Angel yawned and rolled over, automatically reaching for Kade, but he wasn’t there. He’d come to bed well after three in the morning. When she’d checked on him around midnight, he was on the phone, talking in hushed tones, and she’d assumed there was something going on with one of the Kincaid Security & Investigations clients.
Memories of yesterday tried to overwhelm her, and she resolutely pushed them down. Yesterday had been one of the worst days she’d experienced since Matthew died, and she refused to let that happen today. No. Today she was closing on the building where her new bar would be located. She’d seriously considered making it a strip club just to piss Kade off.
She’d been a stripper when they first met, a fact Angel was proud of. She’d made good money and even better friends. Kade, on the other hand, despised men leering at her as she danced. It was one of the few things they’d ever really fought about.
Maybe one day she would open a few strip clubs, providing day or night care for the kids those moms worked hard to feed and keep roofs over their heads. It was something she’d always thought about. The place she worked, the owner had been an ass, firing any dancer who couldn’t come in because of not finding a sitter.
She’d planned on quitting. Men did not pay to see pregnant strippers, but then the baby died. Peter…Angel shook her head and got up. Not dwelling on the past today. There was too much to do.
Taking a shower and brushing her teeth, she got dressed and went to find her missing husband. Their priest had called yesterday to ask if they planned on renewing their vows now that they’d been forgiven for their sins of adultery and finished counseling. Not that she was the one in trouble. She had no idea her marriage with Kade was real and lived her life thinking she’d been duped. There had been a few relationships. Nothing like the string of one-night-stands Kade racked up. Forgetting you were married would do that.
The idea of renewing their vows had excited Angel. She’d put Kade through his paces, dragging him to counseling being one of those. He’d never said a word, but then Angel got the impression he would do anything to make her happy. A smile appeared at the thought.
“Good morning, Mrs. Kincaid.”
Jasper sat at the island eating a bowl of cereal. Security. Dammit, she’d forgotten she had a babysitter. Not that she minded Jasper. He was funny and pretty to look at. She kept that little observation to herself.
“I’ve told you to call me Angel.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip. “This is good.”
“I’m a coffee snob. It’s my own personal blend.”
Angel laughed at his hoity-toity expression with his nose in the air. “Is Kade in his office?”
“No, ma’am. He already went to the main office.”
“Really?” She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was barely after eight. “He was on the phone all night. I hope nothing’s wrong?”
Jasper shrugged. “I don’t know. My assignment is to guard you. We’re only told what we need to know.”
“Well, I hope you don’t mind plundering through my new bar. I’m meeting the contractor there at eleven. We need to swing by the bank, sign the papers, and collect the keys first, though.”
“A busy morning, then.” He looked down at his lonely bowl of cereal. “I should have cooked.”
“Your stomach isn’t nearly the bottomless pit mine is. We’ll order pizza as soon as Saul’s opens. It’s just down the street from my new building.”
“I haven’t tried that place yet.”
“Best pizza around. Kade brought it home, and I thought I’d die of food orgasm right then and there. The stuff is better than sex.”
“I’m not sure I’d go that far…”
She wagged her finger at him. “You just wait until that first burst of flavor hits your tongue. It’s amazing!”
“Uh-huh.” Jasper emptied his bowl and put it in the dishwasher. “How soon do we need to be on the road?”
“Ten minutes or so. They’re expecting us at the bank as early as we can get there.”
“Okay. Give me just a few, and then we’ll roll.”
While Jasper disappeared down the hall, Angel got all her things together and shoved them into her very stylish briefcase Jasmine, a friend from her stripping days, had sent her when Angel shared her news of opening her own bar. She and Jas had remained friends after she moved from Miami to Boston. Even though she’d fled Miami and the awful memories there, she refused to let Jasmine become a part of those memories. She was older than Angel, but she was her best friend. Long distance best friend, but that never mattered to the two of them.
Jasper came back a few minutes later and hustled her out to a black SUV, one of the ones KS&I owned. They’d enhanced it with custom security features, none of which Angel knew, but she got the impression they were many and impressive.
It took them a couple of hours at the bank, and they arrived at the very derelict building that would house her future bar. There were several restaurants and businesses up and down both sides of the street in every direction for blocks. Customers would see the construction, giving her a ton of free advertising. Curiosity would bring them to the bar they’d watched be built almost from the ground up, and the service would keep them coming back. Angel knew how to run a bar. She rubbed her hands together like a little kid contemplating tearing into a present on Christmas morning. It was going to be epic.
Jasper had been extremely quiet since they’d come out of the bank, so when he told her to wait in the car until he secured the location, it startled her. Not enough to keep her in the vehicle, however. She rolled her eyes when he shot her a warning look and told her to sit still. Yes, the cartel scared her, but if she focused on whether they knew where she was, she’d drive herself nuts. That was not the goal today. That was yesterday’s game plan.
Today was a whole new plan.
But she’d give Jasper peace of mind and sit still. For a few minutes, anyway.
Angel checked her phone. Three missed texts from Kade. He knew she was closing today. One said he was sorry for skipping out this morning, the next good luck with the bank, and the third simply said “I love you, moye serdste.” It meant “my heart.” He’d called her that since she was nineteen, and it still melted her heart.
