"You can't keep me here against my will, you know? People will notice if I don't show up. They will come looking for me."
"Oh, you mean the people who don't care whether you live to see another day. Those people?"
Angelique hurled her pillow at John, and he easily swatted it away.
"Don't get cocky with me, John McDougle. I'm not in the mood."
"Really? Mind telling me what you are in the mood for?" John teased playfully. "I'd be happy to help. I even have several suggestions, if you are having trouble coming up with ideas."
"You're impossible," Angelique declared, but not before the "tell-all" blush flooded her cheeks.
John would have loved to have known what images came to mind, causing such a reaction. "You know you might as well make yourself comfortable because you're not going anywhere for a while."
"Oh, and how do you suppose I do that, Mr. Watch Dog?"
"Well, first I would think you would like to change out of those clothes."
"Yeah right, I'm sure you would just love that."
"Nothing I haven't seen before," he shamelessly reminded her. "I am only thinking of your comfort. It doesn't bother me either way." He closed his eyes again.
"Really?!" Angelique swung her legs off of her mattress to sit on the side closest to John. Two can play this game. "I guess you're right. I am rather uncomfortable."
John wondered what she was up to and snuck a peek at her. She locked gazes with him. Her blue eye sparked with a challenge. She tested his resolve by slowly unbuttoning her blouse, one button at a time, all the while her eyes never left John's face.
John was an excellent poker player. His face hardly changed. However, Angelique could tell he clenched his jaw by the once in a while flex of his cheek. Under her blouse, she was wearing a cream lace camisole. She stood up slowly and removed her skirt.
Angelique watched the rapid rise and fall of John's folded arms that lay across his chest. She wasn't wearing pantyhose, just lacy cream-colored underwear that came into view as her skirt slid down her form and pooled around her feet.
Ultra-feminine and sexy as all hell, she kicked the skirt aside. Then she reached up to slide her blouse off one shoulder, then the other, shrugging it to slide off and down her back until it also hits the floor. Angelique kicked off her ballet flat and sat down on the very edge of the bed. She crossed her legs, swinging her foot with slight impatience.
"So, was this what you had in mind?" she taunted.
John smiled shrewdly, lifting his one eyebrow. "I enjoyed the striptease but you're fooling yourself if you think it bothers me in the least."
Straightening her back, which caused her breasts to be pressed against the silky fabric, she saw the desire that flickered in his jade eyes. "You're a horrible liar, John. How do you ever manage in your line of work?"
Every nerve in John's body felt electrified. This was torment. He did not know what was keeping him in his chair. He struggled for control. Still...
"What makes you think I am lying?"
She gave him a once-over glance and smiled. "I should think that answer is obvious."
John had never seen Angelique like this. She was relentless, and she held no mercy for him in her heart. She was right. He was lying, and it was obvious. She was driving him crazy.
"Do I need to continue to prove my point?" Angelique said poignantly as she reached to pull the strap of camisole from her shoulder. John growled at her.
"You continue with that strap and you won't have to worry about the danger you're in out there. You'll be in enough danger right here."
"I thought as much," Angelique said.
She had won this battle and proved her point, but there was no enjoyment to her victory. She removed her hand from the strap, stood up, flipped over her covers, and then climbed under them, turning her back on John.
"Good night, John."
It wasn't likely. John knew he would not get much sleep tonight. Not with the object of his desire less than five steps away and this God-awful chair, but he would make do. Picking up the pillow she threw at him and placing it behind his head, he tried to console himself, knowing that at least for now he knew she was safe.
The images came flooding into her mind much clearer than before...
"Buddy, what the hell are you doing?" While trying to push the dog off, Danny yelled to John, "What the hell has gotten into your dog? Get him off of me!"
John wasn't paying attention to the older boy. He was too intrigued by the sound of sobbing coming from somewhere in the brush. "Danny, shut up, will you? You must have injured the animal. Hear that?"
"Sounds eerie, if you ask me," the youngest boy said, kneeling next to John.
Danny finally pushed the dog away and scrambled to his feet. Highly annoyed, he said, "Fine, then let me put it out of its misery," and cocked his rifle to take another potshot into the brush, but he never got the shot off.
Buddy was pulling John around to the other side of a bush by his hunting jacket. What John saw took his breath away.
"Hold up! Hold up! Hold Up!" John yelled.
