“His name was Allen, he worked for my father. I was seventeen years old when I first locked eyes with him. I came home from dance, and there he was doing some computer crap on my father’s laptop. I crushed on him instantly. He was the sexy older employee of my fathers. I was always doing the right things. I never once disobeyed my father until I met Allen. We flirted for over a year because I was only seventeen and he was twenty-five. However, on my eighteenth birthday we snuck away to my family’s boat. I gave myself to him that night. We were able to see one another until I was twenty-one without getting caught. It was a big deal because my father didn’t want me mixing with his business and he considered Allen his business.” She blows out a long breath before continuing. “One day I got a text from Allen’s number, and it seemed off. Like he didn’t send it; I figured he’d just had a long day, so I went to where the text said to go and. Once I get there… my eyes immediately find his. He has tears in his eyes, and my father stands behind him. My father kicks him to the ground, and I rush forward. Allen mouths… god, he mouthed I love you right before my father blew his brains out all over me” She sobs and buries her head into her folded up body. She continues talking, and it comes out as mumbles. “It was the first and only time he told me he loved me. After his funeral that I had to watch from a distance, I waited until my father thought I had gotten over it and I dropped out of my last year of dance, pulled my life savings and well…” She waves her hand around in the air.

FUCK! No wonder she’s screwed up. This past year has been shit for her. She lifts her head, her look going cold.

“I grew up around this kinda shit, and when I fall in love with a criminal he can’t stand it? What did he expect? If he ever finds me,” she shakes her head her voice going low, “people will die.”

The bit about her falling in love with a criminal just pisses me off. Her man might be dead, but the fact she’s been in love before makes me see red, and I grind my teeth together. My brain is calling me a pu**y as I have my inner jealous rage battle going on.

“I care about you, you know,” I tell her again.

She laughs, and it’s a beautiful sound since I haven’t heard a true laugh from her in weeks.

“It’s pretty messed up, right? I mean look at us.” She points, smiling before her face goes serious again. “But I care about you too, Braxxon. I just don’t know how much yet.”

Thank Christ! It’s not just me having these maddening thoughts.

“C’mere, Angel,” I growl.

“No… you c’mere,” she purrs. Playful, gorgeous Angel is back, and I’m going to take advantage of it.

I blast out my full watt smile and crawl towards her. She’s inpatient and yanks me in, and my balls shrivel on the spot.

“Fuck, shit, damn… that’s cold, Angel.”

She giggles and slaps me on the arm. “Then help me out would ya?”

“C’mon on sweetness.” I stand and help her to her feet.

“Thanks for checking on me, baby,” she says through chattering teeth as I wrap a towel around her.

“I might’ve had motive. You know you were laying there all f**king soakin’ wet and naked. I wasn’t leaving that view for the world,” I tease her.

“Bastard,” she mumbles with a smile on her face.

“Let’s go to bed. I need to wrap my feet with yours.”

Well hell. Let me just cut off my balls and hand them to her on a silver damn dinner platter. Could I be any more of a little bitch?

17

It’s been two flipping f**king long weeks since Winter and I had our shower talk. Petra has a lead on PP’s location and every time my prepay rings I get all damn jittery and shit. Having the family on lockdown for this long is starting to wear thin. Everyone is at one another’s throats, the kids, especially the older ones are wigging out. Tatiana is driving Berry, Phil, and ZZ insane. But it’s been way too quiet for us to take a chance and release the lockdown. Angel is still drinking, snorting, and mentally healing. I don’t know what will fix her if anything. All I know is that she’s slowly letting me in, and I’m slowly letting her in. My dick is about to fall off from no use, and I’ve never went this long without f**king. Hell, I’ve barely been two days without screwing some nameless whore. She’s worth it though. Fuck is she worth it. Every once in a while I’ll catch her smiling at me, and that one look is my constant reminder that she’s still in there somewhere. That girl that rushed the breath out of my lungs with one dance is still there. I’m sitting at the bar twirling a shot glass around in my fingers when I hear a bunch of ladies pull in. My eyes cut to the monitor above the bar, and I grin because our Lady chapter just pulled in. They’re based just two counties away, but they’re coming back from a charity ride. Angel walks up to the bar, looks at the screen, and her eyes cut to mine.

“I haven’t seen you grin like that since the weekend I met you,” she murmurs.

Oh, shit!

“Is one of them one of the three you’ve ever cared about?”

How to answer that? She’s just making progress and finally letting me in. If I don’t answer truthfully, she’ll just find out from someone else or from interaction. I take my shot glass, pour some whiskey in it, and hand it to her. She takes it and drinks it with a straight face, her gold eyes never leaving mine.

“Yes,” I say.