Page 23 of Angel

Cage dipped his head to claim her lips again. He needed this kiss to last him the rest of the night. “Good night, Sweet Angel. I’ll see you in the morning.”

CHAPTER 4

The double doors of Church slammed against the walls as Cage burst through. He knew the officers would be having a meeting. They would not allow two of their own being attacked on their own turf to go unavenged.

Steel did not look surprised by Cage’s interruption. He did, however, look annoyed at Cage’s treatment of his doors. “The doors did not harm your girls, Cage. They don’t deserve your ire.”

For some reason, hearing Steel refer to Angel and Bree as ‘his girls’ was fulfilling. It was an acknowledgement of his claim, even though Angel was a patched member just as much as he was. The two were already claimed by the club, but now? They were claimed by him too. It gave him a sense of satisfaction, like he was an extra layer of protection for them.

Cage pushed those feelings aside. “What the fuck happened?”

Steel pointed to the doors behind him. Cage closed them and then took the closest seat to him next to Bear. It was only then that Cage realized it was more than just the officers in the room. Keys and Carlos were sitting across from him next to Ghost. Keys had his laptop with extended monitors spread out before him.

“First, how’s Angel and Bree?” Steel inquired.

“Exhausted,” Cage answered shortly. “What the fuck happened?”

“Two Pythons and a prospect entered the tattoo shop. There was a scheduled appointment at seven for a consult according to the schedule Keys found on Angel’s computer.” Bulldog ran a hand down his long beard. “Angel was tased and taken down. Bree kept her wits about her and was able to hide her phone from them. They strung Angel up against the wall and planned to rape her as a message to Steel.”

“Why her?” Cage interrupted. “Her shop is on Main Street. They could have easily been seen.”

“According to Angel, the one kept going on about her being a woman in the MC,” Steel said. There was a hardness in his voice that promised vengeance. “I believe he believed Angel was our weak link.”

Cage was prouder than he could have imagined that Angel had proved him wrong. “How did they escape?”

“Bree sent out an SOS message.” Bear pulled his phone out and showed the message to Cage. It didn’t pass his notice that the message above it mentioned the words ‘Cage’s party’ and was sent from Angel herself. He ignored that message, though, and handed Bear’s phone back to him.

“You said Bree shot one of them?” Cage looked up at Steel.

Steel nodded once. “He dropped his gun when she threw jars of supplies at him. Threw herself out of her wheelchair to get it.”

Cage ducked his head down, gripping the back of his neck. “Jesus Christ.” Guilt swarmed him for having not been there. Bree was strong, and getting stronger by the day, but she still was only a year out from nearly dying.

“It’s not your fault,” he heard Lucky say from across the table.

No one would be able to convince him of that. He’d been here, safe, in the fucking clubhouse wallowing away after Angel turned him down again while they’d been assaulted and nearly raped…

Fuck.

Cage got up, unable to remain seated. He started pacing behind the chairs. He felt like he had an army of ants crawling all over him.

“What happened to the Pythons? Where are they?”

“We have the prospect. His fate is up to Angel.” Steel’s words sounded like a warning, probably believing that Cage would want the prospect himself. He wasn’t wrong. The location of where the prospect was when unspoken. Given Carlos’s presence in the room, Steel would not mention the cellar. “The Pythons are dead.”

Cage flinched. As much as he was pleased by that news, he did not want the Python’s death on Bree’s conscience. “Bree can never know. As far as she’s concerned, the man survived and is in jail.”

Steel studied Cage for a long moment before saying, “That’s Angel’s call to make. We’ll honor it if she agrees with you.”

Anger rolled over Cage. He knew he didn’t have the right to make that parental decision—but, damn, he wanted to. The image of Angel, pregnant and smiling, flashed before his eyes like a prophetic vision. Fuck, he wanted to see that in real life.

Cage was the youngest of twelve brothers and sisters, all with the same parents. Hell, he had nieces and nephews who were older than he was. He’d grown up with no privacy and then he’d joined the Navy, where he got even less privacy. Since receiving his discharge papers four years ago, Cage had believed that he would remain single and childless for the rest of his life. A way to guarantee his privacy. One-night stands and the occasional weekend fuck-a-thons were all he needed in his life.

Bree had changed all of that. The desire to be more than just her fun-loving uncle had sparked something in him. The fact that it had been Angel who took Bree in cemented that feeling all the more.

“What about the other one?”

“Angel took him down,” Bulldog answered. “She crushed his throat with her legs while still tied to the light fixture.”

---