Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

PRESENT TIME

C age paced outside of the women's restroom. Tessa was still inside with Angel. Jenna and Harper had also gone inside. Others were gathered around, though no one outside of who had been in Steel's office knew about Evette and what she had done or tried to do. Cage was beyond grateful that he'd changed his mind that night at the bar and turned away from the blonde. What if he'd gone with her?

No doubt he'd either be in a condition similar to Moore's below them or he'd be six feet under.

It agitated him that Angel had asked him to leave the bathroom after Tessa had arrived. Why wasn't he allowed in there? What could she possibly say to Tessa that she couldn't say in front of him?

Bulldog had left Evette in Steel's office with Ghost guarding her. Steel and Lucky were standing with their backs to the ladies' room door to keep Cage out . He didn't like that either, but they were acting on Tessa's order per Angel . What the fuck was going on?

"Do you recall the date Evette says the woman at the bar drugged you?"

Cage's lip curled at Bulldog's question. He probably thought he was helping to distract Cage, but it only served to piss him off more. No way in hell would Bulldog allow anyone to keep him out of a room if something medical was going on with Abby. Yet they expected him to stay out here?

He stormed up to Steel. "That's my woman in there."

"Who does not want you inside," Steel said, far too calmly. "Give her a minute. We don't know what's going on."

Cage let out a frustrated shout and then resumed his pacing. "I don't recall the date," he snapped at Bulldog, "but it was the same day Jumper had his attack while in Church."

Bulldog nodded. "Two days before Venom's body was discovered."

"There's a good possibility that the Black Pythons were using the McCrery farm to dispose of bodies," Lucky said softly.

"It's outside of Carlos's jurisdiction," Bulldog replied just as low. "Without cause, he has no right to search it. I think Keys said that the bank seized it too."

Bulldog's phone let out a sharp ding . He pulled it out of his pocket and then looked to Cage. "Bree is asking for the two of you."

Cage patted his pocket with a curse. He'd never taken his phone off of silent mode from when Angel and he had been in the cellar.

Bree: Hey, have you seen my mom? She's not answering her phone.

Bree: You're not answering either. I'm getting worried.

Bree: Aunt Abby says you're with Uncle Bulldog and Uncle Steel. Are you okay?

Bree: Why aren't you answering me?

Bree: I'm getting really worried. Please answer me.

Bree: I don't care if kids are banned from the clubhouse right now! If you don't answer me in the next 5 minutes, I'm coming down there!

Cage let out a long sigh. He felt like shit. Between the whiplash of finding Evette on his bed to the meeting in Steel's office and then his worry for Angel in the bathroom, he'd forgotten about Bree. Fuck. Some crappy father he was turning out to be.

Cage stepped away from the others to call Bree.

"Where are you?" she demanded in lieu of a greeting.

"We're at the clubhouse," he told her. "We're fine." A glance behind him at the bathroom door made him wonder if he'd just lied to her.

"When are you two coming home?"

"I don't know yet. Can I talk to your aunt please?"

Bree grumbled something but he heard her moving and calling for Abby. "It's Cage," he heard Bree say before he heard Abby's soft voice, "Cage, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he told her. "But Angel and I got held up at the clubhouse. Can you watch Bree a little bit longer?"

"Yes, of course. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Cage shook his head even though Abby couldn't see it. "No," he said. "If it gets too late, I'll call back but hopefully we'll be back soon."

Whatever was going on inside that bathroom, it wasn't like Tessa had called for an ambulance or was demanding Angel be taken to the hospital.

Like two weeks ago when Bear had called him in the middle of the night to go stay with Bree…

Abby's voice sounded in his head, but it was a memory. "…I can only imagine the fear Angel went through, especially with the ? —"

Cage had asked her what she meant, but Abby had waved it off. Made it sound like she meant to say something about ‘with Bree'. But Cage knew that hadn't been right.

He'd told Angel she'd been keeping something from him.

Angel had been throwing up in the bathroom. Or dry heaving, but close enough.

She'd claimed she was on her period the week before last, but what if that had been a lie?

He wasn't sure what his brain was trying to tell him. The clues didn't make sense in his head. But there was something there. Like it was blocked behind a curtain.

"Cage?" the sound of his name brought him back to the present. Abby was still on the phone with him.

"Got to go," he said softly. His voice was gruff with tension. He turned off the call and put his phone in his pocket.

More calmly, he walked up to where Steel and Lucky were blocking the door. Bulldog was now stepping away with his phone to his ear. "I think she's pregnant."

Both Steel and Lucky looked at him in shock. "Who?" Lucky asked.