Jasper knocked on the window, and she shrieked. Okay, so maybe she was more worried about the cartel than she let on, even to herself.
Jasper shook his head and opened the door for her. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Kincaid. I didn’t mean to startle you. We’re good to go inside.”
“The contractor should already be here. Have you seen him?” She got out of the SUV and grabbed her briefcase and purse. It was going to be a long afternoon, what with all the meetings she had lined up.
“No, ma’am.”
“I swear to God, if you call me ma’am one more time, Jasper Watkins, I will beat you.”
He ignored her and ushered her into the building. It didn’t look like much…yet. Graffiti covered the outside of the place, which was fine by her. Curb appeal would come after the major renovations inside.
The inside was a total mess. At 4000 square feet, it was a massive building, but she planned on putting in a kitchen. She’d done her research and knew the market here better than she had the audience for Pops’ bar where she worked back in Boston. Her vision for this place was to become the premier spot for the college kids who were only a few blocks away.
Right now, though, she was irritated. Her contractor was late.
“So…about that pizza?”
Leave it to Jasper to remind her own belly she was starved. “You call Saul’s, and I’ll try to reach the damn contractor.”
“You got it.” Jasper had his phone out Googling Saul’s while she searched through her contacts for Jim Bachri, the construction manager. He picked up on the third ring.
“This is Jim.”
“Jim, it’s Angel Kincaid. Someone was supposed to meet me this morning to go through my new building to do an estimate.”
“Chad isn’t there? He’s our estimate guy.”
“No. I’ve been here for a few minutes, and no sign of him.”
“Not to worry. If you can text me the address, I’ll come over myself and do the estimate. I do apologize. He might have gotten stuck in traffic.”
“I understand that, but a phone call or text saying so would have been nice. It’s just good customer service to let the client know you’re going to be late.”
“I assure you, nothing like this will happen again.”
“I’m going to be frank with you, Jim. This first impression has not gone well. If I start having costly delays or things that go way over budget and crews not showing up on time, I will have no problem firing you.” Angel kept her voice even, but she put a bit of a bite into it. She’d dealt with guys like this back in Boston when Pops renovated his bar. They liked to try to sneak things by you.
“I completely understand, Mrs. Kincaid. If you’ll text me the address, I should be able to get there in about thirty minutes, give or take a few minutes.”
Angel agreed and hung up. Hopefully, Jim got the picture that she was not a lady to be fucked with.
Looking around at the garbage, the crumbling walls, and the general filth that covered every surface, she still saw the potential of what it could be. When Nikoli toured it, it had been hard for him to see past the mess, but he believed in her. He was going to front her the money to build the physical bar itself, as well as working capital for her first year for a twenty-five percent stake in the business. Nik had even helped with her business plan and co-signed with the bank so she could get the loan to buy the building and renovate it.
Saul’s delivery guy arrived before Jim did, which didn’t sit well with Angel. Granted, Saul’s was only a short walk, but still, they’d had to cook the food before bringing it.
“Well, shit.” Jasper looked around, perplexed. “Where are we gonna sit and eat? This place is filthy.”
He had a point. The thick coating of dust and God only knew what else covered the floor. Angel wasn’t exactly sure what the building had been before, since all fixtures and signage had been stripped. They hadn’t even left a random chair sitting around. It was just one big open space with a few rooms in the back. They were as empty as the front.
“I guess we’ll eat standing up.” She shrugged and walked over to help him with the bags. She’d asked for a salad and pizza. Saul had her regular order on hand, since she’d stopped so often to pick up pizza for dinner. The heavenly smell floating in the air didn’t make her stomach rejoice at all. It protested instead, and nausea decided to rear its ugly head.
“Hello?” They both looked up to see a large man lumbering through the front door, a clipboard in his hand. “Mrs. Kincaid?”
“Jim?” Angel turned away from the pizza, but it didn’t really help her stomach all that much.
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded and shut the door behind him. “Sorry for the delay this morning. I still haven’t been able to reach Chad. I’ll be happy to walk the building with you and do an in-depth estimate in his place.”
As irritated as she was at the situation, he had gotten here in the timeframe he’d promised, so she bit back her smartass remark. She needed to get the ball rolling. Nik did a thorough check of the contractors in the area and assured her this man was one of the best.
“I appreciate that. I’d like to get work started within the next few days.”
“Of course. I can have crews ready to go as early as tomorrow.” He looked down at his clipboard, his expression changing. “I almost forgot. I found this on the door outside.”
Angel took the manila envelope he handed her, frowning. It was addressed to her. Opening it, she pulled out photos and felt her world tilt.
Photos of her.
She blinked, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
Photos of her in a hospital bed.
In Miami.
Right after Matthew’s birth.
Raw pain bled out of the image of her talking to the doctor, listening to him tell her the baby didn’t make it. That they’d already disposed of his body.
How?
Why would anyone send this to her?
“Mrs. Kincaid?”
She heard Jasper’s concerned voice, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the image. Bile rose, and she coughed, trying to choke it down. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, and she reached out, trying to find something to steady herself with, but there was nothing.
Darkness started to eat away at her vision, but still she couldn’t look away from the photo. Angel shook her head, but the blurriness wouldn’t go away.
And when her legs gave out, and she fell, her eyes remained on the image until there was nothing left but the dark of unconsciousness.