Angel

Chapter 43

Marc

When teams and solos learned about what Phil and the council had done to our family and Mattie, the Academy damn near crumbled. Group after group offered their help, connections, and some just offered financial support to buy intel.

North and Silas managed to get a meeting with Rico. He made it a point to warn off all of the gang members from even talking about Angel. Word had gotten around that Cardoza killed his second, Jake, for giving Angel drugs without his knowledge. While I may hate the bastard, I'm glad he killed the asshat. Jake wasn't in the mix when the two of us were running, but the thought of her being drugged by force made me want to rip Rico's head off.

Silas said Rico had gotten drunk one night and talked about her like she was some mythical creature. Said he'd cried when he told them about her getting branded and "claimed" by Cardoza in front of the entire damn room. Of course, the next day he was tight-lipped and told Silas never to repeat it. Rico was obviously a dead end, so Owen had ordered them back.

"Daddy?" Flower said, bringing me a paper. "Can I send this to Mommy?"

I felt my throat tighten. She'd made a picture of all of us with her in the middle, but Angel was standing off to the side - alone. "Flower, how come Mommy isn't with everyone else?" I asked, then wanted to slap myself when she answered.

"Because she had to leave," she said softly. "MawMaw said she is protecting me from the bad man, and can't come home anymore. I thought maybe we could send the picture to her so she didn't miss us so much." Okay, first I want to throat-punch Angel's grandmother. Second, this girl...

I pulled her up into my lap and held the picture. "Flower, how about we keep this picture here and maybe if we say our prayers, Mommy can come to see it."

"You mean like how I prayed for you to find us?" she asked.

I nodded and tapped her nose lightly, "Just like that, babygirl. Your mommy is being very brave right now, so we need to be brave for her too, okay?"

She threw her arms around my neck and giggled, "Okay Daddy! I'll put it on the fridge." She jumped down and headed toward the kitchen then stopped, "May I have some chocolate chip cookies?"

I grinned, "Only two. If you finish dinner, you can have one more afterward."

She pumped her little arm and squealed, "Yes!" before dashing off calling out Luke's name.

North rolled his eyes at me, "She's going to ruin her appetite."

"Maybe, but are you going to tell her no?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't dare. She had all of her uncles wrapped around her finger. The only one who stood half a chance was Owen and he usually crumbled when she cuddled him and called him Uncle Owie.

Mattie

I sat in Emilio's office across from my parents who felt like complete strangers. My mother sobbed and hugged me, while my father only looked shocked. As strange as it sounds, I was glad Emilio was here with me. He sat next to me on the couch, holding my hand as I asked my questions.

"Why didn't you tell me who I really am? Why all the secrecy?" I finally asked.

My father cleared his throat, "To keep you safe, mi hija. To have a daughter in this world is dangerous. A rival could have taken you and forced an alliance by raping you. Better to keep you in the shadows, but close enough to learn the business."

"And then better to make me give up my child than disgrace your precious family?" I spat.

"Don't speak to me that way, young lady," my father growled and raised his hand, but Emilio grabbed his wrist.