Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

C age wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "Tell me something about you that no one else knows."

Angel looked across the table at him and popped a fry in her mouth. They had picked up burgers from a fast-food joint and taken their meal to a nearby park. The picnic table was seated next to a pond that was home to a lot of ducks, geese, and—from the noise—frogs. "Well, obviously, others know this, but I don't think anyone at the club does. Keys might," she amended like an afterthought. "I was a twin."

Cage took a sip of his soda before asking, "Was?"

She nodded but wouldn't meet his eyes. "She disappeared when we were sixteen. She found out she was pregnant. My parents didn't take it well. She wouldn't tell us who the father was or anything. Then…she was just gone. Poof. Call it twin-intuition or whatever, but two days after she disappeared… Well, I knew. She was dead."

Cage reached across the table and took hold of Angel's hand. "I'm so sorry, sweetness."

Angel tried to shrug it off, but Cage could still see the old pain. "My mom is still insistent that she's alive and out there somewhere. She doesn't believe me when I tell her that Amber's gone. I think it's guilt that won't let her accept the truth. The last words she said to Amber were not pretty." After a moment's hesitation, Angel explained, "Amber had just told them that she was pregnant and my mom called her a slut."

Cage flinched. He couldn't imagine ever calling a child of his ‘a slut', but to have that be the last thing he said to that child before they disappeared? The guilt must be astronomical. "I'm so sorry, sweetness." He knew he was repeating words, but he didn't know what else to say.

Angel took a sip of her soda and then cleared her throat. "What about you? Tell me something no one else knows about you."

There was probably a lot that people didn't know about him. He wasn't exactly an open book. He'd grown up with everyone and their mother knowing his secrets, so he kept a lot hidden after joining the military.

But he didn't want secrets with Angel. He wanted openness and honesty. He wanted her to be the only person in the world who truly knew him. So he confessed to something not even his own mother knew. "When I was seventeen, I got my high school girlfriend's best friend pregnant."

Angel had been aiming a fry towards her mouth but froze at his words. "What?"

Cage nodded sadly. "I was young and stupid and I cheated on my girlfriend."

"And the…the baby?" Angel seemed to have trouble getting the words out. Cage could understand.

Unfortunately, though, he didn't have an answer for her. He shrugged. "I don't know. Her family pulled her from school and I only found out about the pregnancy after the fact. I tracked her down, with the intent of doing the right thing, but she refused to see me. Her parents wouldn't even open the door. I tried calling, writing, everything. Eventually, I found out through a social media search that she had a boy. I'm not named on the birth certificate or anything, but I still send money to her each month."

"Have you… I mean, have you ever met him?"

Cage shook his head. "I tried for years and eventually gave up." Sadness washed over him at his confession. "I'm not even sure the baby's mine because she had a boyfriend at the time too. I just… I felt responsible and…" He shrugged. "I never wanted kids. Hell, before I met Bree, I hadn't ever considered being a father. I don't consider the kid my son. Maybe that's wrong of me, but it's like he's a ghost to me. He's there, but not. I figured he was better off without me anyway."

Angel was silent for a long time. Cage looked out at the pond to give her time to process what he'd just confided in her. Frogs croaked around them.

"There are ways to verify if he's your son, Cage."

Cage looked back over at Angel. She looked a little pale, but not angry. Hurt, maybe? "I know. I looked into it too. I was going to get a lawyer and order a paternity test. I just… I didn't want to mess up the kid's life, you know? I wasn't… I wasn't a good person back then."

Angel tilted her head to the right. "What do you mean?"

Cage shifted uncomfortably on the bench. "I didn't volunteer to go into the Navy. I was given the option to serve in the military or serve time in jail, and I chose the military."

Angel looked confused. "I didn't know judges could force people to enlist. I thought that was a fable."

"They can't," Cage verified. "After I found out about Veronica's pregnancy, I started drinking. A lot. Took a baseball bat to Veronica's parents' house. I got arrested for vandalism, public intoxication, and underage drinking. The judge told me I was getting six months in jail unless I showed up with a military recruiter with proof that I had enlisted."

"Interesting tactic on the judge's part."

