Chapter 19
Angel
Nothing had changed, not after all this time. And somehow Angel knew just by what he felt each time he made love to Sarah it never would. He could still lie there and hold Sarah for hours just gazing at her and kissing her softly. Her lips. Her nose. Her eyelids and forehead. After all this time, he was still as incapable of keeping his hands and lips off her as he was when he’d first met her. She’d owned his heart from the very beginning, and mercifully, she’d told him countless times he owned hers—she was his. It was something he needed to hear. He needed her to be aware of this because he’d never share her, not with Sydney and especially not Leo and not if doing so meant she’d be in any danger. As much as he could easily lie there forever just staring at her and holding her, he needed to get to what she said was too long to talk about last night.
Moving a few strands away from her forehead, he almost hated to ask and change the mood but he had to. “So what else happened this weekend? Last night you said there was more.”
Her eyes fell to his chest, and her entire body went tense. Angel fought the urge to gnash his teeth or even ask her what was wrong. Maybe she was just nervous about telling him how protective Leo had been of her, that the guy had beaten not one but two guys the moment either of them tried anything on her. As grateful as he should be that Leo had done that, he knew damn well her brother hadn’t done it for Angel. Brotherly protectiveness was nothing new to Angel. He knew all about it, but this felt different, and from the vibe he was getting from Sarah, he could already tell it was.
“I know that you already don’t trust Leonardo, Angel.” She pulled away and lifted herself onto her elbow, so Angel did the same thing and faced her, determined to keep an open mind.
“He lied about something, but it’s not anything huge,” she said with a hint of persuasiveness in her eyes that told Angel she’d already forgiven the guy.
“What did he lie about?”
“He has a brother, an older one his mother had with another man before Omar came along.”
Angel pinched his brows. “Why’d he lie?”
“Because his brother’s in jail. That’s why he didn’t want me to know about him. He was afraid I’d judge him or maybe I’d be reluctant to meet him if I knew he had a brother doing life for murder.”
“Murder?” Angel asked, feeling all the reservations he already felt for Leo jumping up to a whole other level.
“Yes, but he was convicted years ago, and ever since then, Leonardo swore he, too, would change his life around.”
“What do you mean him too? What was Leo doing?”
She looked away again only this time lifting an eyebrow, and he hated that because he knew her too well. Whatever it was, she was going to defend him.
“He didn’t lie to me about being in college. He lied to Omar about that, but if you remember the first email I got from Leonardo, he admitted school wasn’t for him and he was taking the semester off.”
“Was he ever in college, Sarah?”
Angel was doing his best to not be judgmental. He didn’t give a shit if the guy had attended college or not. A college degree didn’t mean shit unless you did something with it, and he knew a lot of people who’d never gone to school and done plenty with their lives. What he did care about was that this was lie number two, no matter how soon Leo had come clean about it. How many more were there?
“No.” She looked at him now and lifted her chin. “He wasn’t. He’s had a tough life, and he admitted he’s been in and out of trouble since he was very young. He was upfront about everything even stuff he didn’t have to tell me but he did.”
“Like what?” Angel sat up now, sitting against the head board.
“Like that he did some time in juvi and that he used to be in a gang, a gang that did illegal cock fighting and then later graduated to doing underground fighting themselves for money. It’s how his brother killed someone and ended up in prison for life. But he’s not part of that anymore. His brother made him promise he’d leave the life and better himself, and he’s trying to.”
Angel stared at her in disbelief and a bit horrified. This was who his precious girlfriend had hung out with all weekend? A thug claiming he was no longer part of a gang? Angel may’ve never been in a gang, but he knew one thing about them. Once you were in a gang, it was pretty much a life sentence. No one just walked away.
“And you really think he didn’t need to tell you all this?”
“He didn’t have to tell me.”
“Of course he did, babe,” Angel said, struggling to keep from raising his voice. “He should. If you’re ever gonna be around him or his friends, you need to know what you’re getting yourself into.” He almost didn’t say it, but he couldn’t hold back. “He’s dangerous.”
“He’s my brother,” she countered immediately.
“He scared you, Sarah. You said it yourself, and now—”
“Look,” she said, reaching out to touch Angel’s tense arms. “I don’t wanna fight about this, okay? He didn’t lie when he said he was hoping to take the LAPD test, but he found out real quick there’s no way he’d get past the background check if he ever made it past the written test. Not with his record. So it’s not like he’s moving out here or will be anywhere near me too often. I’d still like to keep him in my life, but you don’t have to worry about me being around him or his dangerous friends.” She looked down at his arm and squeezed it, lowering her voice. “I know I said it was kind of scary. Seeing how violent he could be was scary, but I never felt threatened by him, and the one time I did . . .”
“What?” Angel insides were ablaze instantly. “He threatened—”
“No,” she shook her head, sitting up and taking his hand in hers and spoke quickly. “It was nothing like that. I just jumped to conclusions when he said he wanted to talk to me in private. We started driving out on the Jet ski to some secluded area of the lake, and I panicked. The moment he realized why, he had me kill the motor and he jumped off the Jet ski. Said he’d talk to me from the water if it made me feel safer. But other than that one moment, I actually felt very safe and secure having him around.”
