Page 35 of Fallen Angel
Liam was her half-brother and younger by two years. When he turned eighteen, she had reached out to him just to find out how he was. At the time, he had wanted to talk about the past—something he clearly had the wrong idea about—but she refused, insisting she just wanted to make sure he was okay. It was only after he swore up and down to keep her location secret that she gave him her number and work address. Since they reconnected, they had talked every couple of months, but she hadn’t actually seen him since he was fourteen. Now, at nineteen, her brother had grown into a man.
And on any other day, she might have been happy to see him. But at that moment, he was the last person she wanted to see.
She barreled toward him. “What are you doing here, Liam? You should have called first. This is where I work. You can’t be here.”
Liam ran his hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry, Angel. I know I should have called, but I have something I need to tell you that I didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”
Her stomach sank further still. “What is it?”
Tears flooded his eyes. She couldn’t help it. Although he was well over six feet tall now, he was still her little brother. She pulled him into a fierce hug. “Tell me what’s happened.”
∞∞∞
Ethan sped through the city, ignoring speed limits and every other rule of the road as he wove through traffic and over sidewalks and pedestrian ways.
How had Angel Lockwood infiltrated his life?
He didn’t know the purpose of her family’s twisted game, but he was sure as hell going to find out.
Up ahead he saw Bake Off, and straightaway zeroed-in on the young man dressed in a tailored jacket, t-shirt, and distressed jeans helping Angel into the passenger’s side of a sleek, red Porsche.
“What the hell?” he snarled as he watched who he assumed was Angel’s secret rich boyfriend jog around the front of his luxury sports car and disappear into the driver’s seat before they sped off together, more than likely laughing at what a fool Ethan was for ever having trusted her.
He followed them past the Old North Church, then onto Commercial Street. Passing the next two cars, he sped up behind the Porsche, then pulled alongside and banged his fist on the window. “Pull over,” he shouted.
Scowling, the young man quickly maneuvered off the road and got out of the car. “What the fuck, man.”
He was nearly as tall as Ethan, but his body had yet to fill out all the way. He was young but not a kid, which meant he was fair game. Ethan climbed off his bike and barreled forward, tackling him to the ground.
“Ethan, no!”
Angel’s words barely penetrated the pulse of red fury shooting through his body. He gripped the guy by his designer lapels and pulled his fist back.
Angel seized his arm from behind. “Ethan, he’s my brother!”
Ethan froze, his whole body shaking with fury. Angel’s words slowly sank into his brain. The guy looked up at Ethan with furious brown eyes, the same shape and amber color as Angel’s. The same dark hair covered his head. Even their facial structures were similar.
Ethan dropped his fist and sat back on his heels. He gripped his head between his hands. His mind was spinning, images pounding his brain, memories of his father smiling, of Angel looking up at him with warm limpid eyes…his Angel.
“Ethan, let me explain.”
Her words cut straight to his heart. He lunged to his feet and got right in her face. “I know who you are.”
Angel gasped. “How did you—”
He grabbed her cheeks between his fingers, cutting off her words. He didn’t squeeze. He didn’t hurt, but there was nothing loving in his touch.
“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but if you or your father have fucked with my life, my business, my friends, in any way—”
The hand gripping her face started to shake. In that moment, she knew he wanted to hurt her. He wanted to punish her for her stepfather’s sins. He hated her, and that knowledge squeezed all hope from her heart.
His hand dropped from her face, and judging by the bloodthirsty glint in his eye, he let her go the instant before he lost his temper. He started backing up. “Stay away from me,” he said, through gritted teeth. Then he turned and swung his leg over his bike.
In a fury of dirt and asphalt, Angel watched Ethan race out of her life.
Her heart pounding, she railed at Liam. “After five years, you had to pick this minute to walk back into my life.”
“I—”
