by A'zayler
Just as Snow got near Angel, he stopped firing and picked her up. With her gun in hand, she picked up his slack. She was firing over Angel’s shoulder when the top half of her body jerked backward. Another bullet had ripped through her shoulder, causing her to drop her gun.
The shriek of pain that left her mouth must have put some fire under Angel’s feet, because he ran so fast down the stairs and through the main lobby that everything they passed looked blurry. Snow didn’t know if it was due to her gunshot or if Angel was really moving that fast.
People were everywhere scattering to get out of their way as Snow hung over Angel’s shoulder, bleeding profusely.
“Oh my God, she’s shot!”
“Why aren’t the police here yet?”
“I knew I should have stayed at home today.”
Snow listened to an array of things as Angel moved through the lobby, still ducking from the bullets being fired behind them. When the fresh air finally hit Snow’s face, she felt relieved, but that was short-lived. Before she could even lift her head long enough to look around, everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-one
I’ll take care of you
The silence in the living room of his house was eerie and more than he could handle at the moment, but there was nothing he could do about it. Angel was seated in the middle of the floor with an array of packed bags next to him.
He scanned over the floor in front of him before looking toward the sofa. Snow was lying on it wrapped in nothing but a sheet. She was still sleeping and had been since receiving the pain meds he’d given her a few hours prior.
Angel’s mind was doing numbers as he watched her lie there peacefully. How could something so beautiful be surrounded by so much chaos? That alone should have been a sin. Snow was too beautiful and too awesome a woman to have people trying to kill her just because.
A deep sigh left Angel as he held his head in his hands and closed his eyes. Flashbacks of the shootout in the bank clouded his mind. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t think of one logical reason why things were being flipped upside down so rapidly and unexpectedly.
True enough, the sporadic police appearances when he’d been pulled over and again at his parents’ house had been out of the blue as well, but what happened at the bank had to be something totally different. There was no way the feds would have done something that reckless. Angel was stressed to the max. Not only did he have some unknown people coming for his and his girl’s heads, but he was sure it had something to do with the cartel.
That alone was enough to drive him crazy. His family was everything to him. There was no way that he wanted things to get so bad that they went sour for his loved ones as well.
“Going somewhere?” Snow’s voice startled him.
Angel moved quickly from where he was sitting and went to her. She looked tired as she gazed at him through weary eyes. Angel rubbed his hand though her hair and kissed her forehead before kissing her mouth.
“How are you feeling, beautiful?”
Snow tried to move but winced in pain and went back still. “Horrible. What happened after I blacked out?”
Angel released a frustrated breath. “I put you in the car and drove away just as the police were pulling up. Thankfully they didn’t catch up to me before I was able to get you here. I had one of my old buddies from school come over and help me patch you back up. Your wounds aren’t life-threatening, thank God.” Angel turned so that his back was pressed against the sofa she lay on. “After that, we gave you a few fluids and some pain meds.”
“What kind of pain meds?” she questioned.
“Morphine.”
“You didn’t give me too, much did you?” she asked with a sense of urgency.
“No. why?”
“Because I can still feel some pain,” she answered hesitantly before giving the bags her attention. “The bags?”
“We’re leaving.” Angel’s voice was even and void of any emotion.
“We, as in you and me?”
Angel nodded.
The room was quiet as Angel tried to give Snow time to sort her thoughts out. When it took her too long to say anything, he turned back around to face her. She was lying still and looking up at the ceiling. Her face was blank as she blinked every so often. The large bandage across her shoulder was neatly wrapped and securing her wound from infection.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Too much.” She turned her head and looked at him. “Where are we going?”
“California.”
“Your parents know about this?”
“My mom does. She doesn’t want to worry Vinny.”
Snow nodded and touched his face with her other hand. “You’re stressed out, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea how much.”
“Yes, I do. I feel the same way.”
Angel stared at her for a few moments longer before rising to his feet. He looked at her once more before grabbing all of the bags at once. He then took them out of the house. Being that his house was brand new and in his mother’s maiden name, no one would know where he lived for a while.
After leaving the bank, Angel had driven straight to his place to keep the heat from his parents. He was no fool to think the people after them wouldn’t find him, but he was sure he had enough time to get him and Snow out of town before they came.
When he was sure all of their things were in the rental SUV his mother had delivered to him, he went back upstairs to retrieve Snow. The private plane to California was scheduled to leave within the hour, and he needed to get them there.
She was in the same spot on the sofa as he’d left her in, only this time her eyes were closed. He went to her in a hurry to make sure she was okay, and her eyes popped open immediately. Her hand went to her chest in fear before she breathed a little deeper.
“Calm down, baby. It’s just me. You ready?” Angel raised his eyebrows at her.
“As ready as I’ma be.” She scooted some, trying to sit up, but was halted by the pain. “Owww, Angel!” she moaned in agony.
Angel grabbed her quickly and carefully, lifting her from the sofa. After taking a seat, he placed her in his lap, holding her close without putting too much pressure on her wounds.
