Page 61 of Angel

Steel pulled a pair of reading glasses out to scan over his phone. “Well, it turns out that pregnant women can safely be put into a medically induced coma. In some cases, she’s even delivered the baby vaginally while brain dead.” Steel winced. “Wow. The female body is truly astounding.” He took off his glasses and put both them and his phone away. “Here’s the deal, Cheryl. You have two options. That baby is Via Daemonia. Furthermore, it’s completely innocent of your crimes and I won’t see it suffer for your stupidity.

“You’re going to die. There’s no way around that. You conspired to have one of my brothers kidnapped. In doing so, you drugged him which inadvertently caused pain and suffering to both him and his woman. You will die for that. But I can’t kill you without killing your baby.

“You will be imprisoned in the clubhouse. You will be treated well and given all the medical assistance you require to bring your baby to term. You can do so conscious or unconscious, knowing that the moment that baby is separated from you, you will be killed. This is your one and only choice for the rest of your life. From this moment on, you are nothing more than a living incubator. You have until dawn to choose.”

Steel stepped in closer, his voice turning menacing. “Know this, though, if you try to harm that baby in anyway, you will be put into a coma until you give birth and then you will be brought out of it to die the most excruciatingly painful death I can come up with. Do I make myself clear?”

Tears flowed freely down Cheryl’s cheeks. She didn’t say a word, but she did nod.

Steel made sure her feet were clear and then he slammed the door closed.

Cage and Angel exchanged a look. Steel was many things, but one of the reasons he had Angel’s loyalty was his unyielding loyalty to them.

“Let’s get going,” Steel called out. “Bulldog, Cheryl’s yours. Gag her if you have to.”

Bulldog nodded once. He pointed to Pumpkin to accompany him. Bear also followed, telling Bulldog that Jumper and Tessa were on their way to the vet clinic as well.

Angel wondered if Bulldog and Bear were having a moment of déjà vu from the last time they’d had to commandeer the vet clinic.

Everyone else packed themselves into Keys’s van. Steel rode in the passenger seat while Lucky drove. Cage and Angel were on the cot with Star and his new pet.

Keys was in his computer chair but was turned around to face them. He smiled at Star. “Good to see you finally found yourself some pussy.”

Cage and Angel laughed as Star held up his middle finger with one hand and continued to pet his cat with the other.

Demo was waiting for them outside of the clubhouse as the van pulled into the lot. His arm was still in a sling to help control the tremors. His face looked a bit grave. Angel’s heart leapt. They still had not found King or Fang. Had they come to VDMC property? Had someone gotten hurt?

As they all climbed out of the van, Angel could tell she wasn’t the only parent worried by Demo’s expression.

“What happened?” Steel demanded.

Demo, though, didn’t look at Steel. His eyes landed on Cage. “You have a visitor. We caught him sneaking onto the back of the property. Sara almost shot him before she realized he wasn’t a Python.”

Everyone looked to Cage. His face scrunched in confusion. “Someone came here for me?” He exchanged a look with Angel, but she shook her head.

Despite the time of night, someone walked out of the clubhouse—and Angel knew her jaw wasn’t the only one to drop.

The kid was maybe sixteen. He was six feet with curly dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He had the muscular tone of an athlete.

She’d seen pictures of Cage as a teenager. His mom had been texting her regularly since their introduction and included some embarrassingly funny childhood and teenage pictures of “my Vinny”. It was like looking into a time machine.

The teen cleared his throat nervously but looked Cage straight in the eyes as he said, “Hi, Dad.”

CHAPTER 11

For a moment, Cage wondered if he’d been drugged again. Until this very second, he hadn’t had a single ounce of proof that he had been the one to knock up Veronica in high school. It wasn’t as if she’d ever reached out to him or even told him about the baby. All information that Cage knew about her kid had come from social media and rumor.

Looking at the teenager in front of him… God, it was like looking into a mirror. There was no way that this kid wasn’t his.

He was clearly nervous. He was wearing jeans, running sneakers, and a football jersey. The kid also had some guts. He stood with his shoulders squared back and looked Cage in the eyes, as if daring him to deny paternity.

Even before Cage knew he loved Angel, he’d pictured himself as Bree’s father. Not only did he feel responsible for her since donating his kidney, but he felt a bond with her. They both cared for and loved Angel. Being a father had never been a consideration for him before Bree.

He’d been wrong. He’d been so wrong.

Ready or not, he should have fought for his kid. His son. He’d been a coward, taking the easy way out. Claiming that he was doing the right thing by staying out of his kid’s life and sending money each month.

Stupid. Coward.

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