Fallen Angel (17 page)

“I’m sorry sir this is the Mayor’s private residence, please confine yourself to the ballroom.”  One of the men said. Luke sighed, he couldn’t see where Angie had gone anyway so he turned back the way he had come.

Angelica fumed silently as she walked the long corridor back toward the stairs. He had just come to see if he could still manipulate her and she had shown him that she was putty in his hands just as she had always been, it was so frustrating.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Angelica gasped and jumped to the side, she hadn’t seen anyone in the shadows.

“Brent, I didn’t see you there.” She stopped automatically and he stepped out into the light. He wasn’t wearing his mask.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

“I ah… don’t feel well.” She lied. He reached out and lifted a lock of her hair that had come loose out of her face. He curled it around his finger and she felt her heart start to pound, she had to force her feet to remain in place.

“It seems that despite their best efforts those reporters haven’t been able to turn up anything you don’t want them too.” He said softly running his thumb across the hair wrapped around his finger. Angelica swallowed hard.

“Not yet.”
              “What are you so worried they are going to find out?” Angelica’s mind raced, she didn’t have a story prepared she had assumed that insinuating that there was something to find out would be enough. “You have really beautiful eyes.” He whispered drawing closer to her. She felt her hair slip free from his fingers and subsequently felt his fingers on her neck. She heard boot heels on the corridor and breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly stepped away from Brent as the security guards approached.

“Thank you for coming Mr. Westbrook.” She said and looked down as she quickly walked away hoping he would mistake her relief for embarrassment.  She walked as quickly as she could without appearing to be running until she made it back to her room. She slipped inside and closed the door locking it.

“You really should lock this one.” Angelica yelped and spun around.

“Luke, what are you trying to do scare me to death?” She hissed. He was leaning against the wall beside the door that led onto the small balcony outside her room.

“No I was just saying if you are going to lock one of them it really should be this one.”

“Well go back out it and
I will lock it.”

“My
my you are feisty tonight aren’t you?” He said, walking toward her.

“You’re lucky I’m not armed,” s
he said grumpily. He laughed and the gooseflesh it caused on her arms made her even more grumpy.

“Are you okay, I didn’t scare you that much did I?” He asked noting that she was still out of breath.

“No,” she looked at the door she had just locked. “It’s just, he was… and I… and your…” She blew the air in her lungs out in a whoosh and looked up at him and smiled. “I am fine.” He frowned, he wasn’t wearing the mask anymore she could see his whole face.

“What are you doing in here Luke, you know if one of those block heads my father hired had caught you in here they probably would have shot you on sight.”

“Then we are fortunate that you caught me and you are not armed.”

“It’s not funny, don’t you know there is a killer out there?”

“What makes you think I am not the killer?”

“Because you would have killed me by now.”  She said blandly and he laughed again.

“May I?” He asked reaching toward her face, he didn’t wait for an answer he just carefully removed the mask. “There that’s better,” he said once it was off. He was too close, she needed a distraction or she was going to be kissing him.

“Luke, everything you do has a purpose. Tell me why you’re here.”

“Angie…”

“My name is Angelica.”

“You will always be Angie to me.” She felt herself smile just a bit even though she tried not to.  “Angie, I already told you I came here to see you, to check on you.”

“And I told you I am fine.” She stepped away from him, it was too hard to think when he was close. She began taking off her jewelry as she walked.

“You left very abruptly.” He waited but she didn’t answer.  “Did you get all of your memory back?”

“Everything except for how I ended up so far out.”

“Well that’s good right?”

“I suppose so.”

“And Angel is…?”

“My mother, you can tell Ella she was right.” He stared at her for a long time. She wanted more than anything to wrap her arms around him and pour out her soul the way she
would have before. To hear him tell her that she didn’t have to be who she had always been that she could be anyone she wanted, but she couldn’t do it because in the end he would go back to the ranch and she would still be here trying to put the pieces of her life together.

“You’re right I shouldn’t have come, but for what it’s worth I only came because I missed you.”

“Luke, you were ready to forgive anything I could have been by choice, but this, what I was born into that I can’t change, is unacceptable.”

“No it isn’t
I…”

“You said what we had was wrong, a mistake.”

“Angie, you were engaged, what did you expect me to do?”

“Oh I get it, James told you I broke off the engagement and now you feel guilty.” She said angrily. “Well don’t
, I can assure you it had nothing to do with you.  I never expected anything from you before and I certainly don’t now.”  Luke was surprised by how much it hurt to hear her say that, and realized that he had been hoping that she had called off the engagement because she was in love with him.

“Good to know.” He said keeping his voice as even as possible.  “I guess I’ll see you around. Or more likely I won’t.” He turned and walked out the
balcony door and clicked it softly shut behind him.  She closed her eyes as hot tears ran down her cheeks, it hurt as much to tell him goodbye as it had to hear him say it the first time.

“Good morning Ms. Austin, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

“I’ll do it, what do you want me to do?” Angelica was standing in the drawing room of the
Sherriff’s house where Matt was apparently staying.  He looked quite surprised by her declaration.

“What made you change your mind?” Angelica thought of the fear that she had felt when Brent was touching her hair, it was enough to make this whole situation feel real but not enough to make her believe that Brent was the killer.

