She was avoiding me like I knew she would. I knew Angel would wake up in the morning angry at herself, and by association, me. I gave her all the space I could this morning, but I made the decision before I took her last night. Before I pulled the covers back in the bed and beckoned for her to get in, that I was going to keep her. Whatever shit we had to work through, we would. I wasn’t going to lie to myself anymore, though. Angel was important to me, and after having the one taste of her, I knew I couldn’t let her go.

Mine.

That was what I thought when I got dressed for the office that morning and looked at her sleeping, tangled up in my sheets and comforter.

Mine.

Mine to keep and protect. Mine to love. Because I did. And maybe it wasn’t the same feelings I had for her when we were younger, but that was okay. A lot of time had passed, and we were as good as strangers now, but I wanted to know everything there was to know about her and I was willing to do some nefarious shit to do it. I would give her a little space, but I wouldn’t let her run. Especially not when some drugged out psycho with a sick fixation was trying to hurt her. No fucking way. I would leave him a greasy smear on the concrete before I let that fucker get near her again.

I called a meeting to talk about the intel Dino had brought me, but if Angel didn’t walk her happy ass in here shortly I was going to be forced to go find her. I had been pretty patient with her today, but she did not want me to have to go looking for her. I gave her space this morning, but now was the time for following instructions, her safety depended on it.

I was about ready to text her again when she opened the waiting area door and my breath caught in my throat. Jesus, God, she was a stunner. I don’t know if it was because I had just acknowledged my personal feelings that made me see her differently, or because I had tasted what was under those clothes, but she looked like seduction in denim as she walked in the door.

She also had an attitude.

I could take my time drinking her in. The way her jeans clung to her full hips and ass, and the heavy swell of her breasts as they pulled against the v neck of her faded red t-shirt. I could stare all I wanted because she was doing a really good job of not making eye contact with me, looking everywhere but in my corner of the room as she stood there fidgeting.

Fine. There was too much open space here anyway. Let’s make the room smaller then, shall we?

“Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence, Angel, we have a lot to go over. Everyone in my office, please.” I opened the door to my office and waited to shut the door until they filed inside. I sat at my desk. There were several chairs and a couch in my office, Angel and Jeannette chose to sit in those, while Dino lounged on the leather sofa in the corner. Everyone else looked at me, waiting for me to share whatever info I had. Angel was still looking at the floor.

“Angel, look at me,” I commanded. Startled by the intensity in my voice, she looked up and met my gaze. “Don’t overthink it.” That was all I was going to say on the matter, with all the ears in the room. She didn’t say anything, but at least she wasn’t looking at the walls and the floor anymore. That was good, because I needed her to pay attention to the shit that was going to happen next.

“Dino has some news to share with the group. Go ahead, Dino.” Dino sat up from his lounging position on the sofa and waited until he had the attention of all three of us before he spoke.

“Bernard Hopper, or Tweak, as everyone calls him, is no longer in the employ of Chaz Malone. Hasn’t been, as a matter of fact, since Gabe picked Angel up in Detroit. Chaz got wind of Bernard getting handsy with Angel at the warehouse and cut him loose. Said if he couldn’t trust his employees with his merchandise then he had no need of them.”

I ground my teeth in anger over Dino’s words. I kind of assumed that was what had happened, but hearing out loud that he had touched her without her permission made me want to strangle the shit out of that little creep.

“That’s kind of a problem for you, though,” Dino continued. “Now he’s out on the prowl and he seems fixated on your girl, Gabe. The problem is, there is no one to keep him in line anymore. He doesn’t answer to Chaz. He doesn’t answer to anybody.”

Angel’s face lost all color as Dino was speaking. She didn’t say a word, but her knuckles turned white as she gripped her legs to keep her hands from shaking, I was sure. She didn’t need to be scared. I would take care of her. I wouldn’t let shit happen to her. But then Dino shocked us all when he continued.

“I can’t help you out with this anymore, G. Chaz, he knows we have a connection, you and me. Now, right now, he thinks it’s because I’m a hired thug and you have a lot of money. He thinks we had a previous business relationship, and I’d like to keep it that way. I have my own agenda right now, and I need to focus on it. I can’t be seen escorting your princess around the city. You are going to have to find someone else to be her bodyguard.”

