Angel's Intrigue

Chapter 2

      I waited for Jenny to leave the room before I decided to speak, "You almost had me fooled, I really wanted to believe that Landen Volkov wanted to donate."

       They both look surprised but it's masked a few seconds later, "Beauty and brains." Mercer flirts. "What do you know about Landen Volkov?" This time when he asks his flirtatious smile is no where to be found.

       "I know enough to know that the only charity Landen looks into is one for a tax write off. And he could care less if he gets personal information about a child, let alone 'directly from the source'." Not a lie, just not the whole truth. I was pretty sure about what was going on but I didn't want to get caught in a lie and blow my cover as well as Mason's. Although I have a feeling Mason's was already blown. "What do you really want?" If they knew about Mason then they were going to try and take him back with them.

       Six months ago, when I first met Mason, I would have let him go with these men without a seconds thoughts doubt. The Volkov empire was after all one of the strongest, they were also the ones who were paying for Elijah to stay hidden. But Elijah didn't ask me to bring Mason to his friends, he asked me to protect him and bring him to Lanny Wolf. The first place I looked for Lanny Wolf was in the Volkov empire, through a low level inside sources and my own research. I spent the first three months looking, searching, but I couldn't find him.

      If theses men thought they would take Mason without me they had another thing coming. I was the Elijah had asked to protect Mason, I don't care if he only asked me because I was the only one there, I will protect Mason with everything I have.

     "You know what we want." As if they had planned it, Mason comes bounding into the room, a smile on his face.

      I ignored my instincts which told me not to take my eyes off theses two men, and swirled my head around to see the little boy who had taken a place deep in my heart. I wouldn't consider myself a mother figure, but maybe a big sister. He's my family. The first person in my life that hasn't hid anything from me, all he wants from me is to be there.

      His face has me pausing, I've come to be able to read the little guy pretty well, and what I'm seeing is recognition. He himself pauses in his steps before hurtling his body at Nixon. "Nico!" For the first time since these men entered the orphanage, I saw Nixon flash a genuine full-blown smile.

     I was shocked at both the actions of Mason and Nixon, Mercer as well. He was reaching out to pull Mason into a hug. I didn't know whether to reach and grab Mason myself or reach for the knife in my boot. I wasn't going to use a poison with Mason anywhere in the vicinity.

     Distracted in my own thoughts I didn't realize Nixon was coming at me. By the time I had, I only had a few seconds at most to react. But what was I going to do? Fight a well trained, high position soldier in the Italian mafia? I had known who theses men were the second I saw them, but that didn't mean I could kick them out of the orphanage without exposing my knowledge of the mafia world. Because to the rest of the world theses men were only high level in the business world, more specifically Landen Volkov's many companies.

      Deciding it was better to let Nixon immobilize me than to give them any suspicion of me knowing anything about them, other than being a person who has unproven suspicions about their boss.

      I was shoved into the wall, my hands pulled behind my back, I groaned in pain. From the corner of my eye I saw Mercer leading a quiet Mason out of the room. A few more steps and I was in the clear to uncap the poison I keep around my neck. I would have to be careful though, it was the only one of my poisons I hadn't created an immunity to. I was going to break another one of my rules, don't ever use the poison I keep around my neck. I would break every rule I ever made with myself if it meant Mason was safe.