Page 8
Archangel
I stood there and watched the dimming light in Sonya’s eyes flicker, then die. She jerked as if I’d slapped her. I might as well have.
“Your… wife ?”
“There’s more to our past relationship than just us being legally married, honey.”
“Don’t ‘honey’ me!” To my utter horror, Sonya’s eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back heroically. The girl had backbone, but I could see what this was costing her. She tilted her head back in a stubborn tilt. Her chin quivered as she struggled to hold on to her emotions. “You want to honey someone, honey her.” She pointed an accusing finger at Gloria.
“Sonya, please.” I tried to frame her face in my hands, but she batted me away and stepped back a couple of steps. “I swear to you, I wasn’t trying to keep this from you. I’ll explain everything.”
“What’s to explain?” Now her voice wavered and she winced, sticking her chin up defiantly. The tears overflowed then, but she still stood her ground. “She’s either your wife or she’s not. Which is it? Ex-wife? Explain this to me, Angel.” She winced again and gave a humorless laugh. “That’s an oxymoron,” she muttered through her tears. Because two more of the vile things slid from her eyes for her to bat away angrily.
“I hooked up with her in Vegas right before I left for special training in the service. I was drunk, and she was hunting for someone like me. I’m still not exactly sure how she managed it, but when I woke up the next morning, we were in bed together and I was informed I’d gotten married.”
“Why not get it annulled?”
“I was going to, but she spun me a story about an abusive family and being told she was being married off to a man she’d never met so her father could have a business tie to him. I had no family and no reason to think I’d be coming back alive. I figured with the money she’d get in death benefits, not to mention a portion of my pay, she could leave and go wherever she wanted. Then my death would have counted for something, and someone would remember me when I was gone.”
She still looked hurt, but I could see she was at least considering what I’d said. “You made it back, though. When was this?”
“Fifteen years ago, honey. We wrote a few letters to each other. She sent a few care packages, and we talked a couple of times the first year. Then I went deep undercover and couldn’t talk to her for two years. When they’d recruited me for that mission, the primary requirement was that the operative not be married or have children they were responsible for. There were three of us chosen. Not for our skills, but because we had no close family ties. No one we had to keep in touch with or would miss back home and not be able to give a hundred percent. I caught hell from command when I had to make arrangements for the paperwork to be filed so she could get benefits. If they could have replaced me, they would have court-martialed me for that stunt. But I figured if I was going to give my life for my country, the least the people who’d demanded my sacrifice should help me to make someone else’s life a little better, and I didn’t flinch.”
“Sounds like you,” she muttered, toeing a pebble on the pavement.
“It was seven years before I spoke with her after that. And it was only to let her know I’d made it back to the States if she wanted a divorce or whatever.”
“I take it she didn’t want a divorce?” Sonya glanced from me to Gloria and back. Gloria was busy flirting with one of the prospects. The man was trying his best to ignore her, but Gloria was nothing if not persistent. I was literally living proof she always got her way.
“Actually, no. She did want one. She was supposed to meet me for lunch to sign a standard divorce agreement. Once she said she wanted the divorce, I went to a lawyer to do the paperwork. I gave her half my benefits and kept her as my beneficiary in the event I was KIA. It was very much in her favor. I was career military and spent all my time on bases or overseas because I was special forces. Until I met El Diablo, my life was the military. I had nothing and no one else. Never needed or wanted anyone else. Kept things simple.”
“Except you had a wife you barely knew.” Sonya sounded equal parts understanding yet bitter, as if she were resigned to the fact she’d lost me before she’d ever had me. Which could not be further from the fucking truth. “So why aren’t you divorced, then?”
“Because I never showed up.” Gloria was headed toward us with purpose. Her hips swayed with an erotic twist that made a man wonder what she could do to him if she were on top during sex. Her breasts were high and firm and barely bounced at all when she moved. There was no denying she was a beautiful woman, but she did absolutely nothing for me.
Sonya stiffened and backed away from me another step, eying us both warily. That’s when Linnie came up beside Sonya and took her hand in solidarity.
“Why wouldn’t you meet him after you’d said you wanted the divorce? Was he lying? Did you really not want it?” Sonya gripped Linnie’s hand in a white-knuckled grip. I could see sweat beading her upper lip and brow and she was trembling.
