“Thank you.”

“Uh… Prez…,” PP comes over hesitant.

“Yeah?”

“Um… Christina’s here. She’s back from Minnesota. She got our message, and well, she’s here and with… bags.”

Who the f**k is Christina?

“Shit! Hop up, Angel.” He smacks at my hips.

Again, I’m wondering who the hell this Christina chick is. The look in PP’s eyes is almost a look of I’m sorry, and now I find myself sweating. Right before my mouth opens to ask who, a tall blonde walks in. She has sunglasses on, and I want to scream at her that it’s dark outside. She takes them off and smiles at Braxxon as he walks over to her. She’s beautiful. And she’s a natural blonde, not a fake one.

“Hey beautiful,” Braxxon says, using the same voice and smooth tone that he uses on me with her.

“Hey handsome,” she coos, before kissing him right on the lips.

The moment she wraps her arms around him, I want to take a machete to them and whack them off. This isn’t muffler bunny behavior. This woman means something to him, and now I’m supposedly trapped with her here?

“Look Chris, we gotta talk,” Braxxon says, pulling away from her and nodding towards me.

Her blue eyes find me, and she smirks, cocking her head. She’s measuring me up and doing no job of hiding the fact that she is.

“So it would appear,” she hisses.

They walk out of the room and I’m left standing there like an idiot. I want answers, and I want them now. Braxxon has uprooted my damn life, had me fired, and I’m in danger because I danced for him at his damn birthday. I deserve answers.

“Who is she?” I turn and ask PP.

“She was never his ol’ lady. That’s all I can say, Star. Just remember, there is a reason she never was.”

“Do you know if he would take her upstairs? I seriously wanna go to bed now,” I whisper.

“He wouldn’t do that Star; he took her to the slam room. You can go to bed. I’ll let him know.”

“Thank you. Oh, when Hazel and Pyro get back, can you tell her that I just went to bed, and that I’ll see her in the morning, please.”

“Will do babe.” He grins.

“You’re not so bad prospect,” I respond with a forced smile. Not because I don’t like him. My mood has just plummeted in a span of five minutes.

My legs feel as though they have cinder blocks attached to them, heavier with each step I take. Each minute that passes on my way upstairs feels like a million. As I reach the bed and lay down, the sounds coming from beneath me become louder. Everyone must be showing back up since it’s getting late. I spot a fan in the corner and hop back up to drag it closer to the bed. Anything to drown out some of the noise from my head and from the clubhouse is welcomed.

The only light on in the room is a bedside lamp. I reach over to shut it off and snuggle with the blankets with the fan hitting my face. When the door opens, I squeeze my eyes shut even more. I can feel him. He knows I wouldn’t be asleep yet, so I give him a curt response when he speaks.

“Angel baby, I gotta go. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. I’m gonna fix this for you,” he murmurs in the dark while running his hand down my cheek.

Yeah I bet he is.

“Mmhm,” I mumble.

“Fuck,” he roars, retracting his touch and slamming something down on the nightstand before stomping out of the room.

I inhale sharply before letting a tear escape the corner of my eye. This is not how things are supposed to go. I should’ve picked another profession that wouldn’t have led me to where I’m at right now. I reach over and feel for what he just put on the table, and my hands find a bag. A bag of damn gummy bears. One thing is for certain. I hate that I hate him because I think I just might love him, all because of a bag of gummies that he knew I would need. I open the bag, stuff one in my mouth, and silently cry myself to sleep.

9

She closed herself off again. Not that I blame her. Hell, I ripped her from her life. I could lie, say it’s because I’m a selfish bastard and want her near me, but that’s not the only reason. The Gunners are watching for Angel and Hazel. I can’t have Snake getting a hold of them. I tore Pyro all to hell for going to get them and not being careful while doing it. Winter is the only woman who has ever stolen my breath. She did the moment the bag came off my head and she began dancing. When she hopped off the stage like that and tore into Joe’s dick with her heel, I fell in love. My c**k went instantly hard. I know I’m a sick bastard, but a woman who can hold her own and looks like an Angel is rare. She’s the only one I’ve seen in my thirty years, and I plan to keep her. I know she’s the only one that exists. She was made for me. I need my Angel in my Hell.

“Prez.” Pyro greets me with Hazel.

“I’m out. Stay by the phones. I’m taking ZZ and Smokey with me.”

“Where’s Star?” Hazel asks.

“In bed,” I growl and feel guilty. This is her best friend. I don’t need to protect my Angel from her. “No more stripper names Hazel.”

She curses. “Fine. Never use her last name. I’m Lana.” She sticks her hand out.

I grin, and Pyro pulls her hand back before I can take hers.

“Brother.” He cocks his head, and I hold my hands up in surrender.

“Lana,” Pyro nods in his apartment’s direction.