Making Angel

by Harley Stone

  Not again.

  I'd been protecting him by pushing him away, and all the while he was stalking me?

  "We have to take her in," Bones said, his gaze directed at Angel.

  "I know." Angel pushed off the wall. "Clean and bring her."

  Hurt and confused, I shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere."

  Bones pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at me. "Yes, you are. First, unlock your phone and hand it to me."

  Shocked, I stared at the gun in disbelief. "Why...? How could you...?" No sentences would form. I looked to Angel, but he kept his back to me.

  "Unlock your phone," Bones repeated.

  This wasn't happening. Couldn't be happening. My fingers flew over the code. I briefly considered hitting the emergency key, but Bones tensed. I handed him the phone and he tossed it to Angel.

  Angel scrolled through my phone for a while, no doubt reading my texts. I blushed, knowing he'd be reading what I'd sent Ariana about the size of his dick. Did he get off on that? What an asshole. He stopped scrolling and took the phone apart, examining it. "It's clean. Nothing at all on it. Let's take her in." He shoved the pieces into his pocket.

  Waving his pistol, Bones gestured for me to stand. When I did, he patted me down. "Clean," he announced.

  "Of course I'm clean. I don't know what you guys think is going on but--"

  "Save it and follow him." Bones gestured with the gun again.

  "Can I at least take my purse?" I asked.

  Bones picked it up and peeked inside before tossing it to Angel. They led me to the backseat of his Hummer, and Bones climbed in beside me, gun still drawn.

  "Where are we going?" I asked.

  Angel turned to look at me over the seat. "Markie, I need you to be straight with me. Are you a cop?"

  "No. I mean, I was going to be, but..." I shook my head. "No."

  "Are you with one of the families?"

  "I honestly am not even sure what you're talking about. The only family I have is my sister and our uncle. If you're talking about a crime family or something, no. I'm not a cop. Not a criminal. I'm just me and you're scaring the crap out of me. Are you kidnapping me?"

  Bones grunted. "Somethin' like that."

  "No," Angel said. "I know you don't understand, but I need to protect my family. My dad wants to meet you and before we go in there, I need to know if you're a goddamn cop or a mole from one of the other families."

  He looked both angry and worried, and I was so confused. "Why?" I asked.

  "Because." He glanced at Bones before facing me again. "If you are, I can't take you to him. I'll need to get you out of here."

  Bones stiffened beside me.

  "You still got my back, Bones?" Angel asked.

  Bones sucked in a deep breath and frowned. "Always."

  I still didn't know what was going on. "None of that matters, because I'm not a cop and I'm not mole."

  "Then why do you have a picture with Adamo Pelino?" Angel asked.

  I didn't want to tell him, but clearly it was time. Tears burned the back of my eyes, and I blinked them away, looking out the window. "Look, I don't know who you think that is, but he's my end of life counselor."

  "Come again?" Angel choked out.

  I met his startled gaze. "I'm dying. I have an inoperable cancerous brain tumor."

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Angel

  "WHAT DO YOU mean, you're dying," I asked, staring at Markie. I heard the words coming out of her mouth, understood what they meant, but my mind refused to wrap around them. Less than twenty-four hours ago we'd been fucking like rabbits, and nothing about her contribution to the act had been fragile or weak. The girl was a freak and an adrenaline junkie. She couldn't be dying. That's not how dying people behaved.

  She took a deep breath. "When I said I was leaving Vegas, I meant I'm leaving everywhere. I'm dying. That's why I didn't want to give you my number or go out with you. But you were so nice and wonderful, and now you're being crazy and horrible, so whatever. Now you know."

  Nothing she said made sense. "But you're young and healthy."

  She grimaced. "I don't think cancer cares."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "Because I don't want you to look at me like that."

  "Like what?"

  "Like you're looking at me right now. Pity, disbelief, shock. I have limited time left, and I wanted to feel normal. Not like some freak everyone has to baby and take care of."

