Final Surrender (14 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Angela fell asleep on the floor once her emotions were spent. She’d been high-strung for too long and just couldn’t fight the exhaustion any longer.

Her dreams were as vivid as if they’d been written in a book.

No faces could she remember, just voices. Her emotions felt as if they were being ripped out and sucked into a black hole. Lost forever.

Mark’s voice telling her she needed to be more careful as she yelled at him that he had let the wolf into her home, and he didn’t even know it. She knew he couldn’t hear her, even in her dream. She was alone, screaming at everyone, trying to make sense of her life as it fell apart.

Clay’s voice asking her for a chance and the thudding of her heart at his touch.

But she couldn’t find him.

He was lost in the darkness with the voice from her nightmares, the one that threatened her with its electronic cadence. It was somehow more chilling since it was so inhuman.

She woke up in a cold sweat, when the door banged downstairs.

Somehow she knew it was Clay, and feared the fact that she felt better simply because he was back.

But he was dangerous. She had to remember that. He hadn’t apologized for last time or made her feel as if she meant anything to him.

Damn her stupid heart for not learning the lesson the first time.

That morning after prom, the walk of shame to Becca’s car, with Becca casting concerned glances her way. She knew what she’d looked like, had caught sight of it in Clay’s bathroom mirror when she’d grabbed her cell phone. Raccoon eyes, brimming with tears, well-fucked hair, whisker marks on her neck and collarbone. She’d wanted nothing that morning but to crawl back in bed with him and make him love her. Everyone loved someone, right?

Everyone but superhuman out there, clomping back up the stairs.

Lying on the floor of her apartment, her heart finally calmed to something less than full panic and she sat up. Looking at the clock, she realized it was nearly four in the afternoon.

She struggled to her feet, dragging herself into the bathroom, knowing she had to get ready. Looking like warmed-over road kill wasn’t really the look for the event tonight. She’d settle for anything above awful so she could make an appearance, then come home and climb into bed, where she would stay until he vanished back into the realm of lost and hopefully forgotten.

A warm shower soothed her frazzled emotions and she shook off the dream and the fight, trying to get her head on straight before she had to face him again.

After she toweled herself off, she blow-dried her hair until it was shiny and warm down her back.

When she turned off the blow dryer she heard the phone ringing. She set the dryer on the counter and walked to the phone. She cleared her throat and picked up the receiver.

“Hey, Maddy.”

“Hey, Ang. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t want me at the dinner tonight. I could be ready in half an hour. Want me to come?” Maddy questioned brightly.

Maddy always sounded so happy. She was a breath of fresh air when Angela wanted nothing more than to forget the whole evening and go ahead and crawl into bed.

“Thanks for the offer. I’m just going to go take the dress that’s going to be auctioned off, schmooze for a couple hours and then come home. No need for you to spend your whole evening doing the same thing. What are you up to anyways, and please make me jealous?”

Maddy laughed. “Come on, you know me well enough to know that I’m already in comfies. I’m going to order some Chinese takeout and watch old movies on TV, and then I’ll probably try to eat my weight in ice cream. Same old, same old.”

Angela could hear Maddy’s smile over the phone.

Despite her bad mood, she smiled too.

“Yep, you did it, I’m jealous.”

She walked into the closet to figure out what she was going to wear when Maddy said, “Yup, it’s the ice cream part that always gets you. Sure you don’t want company?”

Angela thought about lying, but didn’t figure it would help. She’d know soon enough when work rolled around on Monday. “Actually someone is going with me.” She almost huffed at the end of the statement, but blew out a weary breath instead.

“Do you have a date, Ms. Meyers?” Maddy asked with something akin to giddiness on the other end of the phone.

“No,” she answered a bit too loudly. “He’s my security for the evening and the foreseeable future,” she added through clenched teeth. Her brother was so going to pay for this somehow.

