Page 48 of Angel

“No,” Angel insisted quickly. “God no. Just…in general,” though the other women were not stupid and knew that Angel had a reason for her question beyond general knowledge. “If you got a high dose, do you not remember the night? That’s one of the side effects, right?”

Tessa nodded hesitantly. “Yes. It’s why they make such effective date-rape drugs. Rohypnol, GHB, GBL… They all block your memory receptors.”

“Alcohol too, right?”

Stiffly, Tessa nodded again.

What if that night two unfortunate things had happened? What if Angel had been so drunk that she knew she had had sex but could not recall who with and Cage had been drugged, causing him to black out and forget having slept with her?

Fuck, when had her life turned into the plot of a soap opera?

“It’s more likely from a low dose, though.”

Angel turned to Tessa. “What?”

“It’s very easy to OD on those types of drugs. They have a delay that most people don’t realize, so they tend to double dose their victim unintentionally. If…a person,” Tessa said evasively but her pointed gaze at Angel made her think Tessa believed Angel was inquiring about herself, “got a lower dose, however, they’d be more cognizant at the time they were drugged but later on they wouldn’t remember or at least not all of it. It might even seem like a dream to them.”

Angel nodded slowly. That made more sense. Cage was a big guy. Maybe the girl who had drugged him hadn’t factored that in or maybe he hadn’t drunk all of the tainted drink. Either way, he recalled turning the blonde away and putting her in an Uber. He’d told her about that part himself.

A knock on the door drew the women’s attention. Steel poked his head inside. “Can I let him in now? He’s pacing a hole in my clubhouse floor.”

Angel swallowed nervously. Her very soul ached for the conversation she knew was about to follow. But she nodded. Cage had a right to know.

Steel was barely out of the way before Cage came bursting through. He rushed over to Angel and fell to his knees in front of her.

His hands hovered over her as if he wasn’t sure where he could touch her without hurting her. Finally, he settled on putting them on her raised knees. “Is it true?” He didn’t look angry. Worried, concerned, shocked, yes, but she didn’t see anger on his face. “You’re pregnant?”

With his use of a contraction, Angel couldn’t be sure of his tense but she could guess. He thought her pregnancy was current. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly. Tears fell down her cheeks.

“I don’t understand.” Cage’s hand squeezed her knees. “Sweetness, please look at me. It doesn’t matter. I mean, it does, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. We’ll…we’ll figure this out. We’ll still be a family, just like we talked about. You, me, and Bree, and this baby.” Angel’s chin trembled harder. Her heart was breaking inside her chest. “It doesn’t matter,” he repeated. “Just…who’s the father?”

Fuck. He hadn’t put it together. Somehow, he’d guessed she was pregnant but not what had happened between them that night at the bar or that she’d lost the baby.

She heard Jenna usher the others out of the bathroom. Angel opened her eyes in time to see Steel close the door to give her and Cage some privacy.

It took her a moment to find her voice. “You,” Angel sobbed out. “You were the father.”

Confusion crossed his face, followed by elation, and then confusion again. Slowly, he asked, “Were?”

Angel struggled to breathe. The air around her felt too heavy and thick, like it was pushing down on top of her. “I lost the baby.” She forced the words out, hating the truth of them. “That night…when Tessa and I…I lost the baby.”

Cage had never felt so helpless in his life. Not knowing what else to do or say, he’d shifted himself over to the wall, pulled Angel onto his lap, and held her as she cried. He hated that this strong and independent woman was, for the second time in as many weeks, breaking down in his arms and he had no idea how to help her.

A baby? She’d been pregnant with his baby? How? When?

The when was obvious. There was only one night it could be, one night that he didn’t remember. Had she known? This whole time? Had she known that she was pregnant with his child?

Anger rivaled with despair. The date in question was only seven weeks ago and the night she’d gone out with Tessa had been two weeks ago. She couldn’t have known she’d been pregnant for very long before she’d lost the baby. Cage was no expert, but he was pretty sure he’d heard somewhere that pregnancy tests weren’t effective before five weeks conception.

He’d like to think that she just hadn’t had a chance to tell him about their baby before she’d miscarried. But…it had been two weeks.

But a lot had happened in those two weeks. She’d had the flu and then?—

Cage felt his head thump back against the tiled wall. She hadn’t had the flu. Her ‘flu’ had started the day after her mysterious trip in the middle of the night. He recalled how pale and sickly she’d looked, but she hadn’t been feverish or throwing up.

She’d been mourning.

Cage had even gone to her with soup and she’d kicked him out.

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