Page 4

W ell, that was a pleasant surprise, Angel couldn’t help but think as the man on the ground jerked as the bullet pierced his chest. Angel arched a brow in response and tipped his chin to stare up at her. She didn’t blink once, annoyance flickering through her gaze as his smirk stretched.

Black and blue hair and a tousled pair of clothes. Well, she really hadn’t seen him coming. Angel blinked in surprised when her gun moved upwards until it was pointed right at him. He didn’t move his gaze from hers, letting a small smile touch his lips as she clicked her tongue once.

And shot.

Angel wanted to blink. Wanted to breathe. But didn’t have time to do anything. The bullet cut past his cheek and hit the metal pole behind him. It ricocheted off the metal surface and hit another one of his men. Or women. He didn’t know who these people were.

Just knew his father had sent him out to check her out.

Angel had heeded his words but made slight changes to the plans. Had decided to kill her instead.

It turned out to be a woman behind the mask because her surprised groan ripped past her throat. But she stood her ground. And Angel didn’t turn to ask. Not when this girl stepped down from her porch and walked right over the dead man at her feet without a hitch in her step.

Angel felt the trickle of blood rush down his cheek before the hiss of pain exploded on his face. He cocked his head at the sensation, keeping his eyes on her honey eyes as she stepped closer .

The guns followed her every movement, but she didn’t seem to care.

When she finally reached him, he saw the faint scar on the top of her brow. She was smaller, barely reached up to his nose. Still, there was something off about her. Something cunning. Something wrong.

This close, Angel could see the sparks of fire shine in her eyes. He didn’t move. Couldn’t, when she went up on her toes and reached forward to wipe the blood off his face. A smirk broke past Angel’s lips when she stepped down and hummed, watching the red on her skin. Angel watched, entertained as her thumb stuck out of her fist and she swiped it right over his beating heart. Right on his perfectly clean, white shirt.

Angel scoffed out a laugh as she wiped her finger clean and took an innocent step back.

“Killing my men.” Angel started then, not letting the rush of annoyance affect his actions, “I can forgive.”

Everyone around him stiffened, and he saw the grin on her face widen. Somehow it made him want to rip it off. This girl, she wasn’t what his intel had told him. She was dangerous in a way only…

Only devils were.

“But staining my shirt?” He continued, his voice so low, so lethal, “That’s pure evil, no?”

The girl ahead smirked, and the wave of irritation washed right on him like a fucking tsunami. He might just kill her today.

“I just assumed you were used to it.” She said, shrugging her shoulders as another innocent smile lighted up her face under the moonlight.

It was her utter confidence. Her audacity that enraged him.

I’m going to kill her.

He was going to act on it. Knew he wanted to .

He could wrap his hands around her throat and take her life then and there. And he would enjoy every single second of it.

The mere thought of the Lions getting such a storm in their hands was dangerous. Was deadly.

Was interfering with everything he had planned.

He was about to take a step ahead, was just going to wrap his hand around her throat when a sudden buzzing filled the air. Angel paused in his steps, aware of the wind howling around them as her eyes lit up in surprise. She looked up at him, knew she saw murder in his eyes, and still shot him a deadly grin.

Angel’s nostrils flared in annoyance when she lifted a finger in the air and reached out to fish her phone from her pocket. Scoffing in surprise as she answered the phone and pressed it to her ear, Angel lifted his hands and took a ruffled step back.

“Hello,” she said, not once leaving her gaze from his. It fell on the tick in his jaw and the tips of her lips lifted into a half smirk. Angel’s gaze shuttered with leashed irritation, and he turned away from her. He could feel his head begin to pound, a pressed his thumb to his temple in a futile attempt to stop it. He heard the muffled voice from the phone and glared sideways in her direction.

The girl shrugged a shoulder, her gaze narrowing softly as she spoke, “I’m talking to him right now.”

Angel heard a brief pause on the phone. It made him straighten his shoulders with half admiration at the person on the other end. Because he knew what that silence meant. And he got his proof when the person on the other end, yelled out so loud that Angel could hear him from where he was standing .

“Fucking hell–”

And the voice muffled.

He saw her eyes roll in annoyance at the words that were being spoken from the other end and couldn’t help a light smirk that mirrored hers. He could have let it go on for a while long, that little game of hers. But Angel wasn’t known for his patience.

When he took a step forward, the girl’s eyes lighted with a familiar sense of alertness that set his insides on fire. Yes, he wanted to say as he stepped closer, that’s exactly how you should be around me. He noticed as her leg inched back quietly, shifting the mud underneath with a light hiss. Despite her actions, Angel stepped closer, until he was sure that with a tip of his head, his nose would brush the side of her forehead. He leaned down then, just barely, but the girl didn’t tense. Didn’t move.

