Abandoned Angel (30 page)

“Justin don’t you think you would rather go inside while your mommy and daddy talk?” Blaze chose his words carefully, not wanting anything to trigger Rusty’s rage. “That way they can get things all figured out, so that you can spend time with both of them.”

Blaze saw the trail of dust coming up the road as Rusty release his son’s shoulder. Justin hesitated for a moment and then turned to go towards the house. He did not want to spend time with his daddy, but thought better of saying so. Maxine took his small hand, intending to lead him into her small home. For a moment Angelina relaxed, thinking Justin would be safe, that Rusty would not harm him after all. When Rusty realized it was the police who had pulled into his driveway, everything changed.

When Justin was a couple of steps from the front porch, Rusty fumbled with pulling the gun from his belt buckle. The alcohol he consumed slowed down his reaction process.

“You bitch,” he hollered, turning the loaded gun towards Angelina.

Fear took over her body. She froze – feeling certain Rusty would shoot her.

“Now hold on there, Rusty,” started Blaze. Rusty did not give him a chance to finish.

“You will not take my son away from me again,” bellowed the angry man. Rusty changed his target. He pointed his gun towards Justin just as Justin turned to see what his daddy was doing.

Angelina, understanding that it was not her he intended to kill, instinctively turned towards her son, wanting to protect him. In that instant, as if everything happened in slow motion, she caught the look in Maxine’s eyes as she pulled her grandson behind her. Maxine would not allow the cycle to continue. She would not allow her son to hurt Justin.

Blaze lunged forward to stop Rusty, but the gun went off just as Blaze toppled on top of him, with his fist swinging. Although Blaze managed to knock the gun out of Rusty’s hands, he knew it was too late; the shot had already gone off. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw both Maxine and Justin topple to the ground, blood spilling out between them.

The two police officers, who had gotten out of their car, drew their guns when the shot rang out. They were at a loss as to what was happening. As small town cops, the men were not used to this type of excitement.

Angelina darted to her son, reaching him before the policemen moved.

“Police, stop or I’ll shoot.”

Angelina heard the statement ring out behind her, as if the officers weren’t really there at all. Realizing that Angelina was not the threat, the policemen aimed their guns at the two men rolling around on the ground. The second cop cautiously headed to the heap, intending to put a stop to the fight. Blaze managed to get one last punch in before
being pulled
off of Rusty’s bleeding body.

“You son of a bitch,” hollered Blaze while being pulled away from Rusty. Blaze could hear Angelina sobbing in the background as she cradled her boys’ body in her arms. Rusty lay still for a moment, trying to catch his breath. It was then that Blaze realized that the gun sat under Rusty’s arm. Blaze led Rusty’s gaze to it as he intentionally egged him on.

“I’ll make damn sure you never see your son again,” he bellowed as one of the police officers tried to settle him down, still uncertain as to whom the dangerous one was.

The second police officer kept his gun on Rusty. “Don’t move,” he yelled.

“Did you hear me, you coward? This isn’t over.” Blaze continued. “You will never see him again you son of a bitch.”

Blaze spit at Rusty, knowing the man was on the verge.

“He will live the rest of his life with Angelina while you rot in jail,” Blaze continued. “Justin won’t even know he has a father, you will mean nothing to him!”

Blaze finally received the reaction he was trying to trigger. Rusty reached for the gun, intending to aim it at Blaze.

“You son of a bitch,” screech Rusty as he grabbed the gun.

A quick reacting officer shot Rusty square in the chest.

Blaze grinned, and turned to check on Angelina and Justin.

“NOW it is over,” Blaze muttered to himself, knowing that it would never have ended if Rusty had not died.

Maxine, who took a bullet to the thigh while trying to protect her grandchild, went by ambulance to the hospital. The woman was a fighter, and although she lost a lot of blood, she would recover, physically anyway. In a matter of days, she re-connected with her son - who turned out to be a monster, gained a grandbaby - who she took a bullet for, and now she had to accept that the police killed her child. She would struggle, emotionally, for a while.

Angelina sat by her side for a long time at the hospital, forever grateful for her heroic, selfless act. Her son would be gone had it not been for his grandmother. Angelina understood how hard it must be for Maxine, Rusty dying the way he did. She loved her son. Maxine would miss who she had wanted Rusty to be, but knew she had given both Angelina and Justin a fair chance at life. She would find peace with herself for the first time in years.

------

It was well past midnight before Angelina, Justin and Blaze were finished filling out paperwork, and done answering questions for the police. The department had allowed Angelina and Justin to stay at the hospital while they questioned Blaze in the small police hall. When Angelina was sure Maxine would be okay, she allowed the police to drive both her and her son to the station for their turn to tell the grueling story. Blaze played the role of attorney, making sure things went along smoothly. They left out the part about riding with each other. Before they left the hospital, Maxine confirmed the abuse her daughter-in-law had endured and the bruising on her face and around her neck backed it up. She had also confirmed that Mr. Bonn, Angelina’s attorney, had come to the house with the sole intent of helping the young mother to work out an arrangement for visitations with her son, and that he had done nothing to provoke Rusty. As far as the police were concerned, the dead man was the criminal; case closed.

Blaze carried a sleeping Justin out of the police station and settled him in the back seat of the large pickup truck. After buckling Justin in, Angelina climbed into the front seat. She felt absolutely exhausted while completely happy and safe. She was free of Rusty, finally free.

“Now what?” she asked. A tired grin sprung across her battered face. Blaze took her hand and held it gently as he drove away.

“Now, we take you home,” stated Blaze.

“If only I had a home . . .” she smiled up at her hero, her eyes quickly getting heavy.

