Angel on Fire (30 page)

“Short distances near the shoreline, yes, but I wouldn’t recommend crossing the Atlantic in it,” Sean responded as he stopped the
Dochas
a few hundred feet from shore. 

Chase dropped the anchor and lowered the yacht’s small dinghy before gesturing for Angela to hop aboard.  Just as he started the engine, Sean joined them, holding enough weapons to mount a full scale invasion.  Angela’s mouth dropped open as Chase quickly concealed two guns and three knives on his body before passing her a third gun.  “Just in case,” he promised her.  “Hopefully, we’ll just have a nice visit with your friends.”

Angela rolled her eyes at his comment.  As if he could read her thoughts, Chase offered her a reassuring smile.  “We just like to be prepared.”

“Be prepared is the Boy Scouts motto,” Angela teased.  “I can’t see either one of you as a Boy Scout.”

“Doesn’t matter, babe.
  I promise I’m always prepared.”  Chase smiled, his hot gaze leaving her no doubt what he was referring to.  Her cheeks heated and a full body blush soon followed.  Chase’s grin widened when she looked away from his predatory stare. 

As soon as the dinghy came to a stop, Angela jumped onto the beach and fell on her butt.  Chase laughed and she glared at him.  “Sorry,” he mumbled as he picked her up.  “You can’t go rushing off like that.”  He sobered, his green eyes staring into her blue ones. 

Sean motioned toward a grove of trees on the south side of the cottage, and Chase steered Angela in that direction without another word.  She frowned when Chase whispered for her to stay, before disappearing from view to play soldier.  Annoyed at their actions, Angela considered stomping off and heading into the cottage, sure she was safe here, but a little voice inside her reminded her that Sean and Chase had gone to a lot of trouble to keep her safe.  The least she could do was follow their instructions for the moment.  After five minutes of standing still, she gave up and glanced around for a better position.  Spying a tree with a stout trunk, she sauntered in that direction and slid down to the base of the tree, resting her back against the trunk.  The minutes dragged by, and her eyes drifted shut.  She woke to the sounds of two hushed male voices. 

“Any sign?” one voice called, the sound barely audible over the wind.

“Over here, I think,” the other called back.  As sleep slowly seeped from her foggy mind, Angela looked up into Chase’s smoldering green eyes. 

“Damn, babe.”  He brushed a few leaves from her tangled hair.  “What happened?  Why did you leave?”

“Sorry,” she blinked.  “I guess I fell asleep.  I thought I’d just sit down and wait.  I got tired of standing still.” 

Easing her to her feet, Chase pulled her against his body and rubbed his hands up and down her back as if he were reassuring himself that she was safe.  “Shit,” he sighed, “I thought someone took you.” 

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”  She brushed a soft kiss across his firm lips, apologizing without words.  

“How about we move this party inside?” Sean interrupted.  “No one’s home, but I found three cups in the sink.” 

“They probably went into Manistique for supplies,” Angela explained as she walked swiftly toward the log structure.  As she stepped out of the forest, she stopped for a moment and appreciated the beauty of the setting.  The two-story dwelling made of roughhewn logs with a dull honey finish stood on a small rise.  Its large bay windows offered views of the artificial bay, the small but steady stream that ran toward the back of the property, and the grove of trees. 

Angela tugged on the heavy wooden handle to the front door and stepped inside.  “Was it open or did you guys perform magic?”  Both men cast her looks which implied, “what do you think?” and she shook her head.    “Well, at least you’ll come in handy when I lock myself out.” 

Chase wrapped an arm around Angela’s waist. 
“Some cottage.”
 

Honey toned hardwood graced the floors and walls, creating a feeling of warmth and spaciousness.  The lightly stained knotty pine kitchen cabinets and breakfast bar added character to the open room concept.  The kitchen flowed directly into the great room, decorated in colored plaids. 

Angela opened the stainless steel refrigerator and selected a can of soda before offering the men a drink.  When both shook their heads, she announced, “I’m going to take a long, hot shower,” and she hurried toward the wide, pine staircase.  Chase started following her so she looked over her shoulder from the top of the stairs and tossed him a smile.  “Sean checked the house, didn’t he?  Unless you plan to join me, I think I can handle taking a shower by myself.” 

Angela watched Chase’s hand tighten on the banister, and his eyes heated.  She could imagine what he was thinking and she couldn’t help the sassy smile that cropped up.  Chase took a step toward her and groaned before closing his eyes.  “Actually, Sean and I need to keep watch to make sure Maddie doesn’t have any unexpected company.  Are you sure you don’t want to wait on that shower?  You won’t have any clean clothes.”

“I’ll just borrow some.”  Angela scampered up the stairs.  “You guys relax and enjoy yourselves.  Don’t shoot my friends when they get here!” 

*****

“Not exactly a hunting shanty, I’ll admit,” Sean replied, appearing a little more comfortable in the lavish setting than Chase. 

“When she said cottage, I really thought she meant a simple place on the lake with maybe two bedrooms.  This place is huge,” Chase commented, sauntering into the kitchen and perusing the fridge.  “Unfortunately, I don’t see much in the way of real food so I
kinda
hope Angela’s right about Maddie going grocery shopping.”   