“I just think that if you are so sure he is coming after me anyway I might as well make it worth something.” Matt eyed her for a moment as if he knew there was more to it but he didn’t push.

“Well I am very grateful for your help Ms. Austin.”

“Please call me Angelica.” She sighed and sank down onto the sofa. “Now what exactly do you want me to do?”

Matt hadn’t asked her to do anything particularly difficult. He just wanted to be able to follow her without her raising an alarm and he wanted her to resume her normal routine. The first part was easy enough but the second contradicted her own agenda. She had no wish to return to her previous routine. She looked up at her mother’s portrait and tapped her fingers absently on the chair. She was torn, of course she wanted to do what she could to help catch this killer but she also wanted to get on with her life. She was getting more impatient with each passing day.  Matt had said he had no idea when the killer might strike again, apparently there was a wide variation in the amount of time between each of the killings so he had said he just couldn’t say for sure how long it might take. She rubbed her eyes, she didn’t want anyone else to be killed but she was anxious to get on with her life. A soft knock on the door brought her out of her trance.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me ma’am there is someone here to see you.”

“Who is it?”

“He says his name is James Madison.” Angelica looked up surprised, James? Was Madison his last name, she didn’t know.

“James, so good to see you again.”

“And you.”

“What brings you back so soon, don’t tell me they didn’t believe you.” She teased and he laughed.

“Actually I came to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye? Where are you going?” Angelica felt her heart sink.

“Not sure yet, west, Colorado, California maybe.”

“Why?”

“Luke and I had a bit of a falling out, I think it’s just time I moved on.”

“You quit the Double H, because of me?”

“No, Luke and I just had a difference of opinion.”

“Don’
t go, stay here and work for me,” she blurted.

“What?”

“My father hired a whole squad of body guards supposedly to protect me but I don’t think any of them are worth their salt and I certainly don’t trust them.  Stay here and be my personal body guard.”

“Sounds like a dangerous proposition.” He laughed and she grinned.

“Come here let’s go somewhere we can talk privately.” She led him to her sitting room and shut the door. Suddenly very nervous about letting him into this world. She offered him a seat then began to pace trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to say.

“Angelica, I appreciate the offer but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” He said watching her pace.

“No it’s not that it’s just… promise me you won’t think less of me because of what you witness here.” She said in a rush.

“I don’t think that’s possible.
”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“Angelica, what is it that you’re worried I am going to see?”  Angelica sighed and collapsed into the chair.

“I am not the person you think I am. Before the accident this was my world and I didn’t know anything else. I have been a horrible person deceitful and manipulative and… awful.” She sighed again. “When I didn’t remember who I was Luke said something to me that sort of struck nerve. He said if I didn’t know who I was then I could just choose who I wanted to be. But then I got my memory back and it was like I immediately slipped right back into my role, seeing my father it was… I can’t even explain it.” She looked up and met his eyes. “I don’t want to do this anymore, I don’t want this life but I am a woman and my father is a powerful man, I can’t just walk away. I have to do this very carefully so that not only will he not be able to find me he won’t want to.”

“Alright.”  He said starting to understand.

“In order to make that happen I have to do certain things and act a certain way. I just need for you to understand that this is a means to an end for me.”

“I understand.” She looked and him skeptically, she was pretty sure that he underestimated the lengths she was willing to go to get out from under her father’s thumb.  “Angelica, everyone does what they need to in order to survive. I won’t think any less of you, I promise.” Angelica smiled weakly.

“Father, I have hired my own personal body guard.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I am sure the men you hired are very capable but I don’t trust them and if I am going to let someone follow me around and listen to my private conversations then I need to trust them.”

“Alright, who did you hire?”  Angelica stood and opened the door and asked James in. She waited with bated breath as her father interviewed James. She didn’t fully breathe again until he said simply welcome aboard and excused them both.

“Wow, that went a little easier than I expected.” She whispered as they walked away from the study.

“You agreed to what?”

“Alright so maybe bait is the wrong word. He doesn’t really want me to do anything he just wants to follow me and he wants me to tell him if I have any suspicions about anyone.”

“Luke is going to be furious about this.”

“What does Luke have to
do with anything?  He doesn’t get to make decisions about my life anymore.”

“I don’t know, it seems like you are taking unnecessary risk.”

“I am not going to do anything risky. Besides you’ll be there to protect me.” She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. “Anyway he wanted me to go back to my usual routine, I am not willing to completely return to my old routine but I thought we could at least venture out.”

Angelica had a good time shopping with James, he was good company
joking with her as they walked. He even offered opinions on what she was looking at to buy.

“Alright what about this one?” She put the hat on her head and waited expectantly, he wrinkled his nose and she laughed.  “You are so hard to please,” she sighed and
swept the hat off her head.  He lifted a tan wide brimmed cowboy hat off a hook and set it on her head.

“Much better,” he said and smiled. She smiled but she felt her stomach drop just a bit as she remembered the time Luke had given her a similar hat to wear.  She took the hat off and looked at it, at least this one actually fit.

“Angelica is that you?” Angelica turned at the sound of her name only to find a petite blond.