Free ANGEL: When Angels Cry by CJ Bishop Page A

them, and when he did– Maddy would be the one to pay
for it. In the worst way.
    Though Angel was sure they could run far
enough that Wade would never find them…there was always the ‘What if’ hanging over his head. What if Wade did catch them? He knew what would happen
to Maddy–and Wade would make Angel watch. As it was right now,
Maddy remained untouched. Physically, anyway. Though he worried
about what all this was doing to him psychologically. But he
couldn’t take the thought of Maddy being sexually abused. It was
his little brother’s greatest fear. And Angel’s too.
    Reaching to the edge of the mattress, Angel
grabbed his jeans and dug down into the rear pocket and withdrew
two bills. He dropped the pants and sat back against the wall again
and stared at the two twenties. Crawling off the bed, he went to
the corner of the bedroom where the large hole afforded the rats
entrance into the room, knelt down and reached inside the wall. He
brought back a small mason jar with a metal lid, unscrewed the lid
then dropped the two bills in with a small collection of loose
change and other smaller bills, replaced the lid then hid it back
inside the wall and returned to bed.
    It wasn’t much, but it was a start. If he
could skim a little off his earnings without Wade or Axel finding
out, maybe one day he would have enough to take Maddy far
away–without fear of being found again.

     

Chapter Ten
    Devil on My Shoulder
     
    Dane stayed with Max all night, making love
and talking. For reasons Dane wasn’t entirely clear on, Max seemed
at ease opening up to him, telling him things that he was sure
other ears rarely, if ever, had privy to. Dane told him things as
well, but they both managed to keep that one secret unspoken.
    “You really like him, don’t you?” The gray
light of dawn pressed at the drapes as they had yet to get any real
sleep.
    “Who?” Dane murmured, though he knew the
answer.
     
    “Angel.”
    He sighed. “Yeah, I…guess I do.”
    Max turned his head and looked at him. “You
are aware that he likes you too, right?”
    Dragging his hands down his face, Dane
groaned. “Yeah…maybe…” A short laugh puffed off his lips. “I don’t
know.”
    “Why are you fighting it?” Max asked
quietly.
    “I don’t know that either.” Dane admitted,
then looked at him and smiled. “Maybe I’m afraid of
commitment.”
    Chuckling low, Max shook his head and rubbed
the back of his hand down Dane’s chest. “I don’t think that’s
it.”
    Dane exhaled heavily and tucked his arms
under his head, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know.” He said
quietly, soberly. “Maybe…I don’t think I deserve the love of an
angel.” He shrugged. “Or anyone for that matter.”
    Max turned onto his side and gazed at him.
“Why would you think that?” He traced patterns on Dane’s chest and
stomach. “From my standpoint, you’re a hell of a good man.”
    The memories pushed in and Dane closed his
eyes. “I wasn’t always.” He whispered.
     
    ***
     
    The hard kick to the end of the mattress came
way too early for Angel. A couple more hours of sleep was much
coveted, but Axel’s insistent foot jabbing the bed refused to let
him rest.
    “What?” Angel mumbled.
    “Breakfast time, slut boy.” He said. “Get on
it.”
    Angel rolled over and groaned, eyes heavy.
But he knew better than to tell the guy to go away; the next kick
would be to his gut or ribs. “Okay.”
    “Well get a move on.” He ordered. “You have
three hungry mouths to feed.”
    Three? It didn’t take much thought to figure out
that the third mouth belonged to Byrd. Instant tension squeezed his
chest. Byrd was a catalyst that made an already bad situation–even
worse. Nothing good ever came of his visits. He was the exception
to the no side
jobs deal. If he put up the cash, he got what he wanted,
every time.
    Maddy was still asleep and he didn’t wake
him. He would have to eat when Wade and Axel did, they wouldn’t let
him