My Demons (The Angel Trilogy #2) (21 page)

I continue to look around and in this dark it isn’t the easiest of tasks. I find nothing. “Screw it.” I search the floor for the large knife I’d dropped. “Shit,” I hiss, grabbing the blade cutting myself. I wrap my finger at the bottom of my t-shirt and apply pressure. I’m not sure how bad the cut is because again it’s too freaking dark to see.

I’m holding the heavy metal in my left hand and sit on the seat. I fully intend to help in
some
way. I take a deep breath blowing it out. “Here goes nothing.” I reach for the door handle. I hold the door and quietly jump out. I see no one, not even Skits. We’re sitting way back on top of a hill just above the building that sits inside a valley.

“Skits,” I whisper. “Skits?” No response. I grip the knife in my hand and pace back and forth next to the truck. “Screw it.” My feet take one step at a time until I’m standing on the spot Nat had been sitting.

The hill is steep. I test it and slide on my bottom dropping the knife when I do. “Shit.” I search through the brush. “Yes.” I find it. Sitting up on my bottom I squint my eyes to get a better view of the ground below me.
Well, here goes everything.
I slowly slide down the hill.

When I reach the bottom, it’s easier to see because of the lights surrounding the building. I duck next to a very small tree hoping to see Nat or any of them really.

The men that she’d been watching earlier are still there. I see them pacing back and forth. One man looks my way and then lights something, I fall to the ground. “Shit.” I breathe, not even being able to hear my own words through the heartbeat ringing in my ears.

I slowly raise my head over the brush that I’m hoping has concealed my body. I take a deep breath once again trying to slow my breathing.

I get to my feet bending down and move closer to the metal fence.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Nat scares the shit out of me.

“Oh my God.” I grab my chest. “Helping.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?” She looks down in deep thought. “Wait, where’s Skits?” Her head pops up.

I shrug. “I didn’t see him.”

“Fuck.” Her head turns in the direction of the truck. “Skits?” she says, maybe into some sort of microphone. “Where the fuck are you?” Silence fills the lifeless sound of the Brazilian night. “Abby’s here, asshole. Twelve o’clock.” She turns to look at me. “He took a piss,” she informs. “Uh sexy, I think we have bigger problems right now,” Michael announces.

“Get down,” Nat nearly slams my head to the ground. “Dogs? We’ll be caught for sure.” She’s adjusting something. “I’ve got to take them out now. Take them on my mark,” she says into her mic… I think. Michael gently lays his bag on the ground and Nat unfolds metal things off the bottom of her gun sitting it on the bag. “Three…Two… Mark.”

I expect to hear a loud noise and when I don’t, I’m confused.

“Shit, Abby, I hope you don’t get us all killed. We have maybe five minutes at best before they find them. There’s a guard that comes out the northwest door every ten minutes or so.”

When Michael and Nat start toward the fence, I follow feeling like shit that I could get them killed.

Michael pulls his gun, taking out a dog that must hear us.

“When this is over, I’m taking a long, hot, bubbly bath,” Nat sighs.

“I’ll rub your feet,” Michael plays.

We get through a small hole in the fence and run to the building. The lights are so bright and if someone looked outside I know they’d see us for sure.

Michael runs to a door investigating. He looks in the window and then waves us over. Nat and I enter after him. She left the big gun where we had been on the other side of the fence and now she’s carrying two smaller ones.

We come to a hallway with flashing yellow lights. Nat makes hand movements; the kind I’ve seen in the movies. She acts like she knows where she’s going.

We come to another door and as Michael opens it we hear voices. “He’s got to be in the basement. I’ll head there, you handle those pricks,” she whispers.

“Where do I go?” I don’t want to handle any
‘pricks.’

“With me to get your man unless you want to stay with Michael.” She smiles.

“No, I’m good with your plan.” I follow as she turns down another hallway. “How do you know where you’re going?” I question.

She doesn’t answer. “Shhh,” she warns.

Another door is in our path and Nat reaches for the knob. “I don’t know what we’ll find, Abby.” She turns to warn me.

