Jaxson's Angel (6 page)

Angel pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Jaxson, letting him know what she'd seen only to look up and realize the person she'd been following had disappeared. Confused, she moved farther down the dock but still could see no sign of anyone around.

Thinking perhaps they had made their way off the docks, she shrugged, began typing out another message to Jaxson, and turned to head back only to run smack into a large black chest.

"Well, look what I found here," Bud's drunken voice drawled from above her head. "Looks like the Sterling brothers don't have their little Angel looking out for them tonight, huh?"

"Actually, Jaxson is on his way here right now." Angel held up her phone to show him the messages and gasped in outrage when he snatched it from her and tossed it to the side, leaving it to skitter to a stop against a stack of crates on the edge of the wooden walkway.

"I think I'll take my new Angel out for a late night cruise on the water, what do you say?"

His ripe breath caused her to take a staggering step back. "I say you're a drunk and too stupid to know when to quit."

Sooner or later, Angel would learn to keep her smart mouth closed.

Bud gripped her upper arm in a punishing hold and half dragged, half carried her onto his boat before stuffing her into the tiny cabin beneath the helm.

His laughter was just short of sane as he started the motor, and she felt the boat begin to move. A quick check told her he'd blocked the door, or maybe he had locked it; all she knew was, she was stuck in a tiny space with nothing but a bench and a small table. The only other door in the room led to a miniscule bathroom.

There was no way for her to get out, and worse, nobody who knew where she was.

* * * *

Jaxson came off the boat in a rage. The scent of Bud was everywhere, but there was no trace of Angel on-board. She'd been there though. He'd caught the remnants of her delicate fragrance as he'd walked the dock, but where had she gone?

He glanced at his phone and noted he'd missed a message.
Someone
was on the boat. I'm
following to be sure they are okay. Seemed drunk. A.

No! She'd been following Bud. Alone.

Jaxson's blood ran cold. He'd had his suspicions regarding ol' Bud for a while now. He liked to go out on the boat late at night with his "dates," but whenever they returned, the women would never make eye contact with anyone and he never saw any of them a second time.

Colton had just driven him out, and Jaxson quickly called him back. "She's been here, Colt, but so has Bud. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"You keep looking around and I'll try her phone."

"Will do, but hurry back because if I find him I'll probably end up killing the scumbag," Jaxson growled.

"If he's laid a finger on her then I'll gladly assist you in feeding the sharks tonight."

Colton disconnected the call, leaving Jaxson to scour the dock for any sign of Angel or where she may have gone. When her scent ended at an empty boat slip, Jaxson's worry and rage combined to create a deadly combination aimed solely at Bud. The smell of fear and lust still hung in the air and Jaxson felt a growl creep up his throat until the sound of a phone ringing caught his attention.

It was Angel's ringtone coming from the crates just a few feet away. He picked the phone up and unlocked the screen. The text conversation with him filled the screen, and he could see she was in the process of sending him another text before she'd either dropped it or had it taken from her.

I've
made my decision, Jaxson.

I
choose you. All of you. I love you!

She'd never even had the chance to send him the message. If he hadn’t found her phone, and something happened to her, he may have never known she had chosen to be with him.

Now Jaxson's fury was a living thing he was finally going to unleash. He rushed back to the boat in time to see Colton running down the dock. They both leaped onto the boat and started out.

"I alerted the Coast Guard of a kidnapping. They're looking for Bud's boat now as well." Colton gave Jaxson's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "We'll find her."

"But what will have happened to her in the meantime?"

And that was the question Jaxson wasn't sure he wanted answered.

* * * *

Angel was ticked off and scared. She was alone with this madman, with no way to call for help and no way of escape. If she could get out of this tiny room, then maybe she could jump from the boat and make it to shore. She wasn't the strongest swimmer, but where there was a will there was a way.

The door opened and in walked her captor. "So how's my little treasure doing in here?"

