Angelica
(The Family)
By
Angelique Jones
This book is a work of fiction.
Other Books
Dominic (The Family #2)
Gazers
In the Shadows of the Cavern of Death
Table of Contents
Cover
Title
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Prologue
At the age of ten I was my daddy’s little princess and my mommy’s little angel. I was kept in my tower like any other princess. My mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was so beautiful that many people called her Helen of Troy, and though our coloring was different, everyone said I was just as beautiful. When Mommy chose Daddy, the other men she hadn’t chosen were very angry, though they hid it and waited. My parents were worried that someone would steal me, so I lived in my tower, only allowed to be seen by my family. When I was ten my mommy became pregnant with my brother, and we were sent away to be safe. When I was ten my daddy and my mommy died and I was forced to run and hide.
When I was eleven he found me. When I was twelve he found me. When I was thirteen he found me. When I was fourteen he found me. When I was fifteen he found me. When I was sixteen he found me and told me that I would be his princess. When I was seventeen he found me and told me that I was to remain a virgin. When I was eighteen he found me and told me that I was to be his virgin princess bride. When I was nineteen he found me. As I escaped again he yelled to me that if I ever allowed any to touch me, he would kill them, and the pain I suffered now would be nothing compared to what I would suffer for the rest of my life.
His threats scared me then no more than they had when I was eleven. The hurt he did to me I refused to show. The numbness of my existence let me block it out. The problem was, when I turned twenty I did something I had never done before. I allowed someone to become my friend. I didn’t want to be her friend, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was a happy whirlwind who hugged me as I cringed at the contact, ignoring it and my nastiness, refusing to leave. Maria was what I had once been; maybe it was why I caved and did the unthinkable, allowing someone in.
Chapter 1
“Maria, I swear you’re not going to be happy until every girl hates us,” Angie groaned, looking up, wondering how she had gotten herself into this situation.
Laughing at her bodyguard, Sal, as he growled at a couple of boys who thought to get close to them, she said, “You know, Angie, I wouldn’t have to go to these lengths if you weren’t so beautiful. I need to flirt just to compete.”
“Yeah,” Angie replied dryly as I looked at Maria’s get-up, all the way down to her Louis Vuitton pumps. The girl was beautiful and rich. She competed with no one. Angie knew why she did this. Separately, they were something every girl hated and every guy wanted; together they were lethal. An accident causing lethal sight and she loved it. Maria with her dark hair and blue eyes was the perfect Italian beauty, while everyone, even she, thought Angie was the perfect Irish beauty with her red hair and green eyes.
Running up, Maria grabbed Angie in a big hug. Angie was so used to her easy emotion that she didn’t even flinch anymore at the contact. Though she hated to encourage her, Angie couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped past her lips when a group of boys fell over themselves, landing in a mass on the ground at the sight of them. Moving faster, wanting to get off campus, Angie pulled Maria along, half listening as she continued to talk. “Oh, come on. Come out with me tonight; it will be fun. You never go out with me. I even figured out a way to get by Sal,” she whispered, glancing back at the massive man following us.
Shaking her head, “I can’t; there are things I have to do,” Angie replied, keeping her voice just as low.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Maria said, seeming to finally giving up but Angie knew that it wouldn’t be the end.
“So, I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me where you’re going?” She asked though she didn’t wait for Angie’s response before continuing knowing that like always she wouldn’t answer. “Come on, you’ve got to tell me. I know it’s a guy; you do this all the time: disappear, then come back tired and sore,” giving a little humorous laugh Angie thought if she only knew. “Uh, I can’t believe you won’t give me something to fantasize about. You know I have no social life. This big lout”—gesturing a hand back at Sal—“follows my father’s every order. I don’t think a guy has ever been within ten feet of me without being in fear for his life. I’m going to go to marriage without ever having been kissed!”
Thank God for the parking lot. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Angie snapped sharply as the dark thought of the only man to ever have kissed her rose in her mind before she could push it away. Realizing she had hurt Maria’s feelings with her tone, she tried to fix it. “Besides, you’re probably going to get kissed tonight, and it will be you telling me how great it was, leading to my epic jealousy of you,” Angie teased, knowing Maria was spending the night at home.
“You’re right. I’ll be kissed by the hottest guy there and you will be so jealous of his supremely juicy lips. It will be a kiss to end all kisses.” Maria laughed, ignoring Angie’s bad humor like she always did.
Reaching her car, Angie opened the door, throwing in her bags and books before she turned to allow Maria to hug her. Leaning in Angie whispered in her ear, “You’re not really going out, right?” she asked needing to be sure Maria was just all talk.
“As if I could get away from my father’s goons.” Maria snorted, landing a big kiss on Angie’s cheek just to be an ass.