She went on to tell him about the fights and how Leo had reacted the way he had because he was coming to her defense. “I don’t think he meant to hit them so hard.” Just as Angel dreaded, now Sarah was defending Leo. “I think he realized he spooked me a little because this morning when he came to see me off he explained to me it was just habit to hit someone that hard. It’s what his brother had taught him back in his fighting days.”
The guy was only nineteen. How long ago could those fighting days have been? “What did he do time for?”
“He didn’t give any specific reason. He just said he got in a lot of trouble in general. Being in a gang who ran a cock-fighting ring and stayed out late to fight, I’m sure there were plenty of reasons to lock him up. But he really is trying to change now.”
“How?”
Angel didn’t want to sound so pessimistic, but the guy wasn’t going to school and he obviously didn’t have a job since he and his friends had apparently just picked up on a whim this weekend.
Sarah told him about Leo doing odd jobs—construction, plumbing, fixing cars—but nothing solid. “With his record, it’s hard to get hired, but he said he does all right and he hasn’t been in any trouble in a while.”
“Did he say anything else about your dad?”
She shook her head, looking down at her hand in his, and Angel squeezed it, hating that she might be hurting about that. “I don’t even ask him anymore. The last few times I did he was adamant that he didn’t care if he never heard from Omar again and that I shouldn’t either.” She touched Angel’s temple then smoothed his raised eyebrow. It was something that always helped calm him. “Look, babe. I’m not being naïve about this. I know I’m calling him my brother already, but I’m well aware that I still don’t know that he is with all certainty. Just because he came clean about his past doesn?
??t mean he’s all good. I know this, okay? But until I get something that really says he can’t be trusted, I want to continue to pursue this—slowly and cautiously—with you by my side every step of the way.”
On that note, Angel decided there was no sense in arguing about Leo now. The guy wasn’t moving out here, so Angel didn’t think he needed to worry too much about Sarah being around his thug ass, and he let it go. But he was definitely taking Sal up on his advice. He’d be doing his homework on Leo. The guy may’ve told Sarah a lot, but Angel was certain there was more to his story.
~~~
The next couple of months flew by without incident. Since Leo left to Mexico to help relatives of his mom with some construction work on someone’s farm, he was going to be gone for weeks, maybe months. His absence put a hold on Angel’s investigative work. He figured with Leo gone he had time to look into him later.
Leo told Sarah he wouldn’t have access to the Internet, and with no international plan on his phone, she wouldn’t be hearing from him possibly until the beginning of the new year. But not even a week had gone by when he started skyping her from Mexico. He said he didn’t realize his cousins out there were so up on technology. Angel took solace in knowing at least the guy was far away and the only communication she had with her brother was via the Internet. Between football, keeping up with his school work, and finals, the last thing he needed was to have to worry about Leo.
Even though Sarah and Angel had already celebrated their twenty-first birthdays in a big way on New Year’s Eve with an extravagant party at his house, they had the week off after New Year’s, and Angel was taking Sarah away. The whole gang was meeting up in Big Bear for a few days before they had to go back to school. Only Angel was heading up there a day earlier than everyone else so that he and Sarah could have his parents’ time-share all to themselves for a day.
“Ready?” he asked as she walked out her front door to greet him.
She knew they were supposed to be headed up to the cabin tomorrow but didn’t know where they were headed today She smiled big then bit her lower lip. “So are you telling me now where you’re taking me?”
Bringing his arms around her waist, he lifted her off the top of the stair of the porch where she stood then spun her around, laughing when she let out a yelp before letting her down in front of him.
“Big Bear,” he said with smirk then added. “Remember that cozy chapel we saw the last time we were up there? Let’s go get married.”
The smile she wore fell instantly, and her mouth dropped open.
Gulping, but trying to keep his playful demeanor going, he let go of her hand. “Well, shit, I was kidding. You don’t have to look so horrified.”
“No.” She gasped, reaching out for his hand again. “It’s not that. I just . . .” She paused, apparently trying to find the right words for her reaction. “For a moment, I thought you might be serious, and well . . . we’ve talked about this and—”
“I know,” he said, pulling her to him again and kissing her softly before the mood got too weird. “You’ve always dreamed of a big wedding, and you’re gonna get it. But I am taking you up there early so we can have the place to ourselves tonight. No quickie weddings, I promise.”
A big relieved smile washed over her face, and she kissed him back, caressing his face with her chilly hand. “The thought of marrying you would never be a horrifying one. You just caught me by surprise.”
After a long and lustful kiss that still left Angel wanting so much more, she said her bag was ready but she just needed to go grab it from her bed, so Angel followed her in. They stopped in her front room where she told her mom where they were headed, and Sarah played the same gag on her mom that Angel had played on her.
“There’s this really cozy chapel up there we want to check out.”
Her mom had been about to bring her cup of coffee to her mouth when she stopped cold and stared at them. Sarah and Angel exchanged glances until Sarah burst out in laughter and assured her mom she was kidding. Sarah walked in her room, still giggling with Angel behind her.