Gloria waved her hand like it was all no big deal. “My boyfriend took me on a trip to the Maldives. Besides, it wasn’t that important. I figured I could worry about it later.”
“Sounds like it was pretty serious between the two of you. Why wouldn’t you want to have your divorce final in case you decided to marry the other guy?”
“Why would I want to marry the guy? You marry a man rich enough to afford a private resort room in the Maldives at fifty thousand dollars a night and all you get is a prenup saying you get nothing from him in the event you divorce unless it was a gift. However, if you’re the girlfriend, you get all the benefits of his money and get to negotiate your personal allowance in addition to all the trips and clothes and basic necessities of being on the arm of a billionaire.” She gave me a superior smirk. “I had Colm’s pay coming to an account I never touched. Compared to the money I got from Jasper, it wasn’t much, but it let me have a personal stash. I saved every penny of my allowance I could so I’d be OK if we broke up. Getting a divorce was last on my list of things occupying my time because it wasn’t strictly necessary.”
“Then why bother meeting with him at all?”
“Why not? I probably would have if Jasper hadn’t sprung the trip on me. After that, I forgot about it.”
“We haven’t spoken since, Sonya,” I said. “By that time I’d taken up with El Diablo, so when I called her about a divorce, I told her about Black Reign and that she could find me here. I’m assuming that’s how she found me?” I raised an eyebrow at Gloria.
She shrugged. “Yes. I’d have come sooner if I’d known this wasn’t an ordinary motorcycle club clubhouse.” She looked over the emasculate grounds with appreciation. “Who did you say owned this place?”
“No one you need to worry about, Gloria. If you’ll please wait in your car, I’ll take you inside when I’m ready.”
“I don’t have all day, Colm.”
“Gloria, go wait by the car.” I was losing patience. More, I was starting to panic. Caroline was tugging Sonya away from me back toward her car. “Sonya, please stop.” I tried to keep my voice as calm and tender as I could when I spoke to Sonya. “Talk to me.”
“Why didn’t you try to find her again?”
“What was the use? I had the papers. I’d given her a way to contact me. And I was gone most of the time with either my unit or something for El Diablo. We were married, but had spent exactly one night together that I didn’t remember. That was it, Sonya. She was a passing acquaintance with a legal tie to me, but it didn’t really matter because no one else did. You and I are too new for me to have worked out everything, but me and Gloria would have been one of the first things I took care of. Shotgun would have taken care of it like he did with Warlock when Warlock’s mother had married him and Hope without his knowledge. I would have explained all this to you right out of the gate if I’d had the chance.”
Sonya still looked uncertain, but I thought she might believe me. She still glanced at Gloria with more than a little resentment in her eyes. “Look, I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but this is something I need to think about.”
“Of course. Just promise me you’ll let me see you tomorrow.”
“You’re going to be busy tomorrow, Colm.” Gloria buffed her fingernails on the collar of her halter. “Your little girlfriend will have to wait a few days.”
“Tomorrow,” I said again, never taking my gaze from Sonya. “And you know I do not break my promises.”
She nodded, then sighed. “Yeah. OK. You can call or text, I guess.” She sounded so defeated I wanted to throttle Gloria, then take Sonya back to the Oasis and make love to her for the rest of the week. Sure, it was a fast turnaround for me, but I was a believer in listening to my instincts. I knew beyond any doubt, Sonya was meant to be mine.
“I’ll call you tonight after Gloria leaves. If you’re still awake, I can come get you. Otherwise, I’ll call you first thing in the morning. I’ll call until you answer and tell me you’re ready, then I’ll come get you. Both instances will involve talking with your father, too.”
“Don’t get upset when he doesn’t show up, sweetie,” Gloria said, looking down her nose at Sonya. “Because he won’t.”
“That’s it.” I’d had enough. “Prospect!” I yelled at the two men manning the gate. Normally I’d call them by name, but I needed them to know I meant business and they better not give me any fucking lip. “Escort Gloria outside the compound. Do not let her back in, no matter what she or anyone else says.”
“Colm! No! I’m telling you, you need to listen to me.”
“I’ll listen to you when I get Sonya taken care of and not one second before. You don’t get to order me around.”