"What is it now?" Danny demanded. John didn't answer but disappeared behind the brush.
"You're going to make me come over there, aren't you?" Danny grumbled as he circled around the bush.
She was sitting on the ground, curled up for protection. Her outfit, if you could call it that, was almost transparent, but her golden crown of waist-length hair provided her with some cover. Shock and awe registered on both boys' faces.
John was the first to come to his senses. "Are you okay?" he asked, but was pushed aside by his larger companion.
"Well, what do we have here?" Danny said, as he lecherously ran his roughen hand against the milky white skin of her cheek. Angelique flinched.
Suddenly he was no longer the younger Danny but morphed into his adult self. He reached out to grab hold of her. "You've got nowhere to run, Angel." His face slowly coming to be within inches of her own. She swore she could almost feel his furious breath on her face. "Now you're mine." She felt his vice-like grip grab hold of her and she screamed!!!!
"Angel! Angel wake up!"
John held her in his arms, his face inches from her own. She was terrified. Whatever nightmare she was having, she was still in its grip. "Shh," he soothed, stroking her hair. "It's okay, Angel. I'm here! I won't let anything hurt you." Slowly, she calmed and relaxed in his arms. She still slept, but John wondered if it was over.
Danny was a kid again. Buddy leaped to defend her, biting Danny's hand, then quickly released him. The bite was hard enough to draw blood. Danny was furious. After letting a stream of obscenities escape his lips, he cocked his gun again. His target ... Buddy.
John yelled out and tackled Danny, knocking the gun from Danny's hand and the air out of the boy's lungs. The two wrestled for a while until John landed a good left hook to Danny's jaw. Reaching for his discarded shotgun, John called out to the younger boy, Michael, to grab Danny's rifle. Michael was quick to do as he was told.
John swore before letting off a gunshot into the air. He threatened Danny with bodily harm if he did not leave at once. Danny wasn't about to argue and took off running from the glade.
John went back around the bush where he found her. She was on her knees, huddled close to the dog. Her face buried in its fur, as she silently cried. John took off his hunting jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
"Hey? Are you all right? Don't cry."
Angelique looked up. Their eyes locked. It was a feeling like no other. Like coming home. John stood staring at her, transfixed. Michael looked at her, amazed, as he stood behind John.
"She looks like an angel, John."
John could not tear his gaze from her. He reached out, reverently taking her hand in his. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here! I won't let anything hurt you."
As the first signs of daylight shone through the window, John had stood trying to stretch his cramped body. He must have drifted off. What a night? Angel thrashing about, screaming aloud in her sleep like she was experiencing some sort of night terrors. The only thing that seemed to calm her was the sound of his voice and holding her in his arms. He always loved the way she felt in his arms. They were a perfect fit. However, as soon as he knew she was in a deep sleep, he returned to his chair, not wanting her to get the chance to getaway.
"Angel? We have to talk! I know you don't want to deal with this but..." John stopped. Either she was still asleep or still mad at him. Either way, she was deliberately ignoring him, but he continued to talk anyway, believing the latter to be true.
"Look, I know you're mad at me right now, but you have to believe me. I have your best interests at heart. These guys are not someone you want to trifle with and the truth is they scare me sometimes. The extremes they will go to win. Well... what I'm trying to say is...." John wasn't able to complete his sentence, for there was a knock on the door.
Alarmed, he said, "Stay here, I'll go check this out."
John went to answer the door and cursed the fact that there was no peephole. Sensing John's uneasiness, Saint rose from his resting spot to stand beside John as he unlocked the bolt. John left the chain in place and opened the door. The girl with the black eye was looking up at him, although he had to admit it wasn't as gruesome as when he first saw it. Saint recognizing Rebecca danced around with excitement at seeing her.
"What do you want?" John asked, a little too moodily.
"Back off Suit, I'm here to see Angelique. Is she in there?"
"Yeah, she's here, but she's a little busy right now."
"Look Suit, I don't know who you are, and I really don't care. I know Angelique wants to see me because she called and asked that I meet her here. Are you going to let me in or not?"
John undid the latch and let the girl in.
"What do you mean she called you?" he asked, not remembering seeing a phone in the bedroom.
Upon entering, Rebecca immediately bent down to pet Saint. "The hearing against Bobby is today. She asked me to meet her here. She had something to tell me."