  I swallowed and took a moment to fix my expression. "There has to be something they can do."

  "They as in doctors?" she asked. "Last time they checked, they couldn't even get to it to operate. My doctor said sometimes tumors move, but even if it did, I don't have insurance, Angel. I have a small savings account that I get monthly deposits in from my parents' insurance, but between the surgery and radiation, I'd need between four hundred thousand and seven hundred thousand dollars. I can't come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Especially not for a surgery that may or may not work."

  She was going to die, and she'd accepted it. She wasn't fighting it... hadn't started some social fundraising page or anything. Instead, she'd flown to the other side of the world to help orphans. "This is why you went to Africa," I said.

  She nodded. "Part of it, yes. I didn't want Ari to watch me die and I wanted to have crazy and wonderful adventures with what remained of my life."

  Something still didn't make sense. "What about the picture with Adamo Pelino?"

  "Can I see my purse?" she asked.

  When I handed it to her over the seat, she retrieved a business card from the side pocket and held it out to me. It had Adamo's name, phone number, email address, and listed his occupation as "end of life counselor."

  "I don't know who Adamo is to you, but he was advising me to get my will in order for Ariana and to make sure my funeral costs are paid for. No funeral. I'm going to be cremated. I have it all set up with--" She reached back into her purse.

  I couldn't take anymore.

  "Stop!" I snapped. "Please."

  "Why? You kept asking me what was going on. You wanted to know what was up so freaking bad you had to pry until you found out. There it is." A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm dying, Angel. Might as well accept it. I have."

  "Well, I don't." And I couldn't, but didn't know what else to say, so I turned around and put the hummer in reverse. The drive to my parents' house was brutal. Father had been so wrong about Markie, and I'd believed him. Bones had pulled a fucking gun on her, and we'd basically kidnapped her. How could I come back from that? Did it even matter? She was dying!

  Cancer.

  The word was like peanut butter stuck to the top of my mouth. It had a distinct, overwhelming taste, and I couldn't swallow it or spit it out. There had to be something we could do to get rid of it. I popped my bluetooth in my ear and called Mamma.

  "Angel? Is everything okay?" Mamma asked, which summed up how often I called her.

  "I'm fine," I replied. "Are you home?"

  "Yes. Your nonna and I are having a cappuccino."

  "Good. I'm bringing a friend home and I need you to sit with her while I talk to Father."

  "Her? You're bringing a girl home?" she asked.

  I'd dated plenty of women, but I'd never once brought one to meet my parents, so I could understand Mamma's disbelief. "Yes. And I need a favor."

  "Of course. Anything."

  "Please get in touch with Dr. Monte and see if she can make a house call."

  "But you're okay?"

  "Yes."

  "And Bones is okay?"

  "Yes."

  Mamma hesitated for a moment and I knew she was putting two and two together. "I'll call Dr. Monte now."

  Mamma disconnected, and I met Markie's gaze in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she immediately looked away.

  "For what it's worth, I'm sorry," I said.

  "Sorry for what? Believing I would ever hurt you or your family? Or for kidnap
ping me at gunpoint? Or for forcing me to tell you my secret?"

  "The first two. You should have told me about the cancer from the beginning."

  "Not your call."

  Bones had watched the entire exchange in what appeared to be shock. Finally, he shook himself and asked, "You really have cancer, Markie?"

  Her glare turned on him. "It's not like diabetes. I don't have a bracelet or a card to show you, or I would."

  We rode the rest of the way in silence. By the time I got to my parents' house, Dr. Monte's car was parked in the driveway. Not surprising, since the doctor lived only three houses down. I led Markie into the kitchen to meet my mom, grandmother, and Dr. Monte.

  Mamma and Nonna looked Markie over, no doubt wondering why she looked like she'd been crying, and then turned their questioning gazes on me. I didn't have time for the goddamn barrage of questions I'm sure was coming, so I focused on Dr. Monte.

