Page 47 of Angel

“You have a lovely home.” I remark as I take my seat at the island and he shrugs. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

I like how he does and doesn’t dismiss my compliment out of hand.

He works the coffee machine and says almost conversationally. “I appreciate what I have, Sophie. It took a lot of good luck, work and cunning to get here and I don’t take any of it for granted. Unlike you, I am proud of my achievements, and there is nobody to impress with them, so your praise is gratefully accepted.”

“That’s sad.”

The more time I spend with Jason, the more lonely he appears. I kind of understand that and he is right. I am luckier than him because there are parents who love me and a best friend who would fight my corner every time.

“What about your family and friends? You must possess a past.”

“I’m not saying I lack a family or friends, Sophie. They are simply not that impressed by what I achieved.”

“Then they must be equally successful because a person is measured by their success and usually admiration is earned by that.”

“Sad, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I don’t make the rules. I just live by them.”

He hands me a black coffee.

“If you want creamer or sugar, both can be provided.”

“Black is fine.”

He smiles again and pleasure curls around my heart at his obvious approval. I hate that if I had a tail, it would be wagging off the scale right now, and I’d probably be panting for good measure, too. What the hell is happening to me?

He sits beside me at the island unit as we stare over the city and his husky whisper crawls through my entire body like a warm breeze on a cool day.

“So, Sophie Clere. Tell me what you know and I will analyze it, process it, and come up with a solution.”

“If only it was that easy, but I appreciate your interest.”

I smile and for a second our gazes hold and rather than be embarrassed, I smile. He rewards me with a matching one and just like that, my mind is made up. Help or no help, I will move in with him and not for any other reason than I want to.

CHAPTER 18

ANGEL

This is easier than I thought. Sophie is relaxed. It’s a side to her I have never seen and I like it. She doesn’t appear to recognize me either. The contacts I wear when I’m Angel help with that, plus the fact I’m not wearing a mask concealing half of my face. The leathers have been replaced by normal attire, and she doesn’t seem to have connected the two.

This may work, after all.

She holds her mug with both hands and stares out of the window at the city below. I stay silent, waiting for her story that I already know every word of.

“I had a happy childhood.”

She smiles as she returns to it.

“Mom and dad isolated me. I was daddy’s princess and mom always came second to that. It seemed that way anyway. I’m not saying he was an easy man to live with. She cried a lot. It confused me because mom was always so sweet and loving. She told me it was because when he left for work, she was always afraid he wouldn’t come back. I never understood what she meant by that and just assumed she loved him so much she worried for his safety when he drove. Not that he drove himself. We had a fleet of cars and drivers and never went anywhere without several cars surrounding us.”

I remain silent, wondering if she has any idea what her father’s occupation was.

“It’s only now I look back and wonder about all that. We lived in a mansion protected by guards. There was always tension in the house and mom always seemed afraid of something. But my father doted on us and always told mom that if we ever left, he would find us. Looking back on that, I’m aware it isn’t normal behavior, but as a child I thought the sun shone out of his ass.”

She takes a sip of coffee and sighs as she places the empty mug on the counter.

“One day he never came home. Mom was crying when she took the call, telling her he had been murdered in cold blood. She was so shocked she couldn’t even grieve, merely raced around packing bags, telling me we would go and stay with a friend of hers. I was crying. I didn’t understand what she was saying and then one of my father’s guards came back and they had a huge argument. She was angry. So was he and only the housekeeper leading me away saved me from knowing what happened next.”