I realize what we
could
find might be bad. I nod even though I’m not ready for this. She nods in return and then continues through the door. My heart’s pounding against my chest like a drum and the headache that hits me is unlike any other I’ve had for a while. My pills are in my bag that’s in the truck, so pretty much not doing me any good now.

Natalia stills her movement as we reach the bottom of the stairs. She looks back to me reaching for my arm. “Do not leave my side.” I nod.

We step down onto a dirt floor. The lights in this room are bright fluorescent and when they flash off and then back on, I jump.

Nat reaches back and shoves me against a wall when we hear two men laughing. “Fuck,” she hisses. “Listen to me very carefully, Abby. Marco’s in that room and I know that you two… But you need to understand he’s not what you think.” If anyone knows that it’s me. I nod. “I’m going to do what I have to do.” I think she’s really trying to tell me she’s going to kill him. I’d like to pull that trigger myself after what he’s done to me. “You ready for this?” she asks. I nod my head instantly knowing I
am
ready. I want to end this, hug Evan, and go home. “Yes.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Evan

I hear screams from the other side of the door and I know there here. They
did
get my message. “Fuck, yes!” I can see Nat and Michael out there now. In my head I can. Bloodbath I’m sure. When I get loose, I’m going to snap Marco’s fucking neck and end him. End of… There’s a soft knock on the door and I jump. “I’m in here.”

“Evan?” That… no fucking way. My ears are playing tricks with me. The door opens in a flurry of activity. “Ready to go big brother?” Nat smiles.

“Fuck yeah, I am.”

“Don’t be mad, but I brought a surprise.” Abby runs to me jumping in my arms. I can’t believe my eyes. “I thought… I thought you were dead.” I pull at the chains squeezing her into my arms.

“I thought you were dead, too.”

“Marco,” we both say.

“Yeah, yeah, we gotta go.” Nat’s watching out the door.

“Oh, sorry.” Abby pulls a ring of keys from her pocket trying each one on the locks.

“How did you get those?” I lift her chin.

“Abby,” Nat says shaking her head. “Not now.”

Abby turns to me.
What the fuck is going on?

“Let’s go,” she hisses again.

“Later,” Abby whispers finally finding the key that we need.

When the cuffs are off my wrists, I sweep her into my arms. “I love you so much.”

“Next time you plan a vacation to Brazil can you let a girl know.” She smiles

“Absolutely.” I stand her on her feet and we head out the door as Nat hands me a gun. “Hell, yeah! I need to have a little chat with Marco.”
This is going to be fun.

“There isn’t going to be any chatting with Marco,” Nat answers as we walk through a hall.

“He’s not here?” I ask as we come to a door to a small room.

“No, he’s here.” She points inside the room.

A knife is sticking out of his neck. “What the fuck?”

Nat points to Abby. “She saved my life. Now can we get out of here?”

“You did that?” I sweep her soft face into my hands. I never wanted this for her. Everyone in my world gets sucked into the darkness that lingers over me.

“Mhmmm, but we need to go.” She nods leaning into my hand.

I nod, I don’t know what she’s feeling right now, but I’m sure it’s not a joyful resolution. Not like it would’ve been for me. He’s gone.

Finally…

We reach the main floor and Michael is waiting for us. “Bro, you look like shit.”

“Thanks.” I’m a free man and it feels great. I haven’t had a shower in a while, but that’ll come. “What did I miss?”

“Uh, not much.” He shrugs.

We find the doors leading outside and I suck in a breath of fresh air into my lungs. “Damn it feels good to be out here.” I look up to the sky.

Hands linked together Abby and I run toward a fence.

“We’re parked up there.” Nat points.

“Ouch.” Abby hisses.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“The fence.” She continues trying to keep up with my pace. “How are we going to get up this steep ass hill?”

“Rope.” Nat finds a gun.

“Michael goes first, then Nat, then Abby.”

Ladies don’t go when you’re entering a room or heading up a rope. You never know what’s on the other side and the person that goes in first needs to be someone that’s prepared to take one for the team. They also shouldn’t go last in case something happens on the way up.

When we reach the top Abby falls to the ground. I fall to my knees. “What’s wrong?”
Shit, she’s beautiful!!

She smiles, reaching for my neck pulling me on top of her. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” She laughs.

“As much as I love you?” Not happening, but I’ll let her think it.