"OK... when did she call you?"
Standing up and looking at John like he had gone insane, she answered, "She called me about ten minutes ago... from the courthouse. What's with the fifty questions?"
John immediately ran to Angel's bedroom and threw back the covers to reveal a bunch of strategically placed pillows.
"Dammit!" How the hell did she do it?
Going over to the window, he noticed the fire escape leading down to the alley below. "Son of a ...."
"Look, mister, if she ain't here, is it okay if I go? Tell her I am at Mrs. Dolton's, okay? Okay, Mister?"
"The name is John," he told her.
"Okay, John?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, yeah go. I'll tell her... if she's still breathing," John muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Rebecca inquired.
"Nothing," John replied.
"Whatever." Rebecca crossed the living room and almost ran right into Angelique as she entered the room.
"Rebecca, hi!" Angelique said, giving the girl a bear hug. "Great news they went to trial with Bobby's case and they are making it a jury trial. So they think we have a really strong case. It looks like we are going to win this one."
Rebecca tried smiling at the news.
"You're still worried, aren't you?"
"I can't help it, Angelique. His friends are not the nicest bunch of guys. You can be in a lot of trouble."
"I can take care of myself, thanks and with any luck, I'll take care of you too."
"Thanks for doing this for me. I don't know anyone who would even try something this crazy."
"Me neither," John said from Angelique's bedroom doorway.
"Uh-oh, I think I'm going to get out of here before the Suit goes ballistic," Rebecca said to Angelique.
"Take Saint with you? He could use a walk and he hasn't been by to see Mrs. Dolton in a while," Angelique asked.
Looking over at John, Rebecca bit her bottom lip in concern. "You, sure."
Looking over at him also, Angelique replied without hesitation, "Yeah."
"Okay. See ya soon. I'm right downstairs should you need me," Rebecca said, giving John a warning glare, as she patted her leg for Saint to follow. The dog seemed to hesitate slightly, looking from one owner to the other, obviously sensing tension in the room, but did as requested and followed Rebecca out the door.
Angelique slipped the chain into place after saying her goodbyes and turned to face him. She had hoped he would have discovered her missing hours ago and would have left to find her. Then she would just have to keep an eye out for him and not let him in. Unfortunately, life wasn't cooperating with her lately. She figured she would let him say his piece and then hopefully he'd storm out of her apartment.
She walked past him into the kitchen. "Do you want some coffee?"
John just stared at her in disbelief.
Holding up the can of ground coffee and the measuring spoon, she asked again, as if demonstrating what coffee was in case his memory was failing him.
John just grunted and moved to the living room to sit down. This was going to be harder than she thought. Angelique had expected him to be so furious with her. She would have expected John to scream, rant, rave and then, hopefully, do what he does best and leave. However, it seemed he had something else in mind.
Waiting for the coffee to percolate, Angelique got out of her suit and into something less stuffy. Even though she took longer than usual getting changed, Angelique could still see the top of John's head as he sat in the armchair from the kitchen nook window. Taking out two mugs for coffee, she took her time preparing each cup and placing them on the tray went to face her doom.
"John, look, I didn't ask you to come here and protect me. I can take care of myself."
She put the tray on the coffee table and looked up at John, wondering at the lack of response. Until, of course, she realized he had fallen sound asleep in the armchair. Her heart went out to him. He must be exhausted.
Angelique grabbed her cup of coffee and sat on the sofa, tucking her feet up under her. He perplexed her. He shows up on her doorstep, determined to destroy her one moment, and then barges in, intent on saving her from destruction the next. He looked so different when he slept, almost boyish, so much more like the man she fell in love with. She was glad to have the coffee to occupy her hands, because she had an almost uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch him.
What was this connection she had with him? And why was she unable to release herself from him? So, many years have passed, and she still felt as strongly for him as the first time she met him, but she was sure that this wasn't what the Lord meant by loving your enemy.
"You're his angel," was the voice that echoed in her head.
"I may have been once," Angelique replied.
"No, Angel," the familiar voice said again. "You ARE his angel."
Angelique tore her eyes away from John's sleeping form and rested them once again on Gabriel, who was seated next to her.
She drew her brows in concern. "You don't mean?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Gabriel said, knowing her thoughts. "You are John's Guardian. YOU are his angel."