“You’re my husband. You have to do what I say!”
I finally understood why she’d targeted a drunk military man. Because no man who was sober would have spent more than ten minutes in her company, let alone married her skank ass, and a military man would mean he was away from her most of the time, which meant he might not insist on a divorce the second she opened her fucking mouth. That might have been a stretch, but I was betting it was close to the truth. And I still had no idea why she’d targeted me in the first fucking place.
“That’s not how it works, Gloria. I was never the easy-going man you met in Vegas. You met the face I put on in public. No one tells me what to do. For any reason.” Then I lifted my chin to indicate Sonya. “Except her. For Sonya, I’ll do anything. Kill anybody . So keep that in mind when you’re throwing around your little attitude. I’m not warning you again.”
“Fine, Colm.” I suspected Gloria kept calling me by my given name to remind Sonya she’d known me far longer. It was something the club girls did all the damned time once they found out our real names. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She hiked her thumb over her shoulder, giving me a little sneer. “I’ll just wait by my car.” The look she gave me as she rolled her eyes was one of supreme irritation.
When she was gone, I reached for Sonya again, but she retreated once more. “Not yet, Angel,” she whispered. “I need to have a clear head. To think without being reminded of what I’d be giving up.”
“Whatever is going on with Gloria, I’ll help if I can and make it go away. In return, she’ll agree to the divorce. I’ve done as much as she’d allow me to do, which was make sure she had money. Shotgun can get Wrath to write it up for a simple dissolvement of marriage. No one pays anyone anything. No one gets anything. But I will keep you involved every step of the way. I will always keep my promises to you, Sonya. I will be over either tonight or first thing in the morning.”
She searched my face for whatever she needed to find for a long time. When she finally nodded, I was able to breathe again. “OK. I can do that. But, Angel?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“Please don’t try to play me. I know you could. But my dad will see straight through you, and he will kill you. I’d rather you just tell me straight and let me decide what I’m comfortable with than to find out later you were stringing me along as your dirty little secret.”
“Never, baby. You have me. I’m yours. I have every intention of making it official both in the club and with the law.”
“I’ll reserve judgment, then. If what you said was true, I think I can understand. It was just bad luck she turned up before you could explain the situation and make it right. I know it’s not fair to doubt you since we only just… you know.” She cleared her throat and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “But I’m going to get Ripper to look into this. Given the circumstances, I’m not going to apologize until after he tells me what he found.”
“Honey, you don’t have to apologize. Never for protecting yourself.” I turned my head to look at Caroline. “Linnie, are you OK to take her home or do you need me to get Red to drop the two of you off back at Bane?”
“No. I think the car’s drivable. She scuffed the whole side and took the mirror off, but it’s fine.”
“I’ll talk to Red about fixing it. Will you stay with Sonya when you get home?”
“Of course.” Caroline’s gaze darted back to Gloria where she stood resting against the hood of her Maserati. I had no idea what the woman wanted, but I absolutely would not let her take up more of my time than strictly necessary. I wasn’t losing Sonya now that I’d claimed her. “Keep her away from Sonya.” Caroline was normally sweet and kind to everyone. But I could see more of Doc in her than she’d admit to. Her father was the same way. Kind and caring until someone pissed him off.
“You have my word.”
I wanted to pull Sonya into my arms and tell her I’d make everything all right, but I couldn’t. The fact was, I’d slept with Sonya. She might have forced the issue, but I hadn’t wanted to stop. I was married. I wasn’t lying when I told Sonya I hadn’t thought about Gloria in years. I’d had no reason to. She was a one-night stand, or would have been if not for the whole Vegas wedding thing. I knew absolutely nothing about the person she was and had no desire to know.
“Good.” Caroline gave me a crisp nod before tugging Sonya to the car.
Sonya kept looking back at me like she was afraid she’d never see me again. Or maybe, if she did see me, like nothing would ever be the same again. I didn’t take my eyes from the little Mustang until Caroline had them out of sight.
When I turned my gaze to Gloria, I let her see a glimpse of the man she’d tricked into marrying her. I stalked toward her. I could only imagine what I looked like. I was pissed. Good and fucking pissed. Whatever happened next wasn’t going to be pleasant.