“You don’t have to say it like that, you asshole.” I was surprised at the heat in Jeannette’s voice as she rounded on Dino. Angel even looked a little taken aback at how angry Jeanette became at his words. “I get that you have some other secret shit going on, and that’s fine. You are your own man and no one is telling you what to do. But don’t you fucking dare make light of the fact that someone is trying to hurt her. She needs protecting. It doesn’t make her weak, or a princess. It makes her a target, and fuck you for thinking that is no big deal.” Jeannette’s eyes blazed green behind the lenses of her glasses, and her fury was displayed in the red of her cheeks and the flush creeping up her neck. I knew where it was coming from, this anger, and it had nothing to do with Dino. It had nothing to do with Angel, even.

“It’s okay.” Angel surprised me by being the next to speak up. “It’s okay, everyone. I’m sorry for being such a mess. I used to think that I was a pretty well-adjusted adult. But I have zero control in all of this and it is really fucking with my mind. I don’t need Dino to protect me, but I do thank you for helping in the beginning. Even if you did help kidnap me, sort of.”

Angel continued. “Jeannette, thank you for defending me, it’s sweet but unnecessary. Even though I was kind of a bitch to you at first, I appreciate you going to bat for me. But guys, I can’t live like this. He took me by surprise last time because I wasn’t prepared. I’m not so weak that I can’t defend myself. I just didn’t know that I would need to is all.”

“We never know when we will need to, Angel.” I meant those words. I’d learned that in my previous line of work. You never know when someone is going to try to take you out, so live every day like someone is going to try anyway. Always be prepared. That way of thinking had saved my life more than once. Angel was going to learn it now. “I don’t want you going anywhere alone. So if you need to leave, you call someone to go with you. It can be me, a friend, or even those crazy ladies downstairs, I don’t care. I just don’t want you to be alone. Ever. Got it?”

“Can I sleep alone, boss?” she asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. I’m sure she had no clue that what she just said had any other meaning than literal, but her words shot straight to my dick all the same.

“We can talk about that later, in private.” It was a warning, and if I could judge by her quick intake of breath, I would bet she understood my meaning just fine.

“She can call me,” Jeannette added softly. “I wouldn’t mind keeping you company, Angel. I mean, if you wanted to hang out sometime. Even if just like, as friends, not as a bodyguard.”

That was a lot coming from Jeannette. No one else in the room besides me would even know how much those words had cost her. Jeannette didn’t have friends. She didn’t trust anyone. Well, anyone but me, but that was because I knew her secret. That she was reaching out to Angel this way meant she cared. I don’t know why that made my chest tight, but it did.

Angel’s smile was breathtaking, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds on a gloomy fucking day. “Thank you, Jeannette. I wouldn’t mind that at all, I just don’t want people feeling like they have to take care of me all the time. I can handle myself.” No, she very well could not handle herself, as was shown by the events of the past weeks, but that was okay if she wanted to think that. We still had our own talking to do.

“I’m going to go ahead and call this meeting to a close. Dino, I know you can’t show up, but please still let me know if any other intel comes up.” He didn’t say anything, just nodded and headed out the door, throwing Jeannette a wink on the way out. It infuriated her, I think that’s why he did it. “Jeannette, go ahead and head home for the day. Angel and I still have some things to wrap up here before I cut her loose. There might be yelling. You don’t want to be around for that.”

“Hey—” Angel started to protest but I cut her off with a look. We were going to have it out whether she wanted to or not. We needed to lay some things out on the table, her and me.

“You got it, Boss,” Jeannette said as she hurried out the door. She mouthed a quick, “good luck” at Angel before she shut the door behind her. I counted thirty seconds before I heard the heavy outer lobby door shut and the thick lock click in place. Good girl, Jeannette, I thought to myself as I stood up and walked around the front of the desk. No interruptions.

There were a couple of ways I could handle this, I supposed, but blunt and direct had always worked the best for me, so I walked past the chair where Angel was sitting and sat down on the sofa. I patted the space next to me, and with all the authority I could put into my voice I said,

“Come here, Angel.”