Angel's Hero

Chapter 15

The man made his way from the line of trees to the window.
He wouldn't be able to go in tonight. Not while she still had visitors.
He'd enjoyed sneaking into her house when she was out to look at his trophies. The posters of her mother in the downstairs room filled him with his purpose.
He'd done that.
He'd taken her mother away from her.
He'd seen how sad she had been about it. How she hadn't been able to stay in the room long, and how often there were tears on her face after she came out.
It was perfect!
She'd been torturing herself.
That was, until that stupid cop had gotten involved! He'd been there, listening, when they'd told her the fire had been set deliberately.
At first, he'd been hopeful, thinking the news would have hurt her more, and when he'd heard her crying, he'd felt a sense of victory.
But then her words had travelled through the open window, and he'd been filled with rage hearing her say how she was thankful that she knew it wasn't her fault.
But it was!
He had done it on purpose to hurt her. He wanted her to suffer like he had. That made it her fault!
Now, it was dark while he watched the house. He noted the lights upstairs as Angel moved around.
The woman had almost killed herself yesterday by being stupid and knocking herself unconscious. Before he'd been able to have his fun.
How careless.
Speaking of... He couldn't believe he'd been careless enough to let something as pathetic as an alarm almost get him caught that morning at the hardware store.
He'd punished himself hard for that.
The burns on his arms from the heated knife he used to reprimand himself were beginning to add up.
The older ones had faded to pale pink scars. They looked like scratches.
He hated them; they marred his otherwise perfect body. But it had had to be done. He'd been foolish.
Refocusing on the woman inside, he stretched his mouth into a grim line.
Things were just beginning to fall into place; the rest of his plan was due to play itself out very soon.
In the mean time, he'd managed to add something extra to cause more trouble for Angel.
He'd pretended to understand Jenna's pain at being challenged in her hometown. When he'd first met her, he'd mentioned the other bakery, testing the water's with a local, and seen the disgust in her eyes, heard it in her voice.
He'd shown the right amount of understanding and rage on her behalf.
He was a brilliant actor, after all.
Over the next few visits to her, he'd planted little seeds into her mind about getting even.
He hadn't expected her to be so exuberant at exacting her revenge, though.
The taillights and the birdseed were nicely done. He had to admit that they were the perfect levels of trouble to make Angel's a life more difficult, without raising too much suspicion.
Maybe he would offer her a reward for playing his game so well?
He could sleep with her.
She would love that.
He was an excellent lover.
The other woman and the boy walked around downstairs. He hated them for being there, stopping him from going in. He fingered the key in his pocket. It paid to pay well when you wanted something.
The previous owner had had a spare for the back door, and when he'd pretended to be from the agency handling the selling of the property, it had been too easy to get a copy made, before getting the key delivered to the woman who lived there now. Everyone was so trusting. How foolish they all were. He'd been able to come and go as he wished; as he saw fit. Just as it should be.
He'd even observed as the women had taken a midnight swim the previous week, disgusted with himself when he'd reacted to seeing their nakedness, and had had to force himself to stop watching them and go in the house while it was empty.
He'd punished himself for that too.
He had to get himself under strict control, so when he made his final move, he wouldn't get too excited and ruin it all.
Standing in the dark, where the light from the windows couldn't reach him, he stood still.
"Soon," he said, the word muffled by the leaves rustling in the breeze.
That's right. It would be soon. It was his right.
He lifted his left hand and raised a middle finger to the upstairs window, sending all his hateful thoughts to the woman up there who deserved nothing but pain and suffering. And then, when he deemed it time, death.
When he was done with her, when he was done playing with her, that's what she would get.
He'd enjoy watching the life drain out of her.
Just as silently as each time before, he slipped into the inky darkness of the woods behind the house and disappeared.

