Eagle

As soon as I get back to the cabin, I take a long, cold shower in the outdoor bathroom where we wash up after a hunt. One of the brothers brings me a fresh set of clothes. My cut needs to be cleaned and I hand it off to the prospect in the kitchen making coffee. He takes one look at the blood-soaked leather, nods, and hurries outside to do whatever it takes to make it wearable again.

Angel is resting peacefully in the bedroom, her mother keeping watch from a bedside chair. I step inside and she stands. “No need to get up, Miranda,” I say. “How is she?”

Our gazes meet. “Considering everything she’s been through . . .” Her sorrow-laced eyes flick to her daughter. “She’s strong.”

“Yes,” I agree, sitting on the edge of the mattress by Angel’s feet. “As far as I’m concerned, you redeemed yourself back there.”

“No,” she disagrees. “What you said to me at the cemetery holds true . . . where was I when my sons wanted to sell Angel like a farm animal? I failed miserably as a mother. Choosing drugs over my family—losing myself in the grief following my husband’s death. I should have done better for my kids.” Tears stream down her face.

I reach for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I didn’t know the details behind your addiction before.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Angel is in possession of some hard-core evidence that your sons purposely targeted you by lacing your drinks with drugs.”

She sucks in a breath, looking surprised and heartbroken. “Reggie and Evander didn’t exactly make me drink. That addiction started long before the drugs.”

“I understand more than you know,” I offer, remembering how much I drank after I thought Angel had died. “Evander didn’t make it.”

She nods. “I didn’t think he would.” She stands up and heads for the door.

“Stay at the cabin for a while. I’m sure Angel will want to see you.”

After she shuts the door, I climb into bed with my wife. I wrap my protective arms around her, holding her as close as I can, letting her cheek rest against my chest so she can feel what she does to me. She’s the reason my heart beats at all. Running my fingers through the length of her blond hair, I close my eyes and try to remember a time when we were just able to relax and enjoy life.

From the beginning, Angel and I faced opposition. No longer. I won’t let anyone or anything get in the way of our happiness again. She deserves better. I deserve better.

Just as my eyes start to close, Angel shifts and lets out a tiny moan. Desperate to talk to her and look into those deep brown eyes, I sit up, taking her with me.

“Eagle?”

“Hey, baby.” I kiss the top of her head.

“W-where are we?”

“Home.”

“Holly Beach?”

“At the cabin.”

She pulls back and looks up at me. “Oh, God.” She covers her face with both hands. “It feels like someone drove a spike through the middle of my skull, I have the worst headache. Where’s my mother? My brother?”

I wanted to spare her all the details until I was sure she felt stronger. But she has a right to know everything. “Miranda is here.”

“She saved me from Bear.”

“I know, baby. I know,” I soothe as I rub her back. “That’s why I asked her to stay with us for a bit. I’m sure the two of you need some quality time together.”

“And Bear?”

“Gone.”

“Gone? As in sent away?”

“Dead.”

She swallows and doesn’t say a word.

“Did my mother . . .”

“No,” I say. “She didn’t need to.”

“What about the Dead Dogs? Won’t there be retaliation? The police?”

I hold my finger to her lips. “Shh. There’s nothing to connect us to his death. I promise. That’s all you need to know.” Inquisitive by nature, Angel will take a while to get used to the no-questions policy the old ladies are expected to follow. It’s better that way. “Did he hurt you?” I finally ask, hoping to stop the pain eating away at me inside.

“No,” she whispers. “Almost.”

“Do you want me to call the doctor?”

“No.” She sinks back down, resting her head on my shoulder. “I just want to stay here with you. Forget everything. Pretend we’re just two normal people starting our lives together. You’re a plumber and I’m a grad student. We just bought our first home and adopted a puppy from the local animal shelter.”

I chuckle at her imagination. Angel always talked about the way things should be. The way she wished she’d grown up. “All right, Mrs. Perfect,” I say, playing along. “If I’m condemned to be a turd chaser for the rest of my life, what’s your future career?”

“Interior design.”

“Interior design?” I repeat. “That’s a frivolous job.”

She slaps my arm playfully. “Someone needs to beautify the world.”

I squeeze her tight. “You do that by just being here, baby.”

“I love you, Eagle. I’m sorry you had to get your hands dirty for me again.”

Upset that she thinks she needs to apologize for something she didn’t have any control over, I shift away from her, easing her onto her back so I can look directly in her eyes. “Why are you apologizing, Angel?”

“Because I’ve been the cause of so many problems.”

I caress her cheek. “You’re a victim of shitty circumstances. You were a kid when this all started. How can you blame yourself? Reggie and Bear did this. Not you. Not even your mother.”

I get a sad smile.

“Don’t regret anything, Angel. Whatever we suffered was worth it. We’re here now. Together. Nothing can change that. Nothing.”

She cups my face between both hands and kisses me, parting her lips and letting me have that one taste of an angel worth dying for. Angel Laramie is all I need. She’s the air I breathe, the light in my dark life. If that makes me less of a man, so be it. Some brothers choose to keep their old ladies at a distance. Not me.

The patch I gave to my wife says it all. PROPERTY OF EAGLE runs deeper than her simply belonging to me. We’re blood. “I love you.”

She runs the pad of her thumb across my bottom lip. “I love you, too.”

“Love is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” I quote her favorite sonnet. “And this man can never be shaken, baby.”