  "This is Markie. She has a cancerous brain tumor and we need to know everything about it. As soon as possible."

  Dr. Monte nodded and situated her briefcase on the table. "I'll get some information from her, have her sign a consent form, and pull her records while my office runs our own tests. You'll know as soon as I hear back."

  "Great. Thank you. Markie, please stay with them. I have to go speak to my father."

  I turned to leave, but Mamma and Nonna both intercepted me, tugging me into the living room.

  "Who is she?" Mamma asked.

  "Her name is Markie Davis. She volunteers at an orphanage. Father thought she was planted with me--either by the pigs or another family--but I don't think so."

  The two women shared a look.

  "Who is she to you?" Nonna asked.

  The question caught me off guard. I glanced back at the kitchen and felt my chest tighten. Who was she to me? Everything. When I thought she might be dirty, I'd been willing to go against my old man to save her. Now? Now she was dying, and I was desperate to do something to make sure that didn't happen.

  "I need her to live," I replied.

  They both stared at me.

  Finally, Nonna hugged me. "She will, Angel. We'll do whatever we can to help her."

  I kissed her cheek before releasing her.

  "You leave everything to us, luce dei miei occhi." Mamma said, embracing me as well. "Go talk to your father. We've got this."

  Thanking them both, Bones and I left Markie in their very capable hands and headed to my old man's office, hoping he'd be in a listening mood, because there was no fucking way I was bringing Markie in for him to interrogate.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Markie

  IT HAD BEEN years since my mom died, but I still sometimes heard her voice in my head. I carried around a picture of her in my purse so I wouldn't forget what she looked like. She was kind and beautiful, but not delicate. Being a police officer, she spoke with authority and strength, reassuring me whenever I was hurt or scared. As a child, I'd known that whatever happened, she'd handle it. Everything would be all right.

  So, when Angel's mom (Annetta) and grandma (who insisted I call her Nonna) led me to the kitchen table, sat on either side of me, and reassured me that everything would be okay, with that same authority and strength in their voices, I lowered my head to my hands and bawled.

  They rubbed my back and let me cry until my tears ran out, handing me tissues, getting me water, being genuinely kind and exactly what I needed. Once I got myself under control, Dr. Monte grilled me for details about my brain tumor, most of which I didn't know. It had been over a year since I'd gotten the diagnosis, and I couldn't remember several of the terms the doctor had used. I'd blocked that crap from my brain long ago.

  "The flight from Africa made my migraines worse, so I went in for a checkup at this clinic." I took the business card from my purse and handed it to the doctor. "They had me sign a release so they could get my records and they refilled my prescription pain pills, but that was it. They wanted to do the scans again, but I don't have insurance and didn't see the point."

  Dr. Monte nodded, pulling out a consent form almost identical to the one I'd completed for the clinic. "I'm going to need your records, so if you could please fill out and sign this form, I can get a better idea of what we're dealing with. Also, I need you in my office first thing in the morning for scans."

  "I still don't have insurance and I can't--"

  "You leave that up to us," Annetta said, patting my arm.

  Dr. Monte passed me a business card. "We open at eight tomorrow. I'll see you then."

  She left, and Nonna made me a cappuccino, while Annetta fed me some delicious homemade amaretti (almond shortbread cookies), both reassuring me that everything would be fine. Their kindness did me in, and when they started asking questions about my past, I told them everything. As in everything. I started with the hit-and-run car crash that took my parents and forced me and Ariana to live with an uncle who basically hated us.

  "Did they ever find the driver?" Annetta asked.

  "No." I took another sip of my cappuccino. The caffeine was helping clear my head. "That's why I went to school for criminal justice. I wanted to become a cop--more specifically, a detective--so I could find the jerk, and other jerks like him."

  "So, you're a police officer?" Nonna, asked. The worried look she gave Annetta told me cops weren't her favorite people, which suited me fine, because I now felt the same way.

  "No. I was still in school when I discovered the truth about my parents. They were murdered. The hit-and-run was staged by dirty cops."