"Angel." Cage felt like he had a ball stuck in his throat. His heart physically hurt. "I think she's pregnant."

So then…who was the father?

Angel was sitting on the floor in the bathroom with her legs crossed in front of her. Tessa was sitting beside her on the wall. Harper was sitting cattycorner against the other wall by the sinks and Jenna was sitting on the closest toilet seat because she claimed to be too old to sit on the floor.

Tessa had just finished telling the other two ladies about Angel's chemical pregnancy and the night she'd taken Angel to the hospital.

Harper wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Angel. I had no idea you'd gone through that and then your attack at the tattoo shop…" Her voice trailed off. "You truly are the strongest person I know."

Angel didn't feel strong. She felt numb. "I slept with Cage." She wasn't even sure why she confessed that. "It was two days before the hospital had discovered he was a potential match for Bree. We had sex in her hospital room's bathroom."

Even Angel could hear the dullness, the emptiness, in her own voice. Tessa had placed a cold pack on the back of her neck earlier, but she was having trouble feeling even that.

"You two have been dating this whole time?" Harper gasped. "I thought it was new between the two of you."

Angel shook her head. "It is new. He wanted to, back then, but I'd said no. I called him a womanizer, I think. Told him he didn't know how to be monogamous…" God, she'd been such a bitch to him.

"Wait, so the two of you had sex and then you pushed him away only to discover he was Bree's match so you couldn't get away from him?" Tessa inquired.

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Don't get me started on how torn I was about that. It felt like the universe was playing this big joke on me when Cage's name was pulled."

The three women around her all paused and then burst out laughing. The sound seemed to thaw Angel. A giggle burst from her too.

But slowly that giggle turned into a sob and then Angel felt the sorrow fall over her. She brought her knees up to her chest and let her head fall forward as pain gripped her. The universe wasn't done playing jokes on her it would seem.

She felt multiple sets of hands on her trying to offer her comfort. She was a snotty, blubbering mess when she finally was able to catch her breath and lift her head. "He's the father," she confessed. "He's the father of my baby."

Her deceased baby. She'd lost Cage's baby…

Someone offered her a handful of paper towels. Angel took them and tried to wipe her face, but the tears just kept on coming.

"I don't understand," one of the women said softly. "You had sex with him a year ago. How could he be the father of your baby?"

Angel shook her head. She felt so stupid. If she hadn't been so drunk, would she have noticed that Cage had been drugged? Had they even attempted to use protection?

Worse, what did he remember? If he'd been roofied, there was a chance he didn't remember anything. But wouldn't he question a night he couldn't remember?

She turned to Tessa. "What do you know about roofies?"

Tessa's mouth gaped open. "You think Cage roofied you?"

"No," Angel insisted quickly. "God no. Just…in general," though the other women were not stupid and knew that Angel had a reason for her question beyond general knowledge. "If you got a high dose, do you not remember the night? That's one of the side effects, right?"

Tessa nodded hesitantly. "Yes. It's why they make such effective date-rape drugs. Rohypnol, GHB, GBL… They all block your memory receptors."

"Alcohol too, right?"

Stiffly, Tessa nodded again.

What if that night two unfortunate things had happened? What if Angel had been so drunk that she knew she had had sex but could not recall who with and Cage had been drugged, causing him to black out and forget having slept with her?

Fuck, when had her life turned into the plot of a soap opera?

"It's more likely from a low dose, though."

Angel turned to Tessa. "What?"

"It's very easy to OD on those types of drugs. They have a delay that most people don't realize, so they tend to double dose their victim unintentionally. If…a person," Tessa said evasively but her pointed gaze at Angel made her think Tessa believed Angel was inquiring about herself, "got a lower dose, however, they'd be more cognizant at the time they were drugged but later on they wouldn't remember or at least not all of it. It might even seem like a dream to them."

Angel nodded slowly. That made more sense. Cage was a big guy. Maybe the girl who had drugged him hadn't factored that in or maybe he hadn't drunk all of the tainted drink. Either way, he recalled turning the blonde away and putting her in an Uber . He'd told her about that part himself.

A knock on the door drew the women's attention. Steel poked his head inside. "Can I let him in now? He's pacing a hole in my clubhouse floor."

Angel swallowed nervously. Her very soul ached for the conversation she knew was about to follow. But she nodded. Cage had a right to know.

Steel was barely out of the way before Cage came bursting through. He rushed over to Angel and fell to his knees in front of her.

His hands hovered over her as if he wasn't sure where he could touch her without hurting her. Finally, he settled on putting them on her raised knees. "Is it true?" He didn't look angry. Worried, concerned, shocked, yes, but she didn't see anger on his face. "You're pregnant?"