Cage nodded. "Guy probably saved my life. Anyway, I was a bit of a punk back then. I knew I wasn't ready to be a father. Not that I wanted to skate my responsibilities, but it also wasn't like Veronica had come to me and told me she was having my baby. She refused to talk to me, wouldn't even answer the damn phone when I called. I figured the best thing I could do was respect her wishes and stay away."

"But you send her money?"

"Yeah," Cage nodded. "I've only ever had her parents' information, so I send it there. I don't have the kid's name or social so I can't set up a college account for him but I have a savings account that I throw money into. I'm not really sure what I plan on doing with it. Maybe Keys can figure out how to get it to him after he turns eighteen. I have a guess when his birthday is."

Angel dipped a fry into her ketchup pile but didn't make a move to eat it. "Don't you want to know if the baby is yours?"

"The baby's sixteen now," Cage pointed out to her. "I might seek him out after he turns eighteen. By then, it'll be his choice if he wants me in his life and not his mom's."

Angel dropped her fry and didn't move to pick it back up. "You said that, before Bree, you hadn't wanted to be a father. What did you mean?"

Cage made sure he had her full attention before he said, "Exactly what that sounds like. I want to be Bree's father, Angel. I want us to be a family. I have for the past year."

Angel tapped her finger on the wooden picnic table. "And if you decide that you no longer want to be her father?"

Cage flinched. "That's not going to happen, Angel. I didn't tell you about my past so you could hold it over me. They are two very different situations. I had very little choice when I was a teenager. I'm no longer young or stupid and I know what I want and feel. And that's you and Bree, sweetness, and any other kids we might have. It has been for a long time."

After a long, tense moment, Angel finally nodded. "I believe you. Just…please, Cage. Don't make me regret this. You'll break her heart if you leave."

Cage had a feeling Bree's heart wasn't the only one Angel was warning him was on the line. He reached across the picnic table and took her hands in his. "Not going to happen, sweetness. I have just as much to gain and lose as you do. But I want this. I want the three of us to be a family."

Angel nodded slowly at first and then with more confidence. She turned her hands over to link with his. "Might need to improve your aim, though. Otherwise, you're going to be paying for a lot of dates in the future."

Cage smiled widely. "I'm okay with that."

Following their date, Cage and Angel made out on her front stoop like teenagers until Bree came rolling up on them from Bulldog's house. "Get a room, you two!"

Angel, who was sitting up on the railing with Cage standing between her legs, smiled down at her daughter. "Did you have a good time with Cassie?"

Bree nodded. "Aunt Abby is trying to learn how to bake. It didn't go very well and the fire department was almost called."

Angel's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Kidding!" Bree laughed. "She overcooked the cookies but there was no smoke. Uncle Bulldog tried to assure her they tasted good and practically ate them all to prove it, but I don't think anyone believed him."

Neither Angel nor Cage was surprised by that statement. Bulldog would never do anything to upset Abby. It was like it was against his DNA.

Bree looked between Cage and Angel. "I take it the date went well?"

Cage's smile was the very definition of cocky. "Hell yeah, it did."

"Did she fall for the fancy restaurant gag?"

Angel gasped at her daughter. "You knew ?"

Bree snorted. "Of course, I knew. You think I was going to let him take you out and not know where you were going or when you were going to be coming back?"

Angel's eyes narrowed. "Which one of us is the adult in this relationship?" She pointed her finger between Bree and herself.

Bree just grinned at her. Then she turned to Cage. "Are you spending the night?"

"No! Nope! We are not having this conversation with you!" Angel pushed Cage back so she could hop down from the railing. "Get inside, missy."

Cage stepped aside so Bree could push her chair through the front door. Angel did not miss the fact that Cage and Bree fist-bumped as she passed.

Once the door was closed, Cage turned back to her. "Now, where were we?"

Angel put her hand out to stop him. Regardless of how this date went, she was not ready to sleep with him again. "I am not having sex with you tonight."

Cage crossed his tattooed arms over his broad chest. "Maybe I don't want to have sex with you tonight either. Ever think of that?"

Angel just glared at him.

"Fine! I want to bend you over the couch and fuck you, but ," he added hastily, "I know you're not ready for that. If watching Bulldog and Abby has taught me anything, it's that there's more to intimacy than sex."

