortality.

  When Korrie had inadvertently shot me, I’d been sure I was going to die.

  “Well, if there’s anything you need, let me know.”

  He nodded, and I gently closed his door.

  Moving on to the room where my woman awaited, I quickened my steps, pushing all the shit out of my mind.

  After losing myself in the perfection of her body, I fell into a restless sleep.
>
  I didn’t sleep much that night, but bright and early the next morning, I was waking my woman up with kisses along her spine.

  “Mmm, what are you doing?” she mumbled into her pillow. The next kiss I gave her, I teased along her spine with my tongue. Goose bumps broke out across her skin, and a wicked grin curled my lips.

  “You need to get up,” I whispered along the soft curve of her shoulder.

  “The sun is barely up,” she moaned with a wrinkle of her nose.

  “We have an appointment,” I said against her neck after brushing her hair out of the way.

  “For?” One eye stared up at me.

  “You forget already? I must’ve fucked you senseless,” I said. “Now get up or we’re going to be late because I’m going to lift that ass in the air and give you a few orgasms before you make it out of this bed.”

  She chuckled. “Is that supposed to be a threat? Or is it a promise? Because either way, I think I’d like to try it.”

  With a growl, I pulled down the sheet and bit the plump cheek of her ass. She squealed as she jumped up and I quieted her with a kiss. “You’ll wake Trace,” I said between kisses.

  She pushed me back and straddled me. When I began to stiffen under her, she ground her hot core over me until I was aching to thrust inside her. It would only take a slight adjustment of my hips and I’d be surrounded by warm, wet, pussy.

  “We don’t have time,” I moaned. Her hands splayed over my chest, and the curtain of her deep red tresses surrounded her and tickled my skin.

  Her expression became serious as she stilled. “Thank you,” she simply said.

  “For?” It was my turn to question.

  “The other night. With my mother,” she said and swallowed hard as her gaze dropped to my pecs. “You’re right. I’m not sure I’d have been able to live with myself if I’d gone through with it.”

  “Baby,” I began as I reached up to cradle her face. “Look at me.”

  Those beautiful eyes locked on mine.

  “I’ll always be here for you. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. You and Trace.” My hand feathered along her neck to her tits, then to circle her bellybutton. “And any other little munchkins we create.”