Angel (Made Men 5)

“Here?” she asked quietly, suddenly nervous, not knowing what to expect on the other side of the door.

Nodding, Sal opened the door for her to go in.

Stepping into the room that looked much like the one Angel had been in before, she practically jumped when the door was closed behind her. Then she tiptoed in farther, not seeing him until the bed came into view. She gasped at the sight, almost unable to believe it.

Walking closer to him, tears beginning to brim her eyes, she saw that he was black and blue all over, severely beaten. Placing a hand on the sleeping Angel’s arm, she quickly pulled it back when he jumped awake with a force that didn’t look like he should have been capable of in his condition. It seemed as if he had awakened from a nightmare and was ready to fight.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped, slowly trying to sit up and get comfortable. The way he had jarred himself awake hadn’t helped his injuries.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just …” Trying to calm her nerves from the fright, she took a breath, wondering if she should admit the truth. Then she did. “I was worried about you.”

Staring at her for a moment, he relaxed, losing his harsh expression. “You were worried about me?”

“Yes. I thought something might have happened to you, and it looks like I was right.” When she took a step toward him, her eyes got a little cloudy at seeing him like this. There were bruises covering his face and other parts she could see that weren’t covered by his T-shirt yet were hard to see from all his dark tattoos.

Noticing her distress, he seemed to take on a different temperament. “I just got beat up a little, is all.”

Is he being … sweet?

She gave a little chuckle as she tried to dry her eyes. “A little?”

He tried to laugh himself but wasn’t really capable. “Okay, I might have gotten the shit beat out of me, but to be fair, there were three of them.”

“Three? Who were they?” She was lucky to be looking at a man and not mashed potatoes.

“It doesn’t matt—”

“Yes, it does.” She stared at him, realizing it had to be Carusos. “Joey was one of them, wasn’t he? What if he does it again?”

That sweet temperament vanished in an instant. “That’s my problem, sweetness, not yours. I’ll deal with it.”

Seeing the look of retribution in his eyes, Adalyn slowly nodded.

“How did you find me? Who even let you in?”

Biting her lip, she debated on telling him the truth. “I may have kicked Sal in the balls trying to talk to Lucca to get him to tell me where you were. Sal let me in.” She smiled at the last part.

Amused, Angel curved his lips up, smiling. “Did you really?”

“I did,” Adalyn admitted with a laugh. “No one was telling me where you were or where you went, and I couldn’t get in touch with you. I thought you might have died.”

“Give me your phone,” he demanded.

Doing as he asked, she submissively handed it over to him.

Touching the screen, he managed to type with the arm that hadn’t gotten hurt too badly. “I’m giving you my number, but know that my phone’s being watched, so only contact me if you need me.”

“Okay.” She felt better now knowing she could find him if he went missing again.

When he handed her phone back, she reached out to grab it, then found herself grabbed and dragged down to the bed to sit beside him. Shocked at first, the second he placed his hand on her jaw, she melted into it.

“Adalyn, there’s something else I need from you.” His tone turned as dark as his eyes that now bore into her. “I put an address in your phone under my contact.”

Her heart was pumping out of her chest not sure if she was liking where this was going.

“If anything happens to me, I need you to make sure that my friend and my friend only gets the ring.”

Shaking her head, she didn’t like what he was saying. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

He slowly grazed his knuckles against her cheek. “I don’t belong here, sweetness; you know that.”

He had told her so simply, and she knew he was right, as sad as that fact was. She remembered what she had told him herself when she first met him. You’re in enemy territory. For as long as he was there, he would never be safe.

Nodding, she agreed to do it for him.

“Promise me.” He didn’t ask but ordered to hear it from her.

Whispering her promise, she gave him what he wanted. “I promise, Angel.”

“Thank you.” He smiled and continued his motion only for a second longer before he let her go. “You better go before Sal or Lucca come back to check on you.”