Angel could appreciate his understanding. While her situation had nothing to do with what had almost happened to her and everything to do with her miscarriage, she liked that Cage wasn't pushing her for sex. Her heavier bleeding from earlier in the week had slowed to spotting over a day ago and that would hopefully end in the next day or so. Her cramps were also improving.

A glance down at the rope burns on her wrists gave her a shiver. She'd nearly forgotten about the Taser burn at the small of her back but the throbbing returned now that she was thinking about it.

However, there was something that she'd never done with a man that she had always wanted to. It would mean so much if Cage was her first. She didn't have any worries about him turning her down, since he'd offered this himself the night before.

She took his hand. "Sleep here tonight?"

He nodded. "What about Bree? If she needs you in the middle of the night, I can always go to the couch."

There was a slight sting in her eyes as she tried to hold back tears. She really needed her hormones to quit acting like she was still pregnant. "Thank you."

Cage leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

Other than to get clothes each day, Cage did not spend time in his clubhouse apartment over the next week. He did eventually have to return to work. Despite what he told Angel, he couldn't abandon his crew or put so much on his foreman unexpectedly. However, Cage and Angel started trading off who took Bree to work with them.

Three days after the attack, Angel reopened her studio. She insisted on it. Bree's therapist, Juliana, even came to the studio to ensure Bree handled returning there well. The three adults watched nervously as Bree rolled herself through the front door. She stopped and stared at the place where Angel had first been attacked. Then, without a word, she wheeled herself back into Patrick's workroom.

Cage had spent the day prior removing all the hanging light fixtures and puttying up the holes in the brick. Patrick had also stopped by and helped to clean up the glass and materials.

Bree had entered the room in complete silence. She sat there and stared at the wall where Angel had been held captive for about twenty minutes.

Then she rolled herself out and asked where they were getting lunch.

Juliana said that Bree's reaction was odd but good. She was facing her fears, but they could expect an increase in her nightmares.

Cage had offered to take Bree with him to the construction yard, so she wasn't forced to remain in the tattoo studio longer. Angel had agreed and been grateful for his offer. Which was how the two of them had started a routine of trading Bree back and forth between them throughout the day. They only had two more weeks until she started high school.

Bree didn't seem to mind. She was still studying the workbooks Harper had given her to ensure she was at roughly the same level as her fellow sophomores. Each time Angel and Cage traded her between them, she would laugh and say she felt like the weekend child of divorced parents. While ‘divorce' was not a word that Cage wanted to think about in regard to Angel and himself, he liked how happy Bree got when she said the word ‘parents'.

Cage continued to spend the night at their house. He'd kept up his promise and went to the couch on the nights that Bree wanted to sleep with Angel. He had no desire to ever sleep in his lonely apartment again and swore that the couch was more comfortable than his bed.

He knew that Angel had finished her period. He'd been hoping that she would initiate sex after she was finished, but she didn't. They continued to make out like teenagers every chance they got and Angel even gave him a fantastic blowjob one morning to make up for kicking him out of her bed the night before. No sex, though. As much as Cage claimed he was fine with it—and he was because he'd never push her into having sex—he couldn't help but wonder if something else was going on.

The Pythons had not been back to Mount Grove since the day of Angel's attack. Both the police, the VDMC members and prospects, as well as half the town were on the lookout for them or a strange vehicle. As soon as word of Angel's attack had spread, their small community had banded around her like a hive of bees protecting their queen. Cage didn't even think Angel realized how many people knew or cared about her until this week. People who had never stepped foot in the tattoo shop before now stopped by daily to check on Angel or Bree.

Kelly, the waitress at the diner, offered Bree free apple pie for life after hearing how she'd saved the day. Tony, the owner of the town's pizzeria, told Bree she had free breadsticks anytime she wanted them. Mabel, who owned Loafin' Around and Deputy Danny's mom, offered her unlimited cupcakes.

Though Cage wasn't happy about it, eventually Angel, Juliana, and Cage sat with Bree to inform her that the man she'd shot had died.

Bree hadn't cried. "He deserved to die," had been her exact words. Harsh, coming from a fifteen-year-old, but none of the adults could find it in them to argue with her.

She had expressed concerns that she would go to jail for killing the man.

