Renee let Angel go. “I figured as much. It’s okay. I don’t blame you. When I told Mike what happened, he offered to kick Andrew’s ass, and then asked me to move in with him.” Renee’s eyes lit up at the mention of her boyfriend.
She slumped back in her seat, relieved to hear Renee wouldn’t be upset if she left. “Just the same, I’m gonna take care of the lease, so you’re welcome to stay here for the duration.”
After Renee made sure she wasn’t needed, she skipped off to tell Mike, leaving Angel and her mother to pack.
“That chica is a really good young lady,” her mother said.
“Yes she is.” Nodding, she waited.
“Your father and I want to give her a gift for being here for you.” Her mother wiped at the spotless counter.
“Renee probably won’t accept anything. She’s just that nice, being from the Midwest and all.” Angel laughed at the familiar argument Renee and she had.
“An all-expense paid vacation to the Caribbean for two that is non-refundable can’t be turned down. Trust me on this. I can be very persuasive.” Her mother’s eyes sparkled.
She didn’t doubt it. When her mother decided on something, nothing would change her mind. She almost felt sorry for Renee.
There wasn’t much to pack that couldn’t be shipped later. She gathered up a few personal things she didn’t want an impersonal packing company to handle and was ready in no time.
Saying good-bye to the apartment she’d called home for the last few years wasn’t as hard as she’d anticipated. But, when Renee returned with Mike, Angelina had a moment of sadness, until Mike told them he’d asked Renee to marry him. The solitaire that now graced her roommate’s left hand twinkled on her long slim fingers.
“You two had better invite me to the wedding,” Angel said, kissing them both.
After making plans to talk to Renee often, they headed for the airport. She kept staring over her shoulder for Andrew or her father, feeling as if they were being watched.
The airport security waved them through to the VIP area where Angelina’s father awaited them. Angelina assumed his tense jaw was from the stress of flying hundreds of miles to collect his injured daughter. Whatever the cause, she was just glad to be going home. She’d figure out what to tell Lorenzo when she got there. Maybe she could distract him with some impromptu hot monkey sex, she thought, hoping he wouldn’t notice her bruises.
****
Eduardo tried hard to hide the turmoil he felt. After leaving a couple of bodyguards outside of his daughter’s apartment, he went to pay Andrew Cage a visit. The slimy bastard wasn’t in, and, according to the man’s secretary, he wouldn’t be back for weeks. He had his team of lawyers contact the elder Mr. Cage. The other man’s shock at his son’s actions couldn’t be feigned, unless he was an A-list actor. The fact he had video footage of a clearly bruised and bleeding Angelina leaving his son’s office was all the proof that Eduardo needed to convince Mr. Cage to agree to his terms. Money could get a man just about anything, and with his daughter’s future at stake, he was willing to sale his soul for her.
His daughter’s contract was null and void, with a check being deposited into her account for the remainder of what she was owed, before he’d left the man’s office after extracting a promise to keep his son in line. Otherwise, they’d press charges and leak the pictures to the media.
He didn’t feel the slightest bit bad for the scare tactic. If it kept his baby girl safe, he’d move heaven and earth.
A commotion made his head jerk up, and a smile crossed his face. His two girls were quite a pair. Both women were petite with long dark hair. His wife’s was styled back with some sort of headband thing, and Angelina wore hers parted to the side with a pair of huge sunglasses. Two supermodels, walking with style and elegance that had everyone staring. Pride made him stand taller.
The carefully applied makeup almost concealed the bruising on Angelina’s face, but he seethed at the knowledge of what she’d gone through.
“Daddy, did you hire me a bodyguard?” Angelina asked, peering at two overly large men behind her father.
“Now, Angel, don’t use that tone with me. If I’d taken your safety a little more seriously, then this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Of course it would have. It’s not like they’d follow me into what was essentially my boyfriend’s office.”
“That may be true, but they would’ve heard and stopped him.”
“Let’s drop this, you two, and head home.” Maria pushed between them.
Eduardo loved his wife more than life itself, but Angelina was his baby, and he’d protect them as he saw fit. But he was a very smart man and knew it was better to agree and stay silent. He ushered them out to his waiting jet, followed by the men he’d hired to protect Angelina, making a mental note to speak with them about being invisible.
Chapter Seven