“Wow, you love me that much?” She wiggles her brows pulling me to her mouth.

The taste of her lips overwhelms me. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” I proclaim.

“About what?” she asks.

I shake my head because I can’t even begin to tell her what it felt like to think I was never going to get to hold her again. “Marco, he said you were… gone,” I finish.

She nods her head from under my body. “He told me the same about you.” She wipes a tear away. “I thought…” She shakes her head.

“Guys, I know you need time and all, but we really need to go.” Nat offers an apologetic grin.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Evan

“The way you’re holding me… it feels so permanent.”

What did she expect? I'll love her till the day I die and for now I'm here alive, and she's in my arms. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Abby."

"Evan, I'm a big girl and I'd do it over and over if it meant I could be in your arms again."

"I didn’t want you to go down the dark road I've been on for so long."

"The minute I knew you were in trouble... that was the darkest it could've ever gotten for me. Everything else was what it had to be." Her eyes are soft and dark.

“Were you…” I pause. I want to ask about the things Marco claimed he’d done to her, but I’m afraid of the answer. I’m scared shitless that her answer will be, yes. I take a deep breath and grip her tighter. “Were you scared, angel? Did he hurt you?” My eye are squeezed so tightly praying that he didn’t.

She pulls back just an inch or two making hard eye contact with me. “Baby, do I look hurt? I’ve lived more in these miserable days, weeks… I’ve lived more than I’ve ever lived. For once I was a big girl. I was the one saving.”

Her eyes fall and my grip loosens to bring my hand to her face, my fingers gently sweeping across her lips meeting her chin. “What’s wrong?”

I feel moisture from a falling tear. “I thought you were dead, Evan. I fucking thought you were dead and I… I knew I had to turn time back or kill every mother-fucker responsible.” Her eyes meet mine once again and I’m surprised by her response. “I knew it couldn’t be the end. I needed to touch you, love you, and feel you against my body one more time.” She’s breaking down, reality really coming to her.

My heart is breaking for her because I thought she was gone too, and I know the pain that she went through. Those fucking bastards thought they were going to win. But, they didn’t realize our love will win every time. End of.

“I think there was something you were going to do before our lives were ripped apart.” A smile sweeps across her face, but this smile is different. She’s different.

She’s stronger now…

I tilt my head to the side. What was I going to do? So much has gone down.
Ah yes
, I remember. How could I forget? “Soon, very soon.” I kiss the top of her head.

This woman is everything to me. There has been love in this world, but never has a man loved a woman the way I love this woman. My angel, my mother fucking oblivion. There are no other words for this. It is what it is and that’s bliss on so many levels.

“Let’s go home, angel.” I press my lips to hers. I’ve done nothing but think about this moment and here it is.

“Umm Evan, home is sort of…” she pauses her forehead wrinkled and her lips puckered out.

“What?” I want to laugh and ask, ‘
what next?’
but, I know better than to ask that question.

“Umm, let’s just say there’s a lot of broken
stuff
. I’m sorry.” She lowers her head brining her shoulders forward.

“You?” I ask as I bring her chin up so that we make eye contact.

“Mhmmm.” She nods.

“So what you’re saying is that you broke your own stuff?” I laugh, rubbing the pad of my thumb along her bottom lip.

“Huh? No, I broke
your
stuff.” Her body jerks in response.

“Angel, that’s
our
apartment, that means it’s yours too and no need to apologize for that. Besides we won’t be there much longer anyway.” Clearly it isn’t safe anymore, so we move as soon as possible.

I hear a knock on the window. “You dressed in there?” Nat laughs and Abby follows throwing her head back. “I guess… that’s a yes?” Natalia and Michael jump in the front of the truck. “Thank God because I couldn’t let Michael be embarrassed by the shocking secret E has in his pants.” She laughs uncontrollably.

“Ha-ha, you’re hilarious, sexy,” Michael says sarcastically.

I sit back in the seat holding Abby as close as I can get her, and smile because I just realized my whole life has been absent from family… until now. This is my family, these people are who I would lay down my life for. My family. I love them all so much my bonded brother, sister, and my future wife. Life couldn’t get any better even if someone threw a magic genie in my lap.