Sean nodded as he glanced out the kitchen window, his hand on the gun at his side.  As he wandered toward the back of the cottage, he paused upon hearing a faint scuffling noise.  He placed one palm against the six panel pine door and he leaned his ear against the door.  A faint meow answered his unasked question.  He cracked the door open a fraction of an inch and a small white cat with a pale gray mark on its forehead peeked out.  “Meow,” the cat greeted Sean before slithering toward him and rubbing against his leg.  “Meow,” she repeated, scampering down the hall and up the stairs as Sean trailed slowly behind. 

“What was that?” Chase asked as a white ball of fur streaked by him. 

Upstairs, Angela squealed, “Blitz!” and the two men exchanged amused glances. 

“I guess that’s Blitz,” Sean answered in a deadpan voice, even as the corners of his mouth tilted up.  Chase tossed him a sandwich, and Sean grimaced after the first bite.  “Peanut butter,” he groaned. 

Chase nodded, “Yep.   We’ve eaten worse though.”

Sean agreed.  “There were times peanut butter would have seemed like haute cuisine, but I can’t stand the stuff.” 

“Eat too much of it as a kid?” Chase speculated before biting into his own piece of wheat bread slathered with crunchy peanut butter.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Sean conceded.  “Peanut butter and canned soup were cheap so my mom served both a lot.  Now I refuse to eat either unless I’m forced to.” 

The purring of a high powered engine captured their attention, and both men set the sandwiches aside, extracting their weapons and positioning themselves at the two entrances. 

Chase peered out the window as three people exited the red sedan.  The sound of feminine laughter floated through the air but Chase positioned himself to the side of the front door, his weapon ready.  He let the light footsteps of the smaller figures pass but stepped behind the heavier figure, holding the gun to the back of the man’s head.  The man raised his hands in surrender.  The petite blonde woman turned, a look of terror crossing her face before she snapped, “Who are you?  What do you want?”

The statuesque redhead spun around at
Maddie’s
words.  She lifted her hands but Sean grabbed her.  The redhead swung her leg out and Sean grabbed it, dropping her to the floor. 

“Maddie?
 
Cat?”
  Angela ran down the stairs toward her friends.  Sean grasped her around the waist, keeping his body between hers and the others in the room.

“Who are you?”  Sean directed the question to the black haired man with a slight Asian appearance who stood frozen in place with Chase’s gun pointed at his head. 

“I’m Griffin. 
Griffin
Ocampo
.”
  The man’s eye twitched and he swallowed hard.  “Umm, do you think you could put that away?  Clearly, you’re more dangerous than I am.”

“He’s okay,” Cat assured Angela who was peeking over Sean’s shoulder.  “Your dad sent him to me.”

Sean and Chase held a silent conversation before changing positions.  Chase kept his weapon ready as he moved toward Angela who turned to Cat with wide eyes.  “Do you have the software too?  What did Dad tell you?” 

Cat stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Angela.  “I’m so sorry about your dad, sweetie.”

Angela gave her a sad smile.  “I know.”  She hugged Cat once before stepping back.  “So?  What did Dad tell you?”

Cat shrugged. 
“Nothing.
  Griffin just showed up on my doorstep with a note from your dad.  He asked me to let Griffin stay with me until other arrangements were made.  I wasn’t sure what other arrangements he was referring to, but I put Griffin in the guest room for a few days.  I thought about calling you or your dad, but figured if he sent Griffin to me he didn’t want people to know where he was.  I assumed he was trying to hide Griffin.”

“So you just let a stranger move into your house with you?  Based solely on some note from Angela’s dad?”  Chase couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

Cat rolled her eyes.  “Despite what you think, I’m not stupid.”  She placed her hands on her hips and tossed her red hair over her shoulder.  “Mac sent him to me.  That’s all I needed to know.”  Sean and Chase exchanged astonished looks.  These three women weren’t like any others they had ever met.  They trusted each other implicitly and had extended that trust to Mac. 

Griffin shuffled over to the sofa and sat down while watching the by-play.  Cat plopped next to him ignoring the weapon Sean still clutched in his hand.  “Look, whoever you are, Griffin’s a good guy.  Mac was protecting him from….”  Her voice trailed off.  “Who did you say he was protecting you from again?”

“I don’t know.”  Griffin shook his head.  “Like I said, I was working on a software project for the government.  Mac was in charge of my security.”

“Where’s the software, Griffin?” Chase demanded. 

Griffin shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Mac had it.” 

“What software?”  Maddie wandered over to the couch and took a seat next to Angela.  

“Apparently, Griffin is some sort of computer genius and he developed some program that could jeopardize the economy.  Dad was protecting it.  Now everyone wants it.”  Angela stared at the man her father had died to protect. 

Griffin stood and walked toward the bay window.  As he looked out at the calm pool of water, he admitted, “I wrote a program which I thought would short stocks for me.”  He looked almost sheepish as he mumbled, “I, umm, uploaded it to the stock exchange.  I never intended to really profit from it.  It was more of an exercise.  I just wanted to see if it worked.”