Page 48 of Guarding Bristol
“Double liar.”
A soft laugh escaped her, and he smiled.Thin, exhausted, and ill as she was, he could still see the gorgeous woman he’d married in her eyes and smile.“Your cooking skills have improved exponentially since you took the reins.”
“That’s not saying much.”He’d been shit at cooking until she got sick.Must needs, and all that.“It’ll be ready in ten.”
“Can’t wait.”
They ate together in the kitchen.He helped her to the table and served them both.She was more animated than she had been in days.They chatted about what she’d found online that afternoon, and about the plans she had for the back garden next spring.
She finished another tiny mouthful of pasta, washed it down with a small sip of water, and sat back.He prayed it stayed down.She’d lost too much weight as it was.“When we go to Zurich, let’s take a week just for us to travel around first.”
The comment surprised him so much he stilled with his fork inches from his mouth.“Really?”
“Yes.Who knows, maybe some clean mountain air will revitalize me.”She reached across the table to grasp his free hand, a gentle smile curving her mouth.“You’ve been burning the candle at both ends for so long, taking care of me and the house in addition to traveling for work and taking on extra night shifts.Carrying the weight of having to make enough to pay all the bills until I can work again.Mountain air would do you some good too.”
Guilt slithered through his stomach.He smothered it.Whatever lies he’d told her to hide the truth, he had made the right decision and would do it all again.And again.“I’d love that.”
“Good.”She squeezed his hand, sat back, and forked up more pasta.“Now polish off everything on your plate.Need to keep your strength up if you’re going to be carting me all over the Swiss countryside, up and down mountains like Peter inHeidi.”
“Sounds like fun.”
Her eyes sparkled, and seeing that will to live in her galvanized him.He would keep killing targets until he had the money they needed, even if it damned his soul to hell.
After dinner, they watched a movie in the living room, stretched out on the sofa together with her lying between his legs, her back propped against his chest and her head resting against his shoulder.Her hair smelled like the vanilla shampoo she loved.
She made it almost until the end before falling asleep.Angel stayed like that, holding her until after the credits rolled, tracking the slow, even rise and fall of her chest.Until after the screen went black and the sky outside the picture window went dark.
He carried her to bed.Tucked her in securely and left a note on the bedside table in case she woke after he was gone, though he doubted she would.The level of exhaustion she suffered would keep her asleep until morning.
Once the house was secure, he climbed into his car, checked for Hawk’s latest message, and then set off north for the Washington State border.
At two in the morning, he got the confirmed location.Twenty minutes later, he parked several blocks away and went to reconnoiter the target on foot.The run-down rancher was dark.Both front windows were boarded up.One car sat in the driveway.
Out of view of anyone who might be looking out a window, he tugged on gloves and a black balaclava that covered most of his face.A dog barked somewhere in the distance as he hopped the chain link fence into the backyard.
He picked the lock on the back door in seconds and slipped inside.The house was dark and still, a musty smell mixing with the acrid stench of weed.
Silenced weapon in hand, he crept through the cramped space and found a door closed at the far end.He eased it open, saw a shadow jolt upward in bed and moved fast, pinning the man to the bed and slamming a hand over his mouth before he could make a sound.
“Heard you had an accident this afternoon,” he said in a low, menacing voice.
Mark struggled, guttural sounds of rage and fear escaping his throat.
Angel silenced him with an elbow to the side of the head and quickly bound him, dragging him into a chair and tying him to it.Mark moaned softly, blood dripping down his temple.
Angel slapped the side of his face smartly.“Hey.Focus.”
In the thin light coming between the slats of the blinds on the window, he saw Mark’s head come up, eyes squinting at him.“Who the fuck are you?”
“Where was the meeting?”
“What?”
A backhand to the other side of his face snapped his head sideways.“Where?”
“Hospital in Crimson Point.Fuck, man!Lemme go.”
“Who else was there?”
