Free Cowboy Gangster 03 - Outlaws of Love by CJ Bishop Page B

to help Dane heal hadn’t been in vain.
    “I love you, too,” Angel murmured and lightly gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him close again. He leaned up and kissed Dane’s mouth. The man enveloped him in another hug and deepened the kiss.
    “No fair,” Gabe grumbled. “Where’s my kiss?”
    Dane withdrew and groaned with a roll of his eyes and reached for Gabe, squashing Angel between them as he cupped the back of Gabe’s neck and kissed him on the lips. “Satisfied?”
    Angel twisted his head and looked up at Gabe with a grin.
    “Fuck,” Gabe snorted. “You know it takes a hell of lot more than a kiss to satisfy me.” He licked his lips and smiled. “Besides, I was talking to Angel, not you.”
    “Well,” Dane smiled slyly. “To get to Angel…you’re going to have to go through me.”
    Gabe looked him up and down. “Go through you, huh? Is that an invitation?”
    “Hey,” Angel nudged Gabe. “That’s my boyfriend –my fiancé –you’re talking about going through.” He shot him a mock glare. “Just back off, buddy.”
    “He started it,” Gabe scowled.
    “That’s mature,” Dane said dryly and led Angel into the apartment.
    Gabe followed. “That’s me,” he chuckled. “The mature one of the family.”
    The banter between the men provided levity and Angel needed that. He looked around the apartment but didn’t see Axel. “Where is Axel?”
    “In his room,” Dane said. “He wants to talk to you alone for a minute. You can go ahead and go on back.”
    Angel hesitated and glanced toward the hall.
    “It’s okay, babe,” Dane assured softly.
    Angel nodded slowly and left the living room. He walked anxiously to the bedroom door, faltered then knocked lightly. “Axel?”
    “Come in,” Axel said from inside, his voice low, thick.
    Angel entered the room and closed the door quietly behind him. “Dane said you wanted to talk to me?”
    “Yeah,” Axel whispered. He was sitting in the same place as before on the edge of the bed. Clint’s skull buckle was gripped in his hands, the belt straps hanging loose. Axel stared blankly at the buckle, his thumbs absently following the contours of the skull faces. He raised his head then scooted over a little, making room on the bed, and motioned Angel to sit.
    Angel sank down beside him and waited for him to speak.
    “I’m sorry,” Axel said thickly. His eyes remained on the buckle. “About earlier. I shouldn’t have…”
    “You don’t have to apologize,” Angel told him. “I understand.”
    Tears began to glisten in Axel’s eyes. “Why do you like me?” he whispered, his throat working. “Why would…why would you and Maddy ever want me for a brother?” He swallowed hard as the tears formed a shimmering wall before his eyes. “How do you…get past the things I did.” His eyes closed slowly, briefly, squeezing out teardrops. “The things I didn’t do.”
    “We were all three victims, Axel,” Angel murmured. His throat knotted and heart ached as he watched the same hurt and anguish and guilt resonate on Axel’s face, that he’d seen so clearly on Dane’s not so long ago. “You were living in a hostile environment and just…trying to survive.”
    “That’s no excuse,” Axel trembled, a quiet sob lodging in his throat. He turned his eyes on Angel, tears running down his cheeks. “Why don’t you hate me?”
    Angel stared at him. “Because you were our brother first,” he whispered as his vision blurred. “Before the other. I remember the boy who gave us his blanket and pillow the first night we came to our new home. And the boy who left the light on because Maddy was scared of the dark.” Angel swallowed thickly. “And who played with us when you brought home the puppy.”
    Axel lowered his eyes to the buckle again, his face streaked.
    “And I remember…” Angel’s voice trembled. “…How we didn’t ever have much to eat, and Wade would take food from our plates. And we would go to bed still hungry. But