“Oh,” Maddy answered, genuinely disappointed. “I was thinking you were actually going to have some juicy gossip on Monday for a change. Hearing about Jose’s conquests are fun but I was looking for some grade-A beef kind of stories if you catch my drift.”

“Please, you have guys asking you out all the time.”

“They’re okay, but nobody that really flips my lid, you know? Okay, no more stalling. I’ll let you go so you can finish getting ready. The dress you need for the auction is downstairs, hanging on the hook inside your office. Have a good time!”

“Thanks, Maddy. I’ll see you Monday.”

“Okay have fun,
adios, amiga
!” The line disconnected and Angela couldn’t help but smile again as she hung up the cordless.

She stared in her closet and quickly chose the dress she wanted to wear.

It was a floor-length, deep blue satin evening gown. It was one of her favorites and she hadn’t worn it in a long time. When she found the fabric it had reminded her of a midnight sky, full of stars. The dress had created itself over the next few days after everyone had gone home and the studio was quiet.

The lingerie she retrieved was thankfully free of dust, or she would have just thrown up her hands and admitted defeat.

She carefully lifted the dress over her head and let it slide down her body. It caressed her like a lover as the thin straps settled on her shoulders. She slid the zipper into place along her side and the dress hugged her body, plumping her cleavage front and center, along with the help of the strapless bra she’d matched with lacy black panties. The mirror showed her no panty lines as she turned this way and that.

At least she felt pretty. That was something. She needed all the courage she could muster, from every corner of her closet, if she expected to make it through an evening with Clay…without fighting.

She went back in the bathroom, did her makeup and wrapped her hair up at the back of her head and held it in place with hair sticks.

Her only jewelry was a watch, long, silver, dangly earrings that brushed her shoulders when she turned just right, and a thin silver Tiffany’s bracelet proclaiming what was eternally out of her reach.

Love.

She looked at the clock again. It was just a few minutes before six and she couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer.

Putting on her favorite silver Giuseppe Zanotti heels made her feel like Cinderella going to the ball. She grabbed her matching silver clutch, throwing her ID and some lipstick inside before making her way into the living room, where there was no sign of Clay.

Yes, she thought about sneaking downstairs past his room and going on her own, but then she’d have to deal with Clay and her brother yelling at her later.

Her shoes slapped the wood floor as she walked to the second guest room door and knocked.

She could hear Clay inside, and a moment later he opened the door and stood in front of her dressed in a tailor-made tux.

Her mouth went dry and she swallowed back a sigh as she noted how wide his shoulders were. The black pants accentuated his trim waist and his tanned skinned glowed against the silk of the fabric.

“Are you ready?” she managed as she took a step away from the door.

“Yes,” was all he said as he stepped farther into the room and grabbed some type of handgun. Probably the same one he’d had with him that morning as he prepared to ride to her rescue and save her from the world.

He popped the cartridge out, checked something she didn’t comprehend and then slid it back in place like she did her dress. Funny what they each needed to feel good.

He opened his jacket and slid the gun into a shoulder holster that was already strapped on. After refastening his coat, he turned to find her staring at him. She averted her eyes quickly, knowing he could read her too well already. Her heart had always shown through her eyes, her dad had told her for years. No point in going over ancient history anymore.

They’d been mad at each other for hours after their argument earlier in the day, and she expected tense silence for the remainder of the evening. That was how he’d always acted when he was younger. Instead he asked, “What?” when he saw her staring at him again.

She smiled shyly. “We’ve both changed.”

He closed the distance between them, but refrained from touching her. Her fingers tingled to close the gap between them, to feel the warmth of his cheek.

“Yes.”

He closed the door as Angela turned to make her way to the stairs.

She’d almost reached them when the phone rang again. She expected a call from Mark when he arrived home, so she ran to the living room and picked up the phone on the third ring.

She saw Clay waiting at the top of the stairs, looking at his watch, as she brightly said, “Hey, Mark?”

“No, Angela,” an electronic voice answered on the other end of the line.

Angela froze as a wave of nausea hit her like a brick wall.

