“Lillian?” she asked.
That didn’t make sense. Why would Lillian…?
“They’re gonna push pills. And… and they’re… Noel wants you to help.”
Angeline’s mouth went dry, as her heart pounded in her chest. What she had done, crime or not, was borne out of desperation and love for her father. What Noel wanted was something very different, and when she thought of helping him to turn a profit in the face of pain, Angeline felt as if she would be sick. Her legs started to tremble, and Kane wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear.
“Not gonna happen,” he said. “But it has to be now.”
Yes. Of course it did.
“But… but Jeremy… why?”
“He’ll get you out,” Kane said. “All of you. And I… I will…” His speech stopped short as he claimed her lips, kissing her fiercely. Angeline sank into his mouth, clinging to him. Her mind moved to the promise of freedom, a life without the club or Noel breathing down their backs.
“And you’re coming with us,” she said. “Right, Kane?”
Pulling away from their kiss, Kane released her and went back to packing the suitcase. As she watched his frantic movements, she was struck by the sight that her clothes, only her clothes, were leaving the drawers, the hangers.
“Kane, you’re—”
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I will,” he said. “When I… when I can.”
She had known that this moment might come, the time when she’d have to leave him for Theo’s sake. But now that she was confronted by the reality of his choice, Angeline felt that the danger was greater than ever. Could she really just leave him behind to face it?
“No,” she said. “You have to come, too. While you still can.”
“Not now, Angel,” he said. “Not yet.”
Zipping the bag shut, Kane hauled the suitcase out of the room and descended the stairs. Before he reached the floor, Brent was up, hobbling on his cane, his eyes full of his own questions.
“What’s this about?” Brent asked.
“You’re leaving with Angel,” Kane said. “And the baby. Get packed.”
“Why right—”
“It has to be now, Brent!” Kane bellowed. “Just listen to me.”
Angeline saw her father looking around the house that been his whole world, and then he glanced at Kane ordering him out into the unknown. Tossing his cane aside, her father found his footing and forced his way into Kane’s face.
“Now I have to take orders for you?” Brent asked. “Theo’s not even your kid!”
“Like hell he isn’t!” Kane spat. Angeline watched her father form a fist, but before he could land a blow, the front window exploded into a million shatters. Screaming and hiding her head in her hands, Angeline peered through her fingers and saw Kane throwing his body across her father’s. As they collapsed to the ground, Kane shielded Brent’s crumpled form, and Theo’s cries filled her ears. She could see headlights and shadowy figures moving towards the house. Were some of them already inside? Was Theo safe?
Crawling back to the nursery, she braced her falling body against the arm of the crib. The commotion had stopped her son’s giggles, and Angeline collected him into her arms and held him tight. Her embrace intensified when she heard the rumbling of voices at the foot of the stairs and the sound of fists and feet smacking into flesh. Kane yelled for the intruders to get lost, but her father’s attempt to protest was drowned out before it even started.
“Where is that sweet little Angel of yours, K Man?”
Her body was pulled from the floor by Noel’s vile call. She couldn’t just leave them like this. Exiting the nursery, clutching Theo to her breast, she tentatively stepped to the top of the staircase and looked down at an awful scene.
Her father had his hand to his chest, struggling to catch his breath. A big guy, she remembered him as Waldo, jammed his toes into Brent’s ribs and her father went quiet.
“Dad!”
Noel’s eyes moved up the stairs with a smirk, and Angeline quivered under his gaze.
“There she is,” he said. “Come on down, honey. High time I got a proper look at the little guy.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Descending slowly, Angeline heard Kane yelling for her to go back, to try to run.
“Shut up, kid.”
Noel bent down and shoved his fist into Kane’s open mouth. At the sight of his lip splitting open, the blood dribbling down his chin, Angeline moved quicker to his side. She had to help him, like she had when they first met.
“Not so fast.” Noel stopped her where she stood and flashed a set of yellow teeth as his scar seemed to stretch up his face. Angeline tried to back away from him, but Noel’s arm encircled her back, and he pulled her close. “So this is the little shit that’s got Kane all mixed up,” he said.
She hated the sight of Noel’s hands on her son’s head, and even as Theo seemed to cringe under his father’s touch, she held her baby tighter.
She wanted to whisper to her innocent baby, “No. You’re Kane’s, sweetie. I promise,” but she remained quiet.
“Little bugger kind if looks like me,” Noel said with a wicked laugh. “How about that, boys?”
The other Blood Brothers nodded, but Angeline could see that they were uneasy. Could that be her way back to Kane? If she could just get them on her side, then maybe there was still a chance.
“Get your hands off—” Kane clawed at the air, and Waldo sent him crashing back to the ground with the force of a single, swift kick. Angeline winced, as he groaned in pain, and Noel turned Angeline’s face to his.
“We made a cute kid,” Noel teased. “I’d love the chance to get under you again.”