With his use of a contraction, Angel couldn't be sure of his tense but she could guess. He thought her pregnancy was current. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly. Tears fell down her cheeks.

"I don't understand." Cage's hand squeezed her knees. "Sweetness, please look at me. It doesn't matter. I mean, it does, but it doesn't change how I feel about you. We'll…we'll figure this out. We'll still be a family, just like we talked about. You, me, and Bree, and this baby." Angel's chin trembled harder. Her heart was breaking inside her chest. "It doesn't matter," he repeated. "Just…who's the father?"

Fuck. He hadn't put it together. Somehow, he'd guessed she was pregnant but not what had happened between them that night at the bar or that she'd lost the baby.

She heard Jenna usher the others out of the bathroom. Angel opened her eyes in time to see Steel close the door to give her and Cage some privacy.

It took her a moment to find her voice. "You," Angel sobbed out. "You were the father."

Confusion crossed his face, followed by elation, and then confusion again. Slowly, he asked, "Were?"

Angel struggled to breathe. The air around her felt too heavy and thick, like it was pushing down on top of her. "I lost the baby." She forced the words out, hating the truth of them. "That night…when Tessa and I…I lost the baby."

Cage had never felt so helpless in his life. Not knowing what else to do or say, he'd shifted himself over to the wall, pulled Angel onto his lap, and held her as she cried. He hated that this strong and independent woman was, for the second time in as many weeks, breaking down in his arms and he had no idea how to help her.

A baby? She'd been pregnant with his baby? How? When?

The when was obvious. There was only one night it could be, one night that he didn't remember. Had she known? This whole time? Had she known that she was pregnant with his child?

Anger rivaled with despair. The date in question was only seven weeks ago and the night she'd gone out with Tessa had been two weeks ago. She couldn't have known she'd been pregnant for very long before she'd lost the baby. Cage was no expert, but he was pretty sure he'd heard somewhere that pregnancy tests weren't effective before five weeks conception.

He'd like to think that she just hadn't had a chance to tell him about their baby before she'd miscarried. But…it had been two weeks.

But a lot had happened in those two weeks. She'd had the flu and then?—

Cage felt his head thump back against the tiled wall. She hadn't had the flu. Her ‘flu' had started the day after her mysterious trip in the middle of the night. He recalled how pale and sickly she'd looked, but she hadn't been feverish or throwing up.

She'd been mourning .

Cage had even gone to her with soup and she'd kicked him out.

Then, her first day back at work, she'd been attacked and nearly raped. Fuck. No, Cage couldn't blame her for not having told him about the baby or her miscarriage.

What Cage did not understand was why now? Why her reaction from Evette's story? Since the only night in question that they could have conceived a baby was a night he'd just discovered he'd been drugged during, he could only come to the conclusion that Angel feared she'd somehow taken advantage of him. Like she'd unknowingly raped him .

That was the furthest thing from the truth. Regardless of his state or state of mind, he had no doubt he'd consented to anything they had done that night.

Cage didn't understand why she hadn't told him about their night together. Even the next day or something. Why hadn't she acknowledged that they'd once again slept together? Instead, she acted like it had never happened. Cage might have figured out sooner that there'd been something wrong with him that night, something other than getting blindly drunk and passing out, if she had.

Cage wasn't entirely sure how he felt about his attempted kidnapping. Grateful it had failed, sure, but there was also disgust. He'd been targeted because of his loose reputation. Was that really what people thought of him? Just some womanizing man-whore, to use Angel's previous words?

He didn't like that. He didn't like that at all.

Cage didn't know what words he'd use to describe himself. He ran the club's construction company. He was a good contractor and he cared about his workers. He loved his family, but he probably should make more of an effort to go see and talk with them. He hadn't even told his mom he'd donated a kidney until after the surgery.

Maybe he was nothing more than some man-whore.

For the second time in his life, he'd unknowingly gotten a girl pregnant. Neither one he'd been in a serious or committed relationship with. Neither one had come to him to tell them she was pregnant. Hell, Veronica hadn't even told him. He'd only heard it through his high school's rumor mill that she was pregnant. Since he was one of the two guys she was actively sleeping with, he figured there was a fifty-fifty chance he was the father. To this day, she'd never reached out to him, despite that he sent money to her monthly.

But Angel? Was that how she saw him? He'd told her that he hadn't had sex with anyone since her. He'd meant that to mean their interlude in the hospital a year ago. Had she thought he meant seven weeks ago and he'd been sleeping with other women for the past year?

It took him a moment to realize Angel was no longer crying. He glanced down, thinking she'd fallen asleep, but she was awake.