"I'm not your little anything," she sneered, then flinched when he brought his hand back.

"Nah, I don't think I'll hit you, but I do think I'll teach those boys a lesson. You see I have an inflatable raft on here with a small motor I can use to get myself back to shore. If I know those two, then they are already looking for you, but now they'll have to choose." Bud's smile made her guts twist with dread. "This boat is sinking, dear. It's fairly slow, so you still have a chance, but only if they choose you over revenge."

"You'll never get away from them. They'll still find you."

"I doubt that. I have a flight leaving in two hours, and I'll never be back. Now, you may want to work on holding your breath because you really don't want to drown before your worthless man shows up, do you?" he taunted.

"What have they ever done to you to warrant this?"

"Those lowlifes blocked my charters every chance they got!" he shouted, waving his bottle of beer in front of him. "They would talk those tourists into taking a charter with them on another day instead of giving all of us others a chance at some business."

"Or maybe their conscience wouldn't allow them to suggest innocent people climb into a boat with a drunk and head out to open water." Her sarcasm had him coming for her and gave her the chance she needed to make a move.

Angel made a grab for the bottle, her unexpected attack causing Bud to stumble back into a wall. The bottle shattered, and the neck became a handle as Angel wielded her new weapon.

Bud was now farther in the room, with Angel by the door, and she made hasty use of their change in positions, running out the door and straight to the boat's railing.

She had just enough time to see another boat bouncing through the water in their direction before her hair was yanked with enough force to pull her from her feet.

"You little whore! I'm going to mess you up so bad they'll never want anything to do with you again!" Bud screamed, pulling his arm back to strike.

Angel brought the broken bottle up and slashed the jagged edge across his cheek, sending him reeling back with an unholy wail. Unfortunately the momentum behind her swing had brought the glass around to her other arm that had been fending him off. The gash on her forearm was bleeding freely, but there was nothing she could do at the moment except try and put as much distance between Bud and herself as possible.

The boat she'd seen was closer now, and as Bud gained his feet, Angel saw no choice but to jump into the water. He would surely kill her now, and if she was going to die she wanted it to be because she was fighting to survive.

The water was cold, the saltiness causing the wound on her arm to burn, but she was determined to get away.

"Angel!" The voice calling out to her was one she'd been praying to hear. It was Jaxson. "Hold on!"

A splash sounded, and moments later she found herself with one of his strong arms around her waist as she was dragged through the water, back to the waiting boat.

"I smell blood," Jaxson snarled by her ear. "Is it yours?"

"I cut myself with a broken bottle when I slashed at Bud," she explained, while sputtering water. "I hope there's not any sharks around."

"Me too. You're losing a lot of blood if I'm able to smell it over the saltwater. How do you feel?"

"It burns, but I'll be fine. Bud's boat is sinking, though. He was going to run on a little inflatable raft with a small motor," she explained, as she cast a nervous glance behind them. "He was going to make you choose."

"Choose what?" Jaxson asked. They'd made it to the side of the boat, and Colton reached over the side. "Raise your arms and let Colton pull you up."

"He was going to make you choose between me and revenge against him. You would only have enough time to get one of us," Angel said. Jaxson let loose with a vicious string of curses, but she had to tell him the rest. "He's getting on a plane in a few hours and leaving. He said he'd never be back again."

"He's not going anywhere," Colton chimed in, hoisting her up as if she weighed nothing at all. "I've already called the Coast Guard and given them the coordinates for the boat. I'll inform the police of his flight and we'll get him. Besides, his little raft can't outrun our boat."

Angel hissed in a breath as Colton tried to examine her arm. "I guess maybe it's deeper than I thought." Now that she knew she was safe, the adrenalin was beginning to wear off, leaving her feeling utterly drained and extremely sleepy.

A heavy feeling was stealing over her body, and she could hear muffled voices shouting, but she was so tired. Surely they would understand if she shut her eyes for just a moment. That's all she would need.