Snow’s head went to his chest immediately as she began to cry. “This is too much for me, Angel.”
Angel’s face frowned up. He’d never heard Snow talk down on herself like that. She was one of the strongest people he knew. Though he never told her, her strength gave him the courage he needed to keep going on most days.
He pecked the top of her head a few times before kissing her forehead. “Don’t talk like that, Emelia.”
“It’s the truth.” She circled her abdomen with her arms and tried to snuggle closer to him. “I can’t handle all of this right now.” She sniffed.
Angel held her tighter. “You’re one of the strongest people I know, Emelia. You can’t get down on yourself like this.”
Snow shook her head and wiped her nose. “I’m not down on myself. I just know what I can and can’t deal with, and getting shot up like this is too much for me.”
Angel gave her a sympathetic look as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. “You’ll get better soon, and your body will be back to normal before you know it.”
Her head tilted to the side as she looked at him through wet lids. Her mouth was pushed out in a pout as her ponytail hung sloppily off the side of her head. “No, it won’t.” She sniffed. “My body won’t be back to normal for another few months.”
Angel chuckled. “It’s not going to take that long, girl. You had flesh wounds. Those only take a few weeks to fully heal.” He tittered a little more at her dramatics.
“I’m pregnant, Angel.”
All traces of humor left his face as his eyes searched hers for some sign of sincerity. Outside of the fact that right then wasn’t the time to be playing games, her face showed no signs of playfulness.
“Y
ou pregnant for real?” he asked in disbelief.
Snow nodded. “Have been for days now.”
Angel’s mouth fell open as his eyes dropped down to her stomach. There were no signs of a baby being in there, but he still believed her.
“Damn, no wonder you were asking me questions about the pain meds.” He hugged her to him. “Don’t worry about any of this. Let me worry for the both of us. Okay?”
Snow nodded, but didn’t say anything. Angel kept her in his lap until she’d stopped crying, then carried her from the house and placed her in the car. Once he’d secured his house, he was back in the car with her. Hand in hand, he drove them to the airstrip to catch their flight to safety. He had a family to protect, and he would do whatever was necessary to ensure their safety.
The plane ride to California was relaxing and allowed them to get some much-needed rest. Midway through their trip, Angel noticed Snow had tears in her eyes. He was out of his seat in no time and squatting in front of her. On one knee next to her chair, Angel grabbed her hand.
“Emelia, what’s wrong?”
She kept her eyes closed and allowed the tears to roll down her cheeks. “I don’t feel good.”
“You need me to get you something?”
She shook her head slowly. “Can you just help me clean up a little?”
Angel wasted no time helping her out of her chair and taking her into the small bathroom. Before getting the shower water ready, he sat her down on the small bench attached to the wall. After flipping the shower on, he was back in front of her helping her get undressed.
She made a series of whimpers as he removed her pants and the jacket she was wearing. Both areas were still bandaged up securely, which made him reconsider her bath just a tad. He’d left all of his medical materials at home, so if her bandages were to get wet, they’d be that way until they landed in California.
“I don’t know how we’re about to do this without getting your bandages wet,” Angel said.
Snow looked all around the small bathroom before her body sank a little in dejection. “We can just hit the hot spots, and that’ll be fine until we get there.”
Angel smirked at her. “The hot spots?”
For the first time in a long time, she smiled. “Yep. The parts that matter, and that’s it.”
Angel nodded at her before going to the shower and soaping up the washcloth for her. When he came back, he washed her good arm and leg before moving to the damaged ones. He was careful not to touch the bandages before moving on to the next spot.
He slid the washcloth all over her body, cleaning her the best he could before it was time for him to remove her panties. His hand stilled as his eyes found hers.
“I don’t know why you’re stopping like you ain’t never cleaned it before.”
Angel’s skin grew warm from embarrassment as he thought back on the few times he’d cleaned her after sex. Though it was the same thing, it felt different then. It was steamy back then, now he was afraid he might hurt her.
“The only thing I’m scared of is sticking my hand down there and my dick getting hard.” Angel shook his head dramatically. “The last thing I need is to give you this dick and have your pussy and your back hurting too.”
Snow’s laughter made him smile harder than he’d smiled all day.
“You make me so sick.” She giggled as she lifted up so that he could pull her pants down.
Once they were down and off her hurt leg, Angel use the soapy washcloth to glide his fingers between her thighs and into her slippery wet folds. He could tell by the way her breathing grew heavier that he wasn’t the only one struggling with their current task.
Angel slid his fingers slowly up to her sensitive love button and circled it with the pad of his thumb. “You wanna give me this pussy, don’t you?”
His eyes were on hers as she nodded slowly.
“Well, that’s too bad with your hot ass.”
Snow’s smile crept back as she grabbed his wrist and held it still. He tried to pull it away, but she clamped her legs shut and held it there. Angel looked to her to see what she wanted to do so that he could follow her lead. The lust-filled way she watched him had him reconsidering not sexing her down in the little bathroom.