“What, don’t want to talk today?”

“Don’t call me anymore; I’ve already reported everything to the police.”

Clay was at her side in seconds and snatched the phone from her hand and opened his mouth to speak, when they heard, “They didn’t help last time and they won’t have any better luck now. ’Til Next Time,” and then the line went dead.

He stared at the phone and then slammed it back down on the receiver.

Angela jumped a mile, gasping as she almost lost her footing. Clay caught her arms to steady her. “Sorry.”

Her body shook so violently she wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

“Angela, do you need to sit down?”

When she didn’t answer he pressed on, “Do you still want to go tonight?”

She let out a pent-up breath and closed her eyes.

She straightened up and released Clay’s arms and decided to grow a pair.

“I won’t let this person keep me from my life. I don’t want them to win and if I huddle in here like a scared animal, they’ve already done just that.”

“Damn straight,” Clay said with pride. He picked up her purse and handed it back to her. His fingers brushed hers for a moment, before he pulled them back.

“I wish I would have taken more time to check out the location we’re going to tonight.” He turned around and led her toward the stairs, but didn’t place his hands on her.

“There will be lots of people there, and security for the hotel, as well as a police presence. It’s the same for all of the benefit dinners.”

As they went downstairs, Angela grabbed the dress Maddy had laid out for her to take and she draped it over her arm.

“I’m not going to trust you with just anyone, Angela, so if you wouldn’t mind, let me lead tonight. Think you can handle that?” he asked behind a suave smile probably meant to comfort her. She felt that smile deep in her belly and at the top of her thighs that were still trembling.

He opened the door for her after checking immediately outside and she stepped into the cool night air. She probably should have grabbed a sweater, she thought as she turned to see Clay locking the door behind her.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as he walked up to her on the sidewalk.

“How strange this all is, I guess. I don’t like feeling afraid and I don’t want to have to rely on anyone else for my safety.” She looked up at him and he looked dangerous in the twilight. It seemed to highlight his scars and her fingers ached to smooth away the crease residing between his eyebrows.

“Angela, I know this isn’t the best situation for either of us, but let’s try to make the most of it.”

A snort escaped at the irony of her current predicament. She was in danger from God knows who, and they were threatening everything she held dear, and the one person she was having to rely on was the one person who hurt her the deepest.

“Agreed,” she said with a shaky breath.

“So do we need to get a taxi?” He led her toward the front street.

Angela looked at the slim silver watch on her wrist and said, “No, our driver should be here any moment, and before you frisk me again over not telling you about it, he’s been scheduled for weeks, and with everything else happening I honestly forgot to tell you about it.”

Clay was about to ask more about the driver they were waiting for, when Angela pointed to the side street and a long black limo pulled into view. “There he is now.”

“Full of surprises tonight, aren’t you?”

Clay stared at the limo and then back to Angela, who had a smug smile pulling at her lips. He shook his head as the limo pulled up in front of them, and then opened and held the door for her.

She slid across the seat, watching Clay slide in next to her and shut the door.

“Hi, Ron,” she called from the backseat. “Nice to see you again,” she added, trying not to feel so claustrophobic with Clay sitting so close to her in a confined space.

“You as well, Ms. Meyers,” her driver said from the front seat.

“This is Clay Waters from C&C Security. He’ll be accompanying me to dinner tonight.”

They pulled back out into traffic and Angela could feel Clay staring at her. Her cheeks were already flushed, as she turned toward him. She stifled a caustic comment, when she saw him smiling at her. Despite her best effort not to like him, she found herself happy just seeing his smile.

“What are you smiling at, Mr. Waters?” she asked while trying to calm her heartbeat.

“You,” he answered simply.

“Why me, what did I do?”

“It’s just hard for me to see you as you are now. A highly sought-after designer, going to gala functions in limousines where you know the limo driver on a first-name basis. I still see you ratting me out when we were kids and I’d done something to make you mad, which was often. It’s just going to take me a little while to get caught up to today.”