To soothe her fears about being arrested, Carlos had stopped by Angel's house. He, Zoe, and Zoe's son Kyle had been staying with Bulldog and Abby until a more accurate threat level regarding the Pythons could be determined. Carlos had taken Bree out onto the back porch and had a long talk with her about how the law worked regarding self-defense and intent.

Keys had done his magic and had taken all of the Pythons' money. Cage had no idea how any of that worked. The fact that Keys had done it so easily made him worry about his own money sitting in ones and zeros on a bank server and wondered if perhaps he shouldn't pull some of it for safe keeping.

Based on reports from Keys, Ghost, Ivy, and Ranger—the latter three had been spending a good deal of their time spying on the Pythons' clubhouse—the patched members did not know that their money was missing. King, however, was in a rage. He had not replaced his VP after his brother's murder and was seen mostly with his SAA, Fang.

Ivy was staying in the clubhouse in one of the empty rooms. While VDMC members had the option of claiming a room, the ones who had homes tended to give up their room. Angel had, as had Bear, Lucky, and Bulldog. Jumper kept his, as did Pirate, because both wanted a place to stay if their apartment was compromised or they were too tired to get there. Grumpy, Steel, and Scar were the only members who had never taken an apartment. Grumpy had purchased a house in town when he'd moved to Mount Grove and Steel had taken the only house on the property when the club had purchased the land. Though a former member and no longer eligible to take an apartment, Scar had never claimed one. No one, not even Bulldog, knew where Scar lived or had lived.

Tensions were high while the Via Daemonia waited to see what the Pythons' next move would be. Cage hated waiting. He hated that King was still alive and walking around. He understood the tactic of being defensive, but damn did he wish Steel would order them on the offensive. Taking King's money was not enough for Cage. While there was no proof, there was no doubt in Cage's mind that King had ordered Angel's attack.

No one had forgotten about the Pythons' prospect or Scar's gift that Ivy had delivered. Ivy was, for the most part, spending her time with Ghost and Ranger spying on the Pythons. Cage hadn't seen much of her around the clubhouse and, from what he heard from the others, had been following all of the rules Steel had put in place for her. There was a rumor going around that Ivy had taken a Honey, mostly Ginger, to her bed each night.

Starbucks was still soothing his bruised ego from when Ivy had turned him down after he offered to join them for the night. Star had offered to purchase a beer for Ivy and, while looking Sara up and down, Ivy told him she only accepted beers from sexy as fuck women…which he was not.

Bulldog had gone down to visit the prospect each day. He questioned him about King, the Pythons, and any future plans he knew of. Keys had found out the kid's name was Sam Carome. He was barely eighteen, a high school dropout, and his mother died of an overdose when he was six. While there was no mention of a father on his birth certificate, Keys was able compare his DNA with those of the Pythons' on file and got a match. Sam was Venom's son and King's nephew. Venom was the former VP of the Black Pythons who had been murdered in another member's attempted coup to become VP.

Once this information came to light, the Via Daemonia were obviously torn about what to do with Sam. He couldn't go free. Misguided or not, young or not, Sam had participated in what would have been an unspeakable crime had Bree not acted as she had.

But no one wanted to kill a barely legal kid who had been handed a rotten deck of cards by the universe. His life did not excuse him—but it did make his situation more sympathetic.

Unlike their other guest, Bulldog had not been keeping Sam in chains in the cellar. He was locked up down there with food and water, had a drain in the floor for a bathroom, and had been given a pillow and blanket. Bulldog had not been torturing him but, instead, talking to him.

The same could not be said for his cellar companion. Sam was privy to each session Bulldog had with Scar's gift.

It had taken three days, but Keys finally discovered the man's identity: Nathan Moore, state trooper and Bree's rapist.

As soon as that discovery had been made, it had been difficult to keep Angel out of the cellar. She'd made it known that Moore was not to be killed. Angel was out for blood and she wanted him to suffer.

Based on the police report of Bree's disappearance to the night Bear had nearly run Bree over in the street, Bree had been held captive for nine hundred and ninety-six days. Two years, eight months, and twenty-two days.

Angel wanted Moore to suffer just as long. She was only four days into his sentence.

