Outlaw (32 page)

It was getting to be dinner time. Cole had made them
both hotdogs for lunch. He needed to figure something out for dinner.

“Hey, TJ. Come on. You need to help Daddy make
dinner.”

TJ stopped pedaling, and looked at his father. He
scrambled off the bike, and ran to him.

Cole scooped him up, and tossed him in the air. TJ
squealed, and Cole hoisted him up on his shoulders, and carried him into the
house. He set him down on the kitchen floor, and pulled open the refrigerator.
He stood staring into it, one hand on his hip.

TJ stood next to him, his little hand on his hip,
mimicking his father.

There was ground beef. Maybe he could whip up some
pasta. He looked in the pantry, and found a can of sauce and a box of
spaghetti. He rummaged through the spices, and pulled out some oregano and
garlic powder. It wouldn’t be great, but it would be edible.

He got a pot of water boiling, and then got a pan,
and started to brown the meat. He added in the spices to the meat while it was
browning. He opened the can of sauce, and added some more spices. While that
was all heating on top of the stove, he dug through the freezer to see what
else he could come up with. There was a box of Texas toast, so he heated the
oven, and put some on a baking sheet to toast. Maybe when it was all ready, he
could whip together a salad.

About a half hour later, it was just about ready,
when Angel and Natalie walked in. Natalie was carrying in a bucket of chicken.
She took one look around her mess of a kitchen, and smiled. “You cooked.”

Cole shrugged. “I attempted, anyway. Not sure how
good it’ll be.”

“A man that can cook. Angel, you better not let this
one get away.”

“Natalie!” she replied, embarrassed.

“Hey, this isn’t a regular thing, so don’t get used
to it. Anyway, you brought chicken.” Cole nodded toward the bucket.

“It’ll keep in the fridge for lunch tomorrow,”
Natalie insisted. “I’d much rather have what you made, Cole.”

“Not sure you’ll feel that way after you taste it.”

“Nonsense.” She put down her purse, and reached in
the cabinet for plates.

Angel bent down, and picked up TJ, and hugged him.
“Hi, Honey-Bear.”

He hugged her neck, and then turned, and said,
“Daddy making sagetty.”

“And you’re helping?” she asked.

He nodded.

Angel looked down at the pots and pans on the
kitchen floor that TJ had been banging on with a wooden spoon. “I see that. You
were a big helper.”

Cole stood at the stove, stirring the sauce. He
looked at Angel, and smiled at her. She was wearing a cotton, summer dress that
buttoned down the front, and fell to a couple of inches above her knee. It had
tiny flowers all over it, and looked cute as hell on her. She moved toward him,
and he leaned down, and kissed her. “How’s our girl?” he asked when she pulled
away.

“She’s had a rough day. She’s still sick to her
stomach.”

“Man, I hate to hear that.”

“I know.” She set TJ down. “I’m going to go wash
up.”

“Sure. Want me to pour you a glass of wine?”

She smiled. “That sounds great.” She turned to
leave.

“Okay, dude. Time to put the pots away. Come on.
Let’s go.”

All through dinner, Cole could tell something was
wrong with Angel. He watched her as they ate. She barely picked at her food. He
knew that Melissa had been having a pretty bad reaction to the transplant.
She’d been extremely nauseous, and they had been fighting to get enough food in
her.

Cole’s eyes slid over Angel. She hadn’t been eating
well, herself these last few weeks. She’d lost some weight, and it showed. Her
face was thinner. Although they hadn’t been together since that first night, he
knew her body was slimmer. He could feel it when he wrapped her arms around her.

Angel glanced up, and caught him staring at her. She
smiled. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Natalie noticed the looks pass between them. She got
up, and began clearing dishes. “You want desert, Angel?”

“No. Thank you.”

“I’ll clean up. Why don’t you and Cole get TJ ready
for bed?”

Cole glanced over at his son. He was resting his
head on his hand, and looked tired. “Are you finished, son?”

TJ nodded, yawning.

Cole stood up, and scooped him up. “Come on. Let’s
get you ready for bed.” He carried his son down the hall.

After they had him bathed, and tucked in for the
night, Cole shut TJ’s door, and looked at Angel. “You look beat, too.”

She smiled, and nodded.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She looked up at him, and tears filled her eyes.

“Hey, hey. What’s this all about?” He pulled her
into his arms. She buried her face in his chest. He could feel her shake as the
sobs took over. He led her into his room, and sat on the bed, pulling her down
next to him.

She brushed at the tears, and looked up at him. “I’m
sorry. Sometimes I just need to let it out.”

“What’s going on? Tell me.” He stared at her,
waiting.

She looked at him. It was so hard to even get the
words out. She took a breath. “The doctor is talking about putting Melissa on a
feeding tube.”

“My God. It’s gotten to that?” Cole murmured.

She nodded. “If she doesn’t start eating more, and
keeping it down. He was talking about starting the day after tomorrow, if
nothing changes.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I know watching her deal with
this, her being so sick, I know it’s killing you.”

She looked away, and nodded. She stood up, and
walked over to the sliding glass doors that led out into the backyard. She
pulled the drape aside, and looked out. There was a big full moon.

“Is there anything we can do?” Cole asked, as he
stood up, and walked over to her.

She shook her head.

“Come here,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

She went willingly.

He held her for a long time, his hand rubbing up and
down her back. “It’s gonna be okay. It’s all gonna be okay.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” she whispered.

“I’ll be here as long as you need me, baby.”

