Independence: #2 Angel

by Karen Nichols

  “There are a lot of women who go to the club,” Angel finished her second roll and sighed. “Thank you. That was perfect.”

  “There are a lot of women in the world,” Colin countered with a little smile. “But not all of them interest me enough for me to want them in my world.”

  He didn’t like her silence. Her questions, he had answers for. Even her doubts. If she voiced them, he would find an argument around, over or through it if he had to. He was a lawyer. He knew how to argue things in his favor. Especially when he wanted her with more emotion than he’d allowed in his life in a long time.

  “I don’t think it would be a good idea right now,” she finally said, steeling her shoulders and meeting his gaze. “I appreciate your help. I really do. But I have to work through this and it would just be easier for me if you weren’t here.”

  “I see,” Colin had expected this. “And you want me to believe that you’re only interested in occasional sex. That’s why you visited the club.” He knew the instant the words left his mouth he wanted them back.

  “I think I was trying to escape at the club. Hide,” she said without hesitation. “But deep down, I know I can’t escape or hide.”

  “I didn’t believe you were the type to give up and face this outcome – their choices - as acceptable, Angel.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Colin drew in a long, slow breath. He kept telling himself she was tired and frightened for the people she had allowed to penetrate her shields. When he reached out and placed his hand on hers, she jumped visibly and pulled her hand away. Then she seemed to catch herself and slide it back beneath his.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “I think you need to take a nap, Angel. I think between the drug and your own nerves, you probably should sleep until morning,” Colin began cleaning up the bowls and plates, stacking them in the dishwasher.

  “I can do that,” she protested, collecting the remaining things and carrying them into the kitchen. “I’m sorry, Colin.”

  “I think you’ve apologized for so long, you’re not even sure why you’re sorry, Angel,” Colin turned and backed her against the counter. “Make sure the door is locked when I go.”

  He knew he had an ally and he wasn’t above using her.

  She didn’t raise her gaze to his. Just nodded in response, her hands beside her and gripping the counter. She couldn’t look into his face. Couldn’t see the disappointment and pain she’d caused him. The tension remained inside her even when he turned and walked to where he’d left his coat. He pulled his wallet from the inner pocket and opened it, selecting a small card and laying it on the dining table.

  “You have friends now, Angel,” he looked over at her but felt the walls around her at the moment. “Be careful,” he suggested with a little smile before striding out the door.

  He continued to his car, deciding it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done before. His hand came down hard on the steering wheel before he started the car. He knew without a doubt he could have ordered her to come with him. And he was still kicking himself for not doing it as he drove toward his home. Instead, he dropped the phone into the cradle on the dash and made some phone calls.

  She was not a child. She was not a victim, she kept repeating as she cleaned the apartment, working to ignore the headache that hadn’t improved since watching Colin leave.

  It was what she wanted. Right?

  So why didn’t it make her feel better to know he would, occasionally, allow her to make her own decisions and choices. Defiance. So why wasn’t it feeling better than it does?

  She threw herself onto the sofa and glared into the clouds massing outside. It was barely after four and getting darker by the minute. Curling into the cushions on the sofa wasn’t all that hard to do. Maybe if she rested for a bit, the headache would stop. Angel decided it was worth the try and pulled the afghan from the back over her. She closed her eyes and searched for the peace and sleep she’d enjoyed the night before.

  While sleep came, it wasn’t quite the same. She wasn’t sure what all was happening, but she recognized her father and brothers; her step-mother looking all the world like she should have her own Disney movie as the villain and Bailey? That made her frown in her sleep.

  Then she felt the sting of his leather belt across her hips and the scream exploded from her lungs. Maybe it was only from memory, but she swore she could feel every single inch of that belt as he hit her over and over. She could hear the chiding remarks from her brothers as they held her strung between them by her shoulders. Her sweat and blood marred the white dress they had forced her into. One of them was using the small leather collar with Colin’s name on it, whipping it across her face.

