Outlaw (26 page)

Angel knelt down, and set TJ on his feet. He had on
tiny red high-tops and denim overalls.

Cole squatted down in front of him, studying him.
The boy looked exactly like the pictures he’d seen of himself as a child.

TJ turned, and buried his face in his mom’s
shoulder.

“I guess he’s a little shy,” she explained. “And
tired. We’ve been traveling most of the day.”

“Yeah,” Cole agreed. “I guess he’s beat.”

“I need to get him back to the motel.”

Cole nodded. “Sure. I need to get back, too.”

Angel put TJ back in the car seat.

Cole drove them back to the clubhouse. He pulled
into the lot, and parked, leaving the SUV running. He glanced back at TJ for a
moment, and then he opened his door, and climbed out, leaving the door open.

Angel got out, and came around to the driver’s side.

“You got a number I can reach you at?” Cole asked.

“Yes. Of course.” She turned, and reached into the
vehicle for her purse.

Cole couldn’t help but run his eyes over her as she
bent over. He felt the hot thread of desire shoot through him.

She turned with her purse in her hand. Pulling out a
business card, she handed it to him. “My cell number is on the back.”

He looked at the card, and back at her. “Sales Rep,
huh? Royal Imports, what’s that?”

“Jaguar, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo…” She shrugged.

Cole whistled, and raised his eyebrows. “Expensive
shit. Guess a man and his money soon part when the sales rep’s got legs like
yours, huh?”

She smiled. “Something like that.”

“Right.” His eyes slid over her expensive clothes.
“You must sell a bunch of these.”

“I do alright.”

He nodded, looking off in the distance. “I can see
that. Looks like you’ve done real well for yourself.” His eyes came back to
her. “I think I liked it better when you needed me.”

She looked him in the eyes, and whispered, “I do
need you.”

At her soft spoken words, another shot of desire
tore through him. He looked away. “How long you in town for?”

“Our flight out is at noon, tomorrow.”

He shoved the card in his pocket. “I’ll call you.”
And then he turned, and walked away.

Angel watched him, wondering if she’d hear from him
before she left. “Please, Cole. I need you,” she whispered the words, and then
turned, and climbed back into the SUV.

She looked back at him, and then pulled out.

Angel stopped at a fast food drive-thru, and got a
kid’s meal for TJ, and a burger for herself. Then she drove back to the motel.
She carried TJ and their food inside. They had a room on the lower level in the
back. It was quiet, and suited their needs.

There were two double beds and a small table with
two chairs. She set TJ in one of the chairs, and put his food on the table.

He ate hungrily.

She sat in the other chair, and took off her shoes.

TJ offered her one of his fries.

She smiled, and leaned down, and he put it in her
mouth, and giggled. “Thank you, Honey-Bear.” God, how she loved him. “Let’s
call Aunty Nana, and see how your sister is doing.” She pulled out her cell
phone, and punched in the number.

“Hey, it’s me,” she said. “How’s Melissa?”

TJ shoved a chicken nugget in his mouth.

“Good.”

TJ reached for the phone. “Me, me.”

“You can talk in a minute, sweetie,” she promised,
then spoke into the phone. “Yes, I talked to him. We just came from there.” She
handed TJ his milk carton. “I don’t know. I think so. He asked what he’d have
to do. Said he’d call me.”

TJ was blowing bubbles through his straw.

“Now, I guess we just have to wait, and see. Say a
prayer.” She reached for a napkin to wipe up the milk TJ spilled. “Okay. TJ
wants to talk to you.”

She held the phone up for him.

“Hi, Nana!”

After they talked for a while, Angel took the phone
back. “Yes, of course. I’ll call you. Tell Melissa I love her. Okay, bye.” She
hung up, and looked at TJ. “Well, buddy, how about a bath?”

After she had given her son a bath, and he had
fallen asleep in one of the beds, Angel sat on the other one, and flipped
through the channels on the TV. She stared at the screen, but all she could see
was Cole.

He’d looked exactly the same, yet somehow he wasn’t
the same. Something had changed him. He seemed colder, harder, The life he led,
who knew what shit he’d done in the time since they were together.

Three years.

Sometimes it seemed like yesterday. They’d spend
just nine days together, yet those few days had shaped her life. A life she
wouldn’t even have if it weren’t for him. She knew that now, even if she hadn’t
really grasped the fact at the time. If he hadn’t taken her from Chuck that
night, she’d be dead, her body probably dumped in the desert.

Yes, Cole had saved her life…and then he’d broken
her heart.

She was devastated when she’d left that day. Riding
away in that cab, she’d felt used and betrayed. How could they have shared what
they had, and then for him to have just walked away? Like it had been nothing
to him. Like
she
had been nothing to
him.

Now he claims that’s not what happened. She’d often
wondered since that day, if it was just Mack that wanted her gone, if the
things he’d told her were true. What would have happened if Cole hadn’t left
that morning?

She shook herself. What was the point in torturing
herself with all this. It didn’t matter anymore. The only thing that mattered
to her now were her children.

Her cell phone rang.

It was after ten. Her first thought was of Melissa.
Something had happened. She jumped off the bed, and dashed to the table where
she’d left it. Picking it up without looking at the number on the screen, she
answered in a panic, “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.” Cole’s voice was in her ear.

“Oh, hello.” She grabbed her chest, relief sinking
in.

“You sound shocked. I said I’d call.”

“Yes, I know. It’s just late, and I thought maybe it
was the hospital calling. That something had happened to Melissa.”

“Oh. Yeah, sorry to call so late. I guess I didn’t
think.”

“No. That’s okay.”

“Where are you staying?”