Cage would not allow Angel to go down into the cellar alone, despite her insistence that she did not need his support or help. Cage called bullshit and followed her down each time. Personally, he was tempted to demand a kidney from Moore once Angel had had her fill.

Bear had an even more difficult time than Angel. He was tasked with the job of keeping Moore alive long enough to serve his sentence when he wanted nothing more than to put a bullet between the man's eyes for what he had done to Bree.

Cage had no idea how Scar had found Moore. He was raining a one-man-army down upon the human trafficking industry. It was very possible that he'd stumbled upon Moore and had taken him captive as soon as he'd learned who the man was and his connection to Bree. Regardless of the fact that Scar no longer wore the VDMC colors, no one doubted his loyalty to the club or its members. Cage wasn't sure if he'd use love as a word to describe Scar's feelings towards them. It was possible Scar was too emotionally damaged to feel such, but Cage never doubted the man's loyalty.

As Cage stood against the wall of the cellar he himself had soundproofed a year and a half ago, he wondered if he should pull Angel away from Moore. She looked exhausted , but still kept her punches flying. Moore was beyond black and blue. He was missing teeth and was a bloody mess. He hung naked from the ceiling by chains attached to his wrists.

Cage kept silent though. Angel needed his support more than she needed his intervention. Additionally, Cage had to wonder if this was cathartic for Angel. Bree had been the one kidnapped from her foster home, raped, tortured, and sold. She'd been the one thrown from a moving van into traffic and nearly run over by Bear's hog. She'd been the one to almost die.

But Angel had suffered too. She'd taken on Bree's fight, carried her burden for her, the moment she'd laid eyes on Bree in her hospital bed.

Cage had only been minutes behind Angel entering that room. It shamed him to recall being grateful for Bear's text message that night asking for assistance at the hospital because it had given Cage the excuse to kick the Honey he'd just fucked out of his bed. He honestly couldn't even remember which one it was—all he knew was that she was the last girl he'd fucked until Angel.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cage watched as Sam curled further into a ball in the corner he'd claimed. He hugged the pillow closer to himself, squeezing his eyes closed against the sight of Moore's mangled body and clutching his hands over his ears to muffle the man's tortured moans. Cage thought perhaps witnessing Moore's torture was enough to set Sam straight. But they couldn't keep him down here indefinitely.

One of the suggestions was to give Sam over to Carlos. He'd wind up in jail and—while the system had its purposes and some did emerge rehabilitated—it would ruin Sam's entire future. He would forever have that jail sentence on his record and would struggle for the rest of his life to find a job or a career.

Perhaps that was what the kid deserved for what he'd been a part of. Bree spoke of Sam's participation as being scared but willing. Perhaps he deserved to have that record follow him around for the rest of his days.

Looking at the kid now, though, Cage questioned that logic. It was human to make mistakes. Fuck, Cage's life was full of them. But if the world only saw Sam as one thing—a criminal—that would be what he would be regardless of how he managed to turn his life around. His mistake was awful, but the circumstances of his upbringing also had to be taken into account. He hadn't been born with a silver spoon in his mouth or even to a loving family. His mother had been a drug addict and his father non-existent. It was likely that Sam didn't even know which of the Pythons was his father.

Regardless of upbringing, there was right and wrong. However, Sam's right and wrong were likely askew. Can you blame a child for always making wrong decisions when that's what he's taught is normal and right?

Where did the cycle end?

Cage had no idea what would happen to Sam. He didn't even know if Steel had asked Ollie about Sam, to get another perspective on Sam's life in the club. He'd been a prospect, but had he been given a choice? Ollie had also been wearing a Python prospect cut and he was only fifteen.

After several hours, Angel stepped back from Moore. She was soaked in sweat and covered in the man's blood splatter. Cage handed her a water bottle first. After she took a swig, splashed it around in her mouth, and then spat it out at the drain below Moore's feet, Angel chugged down the rest of the bottle. Then she stood still for Cage to take some wet cloths to her skin to wipe off the blood. She'd argued the first time he'd done this, but now she stood patiently for him to help clean her off.

"I need a shower."

"You need about five showers," he corrected. He spotted something in her hair and picked it up—only to discover it was a tooth. Cage made a face and flung it towards the drain. "Make that, six showers."