Shaking her head as she watched Maria bounce away with Sal, Angie gave him a little wave, laughing when he bowed his head in defeat as Maria started talking to him. That poor guy should ask for a raise. Climbing into her car, she started the engine and sat there for a moment as she let the happiness Maria brought into her life fade away and allowed the darkness that lived inside of her to rush to the front. Already Angie was leaving this place, Maria, the college, and her life there behind. Everything she would need for her trip had already been bought and packed in the trunk. Angie lived two lives, one for her mother and one for her father. Right now she was leaving the one her father would have wished for her and continuing on with the one her mother demanded of her.
Chapter 2
She was gone longer than she expected, a week longer. She had already killed so many of them that the remaining ones were much more cautious. They knew it was coming. They just didn’t know who brought them justice, when it would come, or for what crime. The darkness that had begun when she was ten had only grown, until there were only two things in the world that she would control it for: her secret and Maria, her only friend. Circling the block that her apartment was on to make sure he hadn’t found her, Angie knew she had already been here too long. That was why she didn’t a
llow herself friends; they were a weakness. Once she was sure it was clear, she parked around the block and walked to her apartment. She never used the front door when she had been gone for any length of time, instead going to the escape ladder and climbing quietly up to use the window. Entering like a thief, Angie searched the apartment until she was satisfied that no one was there before going to check the videos. Most people would think she was paranoid, but those people weren’t hunted.
It took her an hour before she was sure he hadn’t found her and she was able to relax. Taking a hot shower, she cleaned off the grime of her trip, careful not to look in the mirror when she got out. She knew what was going to be there staring back at her, and she avoided it. She’d learnt long ago not to look, especially after a kill. The nothingness that would stare back just made the darkness grow. The sun was high in the sky when she curled into bed. There was no way she was going to classes. They could wait until next week; it was Friday, so she had two days to become human again.
She’d like to say she slept like the dead, but like always the dreams came. They always came when the darkness was too close to the surface….
“Daddy, why can’t we come home?” the little girl pouted into the phone.
“I know, princess, but you have to stay with Momma. You have to watch out for her and your baby brother,” her daddy said tiredly.
She didn’t want to upset Daddy. She was a big girl. “I know, Daddy, I just miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby; soon—” he started to say before she heard the phone drop to the ground and heard him yell out, “You fucking traitor.” Loud bangs sounded. She knew those sounds even at her young age, as protected as she had been. Those sounds were as common as any lullaby to her.
“Daddy, Daddy,” she screamed, but there was no answer on the other end, just silence and a soft click as the receiver was hung up. Dropping the phone, she raced from her room, going to Uncle Lorenzo’s room. Throwing the doors open, she rushed in, calling his name. He’d help Daddy. Uncle Lorenzo was his brother; that’s why they’d been sent to stay with him.
The room was empty except for the sounds of a little girls screams for help. Racing out, she went to her Mommy’s room. There were men in front of her mommy’s open doors. Later on the little girl would realize that the reason that she hadn’t heard her Mommy’s screams were because her own screams had filled her ears drowning out her mother’s horror filled ones. Pushing her way through the laughing men, the little girl found her Mommy. Rooted to the floor, she looked at her in horror as her little mind tried to understand what she was seeing. Her mother’s screams of rage broke her frozen state and she rushed at the men holding her mommy down, trying to push them away. They laughed as they pulled her away, but before they could take her from the room, the man on top of her Mommy turned to look at her. “Let the little bitch stay with her mother and watch.” Her Uncle Lorenzo laughed. The coldness in his face as his evil words spewed out was something that the little girl had never seen before.
“The girl’s to be mine, Lorenzo, that was the deal,” the man holding her Mommy’s arms said as he looked at her, causing dread to form in her little stomach.
“She will be. I’m doing you a favor. Let her learn her place.” Her Uncle grunted, getting off Mommy as another took his place. If they spoke about her more after that, the little girl didn’t know. Her eyes became locked with her mommy’s. Her mommy stopped screaming, instead holding her eyes….
Angie was covered in sweat when she woke. In the beginning, she would have to race to the bathroom and empty her stomach after such a dream. Now, like everything else in her life, she had become numb to it. Getting up from the bed, she grabbed a bottle, taking a deep swig of the Jack before setting it down. She needed a release; the darkness needed a release.
Going through the motions, she got ready, dressing in clothing she rarely wore. Walking to the mirror, she looked at the result, satisfied when a dark goddess looked back. The backless dress showed her assets to their advantage, and the spiked heels gave her the edge and the height she needed to maximize her legs. Her hair fell just above her ass, the deep redness drawing attention there. Grabbing her purse, she threw in her phone and left.