“I’ll just rub it for you, how about that?” Angel suggested.
“Please,” Snow begged.
Angel moved his hand back just enough to drop the washcloth. When he went back with just his fingers, he massaged around in her love, touching all the right places for her. Her subtle moans and closed eyes let him know she was enjoying it.
“Little Angel got you hot like this?”
Snow’s eyes smiled. “I call it Angel baby, but I believe so.” She whimpered and grabbed his wrist to slow down his movements. “I be wanting you all the time. I swear I do.” She moaned again when his long fingers dipped into her body. “I want it so bad right now, but I’m afraid I’ma hurt myself.”
Angel chuckled and leaned over so that he could kiss her lips. “You might, so just let me feel on it until you cum. I think that’ll be better for the baby.”
Snow rolled her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Angel’s mouth was on hers moments later, trying to aid in her orgasm. He kissed and sucked from her lips down to her neck. He thought about giving her breasts some attention as well, but with the way her bandage was wrapped, there was no way he could.
“Oh, Angel,” she gasped. “You’re the best baby daddy ever.”
Not even a whole second after the words left her mouth, her juices coated his fingers. Snow’s body vibrated delicately as the small orgasm took over her body.
Angel was all smiles as he picked up the washcloth, rinsed it off, and went back to washing her. Once he was done, he grabbed the lotion to rub on her body.
“What do you plan on doing here in California?” she asked as he held her foot in his hand.
“Making a game plan. So much was happening around us in South Carolina, we had nowhere safe to think without getting busted in on.”
Snow nodded her understanding. “I concur. My parents can help us too. How long do you want to stay here? I know you don’t want to leave Vinny and Empress alone too long with all that crazy shit happening.”
“I don’t, but they’ll be fine until I get back. That estate is locked down tight, and I sent some more niggas up there too. I just need to keep shit straight until I can get back.”
“Who do you think is doing this?”
That was the one question Angel had been trying to find the answer to. “My first thought was the feds, but after that bank shit, I think it’s some outside people. Maybe somebody that’s jealous of me or some shit. I don’t really know right now.”
“Do y’all have any enemies?” Snow asked referring to him and his parents.
“Not any that’s bad enough to speak on it.”
“We’re hitting the ground running as soon as we touch down in California. I’ll have my people look into the bank attack and see if there’s something they can get their hands on.” She shifted some in her seat.
“Already on it, but you can still reach out to your people as well. I alerted mine the moment we were safely away from the bank.”
Snow and Angel sat bouncing ideas off one another for the rest of the flight. They had gotten so involved in their conversation that they lost track of time. It felt so good to Angel to be able to talk and hang out with her. It reminded him of the old days when they were kids. Since being adults, they’d had so much other stuff surrounding their conversations, he hadn’t given himself time to just enjoy her friendship.
“Emelia, I owe you an apology.”
She frowned in confusion. “Apology for what?”
“You remember that day when we were at the rib joint and you were pressing me for friendship? I kept telling you that we needed to focus on the lovers part, and not so much on being friends?”
Snow’s pretty face was stoic as she nodded.
“I was wrong.”
She
smiled.
“It feels so good sitting here talking to you right now, and the best part of it all is because it’s on some friend shit. We ain’t kissing, touching, and none of that other boyfriend and girlfriend shit. Just Emelia and Angel chilling.”
“I told your mean ass that I was a good friend to have.”
Angel leaned back against the shower door and stretched his legs. “It’s even better because I can kick it with you like this whenever I want to, and still lay up and make love to you all night when I feel like doing that too.” Angel crossed his legs at the ankle. “I’m living the life.” A broad smile stretched from one side of his face to the other.
“I tried to tell your hardheaded behind.” Snow was all smiles as well.
Angel basked in the happiness she exemplified.
The rest of their flight went smoothly. They even found time to get a few minutes of sleep before the plane landed. Angel wasn’t sure what was to come, but he was sure that as long as he had Snow, and she had his back, they would be fine.
When they finally landed and the warm air at the airstrip greeted them, Angel closed his eyes and enjoyed being back at home. He’d gotten so caught up with school and Genesis that his visits to California had stopped. He couldn’t remember that last time he’d been there just to visit with family, and that was a shame.
“You miss it, don’t you?” Snow’s voice next to him pulled his eyes away from the trees and buildings in front of them.
He looked down at her and nodded. “I didn’t know how much until now.”
“Now you see why I don’t miss the South?”
Angel nodded with a lazy grin resting on his face. He was looking around, surveying the people walking around them. So many of them had already greeted him and Snow respectfully, and for that he was grateful. That meant whatever was going on back in South Carolina hadn’t reached there yet.
“Ms. East, Mr. DeLuca.” The short man in front of them nodded before pushing the wheelchair toward Snow. “Compliments of your father.” He smiled before walking away.
