Page 18 of Archangel

“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. Iwasmarried. 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.

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