She pulled back, and looked up at him. Did he mean
it? And when would she ever not need him? Would he stay that long? She studied
his face. How had she ever come to need him so much? This biker, who could be
as gently with her as if she were precious china.

His gaze slid over her face, stopping on her mouth,
and then he lowered his head, and his mouth closed over hers. His hands came
up, and held her face. He deepened the kiss.

Angel responded, needing this, wanting this. Her
arms slid around him.

He kissed her again, and again. Soon it wasn’t
enough. He wanted more. God help him, he needed more. He couldn’t stop himself
from walking her backwards until his legs hit the bed, and he was pushing her
down on top of it. He knew it was wrong, taking advantage of her like this, at
her weak point. Knowing she needed him, and using it to get what he wanted like
this. He knew he was a bastard, but that wasn’t going to stop him. Not now. Not
this time.

Fuck.

He hoped she’d forgive him.

Angel wanted him. She needed to forget for awhile.
She knew her problems would be waiting for her again when this was done, but
for right now, she just needed to forget them. She needed him to make her
forget.

His right hand reached for her top button. His
fingers working the button free, and patiently, expertly working their way down
the front of the dress she wore. His mouth moved from hers to trail down her
neck as his hands pulled her dress open. He slid down her body, his mouth
trailing kisses over her stomach. He pushed the dress back off her shoulders.

She sat up, pulling it free.

His hands came around her, and had her out of her
bra. He pushed her back down, covering her with his body.

She felt the cold metal of his belt buckle pressing
against her stomach. She reached for the hem of his tee shirt, and pulled it
up.

He helped her.

She tossed it aside as his bare chest came down on
hers. She purred in the back of her throat as his mouth closed over hers. Her
hands trailed gently over his back, and down along his ribs. She slid her hands
between them, reaching for his belt.

He raised up on his elbows, staring down into her
eyes as her hands unbuckled his belt, and undid his jeans.

The sound of glass breaking filled the room. Cole
stopped all motion, his body coming alert. He rose up a few inches, his head
tilted, listening. He heard a car door open out in the carport.

“What was that?” she whispered.

He lifted off her, fastening his jeans. He picked up
his gun from the bedside table, and pulled the slide back, loading a bullet
into the chamber.

Angel sat up, pulling her dress back on.

Cole looked down at her, and ordered, “Stay here.”

She watched as he slowly opened the sliding door,
and disappeared, leaving it open. The curtain blew softly in the breeze. Angel
stood up, buttoning her dress, and moved to the curtain. Pulling it aside, she
peeked outside.

Cole crept around the corner of the house, and
through the gate to the carport. He saw a shadowy figure leaning into the open
door of Natalie’s car.

“Freeze, asshole,” Cole said softly.

The guy stepped back, seeing Cole standing there,
pointing the gun at him. Cole had a brief impression that this was a teenager,
before the guy turned, and ran toward the front yard. Cole dashed after him,
firing off a couple of shots over his head. He knew better than to shoot a man
in the back. Still the kid kept running. Cole stopped at the end of the
driveway, watching him run down the street. Hopefully, that was enough to scare
him off, and keep him from ever coming back.

Angel jumped when she heard the two shots. She ran
out the door, and around the corner into the carport.

Cole heard the footsteps behind him, and spun
around, startled, leveling the gun on her. “Christ, Angel!” He lowered the gun
when he saw it was her.

She stopped short, her breath catching in her throat
when she realized she’d startled Cole, and he’d almost shot her.

He walked back toward her. “I told you to stay
inside.”

She glanced down at the broken glass, and saw the
broken window of Natalie’s car. “Oh, my God.”

“Yeah.”

“Someone was trying to steal the car?”

“Probably just after the stereo or whatever he could
find inside.” Cole slammed the car door shut.

The outside lights all came on, and Natalie opened
the front door. She saw them. “What’s going on? I heard gunshots. Are you
okay?”

“Yeah. We’re fine. Someone tried to break into your
car, though,” Cole told her.

Natalie came outside, and rushed over to them. She
saw the damage.

“You should call the police. File a report. I’m sure
they won’t be able to catch the guy, but you’ll need the report for your
insurance.”

Natalie nodded, and looked up at the gun in Cole’s
hand.

He saw the scared look in her eyes. “You okay?” he
asked her.

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

He nodded. “Go back inside. Everything’s okay.”

Natalie nodded, and turned, and walked inside.

Cole tucked the gun in the waistband of his jeans,
up against his spine. He looked over at Angel.

She looked over at him, hugging her arms to her,
starting to shiver.

He reached up, and tucked a stray lock of hair
behind her ear. “How about you? You okay?”

She shook her head, and went into his arms.

He pulled her close, tucking her head under his
chin, his hand smoothing the hair on the back of her head. “It’s okay, baby.
He’s gone. He won’t be back, I promise.”

She held onto him, her face pressed against his bare
chest.

Finally, he pulled back, and smiled down at her.
“Now, where were we?”

She smiled back.

The distant sound of a siren reached them. Looking
up, they saw a squad car slowing down to make the turn into the neighborhood.

Cole looked back at her. “I’ll deal with this. You
should go back inside. This may take awhile.”

“Cole, maybe it’d be better if I talked to them. I
know you and cops are-”

He cut her off. “I said, I’ll deal with them. Go
inside.”

She saw he wasn’t going to change his mind. She
turned, and walked toward the front door.

Natalie was at the screen door, watching. She held
it open for Angel.

Angel stepped inside, and turned to her. “He didn’t
want me out there.”