Twenty minutes later, she was pulling up to the hottest nightclub in the area. A line that went on for a mile graced it. Pulling up, she got out, handing her keys to the valet. She wasn’t worried about having to wait; she knew her value. Going straight to the entrance, the bouncer almost tripped over himself to get out of her way and let her in. Stares followed her as she went to the bar, ordering shots. Pounding two back before asking the bartender to hold her purse behind the bar and made her way to the dance floor. Moving in deep, she began to dance. Closing her eyes, she let the music take her. No one touched her; they made room. She could feel their eyes on her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t dance for them. She didn’t dance to draw others to her. She danced for release, needing it to ease the darkness, a way to lose herself. The music filled her for moments or hours she didn’t know how long she danced before she felt it—what she had been searching for: the release. The sweet oblivion where nothing but the sound of the music and the feel of her body existed.
On and on she danced until it came; like an orgasm, it raced through her, leaving her breathless and flushed. Stopping, she ran her hands over her body, slowly opening her overly bright eyes to take in the flushed faces around her. The breathing of those that surrounded her sounded loud enough to be heard over the music. Want of what they knew they couldn’t have filled their faces giving her a dark sense of satisfaction.
Looking straight ahead, she sauntered back to the bar, ignoring the blatant stares that followed her ever move as she went. Placing two shots and her purse in front of her, the bartender stared as she downed them. Keeping his eyes, she held him prisoner. The ringing of her phone caused her to release him, his shuttering breath and whispered “Fuck me” had her smile darkly as she pulled out the phone. A strange number stared at her. Swiping her finger across it, she brought it to her ear. “Hello,” she said cautiously, dread heavy in her stomach.
“Is this Angie?” growled a deep voice she didn’t recognize. When she didn’t answer quickly enough, “I said, is this fucking Angie?” he all but yelled in her ear.
About to hang up, she stopped herself, pissed that this unknown fucking prick was ruining her buzz. “Who is this?” she demanded coldly.
“For the last time, are you Angie?”
This prick had a death wish. “Yes. Now who the fuck are you and how did you get this number?”
Not liking her tone, if his tone was any indication. “I’m Maria’s brother Lucca; she had an accident and wants to see you.”
And just like that, the darkness was back. “Where?” Angie asked, not wasting her time with questions to answers she would get when she got there.
She was already out the door, waving to the valet to get her car, as the prick rambled off an address. Not bothering to say anything else, she ended the call. Pulling a hundred from her purse, she handed it to the kid and got into her car, flooring it before the door clicked shut.
Chapter 3
It took over an hour to get to the address she’d been given. Pulling up to the gated, guarded entrance, a feeling of déjà vu took her when the suited guys came to the car to see who it was, their guns bulging under their jackets. She had never checked Maria and her family out, assuming they were some sort of businessmen. That was a mistake. As permission was given for her to enter, she was waved through. Driving up to the house, it took everything in Angie not to turn around and leave. To cut Maria from her life and move on. Only the fact that Maria’s brother had called instead of her kept Angie going. Thoughts that Maria had to be hurt bad not to have made the call herself filled Angie with a courage that she may not have otherwise possessed.
Stopping the car, Angie got out, putting the mask she show the world firmly in place, hoping she was wrong, hoping if she was right, whoever was in there
wouldn’t recognize her. Sal, Maria’s bodyguard, threw open the door before she could knock. Relief reflected in his haggard face as he gazed at her. Moving to the side so she could step in, she heard him mumble, “Thank God,” under his breath causing her uneasiness to grow.
The place was filled with men who turned to look at her as she entered. Ignoring their stares as they looked her up and down, and their “holy fucks” that sounded under their breath, she did her own quick appraisal of the men that told her what she needed to know. She didn’t want to be here.
Ignoring them, Angie turned back to Sal, who stood between her and the now-closed door as if he was afraid that she planned to escape. He wasn’t wrong to be. With a carefully bank face she asked. “Where?” One word, but he knew what she meant. Motioning for her to go in front of him he pointed to the stairs and she went up, following the corridor. She could hear him moving behind her, so she kept going, figuring he’d tell her to turn or stop. Moving in the dim light, she saw a flicker in the distance as her eyes adjusted she realized that there was a man—a large one—smoking a cigarette and leaning against the wall. They weren’t making a sound as they approached, so she knew it was instinct that made him raise his head and look at them. It was too dark for her to see his eyes, but she could feel his appraisal as they swept her body before rising and locking with her own eyes. Ignoring the rush of heat that moved through her as she got close enough to get a good look, she kept her eyes locked with his and stopped a foot from him. This had to be Maria’s older brother, Lucca. He had her eyes, but while hers were open and friendly, his were dark and guarded, daring Angie to trespass.
Breaking eye contact, she allowed her eyes to move to the door behind him, the sounds of whimpers and moans crystal clear even through the heavy door. She knew those sounds; they haunted her dreams. “When?” She asked, not needing to be told what happened but needing to know when.
She could feel his gaze boring into her, assessing her, as he rumbled out, “Last Friday.”
Angelica (The Family Book 1) Page 1