Angeline closed her eyes at the idea of his hands on her. His fingers came to rest under her lips, and Angeline barely suppressed a whimper, as he traced the line of her mouth. “Might be sweeter to plug this little hole,” he said. “What about it, Angel?”
Doing everything in her power not to tell him that he has no right to call her Angel—never did, she focused on the previous statement and said, “Try it and I’ll bite it off.”
Noel seemed stunned by her defiance, and he brought a sharp slap to her face. As her body absorbed the blow, she spun back and fought to keep Theo’s crying form in her arms.
“You son of a bitch!” Kane screamed through his bleeding mouth. “I will fucking kill you!”
“Trash eating scum!” Noel yelled, as he hoisted Kane from the floor. His fists went to work on his chest, and Kane went limp in his hold. “Like to see you try.”
Angeline tried to calm her son, as Noel dragged a chair from the kitchen. Placing it before her fallen body, Noel sat Kane down and pressed his hands to his shoulders.
“What do you think, kid?” Noel asked, glowering at Angeline as she crouched in the corner. “I mean, the possibilities are like endless.”
Whistling for Waldo and the guy with the dreads, they assumed Noel’s position and steadied Kane’s swaying shoulders. Kane was made to watch as Noel knelt at her side and brushed the matted hair from her cheek.
“I’d like to see her dance,” Noel said. “Bet I could turn her out before she knew what hit her.” Noel’s palm surrounded her face, and he looked back to Kane, seething in his chair. “She is a fine piece of ass,” he continued. “Think we can both attest to that.”
Angeline shivered at the thought that Noel would make her a whore. His whore. Her father was groaning weakly just a few feet away, and Kane was a prisoner of his Brothers even as he tried to kick the chair out from under him. However, they were outnumbered, and there was nothing to stop Noel from ripping her from her home, from the boys that she loved, and sending her into total blackness.
“And as for the little one… well…” Theo wailed when Noel touched his face, and Angeline clutched him desperately. “He might fetch a fair price. Lots of people would give their eye teeth for such a sweet kid.”
Theo sold on the black m
arket to anyone with the right amount of cash? Raised in a home where he might never be loved? She wouldn’t have it. “This is my son!” she screamed. “I won’t—”
“Ain’t she a fighter!”
As she struggled to rise, Noel danced her to his chest and pressed her to his body. Angeline bit down on her tongue at the feel of his cock rising under his jeans, and Kane screamed like a mad man. “Leave her alone! Leave them alone!”
“I don’t know,” Noel said. “She’s mighty soft. They both are.”
Noel pressing his hand under her skirt and probing her dry pussy with his wretched finger was one thing. When he touched Theo again, she followed Kane’s lead and tried to kick him away.
“Not so fast!” Noel said, tightening his grip and forcing Angeline to her knees. Breathing hard, she saw Kane ensnared. They couldn’t hold each other, but she brought her head to Theo’s chest and tried to find some salvation in the feel of his heart beating wildly into her ear.
“I’m sorry, Angel,” Kane said. “I am so sorry.”
With the little hope that she had left, Angeline looked into his eyes. His dark eyes. Even now, when her future, when Theo’s future was in jeopardy, she still felt a kind of safety when she could just linger in his stare. Sadness clouded her soul at the thought that this would be the last time that she would see him. She should have found another solution for her father’s pain. She should have fought harder or at least pressed charges when Noel raped her.
She should never have met him.
“I’m… I’m sorry, too,” she murmured.
Straining towards his bloody lips as she kept Theo close, Angeline felt the room fall way. For just a second, there was nothing but them and their child in her home. The brutes at her back, at his arms, seemed to vanish, and she felt his blood swirling on her tongue and down her throat as she kissed him lightly. Even injured, he tasted like a dream, but sorrow washed over her when she realized that this kiss would have to sustain her for a lifetime of servitude.
Without him.
Kane’s mouth came to rest against her ear, and Angeline drank in words of love that she might never hear again.
“That’s it!” Noel cried. “That’s enough.”
He pulled her away from Kane and sat her across from his captive frame. Shrugging her off, Noel assumed her abandoned position at Kane’s side and gripped his collar. “It goes like this,” he said. “Bet your little bitch told you all kind of tricks of the trade.”
He winked at Angeline before he continued.
“Now you can do it, or she can. But I’m betting that you’ll stand up. Finally be a man.” Noel was back on his feet and punched Kane’s arm. Putting the point on it, Noel twisted back to Angeline, and she flinched when he touched her hair. “Or maybe he really is a dud. If that’s the case…”
He touched Theo, and the baby screamed again. Angeline forced her eyes to Noel’s and glared at him. “Then what?” she challenged.
“Then, you’re gonna get real sore real quick, Angel.”