  "What happened?" Annetta asked.

  "My dad had uncovered a trafficking ring within his department, and they killed him for it. Killed them both for it. When I found out, I went to my uncle, since he's the Boise DA. You gotta understand that me and Ari were never close to Uncle Jay. He let us stay there because we had nowhere else to go and he cared about his community image, but that was it. But it wasn't like we had family dinners together or anything. Still, I thought he would help me find justice for my parents. He..."

  My chest constricted as the betrayal I'd felt that day came flooding back. I'd never in a million years forget the look of pity in Uncle Jay's eyes.

  "He knew, didn't he?" Nonna asked.

  I nodded. "His own sister and brother-in-law had been murdered. He knew, and did nothing."

  "I can't imagine," Nonna said, wrapping her hands around her cup. "There is nothing more important than family."

  I felt the same. Especially now that I only had my sister left. I couldn't imagine standing back and letting something bad happen to her. Hell, if I ever saw that jerk in the condom costume again, I'd let him have it.

  "I'd gotten my cancer diagnosis a few weeks before I found out about my parents. I knew I was terminal. My parents had set up their will to give Ariana and I monthly payments from their life insurance, which meant I had money in my bank account. Not a ton, but enough Uncle Jay advised me to take my money and go find some remote part of the world to die. Said if the police department ever found out what I knew they'd kill both me and Ari."

  And my sweet Uncle Jay wouldn't have done a damn thing about it.

  "What did you do?" Annetta asked.

  "I dropped out of college and went to Africa. I tried to get Ari to come with me, but she had her own dreams and they had nothing to do with volunteering at an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. I loved it, though. It made me feel useful despite... everything. I would have stayed with the kids in Africa until the end, but Ariana stopped returning my calls and texts and I was worried that something had happened to her. So here I am." I smiled at Nonna. "Because family is everything."

  "And how do you know Angel?" Annetta asked.

  My chest tightened again as I recalled how Angel and I had met and the things we'd done together. The way he'd invited Max to eat with us and had called a cab and sent him to a motel afterward. I thought of taking me up on High Roller, and the way he kissed me with an intensity that made my knees
weak. As I detailed our incredible adventures together, my feelings for him grew even more conflicted.

  "He volunteered at an orphanage with you?" Nonna asked, sounding amazed.

  I nodded. "He and Bones were great. Those kids need strong male role models, and it was awesome to have them step up like that. Angel also took me to San Diego so I could walk on the beach. I'd never done that before, and wanted to before... before I can't. We went diving, as well, but in hindsight, that probably wasn't the best idea, considering my condition. Worst migraine of my life. Seriously, the ocean was so beautiful, though. I don't regret any of it."

  "But Angel didn't know about your tumor?" Annetta asked.

  I shook my head. "I never meant for things between us to go so far. I kept telling him I couldn't be in a relationship, but he doesn't exactly accept the word no."

  They both laughed.

  "The men in this family are bullheaded," Nonna replied. "They see something they want, nothing can deter them from going after it."

  "Clearly." After all, he and Bones had brought me here at gunpoint. "But I don't think Angel wants me anymore. He thinks I'm a cop or something. We're not exactly on the best terms right now."

  "He's protecting his family," Nonna replied. "Surely you can't blame him after your own experience with the authorities."

  She had me there.

  "Angel and Dom will clear this mess up, and then everything will be fine," Annetta reassured me. "We are people of many resources, and my husband is adept at solving problems."

  I appreciated her confidence, but still thought it necessary to remind her of the truth. "I don't know that terminal cancer is a problem anyone can solve."

  "We'll see what Dr. Monte says," Annetta replied, sounding a little bullheaded herself. "But enough about this. I think you should join the family tomorrow after your doctor's appointment. There are a lot of us, and we all take a day to Christmas shop for local families in need. Then we meet here, wrap everything, and then we call a service to have it delivered. This'll give you a chance to meet everyone."