Outlaw (33 page)

“I’ll go. It’s my car, and I’m the homeowner.” She
opened the door, and walked outside as the squad car pulled in front of the
house.

When the police finally left, Natalie and Cole came
back inside.

Angel was in the kitchen, sitting at the table, a mug
of coffee in her hands. She looked up when they walked in. “I made coffee.”

Cole shook his head, and leaned back against the
counter. He folded his arms, and looked at her.

Natalie poured herself a cup.

Cole looked over at her. “Mind if I start parking my
bike in the backyard? I feel better if I can keep an eye on it.”

“Of course, Cole.” Natalie sat down at the table
with Angel.

Cole looked over at Angel. “The officer told us some
things tonight.”

She looked up with a frown. “What do you mean?”

Cole looked from Angel to Natalie.

Natalie looked down at her coffee.

Angel looked at them both. “What is it? Tell me.”

Cole blew out a breath. “He said crime in this part
of town has skyrocketed in the last year.”

“What?” She looked from Cole to Natalie. “But this
has always been a safe neighborhood.

“Not anymore.” Cole was blunt with her. She needed
to hear this. They both did. He looked over at Natalie. “Look, I’m sure this
was a real nice neighborhood when you and your husband bought this place, but
things change. Businesses start to close, they get boarded up, lower income
moves in, next thing you know the gangs start to take hold.”

“Gangs?” Angel was stunned. She’d always felt safe
here.

“You haven’t noticed the changes? I’ve seen three
boarded up businesses down on the boulevard. Graffiti, broken down cars in
driveways.” Cole looked at her.

“I guess I’ve turned a blind eye to it all. I guess
I just didn’t want to see it,” Natalie whispered.

Cole looked at her. She knew what he was going to
tell her. “You need to sell. Get out of here, before your property value
plummets.”

“Sell?” Angel couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Natalie nodded, looking at Cole. “You’re right. I
know you’re right. It’s time.”

“But this has been your home for as long as I can
remember,” Angel protested.

“Yes. It has.”

Cole looked between them. He hoped they listened,
and heeded his words. He didn’t even want to think about his kids growing up in
a place that wasn’t safe. “I need a smoke.”

Angel watched him walk out the backdoor. She turned
back to her aunt. “Are you serious about selling? It’s just a car breakin. They
happen all the time. I think you’re overreacting.”

Natalie looked down at her coffee. “I don’t want to
go, but…I don’t want us to be where it’s not safe. If anything ever happened to
you or the children, I’d never forgive myself.”

“It’s not going to. Oh, Aunt Natalie, don’t worry.”
She reached out her hand, and covered her aunt’s.

Natalie looked up, and smiled. She looked past Angel
to the back window. “I’m glad Cole was here. It’s nice having a man around.
Especially when something like this happens.”

“Yes. It is,” Angel agreed.

“He cares about you. A great deal. I can see it.”

Angel didn’t say anything.

“Well, I’m going back to bed.” Natalie stood up, and
carried her coffee cup to the sink. She bent, and kissed the top of Angel’s
head, and then walked out.

Angel turned, and looked out the back window. She
stood, and went outside.

Cole turned when he heard the back door open.

Angel walked over to the table where he was sitting.
She pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Cole took a hit off his cigarette, watching her.

She looked back at the house, and then at him. “You
really think it isn’t safe here?”

He shrugged. “Maybe you’d be okay for another year,
who knows? But why take the chance? And like I say, once the neighborhood
turns, your aunt will be lucky to even find a buyer, much less get what the
place is worth.”

“You said the officer told you some things. What
types of crimes? Did he say?”

Cole studied her. “Break-ins, vandalism, purse
snatchings. Nothing too violent yet, but give it time, and that’ll come, too.”

“None of Dad’s friends have ever said a thing.”

“Like Bill and Mark?” Cole smirked.

She looked at him, and nodded. “Yes. Like Bill and
Mark.”

He looked away.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He ground his cigarette out in the
ashtray on the table, and stood up. “I’m going back to bed.”

She looked up at him.

He stood there, looking down at her. “You comin’?”

She shook her head. “I think I’ll check in on TJ.”

He studied her, and then turned, and walked in the
house.

About an hour later, Angel stood outside Cole’s
bedroom door. She hesitated, not sure if this was wrong. What was she doing? If
he left, and went back to California, it was going to hurt so much more if she
let herself become too attached to him. Her head reasoned it all out, all the
arguments why she shouldn’t do this. In the end, her heart didn’t care.

She opened the door, and stepped inside.

Cole was laying face down in the bed. The sheet at
his hip, exposing his bare back. He came awake, and raised up slightly to look
at her, blinking sleepily. “Is everything okay?” he asked, his voice raspy with
sleep.

She closed the door, leaning back against it.

He watched her closely, coming fully awake. She
walked toward him, and he rolled to his side, up on one elbow, his eyes never
leaving hers. She stopped at the edge of the bed, and he watched as she raised
her hands, and began unbuttoning her dress.

It slipped to the floor. She stood before him naked.

He reached for her hand, rolling to his back, he
pulled her down. She fell across his chest as his hands buried in her hair, and
pulled her head down, his mouth coming up to capture hers. He kissed her
wildly.

