Page 44 of Angel

Chapter Thirteen - Angelo

“Paige?”

I looked into the kitchen, then into the dining room. No Paige.

Not in the living room.

Not in her bedroom.

Fear crept into my heart, making it speed up. What if something had happened to her?

I checked my phone to see if she replied to the text I sent when I landed.

There were no new messages. Something was off.

Hitting her name, I called her cell, then held my breath as it rang.

“Damn it,” I muttered when she didn’t answer.

A list of possible disaster scenarios rapidly formed in my mind. Her remembering another traumatic event from the past and suffering a mental breakdown. Her getting hit by a bus on her way out of the office building. Moretti discovering what had been happening between us, getting pissed, and stepping in to take her early.

The last one seemed the least likely, actually. Moretti was subject to codes just like the rest of us. He wouldn’t break a previous pact. Technically, Paige wasn’t yet twenty-five, so she wasn’t yet his.

On my way out the door, I called her office to check if she’d left it at the regular time. The receptionist informed me Paige had, indeed, left at five thirty.

I gritted my teeth and pressed my fist against my lips. I peeked out into traffic, looking for the car I’d just called for.

I was not about to stay calm over this.

Being as wound up as I was for the ride to Paige’s place, I had the driver wait for me out on the sidewalk instead of finding a parking spot. I was at the buzzer in no time, pressing it under my thumb.

“Come on,” I muttered impatiently.

“Hello?” came Paige’s voice over the crackling line.

“Paige!”

She didn’t answer, so I pressed the button to speak again. “Are you all right? I was worried.”

Another long silence. I began to wonder if the device was broken, but then she spoke. “Come on up.”

I was relieved to find her physically all right, but the tension still wouldn’t leave my shoulders. They bunched together as I opened the door and headed up the stairs. I could tell from Paige’s voice. Something had happened.

Her apartment door opened right after I knocked.

But only a crack.

The chain stayed secured, Paige’s face peeking out just below it.

I waited for her to undo the chain upon seeing it was me, but she didn’t.

“I don’t want to see you again.”

It took a few seconds to process her words. “Hold on. What?”

“I think you heard me,” she fiercely said. “I don’t want to see you again. Ever. I’m done with you.”

I sputtered something incoherent before unscrambling my brain and getting ahold of actual words.