  It was the pounding and shouting that didn’t quite fit the dream.

  “Angel! Angel, you open this door right now or I’ll call Gabe and make him break it down!” More pounding and more shouting. “Angel!!”

  “Stop,” she mumbled, shoving her legs from beneath the warmth of the blanket and stretching before thumping her feet to the floor. “Bailey? What the heck is wrong with you?” Angel pulled the door open, features softened from sleep but still scowling at her friend. “What is wrong with you?” She repeated with a little growl.

  “You. That’s what’s wrong with me,” Bailey lifted her pack from the floor and pushed inside, slamming the door behind her. Her red hair was pulled into a ponytail, the ringlets curling wildly behind her when she stalked the sofa and tossed her pack into the center.

  “What are you doing?” Angel asked very slowly, cautiously eyeing the obviously full pack. Then the wheels seemed to click in the silence. “Oh. Oh, no. I do not need…”

  “You need a babysitter. We’re friends. You’re darn lucky Patsy had plans, or she’d be here, too. Why wouldn’t you stay with Colin?” She demanded, hip cocked to the side and arms crossed over her chest. Which wasn’t easy since she was wearing her puffy jacket.

  “He told you,” Angel responded, her tone a mix of anger and surprise.

  “He talked to Gabe,” Bailey lifted one arm free of the tight cross. “And by the way, Gabe is really, really pissed at me at the moment, so I hope you appreciate this.”

  “I didn’t ask you to…”

  “Friends don’t ask, they know and if you weren’t so stubborn…” Bailey put both hands on her face before pulling her jacket off and dropping it behind her. “No matter. So…maybe we need some serious baking…or not baking…I want fudge,” she went into the kitchen and began digging things out of the cabinets.

  Angel just stared, her hands hanging at her sides. “You’re crazy.”

  “Yeah, well…that’s not what Gabe called me,” she murmured from the kitchen. Cabinet doors clattered shut when she found what she was after.

  Angel sighed and walked over the cool tiles, helping with opening the bags and cans. She found some nuts and raisins and met with a nod of approval when she upended some of them into a bowl while the chocolate chips were in the microwave, melting.

  “Cops are here,” Bailey called out half an hour later from her perch on the window seat overlooking the main street.

  “I suppose I was expecting them,” Angel nodded and pulled in a deep breath. She looked at Bailey, who held up a piece of nut and raisin filled fudge before taking a bite. It was still soft, but that did not detract from the taste, she noticed. Maybe friends…she sighed and went to the door when she heard the heavy foot steps outside. “Lieutenant…”

  All words came to a stop. It wasn’t just the lieutenant.

  Behind her stood Gabe and Colin.

  “They aren’t my fault,” Natalie said quickly. “I found them loitering outside. I figured it would be easier to bring them here, than arrest them.”

  “I appreciate it,” Angel said softly, stepping blindly back and letting everyone come inside. She heard Bailey gulp behind her and knew exactly how she was feeling. “I told her she didn’t have to stay here. But…”

  “She�
��s patient while you learn how to cope with friends,” Colin said in the hesitation in her words.

  “Uh-huh…” Natalie looked from one to the other before gesturing to the dining table. “Can we sit and talk? I’ll have my recorder on…I need to know what happened, Angel. And what is that smell?” Her nose twitched and she groaned softly at the large plate slid onto the table.

  “Help yourself. Do you want something to drink?”

  “Water. And this is…amazing…thank you,” Natalie nibbled the corner of a piece of crystal goodness and took a seat, her free hand up and reaching into her pocket for the recorder.

  “I’ll get some…and I’ve been expecting you…” Angel skirted around the other side from both Gabe and Colin. And she definitely could not look either of the men in the eye at the moment. She was positive she’d self-combust.

  She did a quick study of her table and took the seat furthest from the others, keeping her gaze on the lieutenant after she sat down.