“Hey, baby girl.”
The guy’s voice came from Sarah’s still open laptop on her desk. Sarah stopped in her tracks, turning to the laptop then back at Angel, the expression on her face too strange to make out. “I thought we’d hung up,” the guy said again.
“Who’s that?” Angel asked, his insides a weird mixture of slow boiling anger, hurt, and alarm.
Had she really been talking to some dude who called her baby girl? Before he could demand to know who the fuck it was, she rushed to the laptop and spoke quickly. “I thought we did too. Angel’s here, Leonardo. I gotta go.”
Leo?
Angel walked around to confirm it was, in fact, Leo on the screen just before Sarah clicked the window away and closed the screen.
“Why does he call you that?”
He didn’t even care that his tone was so severe. The adrenaline rush still pumping through his veins had him searing, and he could have kicked himself for not having followed up to find out more about Leo.
“He just does,” she said, reaching out to touch his face. “I asked him why in Havasu.” She shrugged. “All he said was that’s how he thinks of me because I’m so much smaller than he is.”
“He’s been calling you that since Havasu?”
She nodded but said nothing more. Why that made this so much worse he had no idea, but it did. So he was her brother. Angel had heard of sicker more perverted things in his lifetime. This guy was strange all around. He’d jumped off the damn Jet ski when she panicked on him. Who does that? Even Sal had thought that strange when he told him about it. Now this?
Sarah kissed him softly then started to move away toward her bed again, but Angel held her arm. “I don’t like it. Does he call you anything else that’s gonna turn my stomach?”
It didn’t matter anymore that she might think him absurd for being jealous of her brother. He was done being disingenuously okay with this whole damn thing, because the truth was he hated it. He hated to know she chatted with the dude late into the night sometimes. She admitted this openly to Angel because it was okay. This was her brother after all. Only Angel still had that bad feeling about him, and now it had just doubled.
Baby girl?
What the fuck?
“No,” she said but looked away too quickly, so Angel tugged her arm again, forcing her to look in his eyes.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, but nothing about it or the sudden vacant expression on her face felt sincere. The fact that she didn’t call him on it, throw in his face the reminder that this wasn’t just some dude calling her by a cutesy name—it was her brother and he had nothing to worry about—spoke volumes. She did understand why hearing the guy call her that set off alarms. That goddamned brother of hers had managed to put a damper on their getaway, and it hadn’t even started.
Chapter 20
Sarah
The drive to Big Bear started off quiet and uncomfortable. Sarah couldn’t help feeling guilty that she hadn’t told Angel about Leonardo’s pet name for her. She’d known he wouldn’t like it from the moment she first heard Leonardo use the term of endearment. But she felt even guiltier about the fact that, as awkward as it had first felt, the pet name had since grown on her and she liked it now. She had considered telling Leonardo it made her uncomfortable because he didn’t seem to have any qualms about calling her that in front of other people, so it was likely he’d do it in front of Angel eventually. He’d done so in front of his friends and even in front of Valerie when he’d hugged Sarah goodbye the morning they left.
Curiously, Valerie hadn’t thought it odd. She’d giggled and asked Sarah how it felt to have such a hot bad boy calling her something so sweet. Sarah hadn’t told her the truth—that it was kind of exciting—because she knew Valerie would interpret it the wrong way, and she didn’t want to bother explaining the whole thing about her dad calling her that too. So instead, she’d just reminde
d Valerie that she already had a hot guy back home who’d been calling her sweet names for years.
But there was more she was feeling guilty about.
Another thing she’d never told Angel and certainly wasn’t planning on telling him now was how final Leonardo’s goodbye felt when he’d first told her about going to Mexico months ago. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but that night he called her to tell her about it felt different. It was as if he were saying goodbye to her forever. The whole “I’ll talk to you next year” he’d told her felt like a ruse. She’d even asked him if there was something he wasn’t telling her, because she felt it in his words. He’d been uncharacteristically cold when he spoke to her that night. She’d actually been choked up when she hung up. She had this feeling in her gut she’d heard the last of him, that just like her dad he’d satisfied the curiosity of getting to know her and he was disappearing from her life now too. She’d been hurt and felt humiliated that she’d managed to make such an insignificant impression on both men that neither had any interest in continuing their relationships with her.
So when he’d called her less than a week later, she’d been overjoyed, more than she should’ve been. She’d really thought she’d never hear from him again. Later that night when she’d called Sydney, the only person who knew how broken up she’d been about her brother’s goodbye, he’d even warned her.
“You’re worrying me, Lynni,” he’d said.
“Why?”
“You shouldn’t be this excited about him calling you.”
“Not excited,” she’d insisted. “Relieved. You know I really thought that was it. That he was gone forever.”
“I know but still. I’d wait until you calm down a little before telling Angel. I can guarantee you it’ll worry him too.”
Taking Sydney’s advice and because she knew what he was saying was true—that Angel would question her excitement—she waited days before mentioning it. As expected, Angel hadn’t shared her excitement, so she’d been glad she hadn’t said anything sooner.