There was a second of hesitation, but long enough that Cage caught it, before Angel asked, "Join me?"

All the blood his body possessed immediately headed south. She didn't need to ask twice. "Fuck yeah."

Perhaps there was something wrong with her, but as Angel stood there while Cage wiped Moore's blood off her, she suddenly had the intense need to fuck his brains out. It was so strong and overwhelming that it took all of her concentration to recall that there was an eighteen-year-old terrified kid in the corner whom she did not want to be her audience. She'd never been one for exhibitionism.

Glancing at Cage's watch, she added, "Bree's still at Bulldog's for another hour."

Cage dropped all the bloody towels to the cellar floor and, not caring in the least about her current state, picked her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, settling her core over his hardening erection. "My room's closer."

"My shower is bigger," Angel countered.

"My room gets me inside you faster," he pointed out.

"Your room it is," she settled.

Cage let out a chuckle as he headed for the stairs. Angel was not a small woman. She didn't have much body fat, but she was tall and muscular. He still carried her like she was a petite woman who starved herself for a living.

At the top of the cellar stairs, Cage pulled out his phone to text Sara. She was the prospect on duty that night to guard the door. Angel was so heated that she started to grind her aching pussy against his confined cock.

"Stop that, sweetness," he practically growled, "or I'm fucking you against the stairs and we're truly going to test the limits of my soundproofing handiwork."

Angel's chuckle was hot in his ear. "Shower now," she groaned. "But I'm not saying no in the future."

Sara opened the latch to the cellar's hidden door. It was her job to ensure the coast was clear before she was allowed to let them up. Only patched members and prospects knew about the cellar. The ol' ladies, Honeys, and club kids did not.

Cage rushed them up the remaining stairs and made a hard right turn towards the rear of the building. His apartment was thankfully one of the first once they were through the doorway that led to that hall.

Angel felt him struggle for his keys. She was tempted not to make it easier for him, because she could, but she also really wanted that shower and really wanted him to fuck her. She shifted her hips up to give him easier access to his pocket. "This will be the second time you've fucked me in a shower," she moaned in his ear. "One of these days we're going to have to make it to a bed."

Cage's chuckle was sinful. He got the door open and pushed inside.

Since her back was to the room, Angel didn't see why he suddenly stopped short. She felt him stiffen and knew immediately that something was wrong. Angel looked over her shoulder and felt her blood run cold.

Evette, one of the Honeys, was lying naked on Cage's bed. She was propped up against the pillows with her legs bent, showing off her bare flesh. If that wasn't difficult enough to stomach, the sight of the handcuffs latching her to the bed and the semen dripping out of her cunt was.

The Honey gave Cage a scornful look. "It's about time you got back, baby. I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me."

Shock kept Cage frozen in the doorway. He hadn't been in his room since the day before. What the ever-loving fuck was Evette doing tied to his bed? How long had she been there and why was she there? Because Cage sure as hell did not put her there. It sure as hell wasn't his cum dripping from between her thighs.

He felt Angel slide down his front to put her feet on the floor. His heart, a second ago thudding loudly for an entirely different reason, suddenly clenched in fear. Would Angel believe he'd been fucking Evette behind her back?

He tried to think through his day. Had he been alone at any point where it could be believable that he'd snuck away to his room to fuck the Honey currently strapped to his bed?

Angel, still bloody from her session in the cellar with Moore, stepped away from Cage—and he felt his entire body run cold. But then, she roared, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Evette gave Angel a once over and turned her nose up at Angel's state. She looked to Cage. "Baby, you know I don't mind you bringing company but did you have to bring her ? She's such a buzzkill."

Angel snapped her fingers to get the Honey's attention. "I repeat, what the fuck are you doing?"

Regardless of her obvious dislike for Angel, Angel was a patched member. Evette had to obey her just as she would any of the men. Though, based on her current state, Cage had to wonder whether Evette cared about the rules or her contract.

"Going dancing," Evette snapped. "What the fuck does it look like I'm doing here? Cage said he'd be ‘right back' almost three hours ago!"

Cage's mouth gapped open like a fish out of water. Wait—she said, ‘almost three hours ago'. Triumph surged! He'd been in the cellar with Angel for nearly four hours. He couldn't have also been tying Evette to his bed at the same time.

