“Right. Thanks.”
“Her name’s Jacey.”
I clasped his arm.
“You are my brother.”
“You’ve always been my brother.” He snorted and slapped my back. I almost stumbled, the big man was so strong. “A bratty, pain in the ass, younger brother.”
I laughed and headed down the hallway. Angel was grabbing things, frantically trying to decide what to bring. I leaned against the entryway and watched her for a minute. I was so fucking happy that she was alive.
She was dressed in baggy jeans and a t–shirt with a hoodie. The hood was pulled up, as if she couldn’t get warm enough. As if she was trying to hide.
I saw her hair was damp and exhaled. Good. She’d showered. She must have had blood on her. Maybe she just needed to get his touch off her skin.
I still didn’t know how far things had gone before she killed him. Sal’s clothes had been on, which was the one thing keeping me sane tonight.
“Need help with that?”
She froze, looking up at me. She stared at me for a heartbeat with her big, beautiful eyes. Then she launched herself at me. I wrapped her in my arms, burying my face in her hair.
“I was so scared, Angel.”
She was sobbing, I realized. I kissed her head again and again.
“It’s okay. You’re safe.”
“He… tried to…”
She looked up at me and I saw how red her eyes were. I saw dark smudges on her throat. Sal must have tried to strangle her.
I touched her throat gently as a fury unlike anything I had ever known filled my soul.
“If he wasn’t already dead, I would kill him. A thousand times over.”
She exhaled shakily.
“What am I gonna do, Lucky?”
“What are ‘we’ going to do.” I kissed her softly. “I have a plan.”
“My kid… I have to protect her.”
She looked afraid when she brought up her kid. Like I was going to disappear in a puff of smoke. I realized some guys probably would.
Not with a girl who looked like Angel, but if she wasn’t so beautiful, they might.
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just—”
“Shhh… I get it. You were being mama bear. I respect that.”
She smiled at me tremulously. I let her go and she wiped her eyes with the back of her sweatshirt. It was hard to believe, but she looked especially beautiful tonight.
“Jacey. I want you to meet my friend.”
A pretty little girl came out of the room I’d never seen open. She smiled at me, not at all afraid. I held out my hand and she shook it firmly.
“I’m Lucky.”
“Hi, Lucky. Mom said we going on an adventure. Are you coming too?”
I nodded. She gave her mom a brave smile but I could tell she was scared. How could she not be? Her mom looked like she’d seen a ghost. Angel was trying to hide it, but it was clear she was badly shaken.
I watched as Kirsten took her daughter’s hand and went into the bathroom to pack anything they needed in there.
They were both trying to hold it together for each other. Seeing them be so brave for each other broke my heart a little. It also made me fall in love with her a little more.
Love.
Fuck.
Yes, you dumbass. This is love.
Of course, it was love.
I started smiling. I was sure I looked foolish. I tried to school my features but it wasn’t easy.
I was in love.
Chill, Lucky. You don’t want to scare the kid. You look crazy.
I sprang into action. I looked around the room and grabbed an empty bag. It was a ripstop duffle with a sports logo on it. I carefully started picking up photos and anything that looked important. Satisfied that I’d covered the living room, I went into Angel’s bedroom. I looked around, feeling like I was intruding. I opened the closet and folded up a few dresses and long skirts, wrapping them around the photos. She didn’t have much and it was all pretty worn in, but a lot of it was pretty.
My Angel’s style was classic. Romantic and feminine. I imagined a different life where she could wear stuff like this instead of that tight uniform Sal made her wear. I was going to spoil her rotten with new things once we figured out where we were going.
“Jack. I need to talk to you.”
He appeared in the doorway.
“We need to make sure she’s clean.”
“She’s smart. She burned her shit.”
“I still have this.”
Angel stood behind him. She held up a crumpled paper bag from the grocery.
“My dress. I think some blood…”
I nodded and reached for it. Jack took it without a word.
“I got this.”
“You sure, big guy?”
He nodded.
“I’ll burn it. We have a fire pit out back.”
“Thank you.”
Kirsten’s voice was soft. Sweet. Small. I looked at her posture and cursed. It was like she was trying to fold in on herself. Jack excused himself, I heard him go with Jacey to pack up some food for the trip. That was smart. The cabin wasn’t stocked with much more than frozen meat for barbecues and lots of beer.