Page 56 of Angels & Whiskey

“I don’t want to get into this, Autumn! I’ve said I’m sorry.”

He said he was sorry for getting angry—not for hurting me. In my mind, they were two different things. “Fine, but you can’t touch me like that anymore. I want to wear a sleeveless dress to your party. It’s supposed to be a warm night.”

“That’s why I said I’d spank you. No one will see them on your ass.”

I stared at him. Was he joking? Surely he was joking. He said he didn’t like hurting me and even if it were only spanking my ass, it would still hurt. It would also leave a bruise if he did it hard enough.

“No spanking either,” I whispered.

He cut his eyes to me. “Fine. Just don’t piss me off,” he hissed.

Why don’t you stay at work every night then?“I don’t mean to. I don’t even know what I do.” I turned, looking out the passenger side window as we drove down the street.

“We talked about this the other night … Just fucking drop it.”

And I did.

Rich and I ate at a little café down the street in twenty minutes before he had to return to work. I’d hope I’d at least see Remo in the parking lot. No such luck. My hasty trip to Rich’s work was a bust.

Or was it?

Brandi met me at Starbucks for our weekly date a few days later. I was excited because I wanted to tell her about the plan. I wished I could call her and tell her when I found out, but like everything else, I didn’t know what Rich monitored.

We sat at a table in the corner after we’d both ordered our coffee. I was anxious as my leg bounced up and down. I wanted to blurt it out, tell her everything, but I had to wait for Gabe and Paul to show up since they were part of the plan too.

I looked at the time on my phone, noticing that they had two minutes before we’d agreed we all would meet to fill Brandi in. Typical men; never early.

“Are you going to tell me why you have a nervous twitch?” Brandi asked, motioning with her head toward my leg that was still bouncing.

“I will once …” I drifted off as I noticed the guys walk in. Gabe was wearing a navy blue T-shirt that hugged his muscular frame and I had to fight myself not to walk up and hug him while smelling his scent. There was something about him that made me feel safe. Deep down in the deepest part of my soul, I knew Gabe would never hurt me and would stop at nothing to help me.

Paul stepped in line to order and Gabe walked over to us. I watched him with a huge smile spread across my face that matched his as my fixed stare drifted down his chest to his waist that was hugged perfectly with jeans.

Damn I couldn’t wait until I was no longer married.

“Angel,” he greeted with a nod as he sat at the table next to us. “Nice to see you again, Brandi.”

Brandi turned toward me, whisper-yelling. “Um … What the fuck is going on?”

I looked around, not noticing anyone that looked familiar; a potential spy, then leaned forward and whispered, “We’ve come up with a plan.”

“We’ve?” she asked, eyebrows scrunched as she looked from me to Gabe.

“Yeah. Me, Gabe and Paul.” I shrugged. “But we have to keep it quiet because I’m fairly certain Rich has spies. I don’t think they follow me into places, but just in case, Gabe and Paul are going to sit nearby as I whisper the plan to you.”

Paul walked over, handing Gabe a cup of coffee and gave me a nod. Once he sat, I leaned forward again and told Brandi I’d divorce Rich and live with the guys. The more I thought about the plan, the more I realized this was the way to go.

“You bought a gun?” Brandi asked after I finished talking.

I nodded.

“Like a real gun that shoots bullets?”

I chuckled. “Yes.”

“Where is it now?”

After I’d bought the gun, I’d carried it in my purse for a few days, but I knew that wasn’t the best place for it. Every room was monitored, so I couldn’t just hide it randomly without Rich knowing. And I couldn’t leave it in my car or with Dad or Gabe because that would defeat the purpose of keeping me safe from Rich. I knew he was going to lose his shit when he was served with divorce papers and if I wasn’t at Gabe’s when that happened, I needed to be ready.