Angel let out a derisive snort. "Nice try. He's been with me nearly the entire day." Then she rolled her eyes. "This is fucking ridiculous. I refuse to talk to you like this. Where the fuck is the key to your cuffs?"

Evette looked to Cage. "He has them," the duh went unspoken but still heard.

Angel turned around to face Cage for the first time since she got off of him. She raised an eyebrow at him. Cage wasn't sure what she was thinking or feeling—other than pissed off.

"I don't have the key," he told her honestly. He didn't even own handcuffs. The few times he'd gotten kinky with a woman, she'd either had them or they'd improvised with a scarf or tie.

Evette rolled her eyes. "It's on his keyring."

Anger finally broke through his shock. "The fuck it is!" He pushed passed Angel to get to his bed, which he was burning after this. "What the fuck are you doing in here, Evette? You know better than to enter a member's apartment without their permission."

Evette looked at him like he was stupid and jiggled her bound wrists. "Obviously I had permission."

Cage reached towards the bottom of his bed where he kept a spare blanket. It wasn't thick and he rarely used it, but now he was grateful he had it. He tossed it over Evette's naked form. "Who tied you to my bed?"

If this was some sick joke of one of his brother's, Cage was going to murder him.

"You did," Evette insisted. Because of the way her arms were tied above her head, the blanket slid off of her breasts. She seemed pleased about this and thrust her chest up towards him in invitation.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Angel snapped. "I'm getting Steel and Bulldog. You'll be out for this stunt."

"You can't fire me." Evette's coy, sexy act dropped at Angel's words. "I can't be fired for doing something a member asked me to do." She turned to Cage. "Tell her!"

"Tell her what?" Cage snapped. "I'm agreeing with her."

Evette's jaw dropped. "No! No, I need this job. Cage, please! Baby! I only did what you asked!"

"Unless I have an evil twin out there who put you up to this, no, you didn't."

Angel pulled out her phone. Cage assumed she was texting Bulldog and Steel. Unfortunately, when he turned to look at her, he saw that they had an audience. Behind Angel in the doorframe was Ranger, Ivy, Bones, and Pumpkin.

"Where the fuck is Ghost?" Cage asked Ranger. It was a poor time to see the two of them separated. He needed an officer here now .

"Shower," Ranger answered shortly. From the look on Ranger's face, Cage wasn't sure how much Ranger had caught on or believed.

"I don't know what is going on," Cage told him. He pointed to Evette on the bed. "I did not tie her to the bed or fuck her."

"You lying bastard!" Evette shrieked. "Let me out of these cuffs!" She tried to pull on them, as if she was strong enough to break them or the bed frame. "I am not going to just sit here and be accused of something I didn't do!"

Cage was about to shout the same thing back at her when another voice roared, "What the fuck is going on here?!"

Everyone turned to see Bulldog storm into the room. He took one look at Evette, then Cage and Angel, and then the growing audience in the hall. "Everyone out!" he shouted. He pointed at Angel and Cage. "You two, Steel's office now." He pointed to Evette. "Get dressed."

Evette lifted her cuffed hands. "I would but I'm a bit tied up." Cage caught the smirk on her lips at her own joke before she schooled her face.

"Where the fuck is the key?" Bulldog asked. "Never mind, I'm getting the bolt cutters."

"Wait!" Evette called out. She indicated her chin towards Cage. "He has the key. He keeps it on his keyring!"

"I don't have the fucking key," Cage insisted. He turned towards Angel and Bulldog but spoke to Angel. "I don't even own handcuffs."

"They're on his keyring," Evette insisted through her teeth. When no one moved, she asked, "What's the harm in checking? If it's on there, then clearly I'm not the liar here."

Cage's eyes narrowed. She was far too confident.

"When was the last time your keys were out of your sight?" Angel asked behind him.

Cage spun around towards her. She looked pissed, yes— but , he realized, not at him. He was pretty sure that was the moment he fell in love. Head over heels, uncontrollably, touch-her-and-die love. She believed him. Without hesitation, without question. He could see it on her face. There was no doubt, no worry.

She had faith in him , in them.

Fuck, he wished they were alone and he was fucking her up against the shower wall right now. It had been far too long since he'd had her.