*

Michelle had a plan.
She was so proud of herself for coming up with this!
Before she could present this to Angel though, she needed to have all her bases covered.
She'd been shocked to hear the Sheriff slamming out of the house two days ago, so soon after disappearing upstairs with that heated look on his face.
Having been so sure that things would have progressed between her friend and Conner, hearing him leave so soon saddened her on her friend's behalf.
Angel was being uncharacteristically quiet about what had gone on between them, insisting that no, nothing had happened, and that yes, they were friends. Angel insisted she was fine, even when anger and sadness warred in her eyes.
Sick of seeing her friend looking so torn up, Michelle had resolved to take matters into her own hands.
Angel could thank her later. Maybe in an extremely moving speech at their wedding.
Michelle laughed out loud, quickly putting a hand to her lips to silence herself.
It had been two days since Conner had come around to break the news to Angel about Cassy's death being ruled as murder.
Two days since something had happened between them,
Michelle was certain of it. What though, she didn't know.
She knew it had to have been heated though, if Angel's short temper was anything to go by.
Rolling her shoulders, Michelle looked over her proposal, and nodded. It looked good.
Angel was on her way down, as she was going back to work today for a few hours.
Bo had been incredible, stepping in to run the show, with Sienna's help, while Angel had recovered.
Just that morning she'd assured Michelle that her headache was completely gone, the lump almost non-existent, and the cut well on its way to healing.
Michelle laid out her pages, with her storyboards, and was just finishing as Angel walked into the kitchen, and went straight for the kettle and some tea.
She was wearing long jean shorts, a white tube top, the thin band of material paired with a red shirt unbuttoned halfway. Her hair was shaggy, freshly washed, and her cheeks rosy.
She looked fantastic.
"Morning my beautiful friend!" Michelle got up and hugged her.
"Good morning, weirdo," Angel laughed and returned the embrace. "What do you want?"
"Step into my office, if you would," Michelle went back to the kitchen island, where pages covered the surface, her hands wide to encompass the surface, covered in it's entirety.
Angel held the cup of tea to her lips, blowing on the surface as she looked down.
"What am I looking at?"
"I need your help," Michelle started. When Angel looked at her, tapping a finger to her chest, and mocked looking over her shoulders for someone else in the kitchen, said, "Me?"
Michelle laughed. "Yes, you. You see any other tall, gorgeous women here?"
"Oh, god, you must really be desperate to lay the compliments on that thick."
She was desperate, just not for the reasons Angel thought.
Indicating the first storyboard, Michelle began to weave her plan.
"I've been approached by an advertising agency that has seen some of my work, and they've hired me to do some stock photos for them."
Angel squealed and hugged her friend. "That's incredible! I'm so happy for you! How can I help?" Michelle crossed her fingers behind her back, wincing slightly at the lie.
"Well, basically, they want to get a line on this new active-wear company that focuses on matching workout clothes for couples and families."
Angel took a seat, her attention on Michelle, nodding.
"So, what they want, is for me to take on the photographs of people working out, and being active together."
"Alright, sounds great. How do I fit in?"
"I want you to be one of my models," Michelle hedged, she knew she had to handle this next part perfectly, or else Angel would see through it all.
"I've done that for you before, Shelley," Angel took a sip and made a move to get up, putting her empty cup in the sink. "I'll be glad to do it again."
"The thing is, the project calls for a couple."
"Yeah? Cool. I'd be happy to pose with a fake boyfriend," Angel smiled, and began to strike poses, her hands moving around her face, pretending to hold them for the imaginary camera.
"Really? You wont be the only one's there for the shoot though. I've asked the Pierce's to do the family shots, so they'll be there too. You okay with that?"
"Will Katie and Tallulah be there?" Angel was referring to the two little red-haired girls from the family shoot Michelle had done a few days ago.
"You bet," Michelle smiled.
"Great! I'll be able to get some cuddles in with those cuties." Angel blew a kiss at Michelle as she walked past her. "Who you gonna get as my fake boyfriend?"
"I'm not sure yet," she turned her back on Angel, hiding her face.
"No worries, I'm sure it will be great."
Oh, yeah. It will be. If it works

