Page 18 of Angel

Never again. She could fight him, she could say all the mean and harsh things she wanted to. Hell, she could even throw his promiscuous reputation back in his face. He didn’t care.

Angel was his—and she was about to discover it.

Cage stormed over to where Angel and Steel were standing. Since Angel’s shirt had been ruined, one of the guys had given her one of their undershirts. She wasn’t sure who. Everything from when the VDMC had stormed the tattoo shop to now was a bit of a blur.

Steel had been prepared to cover the whole thing up and allow the VDMC to handle justice, but Angel had insisted on an ambulance being called for Bree since neither Bear nor Tessa was present. She did not want to waste time with hiding the bodies or making a cover story. Steel had, of course, agreed. Vengeance was not worth his niece’s wellbeing.

The thug Angel had taken down was indeed dead; she had crushed his trachea. The one Bree had shot was currently on his way to the hospital with a police escort. The punk kid Angel had knocked out was now bound and gagged in the trunk of her Traverse. It was the one place the club could put him on such short notice. With Bree not needing to go to the hospital, they would need to find a new place to put him, as she was not driving her daughter home with her bound attacker in the trunk of the cage.

Angel was explaining to Steel what happened while Bulldog kept watch over Bree. The two of them had gotten closer since the start of Bree and Cassie’s friendship.

The look of anger on Cage’s face did not match the triumph in his eyes. He looked like he’d singlehandedly won the Super Bowl and was pissed about it.

Angel opened her mouth to ask him what the hell his problem was, but he got to her first. He pulled her flush against his chest and kissed her in front of God, her daughter, and their Via Daemonia brothers.

The fear that had been plaguing her since that first Taser jolt of electricity finally vacated her system. Relief that both she and her daughter were alive replaced it, along with a sense of rightness. Cage was kissing her, claiming her, in front of everyone. This was not some fling to him. He might as well have taken out a billboard ad. It probably would have been less subtle.

Angel clung to him. Her anger at him seemed so petty now.

Cage pulled away, resting their foreheads together. She gripped his shirt under his cut, wishing they were alone, that she wasn’t so sore and covered in bruises, that there wasn’t a Taser burn on her back that was throbbing like it had its own heartbeat.

“Fuck, sweetness, don’t scare me like that.” Cage had his arms wrapped around her shoulders, one hand in her hair on the back of her head.

A tear escaped her eye. “Wasn’t exactly on my evening plans.”

Cage lifted his head to press his lips to her forehead. “I meant what I said. I mean to prove you wrong, and I am a one-woman kind of guy—so long as that woman is you.”

A shiver ran down her. Her grip on his shirt tightened. “How exactly do you plan on proving me wrong, Cage? By taking me out on a date?”

He chuckled, not picking up on or ignoring her sarcasm. “For starters.”

For some reason, his words made a gasp of laughter escape her. “We’ll see.”

Cage stood up straight and took her face between his hands. “You will see. I mean it, sweetness. You’re mine.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not wearing a cut that says I’m the property of Cage.”

He gave a nonchalant shrug. “Fine. I’ll wear one claiming I’m the property of Angel.” He kissed her softly. “And I’ll be proud of it.”

Angel’s shock was interrupted by the squeak of Bree’s chair as she approached them. Though her wheelchair had handles so she could be pushed, she did not like to be. Bulldog stayed where he was. Angel also noticed that Steel had stepped away. The other patched members who had come running at Bree’s SOS text were keeping their distance as well.

Angel knew, though, that they would have stepped in between Cage and Angel in a heartbeat if she gave a hint of not being receptive to his kiss. She could fend for herself, but they also wouldn’t allow her to have to.

Cage knelt down in front of Bree. He reached up and gently touched the bruise growing on the side of her head from when she’d tipped over her wheelchair. “Look at you, kidney buddy. Are you okay?”

She nodded but her tears still flowed freely. Angel reached forward and gripped her hand. Bree squeezed it back tightly.

“I hear you saved the day,” Cage commended the teen. “Saved your mom. I owe you for that.” He cupped the side of her face. “I’m so proud of you.”

Bree’s chin trembled. “I tried to be brave. I tried to remember everything you guys taught me.”

Angel went to answer but Cage got there first. “You were as brave as you needed to be, sweetheart. You did everything right, and I don’t even know the full story of what happened.” Bree shivered and Cage moved to tighten the blanket around her shoulders. “I know this isn’t the right time to say this, but I kinda need to ask your permission to ask your mom out on a date. She won’t say yes until we have your blessing.”

Bree’s eyes flew to Angel’s. Angel was surprised that she didn’t see hurt or betrayal in her daughter’s eyes. There was still fear and concern, but mostly happiness. Had Angel been wrong about Bree’s crush on Cage?

“Do you want to go out with him?” she asked Angel.

Angel found herself nodding. “Yeah.” Then she looked down at herself. The paramedics had cleaned her up but she didn’t feel clean. “Just not tonight.”

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