Jesus f**king Christ! I don’t even know what to say with all this shit he’s spewing out.

“Ah yeah, she’s running from a bad past, Doc,” Sniper answers for me.

“Well then. I’ll be back in two weeks with some refills. I’m serious Braxxon; watch her usage with these drugs. If she doesn’t feel like taking all of them, just make sure she takes the antibiotics. The rest is up to her. I’ll do another exam to check out the healing progress when I return with the refills.”

I trust Doc; he was a close friend of my pops. I get up, shake his hand, and pat him on the back before he excuses himself to check on Angel before he and his son leave.

“I’m so sorry, Prez,” ZZ says, and the rest of the brothers follow.

“So there we have it, yeah? Find PP, I want his damn head! Pyro deal with Lana; I want peace and quiet for Angel.”

I walk over and slam the gavel down before I head out. I need to see my Angel. My need for revenge is off the charts f**king high, but Angel is at the top of my priority list.

When I open the door to my apartment, Doc and his son are walking to the door to leave.

“Take care of her,” Doc says and I nod as he shuts the door behind them.

Winter is lying on her side, her arm in a sling from the dislocated collarbone. One of her eyes is still swollen, but the look in her undamaged eye is vacant. I walk slowly to the bed, drop to my knees, and wrap her hands in mine as I let my head drop to the bed. There are two emotions running high inside my chest right now. One I don’t wanna talk about, and the other is guilt. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt guilty about something. If I had just listened to her, and left her alone, she wouldn’t be like this right now.

“Brax,” she whispers. “Thank you for finding me. I’m gonna go to sleep now.”

I suck in a breath. She’s thanking me when it’s all my fault in the first place, but here she is thanking me. Her breathing goes steady, and I pick up my head and just stare at her. She’s so beautiful. I unlace my hands from hers and run my fingers across her swollen face. That morphine knocked her out cold. I lean up and press my lips gently to hers before I stand. I turn the fan on for her and walk to my bathroom. I lift the bloody shirt over my head and toss it in the wastebasket. I grip the sink hard, my knuckles turning white as I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Today the scar that runs across my chest looks redder, and that day starts haunting me as it reflects back at me.

“Your father took everything from me,” the stranger hisses at me before pulling out a long knife. “Now… I’m going to take everything from him”

I don’t understand what this stranger is saying. What did my father do to him? Why does he want to hurt me?

“Has your father ever took you hunting boy?”

I gulp trying to figure out what’s about to happen. One minute I’m riding my mini bike and the next I’m inside a truck bed.

“No sir,” I stutter.

“Well that’s a shame, son. I was hoping you knew what it was like to gut something.” The stranger chuckles.

Oh, shit. My eyes widen as he comes at me with the knife. I’m frozen. Paralyzed with fear as the blade inches closer. It digs into my skin and starts slicing through my flesh, and I scream. Fuck do I scream.

I shake my head out of the past. Fuck! I want to scream; I want to f**king kill something. I look out the doorway and peer at my sleeping Angel. I vow that I’ll make this right for her, and I mean it this time. I take a quick shower drying off before climbing in bed careful not to wake her or disturb anything that might hurt.

I let the exhaustion take me, and I fall fast asleep after lightly wrap my feet with hers underneath the sheet. I need to feel her, and if this is the only way, I’ll take it.

I wake feeling alone, and I reach over, touch the pillow where Angel’s head was laying, and find it empty. I jump up and scramble putting jeans on almost falling over. I don’t even button them as I jog downstairs. I find her sitting in the community room next to a stunned Lana. Angel is bent over snorting a line. I breathe out relieved I’ve found her, but I gulp because Angel isn’t a druggie. She’s done a few lines, but she’s not a drug fiend. I walk over and place my hand on her shoulder, and she flinches, and I jerk back cursing myself. Shit. When she looks up at me, I’m glad the swelling has gone down on her face, but the look her gold gaze is giving me seizes my entire body. It feels like forever goes by before she releases me, bends down, and snorts another. I look over at Lana and see tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Yeah, I feel you Lana. I feel it. I take a seat next to Angel, and she drops the straw and leans into my side.

“How you feeling, baby?” I ask her as I stroke her uninjured arm.

“Like I’ve been gutted alive,” she murmurs, and that answer causes me to flinch. “I can’t even wear a bra or panties. I’m so going commando.” She tries to make a joke of it.

I don’t find it funny at all, so I say absolutely nothing. Sniper, ZZ and Pyro walk into the room and nod. I kiss Angel’s head, ease away from her, and stand.

“I’ll be in the Chapel if you need me, baby.”

“I’ll always need you, Braxxon,” she whispers.

Christ! I bend down and place both my hands on her cheeks softly as I stare into those beautiful gold eyes. “I’m glad to hear that, Angel.” Then I press my lips to hers.

14

“I’m glad to hear that, Angel,” he whispers before pressing his lips to mine. I wish I had both arms because I would wrap them around his neck and never let go. I should hate him for everything that happened, but I can’t. It’s not his fault. He didn’t tell Snake, PP and the stranger to hurt me. I’ll cope and deal with things in my own way. It’s all I can do. Yeah, I’m even more screwed up in the head, but that’s okay because I survived. He found me and life goes on.