  “Okay…just start with this morning,” Natalie prompted patiently, watching the slim fingers twisting.

  “I went for a run. Through the park and over the low tide at the beach. When I got back it was…almost ten, I think. The door was open…and I’ve never left my door open. Mrs. Langdon…and some of the neighbors know about my family. It’s a little hard to hide it from the world when it’s always in the paper,” she shook her head. “I should have…I went in and Michael and Jacob were here…waiting for me.” She closed her eyes. “Jacob was behind the door and grabbed me from the back, his hand was around my neck to stop me from moving much. I…I tried screaming…I told them I didn’t want to go with them…Michael…hit me…and they had a blindfold and I couldn’t see…and I was a little dazed from the backhand…” she paused, her head tipped slightly to the side.

  “Do you remember the drive?”

  “I…I suppose…they tied my hands together and then attached them to the seat belt,” she shrugged. “They gave me water, though…told me to drink it, and held the bottle for me. Then it was all…fuzzy…I heard familiar voices…people I know…my other brothers…Harold kept trying to…he’s the youngest and he doesn’t like what they do…when he tries to stop them, he’s struck, too. He just started college…he’s not as caught on the whole religion and money thing as the others. I’ve tried getting him to come stay with me…”

  “It’s scary,” Natalie said with a compassionate nod.

  “I helped him chose a college on the other side of the country on purpose,” she smiled a little. “We talk on the computer constantly and he makes excuses not to return home for things by taking extra courses. He’s going to be a vet, so I’m hoping…”

  “By the time he finishes school, something will be resolved,” Natalie guessed with a nod.

  “Things were so…unclear when we arrived. I remember Elizabeth and her sister, Marion, helping me into that…that dress…I should have shredded it…”

  “We took it for evidence,” Natalie told her, watching relief flood Angel’s features. “Why the dress?”

  Angel sighed and rested her elbows on the table. She opened her palms and put her head in them.

  “He’s used this same theme as far back as I can remember. About how only my marriage to his God will absolve me of the evil that occupies…” she swallowed on the thickness forming in her words. “I’m sorry…”

  “Only he’s taken things up a notch,” Bailey announced in the break. “He’s added Earl Leonard. I checked on him. He’s very wealthy and promising a great deal to the church for the merger. He has several media holdings and thinks her father’s church would make a long, long lasting reality show for one of his networks. They’ve been negotiating for over six months.”

  “How do you know that?” Angel breathed, the color she’d gained back draining from her cheeks.

  “I only just received the rest of the information I was waiting for yesterday,” Bailey told her, leaning into the man who’d come to stand beside her. “It’s taken a while to find the right people to get to talk in his company. I’m sorry. I was going to come see you after work tomorrow.”

  “So he’s wanting Angel thrown into the package…” Natalie looked from one to the other. “No. Your father wants money and he wants Leopard to take you off his hands. Just a tad archaic,” Natalie said with a thick sigh. She stared at Bailey. “Should I ask what else you know about this Leonard?”

  “He’s been married three times,” Bailey ran her tongue around her lips. “One…was like this. A deal…she was nineteen and a problem for her father. Leonard was thirty-two at the time. She died in a private plane accident when they’d been married three months.”

  “Bailey, am I going to see a pattern?” Natalie asked cautiously. “The other two wives…”

  “Deceased,” Bailey answered quietly.

  “Anything else I should know?” Natalie stared at the redhead with one brow raised.

  “What is he getting out of all this?” Colin asked, his curiosity up along with his anger.

  “Sole beneficiary of the life insurance,” Bailey said with a shrug. “Which he took out upon their marriage. The thing is, I think he wants the church access to help…I’m not sure his business excursions are strictly in line with legal…stuff…” Bailey winced a little when a palm suddenly gripped the back of her neck.

  “Keep talking, Bailey,” Gabe suggested firmly.

  Bailey heaved a deep sigh, bright green eyes narrowed and a wince pinching her features at the same time a little squeak popped free.