Just turned her head sideways and shot him a bored glance.

Oh, Angel couldn’t help but think a bit deliriously, this is different.

This is bad.

He reached forward and plucked the phone right out of her hands. Saw her balk in surprise, the first real emotion she’d managed to show him as he stepped away from her and pressed the phone to his ear.

“–stay right there, do you understand me? I’m reaching there within a fucking minute.”

“There’s no need for that.” Angel’s voice was pure silk, hidden with threats. And it silenced the man on the other end immediately, “No one here’s going to hurt your little friend.”

The line was quiet for an entire minute.

Satisfied, Angel was about to end the call when he heard the voice start saying something .

His brows furrowed and he pressed the phone back to his ear.

Not saying, Angel thought as his eyes widened in surprise, but laughing.

The man on the other end was laughing like a maniac.

The anger that washed over him was so immediate that it drained his last bit of curiosity. But before he could say anything, the laughs subdued, and the man spoke again,

“Hurt her?” Angel heard him say, and somehow, he knew the man was smiling, “That wasn’t why I was going to come, Santos.”

Angel had begun to see red, and he turned to face the girl, slowly, carefully. She returned his look with a serene smile. A smile that accentuated her cheeks and showed him her dangerous honey eyes.

“I don’t think you did your homework before you bombarded her house.”

A strange sense of numbness fell over him as he heeded his words. It was true, he didn’t even know her fucking name, and he’d come crashing down. It hadn’t been planned. Had been a rash decision. Dios, it’d been a while since he’d lost his edge like this.

That too, over as something as trivial as this.

“Thank you.” He said then, and he knew he’d rendered everyone speechless, “You’ve made me realize how foolish I’ve been.”

He ended the call then and looked at the girl ahead. Smiled at her with the deadly calmness he’d learned to control over the years. Saw her smile flicker with confusion.

“I apologize,” he began and handed her the phone, “This was a dirty move. ”

She narrowed her gaze, and he saw tension seep into her bones at his words. The air around them chilled to a dangerous degree, but Angel probed further.

“You deserve better.” He said, his voice a mere whisper, quiet enough only for her to hear, “Next time I’ll come prepared.”

Angel blinked at the same time she did. And the air around them moved so fast that her hair swayed violently with it. Angel looked down at his sleeves, and pulled at the cuffs to straighten them as he said,

“Your name, storm?”

The girl didn’t balk. Didn’t even flinch.

“God, you have to do all the work yourself these days don’t you?” she said, exasperated and Angel grinned a lopsided smile. She rolled her eyes as he responded. Despite her nonchalance, Angel could see the tense set of her shoulders. Knew she was wary. Good.

“It’s Raylene Walker.” She sighed and Angel nodded, taking a step in her direction.

This close, he could smell her quiet flowery scent. A perfume? But he wasn’t thinking about that. He was looking down at her eyes, his own filled with so many promises. So many dreams and nightmares now that she was in town.

She didn’t move away from him when his hand rose to cup the side of her neck softly. They both knew what was coming next. And yet, as Angel pulled her closer gently, she didn’t flinch when the blade of his ring cut through her skin. It was a small cut, enough to draw out two drops of blood. Enough to return her favor. Her lips curved into a grin when his thumb swiped over those drops and his hand carefully rose to the side of her face .

Raylene Walker’s smile turned into a razor-sharp grin as he swiped the blood on her cheeks. A sign of war. A promise of death.

“No mistakes next time, Raylene Walker .” He said and took a step away from her. Angel’s eyes took in her actions almost greedily as she stepped closer, following his feet as he backed away from her. He let her hand touch his shoulder as she went up to the tip of her toes to whisper in his ears.

“Don’t touch me ever again.” She said and stepped back down, “Not if you value your fingers.”

Angel grinned, and just as he was about to reply.

“Are they fucking flirting?”

Raylene’s eyes cut to the origin of the voice and widened in surprise as she moved away. Angel sighed, brushed his cuffs again, and looked at Ray with a light nod,

“Until next time, storm.”

She grinned back at him.

And shot him a middle finger in response.

Jesus, Angel thought to himself as he laughed lightly at her vulgar gesture and turned on his heels to face the men and women standing behind him. And walked away. He knew exactly what was coming when Jack Davis shoved his face right next to his and whispered incredulously,

“Were you flirting with her?” he said, and Angel sighed again, “If that’s all you wanted to do, you could fucking warn us, you bloody–”

Angel slapped his palm right atop his friend’s face and shoved him away from him with a tired exhale.

“I hate all of you.” He murmured as his friends cackled around him and they stepped away from the house they’d brought shooting down.

Away from the girl to whom he’d promised war.