Page 23 of Filthy Savage
“What suspicions? And explain one thing to me while you’re at it. How the fuck are you so calm about what happened? You should be terrified as fuck.”
Angel is practically glowing as she babbles on about the self-defense classes she’s been taking for years, classes she’s never gotten to put to use in real life.
“Whoa, hey, slow down, doll,” I say, scrubbing a dirty palm over my face. “You know how to defend yourself. That’s a good thing.”
“I always wondered how I’d manage in a real fight,” she beams. “And you know what? I was awesome.”
“You realize you could’ve gotten some hands-on practice with Dean Roman or his guys, right?”
“Sorry, what? No, it wouldn’t be the same. They’d just go easy on me. His cousin, Sonya can hold her own. We used to spar before she got that job in Europe, but we’re not a good weight match. I guess I could’ve pushed a bit harder, you know, put my back into it. I guess that explains why—”
“All that talking is making my head spin,” I say, cutting her off.
“Well, you asked,” she reminds me.
“True. My bad. Listen, save the deets for later. At the moment, we need to get the hell out of here, in case these Los Diablos yahoos weren’t alone, or get orders to show up and finish what they started.”
She blinks at me, arching a brow as she processes the possibility that the threat isn’t over. “Why do you believe that?”
My stomach twists into knots. It’s all my fault. She was attacked because of me. But I can’t bring myself to tell her that they were after her because they know she has ties to me.
“I’m not sure yet,” I lie. “But we’re better off away from here. I need some time to figure this out. And by the way, we can’t go to your place.”
Angel cocks her head to one side and takes a step away from me. “Uh, excuse me?”
“They might know where you live,” I admit, but don’t add more information.
“Do you know why those guys were after me?”
“No. I’m not sure. Speaking of which, can I take a look at your phone?”
“Okay.” She opens her purse and lifts it out, unlocking the screen before passing it over to me. “What are you hoping to find in there?”
I flip open the back cover of the phone and slip out the sim card. “Just this part,” I explain.
“What do you need with—” she starts, but her mouth drops open and her eyes widens when she sees me drop it to the ground and grind it under my boot.
Her face is awash with shock as she stares down at my boot. “Why did you do that? I’ve got all my contacts stored in there! All my photos!”
“Yeah. Contacts, pictures, and your location, thanks to the GPS coordinates anyone with a bit of skill can hack to find out. Look, I’ll get you a new one as soon as I can, okay? Don’t freak out.”
“But… why?” she cries out.
“If they know where you are, they can find you again,” I inform her. “Take whatever you can fit in your bag out of the car. We’re leaving.”
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Her mouth stays wide open for a second, but the idea that she’s in danger clicks eventually. Pivoting on her heels, she returns to the passenger side of her car, pulls something out of the glove compartment, then goes to her trunk and takes out a backpack. “I keep this old laptop with me just in case I stay over at my parents’ place.”
“Good.”
“I need to use your phone,” she says to me.
“Why?”
“Someone has to fill in for me at work while I’m gone. Wait, how long will we be gone, anyway?”