  “Give me a minute here…I have to remember the notes I made,” she grumbled. “Earl Leonard is half Mexican. His mother was from Mexico City. He grew up on both sides of the border where El Paso sits. He claims to have a manufacturing plant across the border and plays the big benefactor. But his business…he makes some kind of car parts,” her fingers waved dismissingly in the air. “Not sure on that part. But it’s not doing so well…but he always turns a nice profit, regardless of the actual numbers.”

  “What do you think he’s doing, Bailey?” Natalie asked cautiously.

  “He makes trips over the border. He flies out of here to El Paso. First class,” she said thoughtfully. “Then he has one of his trucks meet him there. He rides across the border with them. The inventory list is raw materials. But the weights don’t match. And when he returns, the truck is always riding lower than it should for an empty vehicle.”

  “How did you find out all this?” Gabe asked very slowly.

  Bailey looked nervously at Natalie Templeton. The lieutenant reached up to her collar and tapped a switch on the recorder. Bailey sighed thickly.

  “When he first appeared on the scene, something felt wrong. So with the help of a few friends, I started doing some checking. There are cameras everywhere these days, did you know that? And with the right codes, you can access them, even when the people operating them try and erase certain portions of the video or the weight logs at crossing stations.” Bailey pulled in a long breath. “I think he wants to use the church to launder the money he’s making and funnel it back to his accounts. I think he’s bringing illegals over and using them in his factory here. I think he charges to make them nice neat papers. I think he approached her father about seven months ago, because before that, the reverend had mostly given up. Her brothers were only coming around every six months or so and it was more a token effort. At least that’s what Angel told us.”

  “Yes. I’d hoped he was accepting that I didn’t want in his life,” Angel said, working to understand all of what Bailey was saying. “And my father would get a percentage of the take. But why me?”

  “It follows his pattern,” Bailey said with a shrug. “And I think your father threw you in just because. If they both take life insurance policies out on you, him as your loving father and the other, a husband…I’m sorry.”

  “No…no, it isn’t your fault. But it does make sense,” Angel slumped back in the chair, her head shaking. “Strange, strange
sense…only a family could understand, I suppose.”

  “You have no idea just how crazy families can get, Angel,” Natalie assured her with a smile. “Where are your notes, Bailey?”

  “At the house…but I’ve been running the numbers and…the weight of the trucks…”

  “It’s probably only partially people,” Colin said flatly. “While the long term would be labor and money, drugs would be more immediately profitable.”

  “So why not combine it and bring both over?” Natalie said with a nod. “Yeah…nothing new on that line. Guess I need to find a friendly fed and see what we can cook up as far as an investigation is concerned.”

  “So Leonard has no church? They told me he was part of another church…” Angel looked from one to the other. “All this is happening to me and I don’t even know why.”

  “Does the why really matter?” Natalie shook her head. “You just want him to leave you alone.”

  “I know why he hates me…or I thought I did. I thought…I believed it was because I lived and my mother died,” she whispered painfully. “I can’t believe he loved my mother at all,” Angel ground out angrily. “I thought…I don’t know how or why I allowed myself to be so stupid for so long. I thought he only turned mean because I killed the woman he loved, only I don’t think he ever really loved her.”

  “Parents mess with a kids head, Angel,” Natalie stood up and went to the door. “Don’t stay by yourself until we can get this straightened out, okay?” She looked from one man to the other, settling on Colin. “I’m guessing you’d be more than willing to keep her with you.”

  “I offered.”

  Natalie laughed. “Yeah…and you accepted no for an answer. Please. Tre is a lot like you two,” she shook her head. “I know the breed. Keep her safe, gentlemen. I’ll be in touch. Bailey, I’ll send you an email for your information. And thanks for the entertainment.”

  Colin had been watching Angel. He wanted her in his life. Period. Riding over the hurdles was just another part of life he knew how to deal with.