*

Conner was sitting at his desk, furiously typing up a report, getting more and more frustrated as he kept hitting the wrong keys.
Marie stuck her head in around into his office at the back of the station.
"Hey boss, some lady here to see you."
"Who is it?" He looked up, but Marie was gone. He bristled.
Damn woman was just going to let anyone back here? He felt his anger building, and started to get up to shout at Marie, when he caught himself and took a deep breath.
His mood had been rotten since those intense moments in Angel's bedroom.
He'd been the perfect gentleman, dammit!
A woman didn't hold out as long as she did to just give it away so easily.
She would expect a deeper commitment from him, maybe even expect marriage.
He just couldn't do that to her. What if it didn't work out between them, and she'd given him something she'd saved for the man she would be spending the rest of her life with? She would come to resent him.
Conner, who respected women and their multitudes, just couldn't be responsible for ruining something like that for her.
She may think she could live with giving into their passion, and her desires, but come morning, she would regret it, and him, for taking something that can only be taken once.
He understood his actions.
Didn't mean he had to like it.
"Hi, Conner," Michelle said from the doorway. "Can I come in?"
"Is everything alright?" his stomach dropped to his toes. "What's happened? Is Angel alright?"
"Yes, yes, everything is fine. She's okay. At work actually," Michelle ignored his knee-jerk reaction. He was thankful to her for that. It revealed more than he intended.
"Oh," he sat back in his chair. "Good."
"I actually need you, I need your help."
He raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, with what?"
"I need you to model for me."
"Excuse me?" he choked out. Conner winced as a guffaw came from outside his office.
His deputies would never let him live this down.
Conner looked out over Michelle's head, intending to yell for them to get back to work.
Robert Mason was standing in the area across from Conner's office, and leant against a desk there, smiling broadly. Conner blinked for a moment, doubting his eyes.
"Rob? Holy crap!" Conner surged to his feet to move out of his office quickly.
Michelle watched with a look of wonder on her face as Conner rushed past her to clasp the hand of the man that had overheard their conversation, before Conner pulled him into a bear hug.
"Damn, Conner, you got big," Robert stepped out of the brotherly embrace and looked up at his friend.
They'd been friends since primary school, but hadn't seen each other in the last five years, thanks to Conner's army rotation.
"Where's Raymond?" Conner smiled at his long time friend.
Robert returned it, brightly. "He got delayed. Yvonne went into labor as we got back. Baby girl, still unnamed arrived four hours ago."
"Ah, congratulations uncle!" Conner hugged him again. His mood soared.
He, Robert and Raymond Mason, the twins, had been inseparable in their childhood and all the way until the end of high school. They'd gone to different universities and then the twins had moved out this way about ten years ago, and opened their organic farm, while Conner had joined the police force in Nevada.
Robert and Raymond had recently gone to a family funeral, and had stayed for a few weeks, missing Conner's arrival.
It was all thanks to Robert that Conner had gotten this job. He'd been the one to tell him about the opening, and it had come at the right time, as Conner had just returned to the States after ending his final tour.
A mere three weeks after landing and this had fallen into his lap, much to his mother's chagrin, unfortunately.
The woman had been enjoying pampering her son, and Conner had enjoyed it too, until he hadn't. A grown man could only take so much smothering.
He'd jumped on the opportunity.
He got the all clear to return to work, his mind sound and whole, unlike a lot of his friends who suffered from PTSD. He considered himself very lucky.
"Man, it's good to see you," Robert said, patting his friend on the back. "Look, I see you're busy. I just wanted to pop in to see you. I couldn't wait anymore. You up for a barbeque tonight?"
"Definitely," Conner smiled broadly.
"Sorry, Conner, I'll go. You should catch up with your friend," Michelle stepped up to the two men.
"Michelle, sorry," Conner put a hand to his head. "That was really rude of me."
"No, not at all! Friends are important," she smiled at Robert, stuck out her hand. "Michelle Winters. And you're Robert Mason."
Robert took it and smiled warmly at the lovely blonde woman. "Yup, that's me."
"You and your brother Raymond run that organic farm out by the Back Narrows?"
Robert nodded. "Right again. You're Sienna's daughter, right?"
Michelle nodded, too, and copied Robert's earlier response. "Yup, that's me."
Robert laughed, charmed.
"So," he looked back to Conner. "You gonna let this pretty girl take your photo?"
"Oh, right, that," Conner had forgotten. "Why me?"
Michelle explained that she had a client, and she needed active models for her photos, and thought he would be perfect.
Conner pulled a face, still not getting the picture.
"Dude, she means your muscles," Robert elbowed him.
"Shut up," Conner elbowed him back, smiling.
"Rob's not wrong. You're quite a man, and I have some shots in mind that require a strong man. You're strong, Conner."
"You really are quite a man. Dude," Robert snickered.
"Oh, god," Conner grimaced. "I really want to say no," he said, secretly enjoying the teasing from his friend. It had been too long.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Robert miming for Michelle to beg, his hands clasped in front of his chest. She did.
"Pleeeeeaase?" She drew the word out, batting her eyelids at him, mocking him.
"Fine!" He threw his hands up in surrender.
"I have to see this. Need any more models?" Robert turned his megawatt smile onto Michelle.
Conner laughed. No woman had been able to resist Robert when he turned the charm on.
"Maybe. Your brother available?" Robert laughed, surprised at the woman's tenacity. Michelle laughed with him. Something sparked and sizzled.
"Ok, you two. Enough of that," Conner rolled his eyes. "When and where do you need me?"
"I'm wanting to start this weekend. Saturday late afternoon work for you?"
He thought ahead to his schedule, and knew he was planned to work Friday night, so he had Saturday free, and then had to be back in on Sunday for the morning shift.
"Yeah that works," He and Robert walked with Michelle to the entrance of the building. "I really need to get back to work, but I'll see you tonight, Rob."
"Great, Ray will be glad to see you, too, if he can tear himself away from his new duaghter. I'll call you later with details," Robert walked out with Michelle.
When they were out in the sunlight, and Conner had gone back inside, Robert turned to Michelle. "It was great meeting you," he stuck out his hand.
She gave him an inscrutable look. "How good a friend are you to Conner?"
"He, Ray and I were best friends as kids through high school. We've maintained the friendship, though the last few years it has only been through texts and emails and long distance calls. Why do you ask?" Robert smiled at the smaller woman.
"How good are you at scheming and planning?"
"Oh, pretty good," his smile turned sly. "You don't spend your life as an identical twin without learning a trick or two in that department."
"Great. I need to tell you about your friend," she smiled, "and about my friend." Michelle hooked her arm through his, completely comfortable with him, and she steered him towards the coffee shop down the road.
"Yeah? Something been going on since I've been gone?"
"Have you met Angel yet?" Michelle asked him.
"Of Angel's Kiss?" She nodded. "No, not yet. Are you saying...?" Robert's eyes widened as a smile played over Michelle's face.
"I need your help. But first, let me catch you up on what's been going on."