Page 22 of Archangel

“No, I’m not all right!” she snapped, reaching for him to help her up. Of course, the guy did.

Ben was barely more than a kid. He’d been taken in at Black Reign when he was sixteen or seventeen and had begun prospecting immediately. More for him and his street brothers who’d been taken in with him to feel like they were contributing than for any real desire for them to patch in. El Diablo had started letting teens prospect in cases like Ben’s, and the first thing he’d instilled in them was respect. Whether or not someone had earned it. When they were old enough to know the difference, they were to treat everyone they met with respect. No matter what. Both of his street brothers as well as Ben had taken to that lesson with gusto. Even if I’d dressed Gloria down and called her every derogatory name in the urban dictionary I could come up with, I doubt any of those three young men would have followed suit. It wasn’t who they were. And they’d have called my ass out on my treatment of her, too.

“You should be careful in those heels, ma’am,” Ben offered helpfully as he made sure she was steady on her feet before he let her go and stepped away from her. “At your age, you could easily break a hip.” I never said the kid was smart.

“Excuse me?” Gloria clenched her hands into fists and took an angry step toward Ben. “What exactly does that mean?” She gave him a saccharine smile.

He blinked at her guilelessly. “Just that as you get older, your bones get fragile. I’m surprised you didn’t break something when you fell this time.” Ben looked so distressed I nearly missed the way his lips twitched as he fought a grin.

“I’m not that old!” Gloria screeched and struck out at poor Ben. The kid didn’t miss a beat but caught her swing with a level expression. He didn’t retain his hold, but let her go and stepped back again, ceding his ground but also letting her know he wouldn’t let her abuse him. Gloria gasped, turning to me immediately, cradling her wrist in her other hand, her lip trembling. “Did you see him? He crushed my wrist, Colm! Is this the kind of people you run with? You’d stand by while he hurt an innocent woman?”

I glanced at Ben who just grinned and shrugged. He was willing to take the fall. Kid was definitely smarter than he looked.

“If I say yes, will you be scared and go away?” I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but I couldn’t take it back. Ben, who might not be smarter than he looked after all, laughed unapologetically. He didn’t even try to cough or anything to cover up his laughter.

“Sorry, Angel. I know it’s not polite. I swear I’ll get on my knees and apologize later, but I can’t help it right now.”

“Don’t worry, kid. I got your back with El Diablo.”

“Who’s El Diablo?” Gloria demanded. Probably more to bring my attention back to her. Granted, I didn’t know the woman. I might be married to her, but I’d spent less than twenty-four hours with her in total. Probably closer to twelve than twenty-four, and most of that time was in Vegas where I was passed out. I couldn’t even remember how I got back to the hotel room that night.

I took a breath to explain El Diablo, but before I could say anything, Ben’s street brother, Gray, answered for me. “He’s the Devil.” Simple. Straightforward. And the truth. It was right there in his name.

Gloria rolled her eyes. “Does he own this place? Seems really big.” I could practically hear the wheels turning in her mind. I almost wanted to see what happened if she tried to get her claws into El Diablo. It wasn’t the Devil she had to worry about. El Diablo’s wife, Jezebel, was just as deadly as her husband. And El Diablo was an assassin.

“He does,” Ben answered cheerfully. I was beginning to see I needed to keep a closer eye on this kid. “It’s really huge. Several buildings and all kinds of private homes for the club members who don’t want to stay at the clubhouse. El Diablo owns all of it.”

If we’d been in a cartoon, Gloria’s eyes would have lit up with solid gold dollar signs. “Ben…” I practically groaned his name. “You’re gonna cause so much fucking trouble.”

Kid shrugged. “Sorry, not sorry.”

“I demand to see El Diablo about my treatment!” Gloria had an almost gleeful look in her eyes.

“Ma’am,” Gray had come closer, putting himself between Gloria and everyone, He guided her back to her car with a hand in the middle of her back. “I think it might be best if you leave.”

“I can’t leave!” she yelled at the younger man. “I don’t have anywhere else to go!”

Ben, who it seemed loved stirring the shit, peered around Gray to grin and wave at her. “You got a nice vehicle, ma’am.”

Still eyeing trying to get around Gray, she straightened but stayed near the car where Gray had opened the door and was trying to urge her inside. “It was a gift! I don’t have to give it back!” The car was clearly a point of contention with her and whatever had happened.

“Didn’t say you had to, ma’am,” the prospect continued. “Just… I mean, you could sell it. Get a more practical vehicle and probably a nice house.” The look of abject horror on Gloria’s face sealed her fate with me. But not before I got what I needed from her.

“Bring her and that fucking ostentatious car to the clubhouse. Keep her outside until I come for her. She tries to get past you, fuckin’shoot her.” I didn’t wait to see what Gloria’s reaction was, but I was riding a fine line between keeping the peace and killing the bitch because she’d upset my woman. Except that it was more my fault than Gloria’s. Sort of.

No. You know what?Hellno. If I’d had an inkling of what my future held, I’d have taken care of this little problem with Gloria and told Sonya everything from the very beginning. Before I’d been in a situation to be alone with her. So this wasn’t my fault in the way it was handled. Whatwasmy fault was letting it go on this long.

I stomped inside the main clubhouse, not even bothering to calm myself. Bandit was behind the bar and gave me a chin lift when I shut the door. Took him a second to register the look on my face because when he did, he raised an eyebrow and picked up his phone. Probably to give Samson a heads-up there might be trouble.

“Shotgun!” I yelled as I went deeper into the structure toward the tech officer’s command center, as he loved calling it.

“Yo, Angel. In here,” Shotgun called from the room across from his office. Looked like he was expanding or something. Or could be he and his kids needed a bigger game room. Could go either way.

“I need you to look into someone. Right now.”

Shotgun gave me a curious look but was also all business. He led the way across the hall and sat at his desk, clicking a few keys on his keyboard. “Wassup?”

“Gloria Turcot.” I gave Shotgun her birthdate and social security number. “Look her up.”

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