Rolling her over onto her back, he rested on his
elbows, poised above her. His hands still buried in her hair, he looked down at
her. “Tell me you’re mine.”

She looked up at him.

“Say it,” he insisted.

She nodded. “Yes.”

It was enough. His mouth descended to hers.

Chapter Fifteen

Cole rolled over, his hand reaching out, feeling the
empty bed next to him. He squinted at the clock.

Eight A.M.

He got up, showered, and dressed, and went in search
of Angel.

He went to the living room window, and looked out
toward the driveway. Her car was gone. He walked into the kitchen, and poured
himself a cup of coffee, then wandered out onto the patio, and sat at the
table. He pulled out a cigarette, and lit it, inhaling deeply.

The backdoor opened, and he turned at the sound.

Natalie walked out. She carried a cup of coffee to
the table, and sat down. “Angel left for the hospital about twenty minutes
ago.”

“Everything okay?” Cole asked.

“Yes. She’s hoping to get Melissa to keep some food
down today.”

Cole nodded. “Right. The feeding tube. She told me
about it.”

Natalie nodded. She looked back at the house, and
then back at Cole.

He took a hit off his cigarette, watching her.

“I just want you to know, I heard what you said last
night.”

He nodded. “Good.”

They were quiet for a few moments. Cole took a sip
of his coffee.

“TJ’s growing quite fold of you.”

Cole smiled, looking back at the house. “I know.”

“Cole, can I ask you something?”

He nodded slowly, wondering what was coming.

“What’s your plan?”

“My plan?”

“The kids? Angel? Are you staying around?”

Cole took a deep breath, and leaned his elbows on
the table. “I told Angel I’d stay as long as she needed me.”

“She’ll always need you.”

He looked away. “I don’t know about that.”

“Yes, you do.”

He looked back at her. “What are you getting at?”

“You plan on being a father to those kids of yours?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“And how are you going to do that from California?”

He took another hit off his cigarette, and tapped it
in the ashtray. “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure that out. It’s
complicated.”

“What’s so complicated? You have feelings for her,
don’t you?” she asked bluntly.

He looked at her. “You know I co.”

“Do you want to marry her?”

Cole smiled, and blew out a breath. “You don’t mince
words, do you?”

“Not about this.”

He couldn’t hold her gaze. “You think she wants a
life with me? What do I have to offer her?”

“Love, for starters.”

“Love don’t pay the rent.” He ground out his
cigarette.

“You’re the father of her children.”

He nodded, and replied softly, “I know.”

“Do you love her?” It was really the only question
that mattered.

Cole looked at her. “Yes, God help me.”

“What do you mean ‘God help you’.”

He looked away, and shook his head.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?”

He looked back at her for a long moment, and then
nodded. “Yeah. There is.”

She watched him, waiting. When he didn’t say anything,
she asked, “Well? What is it?”

He looked her in the eyes. “I’m married.”

“Oh my God.” Natalie was stunned.

He saw the way she looked at him. It wasn’t the same
way she had looked at him a minute ago.

“Angel? She doesn’t know?”

He shook his head.

“I don’t understand, then why-”

“It’s always been Angel. Since the moment I first
laid eyes on her.” He paused, looking away. “I thought I’d lost her or I never
would have married Mandy.”

“How long have you been married?”

“A little over a year.”

“You don’t wear a ring.”

“No. I don’t.”

Natalie looked back at the house. She couldn’t help
thinking how devastated Angel was going to be when she found this out. And the
kids? She guessed this meant he wouldn’t be a very strong presence in their
lives.”

“Natalie, look at me. Please.”

She turned, and looked back at him.

“I love Angel. I do. And I mean to end it with
Mandy.”

Natalie shook her head. “Men say those kinds of
things all the time. They rarely mean them.”

“
I
do. I
saw an attorney before I left California. I already started the process. I knew
the minute I saw Angel again, that I was done with Mandy.”

Natalie swallowed. “Well, you have to tell Angel.”

He nodded. “I know. Just, not yet.”

“It won’t get any easier. In fact, the longer you
take to tell her, the harder it’s going to be on her when she finds out.”

“I know. I just…she’s got so much on her plate right
now with Melissa. I thought I’d wait until Melissa was home, or at least until
she was feeling better.”

“The time is never going to be right. You just have
to tell her.”

“Please. I know I have to tell her. Just, let me do
it in my own way. Give me some more time.”

She looked at him, wondering if she’d misjudged him
completely. “Okay. I’ll stay out of it. I won’t say anything. But you have to
tell her, soon. Or I will.” She got up, and walked in the house, slamming the
door.

Cole leaned down, and put his head in his hands.

That night, Angel came home with some good news.
Melissa had been feeling much better today, and had even eaten enough that they
didn’t think they would have to put her on a feeding tube.

Cole was glad to see Angel so happy. It had been a
while. He didn’t want to ruin it by telling her tonight that he was married. He
looked over at Natalie, and found her watching him. He supposed he was grabbing
at any excuse he could find to put off telling her.

The next day, he and Angel had promised TJ that
they’d take him to the zoo. The boy, bless his heart, didn’t understand why his
mom always had to be gone or why he couldn’t go see his sister. They’d made the
promise one night to try to cheer him up.

They’d had such a wonderful day at the zoo. Of
course, Cole saw it as another excuse why he couldn’t tell Angel that day,
either.