Page 30 of Angel

“Damnit,” Bulldog growled. “One of the cities on his list was Miami. I remember that one.”

Bear was putting a white bandage over Ivy’s stitches as she added, “We met attacking the same brothel. The 3Ts’ leader, a man named Gideon Dorouv, was there that night. We were both going after him.”

“It’s a wonder the two of you didn’t shoot each other,” Bulldog grumbled.

The look Ivy gave him did not fill Angel with confidence that they hadn’t.

Since there was no way to verify Ivy was working with Scar or that Scar had sent her, Steel was conflicted as to what to do with her. He decided on giving her a room at the clubhouse because there were enough members who lived there to keep an eye on her. She was forbidden to go anywhere near the Pentagon, the ol’ ladies, and the club kids without a patched member present. She was also not allowed to be armed.

One of the Honeys walked into the clubhouse main area just as Steel was explaining to Ivy the rules. Ivy looked the barely dressed woman up and down and gave Steel a wicked smile. “I think I see enough to entertain me here.”

That stopped some of the brothers talk of trying to get closer to Ivy. While Angel was completely into men, she could understand the appeal of Ivy. She was a leather-wearing, bike-riding badass. In comparison, the only leather Angel ever wore was her cut.

However, Angel couldn’t help but glare at the Honey who put a little extra swing in her step after hearing Ivy’s words. Angel could care less if Ivy did sleep with one or all of the Honeys. Her intense dislike of the Honey in question came from the knowledge that Cage had slept with her. Many times. Hell, Angel had lost count the number of times she’d seen Cage with all of the Honeys.

While there was a similarity between herself and Ivy, Angel felt herself wondering if Cage was as attracted to her as their other club brothers seemed to be. She tried to casually peek at Cage out of the corner of her eye to see if he too was checking Ivy out. Instead, she found him looking at her with a knowing look.

With Church interrupted and many of the members having to get to work, they all started to descend the stairs.

Cage threw his arm around Angel shoulders as they journeyed out. “Would it be corny of me to say that I only have eyes for you, Sweet Angel?”

She snorted. “I highly doubt that.”

“I’m serious.” He was keeping his voice low, his face turned into her ear. “I haven’t slept with anyone since you.”

Angel nearly tripped over her own feet. She stopped walking to face him. They were standing in the middle of the parking area outside of the clubhouse. Their club brothers were getting on their sleds or in their cages and heading off to their jobs.

Cage took his arm from around her shoulders. His expression was so open, like he was encouraging her to ask him questions or call him a liar.

Angel was willing to admit after the coffee incident in Church that perhaps she had been avoiding Cage more than she’d realized. Had she been subconsciously reading into things or suppressing them because it was Cage? She didn’t like the thought of that. But how else did she explain not realizing he’d been the one to serve her coffee in meetings for an entire year?

Demo, who was still recovering from the bullet wounds he’d received while protecting Jasmine, waved to them from the passenger seat of Bones’s cage as they passed. Bones had a shift on the sales floor of the club’s Harley-Davidson dealership and Demo was probably hitching a ride to wherever he needed to go. Due to the pain medication he was on, he was not allowed to drive a cage or a sled.

Once Bones’s cage passed them, they were alone in the parking lot. Up until a year ago, the whole area had been gravel. Steel had contracted to have a paved parking lot put in, along with a concrete sidewalk, minutes after Angel had announced her intention to adopt Bree.

Despite the early morning, the blacktop already had some heat to it.

Maybe…maybe it was time to get some answers. It wasn’t like the tattoo shop was opening that day. Patrick and the others were appalled at what had almost happened. Katie had said she would call and reschedule all of their appointments for the next three days. Angel hadn’t heard from Carlos yet as to whether she was even allowed in the studio. Keys either had already gotten or wasn’t asking permission.

“Why would you do that?” she questioned. At Cage’s confused look, she clarified, “The coffee. Why would you be giving me my coffee for over a year?”

Cage shrugged. “You barely let me near you over this past year, Angel. When I was near you, it had to be about club business or you would push me away. If I even tried to do something nice for you, you pushed even harder. I wasn’t going to risk something as simple as getting you coffee be the reason you completely barred me from your life.”

Angel snapped her tongue against her teeth. “I did not push you away…” At Cage’s raised eyebrow, she amended, “Completely.”

Cage snorted. “Angel, if it wasn’t for the fact that you wanted me to have a key to your house in case there was an emergency with Bree, I’m fairly certain you would have built an electrical fence around your house to keep me out.”

Angel rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue.

“Are you ready to tell me why you have been pushing me away?” Cage asked. He didn’t sound angry. A little defensive, maybe. “You said that I’m not a ‘one woman’ type of man, but I think over this past year, I’ve proved to you that I am.”

Angel did not look away from him. She did not regret pushing Cage away. She couldn’t deny that Cage had been there for her over the past year, even if it had been in a platonic way. A year ago, she had not been in a position to start a new relationship. And, frankly, neither had he. He’d been days away from becoming a living organ donor, though neither of them had known that then.

Cage ran a hand down his face. He stepped away from her. Angel watched in silence as he hung his head for several long seconds before walking back to her. “I don’t understand. You’re such a badass. You’ve never filtered yourself before. You don’t care what anyone thinks about you. Why can’t you just tell me what I did wrong or yell at me? Why do you keep pushing me away with no explanation like you would anyone else?”

Angel took a deep breath as she confessed, “That’s the difference, Cage. You’re real.” Angel licked her lips before admitting, “I could care less what the world thinks about me, but I care a great deal what you think about me.”

Cage looked like he wanted to pull her into his arms but held himself back. His jaw ticked. “I haven’t slept with anyone but you in a year.”

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