“The Daylight Inn by the airport.” She frowned.
“Why?”

“Can I come by? Talk to you?”

“Ah, TJ is asleep, and-“

“Please.”

That shocked her. Cole asking please? “Alright. I
guess so.”

“What room?” he asked.

“106. It’s in the back.”

“Be there soon.” He disconnected.

Fifteen minutes later, Angel heard the distant roar
of a motorcycle. It got closer, and closer. Pulling the curtain back, she saw
him roll around the corner, and coast into a spot. She watched him cut the bike
off, and dismount, then pull his helmet and glasses off. She moved to open the
door.

Cole looked up at her, and moved toward her, his
eyes never leaving hers.

Angel felt a jolt move through her body. He still
has the power to unnerve me. She stepped aside, and he came in.

His eyes immediately went to the sleeping child
laying on the far bed.

“Sit down,” she offered, indicating the small table
and two chairs. She sat in one chair, crossing her legs.

He pulled the other over near her, and sat.

They were so close, their legs were almost touching.
She waited for him to talk, not really sure why he’d come.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his
knees. “I’ve thought about you. Many times,” he said softly, looking down.

Of all the things she thought he might say, that
wasn’t one of them. She stared at the top of his head. His blonde hair looked a
little longer now. It was still shot through with lighter streaks. She longed
to reach out, and touch it.

When she didn’t say anything, he looked up. “I’ve
wondered, ya know?” he shrugged. “What would have happened…with us.”

Angel nodded. Staring into those blue eyes of his,
she felt like she was in a trance. She’d forgotten how attractive he was. She
took a breath, and looked away. “I’ve wondered, too.”

“I didn’t send you away.”

She looked back at him.

He was shaking his head. “I never would have ended
it like that. I never would have hurt you like that.”

“Why did Mack tell me that you did?” she asked.

Again he shook his head, and looked down. “I don’t
know. I guess he…felt you were a threat somehow.”

“A threat to what? The club?” she scoffed.

“No. I think he was afraid. I think he thought you
could pull me away,” he explained, looking in her eyes.

She shook her head, and looked away.

“There was probably some truth to that fear,” he
admitted.

She looked back at him. “You had feelings for me?”
she asked disbelieving.

He nodded. “Yeah. I did. I still do.” He could admit
it now, even if he couldn’t then. He heard her small intake of breath.

She looked over at her son, asleep in the far bed.

He followed her eyes, and looked at the child. “I
don’t’ need any test to tell me that boy’s mine.” He looked back at her. “I
should have been there with you. Through all of it. I’m sorry I wasn’t. I’m
sorry you had to go through this all alone.”

Her eyes started to fill with tears.

Cole stood up, and pulled her into his arms. “Come
here, baby.” She melted against him, and he wrapped his arms around her,
running his hands over her hair. “Shh. Shh. It’s gonna be okay.”

She had had to be the strong one for so long. It felt
so good to have someone hold her. To have someone to lean on, to tell her
everything would be okay, even though she knew that wasn’t a promise he could
make. No one could promise her this would all be okay.

“Hey.” He moved his hands to the sides of her face,
and tilted it up. He looked down into her eyes. “I’m here for you.” He shook
his head. “Whatever you need. Understand?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

She looked so fragile. Everything inside him ached
for her. Every feeling he thought he’d buried, came rushing back. He pulled her
back up against him, one arm across her back, the other across her shoulders.
His hand slid up the back of her head, his fist closing over a handful of her
hair, feeling it’s silky softness. He rubbed his jaw against the top of her head,
and breathed in the scent. His eyes drifted closed, and he felt a tightening in
his throat as the ice around his heart melted a little.

With her face pressed into his chest, Angel felt the
warm softness of his tee shirt contrasting with the cool roughness of his
leather cut. Her hand ran over the leather. It still carried the horizontal
scratch she had cut into it that night in the desert.

Cole looked down, and watched her fingers run across
it. “You put your mark on me, babe. In more ways than that.”

“Do you remember that night?” she asked softly.

He grinned. “Yeah. You tried to kill me twice that
night.”

She smiled, embarrassed. “I did, didn’t I?”

He nodded. “Yeah. But I remember the rest, too. All
of it. Every second of the time we were together.” He was quiet for a few
moments, and then he swallowed, and spoke again. “That last night we were
together? I know I said a lot of cruel shit. Shit I didn’t mean. I was trying
to push you away, and then…when you were gone,
really gone
, and I’d realized what I’d done…”

She looked up at him, brushing her fingers across
his lips. “Shh. It’s okay.”

He pulled her hand away gently, and shook his head.
“No. It’s not. Let me say this. I
need
to say this.”

“Alright.”

“I’m so sorry, Angel. I have so much to be sorry
for. I’ve missed you so much.” His hand came up, and cupped the side of her
face, tilting her head back. His thumb brushed over her lips, and then his
mouth descended to hers.

The kiss was soft, gentle, exploratory. Two lovers
coming together after what felt like a lifetime apart. And yet, at the same
time, it felt like they’d never been apart. She clung to him, never wanting the
kiss to end. Surrendering to his mouth, silently letting him know she wanted
more.

He felt her reaction, picked up on her silent cues
the way males had read females since the beginning of time. His arms pulled her
closer as his mouth delved deeper. He felt her body press against him. Soft,
curvy female against hard, taught muscles. She felt so good in his arms. Too
good, and the bed was too close. Another minute and he’d have her pushed down
on it. He raised his head, pulling away from her mouth reluctantly, and leaned
his forehead against hers. He took a shaky breath, and looked down into her
eyes. “I should probably go. Okay?”