* * * *

"Angel! Angel, can you hear me? Baby, open your eyes and look at me, please," Jaxson pleaded.

"She's out."

"She's lost a lot of blood, Colton. It was all in the water, man," his voice quavered as he felt moisture gathering in his eyes. "I can't lose her, Colt."

"You won't. The Coast Guard is here now and they've got medics on board who can take care of her until we get in to a hospital." Colton guided the boat closer to theirs and shouted out their need for assistance.

Moments later, the deck was transformed into a mini triage area. There was a bag of fluids hooked up to an IV, a cuff inflated on her arm to slow the blood flow to the open wound, and an oxygen mask had been placed over her pale face.

At the hospital, Jaxson's mood had soured. The police refused to let anyone in to see Angel until she'd awakened enough to provide a statement, and he'd nearly worn a trench in the floor of the waiting room with his pacing.

He felt like a caged animal. His mate was being treated somewhere on this floor, but he was being kept from her. She was weak and vulnerable, probably scared as well, and he wanted nothing more than to hold and comfort her. Had they even told her he was there? Did she know he was waiting for her?

Shouts erupted down the hall and both brothers rushed from the waiting room. There in the hallway was Angel. She had her clothes pulled on, her arm bandaged, and a scowl on her pretty little face that had the uniformed officers giving her a wide berth.

"Jaxson would
never
hurt me! I've told you a dozen times already what happened, and if you're too thickheaded to figure it out, then I'm done here." She turned on her heel, sending her long auburn hair tumbling over her shoulders. "You got the man responsible for my kidnapping, so what else do you need? Well, I've told you everything I can, so have a nice life and you can just let me know when I need to testify," she finished before she began stomping down the hall toward Jaxson and Colton. When she looked up, her face split with a wide smile before she broke into a run. "Jaxson!"

"Hey, baby." When she threw herself into his arms, Jaxson felt all of his worry and anxiety just melt away. She was with him now, and he intended to keep it that way. "You're mine now, Angel," he whispered into her ear. "There's no way I can ever give you up."

"And I never want you to," she replied. "I want to be with you, Jaxson, no matter what."

"Really?"

"Really. But there are a few things I need to do now."

"And what would they be?" he asked, grinning like a fool as he and his brother escorted Angel out to the car.

"I need an office space and a business manager."

"Well, I can give you half of that right now."

"How?" she asked, her green eyes dancing with happiness.

"I have a degree in business management, so I can help you out if you'd like, but why do you need those things now?" He couldn't imagine what she could possibly be planning.

"I'm going to open my own agency, right here in Florida," she announced, before turning that hundred-watt smile on Colton. "Would you care to sign the first contract with me?"

"You bet," Colton replied. "In fact, I think I've got a new story to write, if I have your permission."

Angel cocked her head to the side and regarded him for a moment. "What do you need my permission for?"

"Because I want to write your story as my next novel." Jaxson's face registered his shock, and Angel blushed. "Don't worry, all the names will be changed, but you've got to admit this would make one amazing story for a book."

Angel considered things for a minute before turning to Jaxson. "So, what do you think?"

"I think he better make sure it has the happy ending I'm hoping for."

"Oh, I'm sure it will."

* * * *

One
year later...

Angel and Jaxson watched as Colton wrapped up his latest signing being held at a local bookstore. His new novel was a total hit, topping the best-seller lists and even earning whispers of a potential movie deal.

Everything was wonderful. The agency,
Sterling
White Words
, was taking in new and established authors, the charter business was still going strong, and the family was about to expand.

Jaxson placed his hand over Angel's rounded belly. "So how are these little angels doing?"

"They're wrestling, I do believe. These are going to be some rough-and-tumble girls for sure," she replied. "Just a few more weeks and we'll be holding them at last."

"I can't wait." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and said, "I'm going to go help Colton clean up, and then we'll go home so you can get off of your feet for a while."