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Chapter Six
Hours later they were almost back. Angel noticed that one by one, the guys were breaking from the pack and heading off in different directions.
“Where are they going?” she asked Cole over his shoulder.
He turned his head and answered, “Taking them home. At least close enough for them to get home on their own.”
A short time later, Cole pulled into the clubhouse. They climbed off the bike. Angel stretched and rubbed her backside.
Cole smiled. “Sore, baby doll?”
“Guess that’s more riding than I’m used to.” She blushed.
“Yeah. I see that,” he teased. “Come on.”
He led her inside. Mack was sitting at the bar with another brother. A couple more were playing pool. Cole led her to the bar and sat down next to Mack.
“Sit down, babe.” He indicated the barstool next to him. The guy behind the bar opened a couple bottles of beer and slid them in front of them.
“How’d it go?” Mack asked.
“It’s handled,” Cole replied, not going into details.
Mack slid a look at Angel, and then looked back at Cole. “Good.”
Cole took a hit off the beer and lit a cigarette.
“Where are the rest of the guys?” Mack asked.
“We headed out first. They’ll be here soon,” Cole answered.
Mack looked at him.
Angel wondered if he knew Cole wasn’t being completely straight with him.
“You gonna run her home?” Mack asked.
Cole took a hit off his cigarette and looked over at him.
Mack realized he wasn’t going to get an answer. He picked up his drink, finished it in one gulp and slammed the glass down. “Well, I’ve got some shit to do.” He stood up and left.
Cole looked straight ahead until the door slammed and Mack was gone. He took another hit off his cigarette.
Angel took a sip of her beer, watching Cole. He drank his beer, not saying anything, flipping his silver lighter open and closed, open and closed. She thought he looked like he was grappling with something. She slid her hand on his thigh.
He turned his head to look at her, his eyes moving over her face.
“Is everything all right?” she asked quietly. He stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray, downed his beer, and stood.
“Come on.” He took Angel by the hand and led her up the stairs and down the hall to his room.
Angel watched Cole unlock the door, and then followed him in. She turned and studied him as he shut the door, trying to read his mood. She had sensed some tension when he spoke with Mack, and now she wasn’t sure what he was feeling.
He stood, looking at her. “I made you a deal.”
She nodded.
“I kept my end of it.”
“Yes,” she acknowledged.
“It’s done. So, are we good?”
She stared at him questioningly.
He took a deep breath. “You know what I’m asking, Angel. Is this the end of it? Is your need for retaliation satisfied?”
She frowned, looking away. “Satisfied? That two men are dead?”
“Little late to be having second thoughts now, babe. Isn’t that what you wanted? Have you forgotten what they did to you? They deserved to be punished for that. You know it, and I know it.”
“It is what I wanted. But, they’re dead because of me.”
He shook his head in frustration. “No. Not because of you. Because of them. They brought this on themselves.” He grabbed her by the upper arms and shook her. “Don’t you ever feel guilty about that. You hear me?”
She looked into his eyes. She wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him.
“I know what it’s like to carry that kind of burden, and that’s the last thing I want for you, Angel. I know what it can do to a person, how it can eat at you.” He leaned down close to her face, looking into her eyes. “You need to understand this. Their deaths? That is not your cross to bear. It’s mine.”
Angel looked up at him and it dawned on her. My God. He’d killed two men for her. For her! And now he would carry the burden of it. How could she not feel guilty about that? “It’s not that simple,” she whispered.
“Yeah. It is. There’s no gray here. It’s black and white. Good guys, bad guys.”
“And which are you, Cole?”
He pulled back slightly, shaking his head. “Trust me, Angel. You don’t want to know.”
“I don’t understand you. First you—”
He cut her off harshly. “Baby, I sold my soul to the devil a long time ago. Don’t go lookin’ inside my head. You won’t like what you find.”
At his anger, she backed down and said nothing.
“So, I guess our time together is coming to an end,” he added.
She didn’t reply. She wasn’t sure why it hurt so much to hear him say that.
“Some people have a hard time saying goodbye.” He looked at her, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head. “I’m not one of ‘em.”
She reached up and pushed out of his arms. Stepping away, she turned her back to him, not wanting him to see the effect his words were having on her. “Sure, I understand.”
She felt him move behind her. She stood still, barely breathing, wondering if he would touch her. Aching for him to put his arms around her and pull her back against him. But he didn’t.
“Do you? Look at me, Angel. Look.”
Reluctantly she turned to face him.
“I thought it’d be easy.” He ran a finger gently down her cheek.
“What?”