“No! Okay! Okay I’ll…”
Noel rose with a clap and tousled Kane’s battered head. Pinching his cheek, Noel smiled. “That’s a good kid,” he said. “We’ll make a lot of money. And… Kane? Hey?”
Pulling him from the chair, he brought him to Angeline’s side. She moaned at the feel of his body so near and longed to hold him, to kiss him again. However, Noel placed his face between their desire and said smoothly, “And you’ll stay in line, or your girl and my kid will be mine to do with as I please.”
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
“Fine.”
Noel released Kane, and he fell back to Angeline’s waiting body. Keeping Theo close in one arm, she dared to wrap her free limb around his back. Her body could not help but buzz at the feel of him under her hold, and when she found his eyes, Angeline slowly shook her head. “You don’t… you don’t have to do this,” she whispered.
“For you? Honey, I’d do anything and more for you.”
Kane was pulled away from her, and she watched with sad eyes as he was hauled from the house. Could she really just let him go? Just like that? The thought of him suffering, again, for her crimes, gave her heart pause, and she started to stumble towards the door.
“Angie?” Her father was up on his elbows. Gripping her ankle, he shook his head weakly. “Let it go,” he said. “Let him go. We’re all better off.”
Her father was right, but she had to see him again. Just one last time.
Finding his cane, Brent was back on his feet, and as a new set of headlights blazed through the broken window, Angeline settled her father in his chair and placed Theo in his arms. If she was going to keep her baby safe, this had to be the end.
But one last kiss…
“Angie!” her Dad yelled after her.
She moved to the porch and saw Kane face-to-face with his true brother. Jeremy was firing off a million questions. “Going with them?” Jeremy asked. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I do, Jem. Now I want you to take her—”
“And leave you behind. How is that—”
“Such a tool,” Noel said, as he pummeled Jeremy and sent him into the dirt.
“No!” Kane cried. “Get your hands off him!”
Falling on his brother, Kane held him tight, and Angeline heard him promise, over and over again, that there would be no trouble if Jem could just get them away. At the sound of him selling his soul for her sake, Angeline rushed to hold him again.
When Noel saw Angeline running across the lawn, he barreled towards her and grabbed her arms. “So she came to say fare thee well!” Noel taunted. “I said that she was sweet.”
Abandoning his brother, Kane raced to Noel and tried to bash him away. However, Noel brought his knife to Angeline’s throat and glared over her shoulder. “Might be fun to gut her right here,” he said. “I think I’d like to see that.”
Angeline was ready for the blade, hopeful that her father could just get Theo away. At the moment when Noel was about to slice, he pressed her back to Kane’s chest and smirked. “Say goodbye now,” he said. “Nice of me to give you even that.”
Moving closer to him, her fingers shook as she grazed his cheeks. She started to tell him no, that he didn’t have to give up his future, his life for her. But Kane smiled into her kiss. His tongue twirled around her teeth, and her soul dropped at the thought that he was trying to remember her before she was truly gone.
“Kane…”
“I’ll always love you,” he said. “And I’m doing this for you.”
Overwhelmed by his words, Angeline wrapped her arms around his neck. If she could hold him close, close enough, maybe he would never leave. As her lips melted into his, she hated even thinking of abandoning him to this fate of her doing.
It didn’t matter when they kissed. When they held each other.
Until Noel laughed and said, “She never kissed me like that.”
And she never would.
Angeline saw Brent and Theo emerged from the house and ran to them. “Dad? It’s okay. I have you.”
She brought her father to Jeremy’s side. Her hands searched for Theo’s head. He was so quiet that she feared that he had taken a turn for the absolute worst and stopped breathing. But when his blue eyes, slowly, suddenly turning green, seemed to smile up at her, she found the strength to settle them into Jeremy’s car. She kissed her baby, and Jeremy tried to lower her into the passenger’s seat. However, something inside her would not let her forget her last kiss with Kane.
Kane had made Jeremy promise that she would be safe. Then, he left her alone, as he sat on the back of Noel’s bike, shooting her a sad glance as they sped off into the night. When she lost his eyes, Angeline raced forward. She started to reach into the air for him, but then her mind turned back to Theo. She had to keep him safe. No matter what. Even if it meant that her heart would be broken beyond repair. She watched with watering eyes until he was gone. As she started to fall into the dirt, Jeremy l
ifted her up.
“Jeremy?” she asked. “Will you help us?”
“Like I have a choice.” With sagging shoulders, he opened the back door to his car. “Don’t let him down,” Jeremy said.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Angeline sipped a cup of coffee and watched mountain trees sway about the cliffs. Colorado. Just what he had always wanted. Behind her, Theo was already walking, forming words. Brent laughed when the little guy got one right, but when he referred to her father as Daddy, Angeline was sent back that night when she had last seen Kane.
She recalled Jeremy’s words, Don’t let him down.
SECRET BABY AT THE ALTAR Page 17