“Go to sleep Angel, you need the rest. I’ll wake you when we get there,” whispered Blaze, feeling relief and satisfaction for the first time in years. He had won. He had beaten the bad guy this time, and saved Angelina and Justin.

Angelina, assuming they were heading to a hotel for the night, only muttered, “Thank you Blaze, thank you a million times over.” Her world was right again. Her son was safe in the back seat, and Rusty could never hurt them again. She would fret about what happens next in the morning. She fell asleep to the motion of the truck, without any worries drowning her mind.

Early in the morning, Angelina awoke to the sound of Blaze getting out of the vehicle. It was still dark out.

“Blaze, where are we?” she questioned, looking around at the buildings surrounding her. She did not recognize the place.

“Come on, out of the truck sleepy head,” Blaze whispered without answering her question.

In her half dazed state, Angelina did as told, thinking they were entering a hotel. Blaze carried Justin in, as she followed close behind. He headed to the elevator, and pushed the button for the ninth floor. They rode the elevator in silence, not wanting to wake Justin. As the thick doors opened, Blaze handed Angelina a key and signaled for her to unlock the second door on the left. He turned on the lights as he walked into the large room.

“Where are we Blaze?” she finally whispered, realizing it was an apartment and not a hotel.

“You are home Angel, if you want to be,” Blaze replied calmly.

“Home?”
Angelina asked, startled by the statement. The large three-bedroom apartment was absolutely beautiful, and clean. Clean in a way that she had never seen. Everything had its place, no clutter, no dust, nothing personal. With its crisp leather furniture and soft throw rug, the crisp apartment was somehow inviting.

“Home?” she questioned again, still half asleep. “I don’t understand. Is this your apartment? You live here?” She was confused. In her mind, Blaze lived on the streets, or in the park, or clubhouse, wherever bikers lived. He did not live in big beautiful apartments.

Blaze grinned as he stepped around Angelina and headed to one of the large bedrooms. He gently placed a sleeping Justin on the soft bed, and moved out of the way so Angelina could tuck her son in. The small child had been such a trooper throughout the night. He clung to his mother for most of the evening, and then finally fell asleep on Blazes lap while they waited for Angelina to finish with the police. Not once did he complain.

Justin continued to sleep soundly on the comfortable bed as Angelina slipped off his worn shoes. She gently covered him over with a burgundy quilt that looked unused. She kissed his forehead with more love and attention than she had ever done before. It was difficult for Angelina to stop staring at his beautiful, innocent face.

Blaze watched quietly from the doorway, his heart aching to be able to tuck his own child into bed, just one last time. He missed the sound of his daughter’s soft laughter and nighttime giggles. He missed the affection she had flowered on him, unconditionally. He missed his old life, and had a hard time watching Angelina with her baby. Although grateful that Angelina had the chance to start over with Justin, Blaze was sad that he never had a second chance with his own family.

“So, do you live here Blaze?” asked Angelina as she stepped out of the dark bedroom. She quietly shut her son’s door.

“I own this apartment, yes,” he answered, smiling sheepishly. He was tired. “But you can call it home if that is what you want,” he said softly. Kindness danced in his eyes.

Confused, Angelina stood staring at him blankly, at a loss for words. Had she heard him right? Had he just offered her a place to live? Blaze took advantage of her disbelief, and before she could ask him any more questions, he scooped her into his sturdy arms and carried her into the master bedroom. He did not want to talk anymore, or think about the past, he just wanted to strip the sexy woman naked and enjoy her. Angelina laughed as he playfully tossed her on to the large master bed. Grinning, in the way that caused his eyes to light up, he crawled up next to her, so that they lay face to face, their bodies touching.

“You really are beautiful,” he said, looking into her blue eyes.

Blaze gently touched the side of Angelina’s face, mesmerized by the way her skin felt. She sighed softly, as the air thickened between them. She watched his lips move towards her mouth. His simple touch brought such pleasure, enticing her to want more. She returned the affection without hesitation. He was her hero, and she treated him as such, enjoying the strength of his muscles and the touch of his hands. She made love to the man, emotionally, eagerly, and happily. Blaze made it feel right, as she had always imagined it should be.

Afterwards, Angelina lay in Blaze’s arms with her cheek pressed against his chest, thinking about his offer to have her live with him. She wondered if she had misunderstood because they barely knew each other. Feeling happy and content she opted to let the comment go and see if he brought it up again. It had been a long day, and for all she knew, he might not have realized what he said. After Blaze fell asleep, Angelina crept back into Justin’s room, where she sat and watched her son sleep until she could no longer hold her eyes open. She would forever cherish the sight of her child.

It was not until the next morning, over a hot cup of coffee, that Blaze better explained things to Angelina. Although his offer was sincere, he had not intended to blurt out that she could live in his apartment quite the way he had.

“To put it briefly,” he explained, “I was left with a very large settlement after my family was murdered. Other than the small amount that I need to live off of while on the road, the money has just been sitting in the bank, drawing interest.”

Blaze was not boasting about his wealth, he just wanted Angelina to understand that she was not putting him out by accepting his offer. The baffled woman listened as he talked, without interrupting. It took a while for what he was saying to sink in.

“Angelina, this apartment is paid for, so is the motorcycle I ride, as well as the
Murano
I drove as an attorney. I have a lot of money set aside, and this stuff just sits here, unused for most of the year,” he continued, trying to get her to understand. “I can’t think of a better way for the money to be used than to help you and Justin get back on track with your lives.” He hesitated for a moment. “Somehow I know this is what Michelle would have wanted. She was a good woman. She did good things for people,” Blaze said, with a warm sadness to his tone. “It is what I want Angel. I want to be able to help the two of you.”

Blaze needed to believe that he had done something worthwhile because of the death of his family, and he had.