"I didn't know," were her first words to him. Her voice sounded grainy, like sandpaper. "I thought it was some random drunken hookup. I don't remember…with you."

His voice sounded like he'd swallowed a frog. "I don't remember either. I thought I'd just drunk too much that night to remember getting myself home. To be honest, I haven't touched a beer since that night. It's been a long time since I got that drunk and I do not like the feeling."

"Same," she muttered. "I'm sorry I lost the baby."

Cage squeezed his arms tighter around her. "Me too, but it's not your fault."

"You're not…happy?"

"What?" he demanded, looking down at her. "Why—how could you ask me that?"

"A baby's a big responsibility and?—"

"Fuck, sweetness." Cage tried to tamper down his anger. "I'd be jumping for joy if you were pregnant with my kid. Hell, when you're ready, maybe we can try again. But I'll never be happy you lost the baby. That's an awful thing to say."

She nodded against his chest. "I know. I'm sorry. I know that's not you. I guess, maybe, I still fear you looking for an out. There's nothing tying you to Bree or me."

A snort escaped Cage before he could stop it. "I'm pretty sure a kidney ties Bree and me together for life."

Angel let out a wet chuckle. "Fair."

"You really don't remember us sleeping together?"

Angel shook her head. "I was really drunk. I'm not even sure we used protection. I remember feeling really horny and then a man's—I mean, your hands on me. I think there might have been a blowjob too."

"Fuck," Cage shook his head. "Is it really twisted of me that I'm more pissed that I can't remember that than I am about being roofied and almost being kidnapped?"

The noise that escaped Angel was half snort-half laugh. "Probably."

Cage turned his head and pressed his lips to her hair. "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Angel, we just found out that we had sex seven weeks ago, that neither of us can remember it, and that you were pregnant with my baby. I mean, where do we go from here? Do you want…space from me? We've only been dating for a week. I hadn't even thought to ask if Bree knew about the baby."

Angel shifted on his lap until she was straddling his thighs. He placed his hands on her hips and straightened out his legs on the floor. "Bree never knew," Angel told him. She was a complete mess, still covered in blood splatter from her time in the cellar with Moore and then her own tears and snot—but Cage still thought she was the sexiest, most beautiful person he'd ever seen. "I only knew for about two days before…" Her voice trailed off. "And no, I don't want to take a break. I know this might change things between us, but I still want you in my life, Cage. I still want to date you and maybe someday— oof! "

Cage cut off her words with a kiss. He'd heard enough. There'd be time to talk later. Now? Now, he wanted to make love to his woman.

It wasn't fucking. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to fuck. This was sensual and bone deep. He needed Angel like he needed air. There were no rough or quick touches, no need for haste or quiet.

He removed her clothing and she removed his. He laid their cuts out on the floor and he guided Angel down on top of them. She was, without a doubt, the most magnificent sight. More perfect and radiant than any sunset.

And when they kissed? Cage felt his connection to her turn primal. He knew in that moment that he had fallen for her. No takebacks, no exchanges.

He only separated from her long enough to grab a condom from his wallet. Neither of them was ready, emotionally or physically, for another pregnancy. Eventually , Cage noted to himself.

As he slid inside her slick folds, Cage knew he'd found home. He'd been wandering for most of his life, but finally, finally , he was home. With her. The badass woman who'd stolen his heart and soul.

He pulled himself over her on his hands. "I'm going to say this once, Selene Matthews. You're mine. I'm never letting you go. I'm going to move into your house and we're going to be a family. Someday we'll talk about having more kids and someday soon I'm going to get my ring on your finger."

Angel rocked her hips upwards, letting him sink deeper inside her. She lifted her hands to cup his face. He could see it then, in the brights of her eyes. She loved him too.

She lowered his face down to hers and took possession of his lips. Then she moved her mouth to his left ear and said, "Fine, but I'm still not wearing your cut."

Then she flipped him and rode them both to oblivion.

If Angel smoked, she'd be in need of a cigarette after that. Cage was sitting up with his jeans under his ass. Angel was lying between his legs with her pants under her ass, half-draped back against him. Both were still naked and neither was making any indication that they wanted or needed to move.

"I've never done that before." Angel was playing with his hands for no other reason than an excuse to touch him.

"Made love in a bathroom?" he inquired with a light chuckle. "I beg to differ."

Angel shook her head. "‘Made love'," she specified. "I've never understood the difference before now. I always just figured it was some saying Romcoms came up with because they needed a word that was gentler than ‘fuck'." She shrugged. "I get it, though. Now. That was…"

Cage bent down and took her lips. "I know what you mean. I guess you could say we popped each other's ‘love cherries' tonight."

Angel smiled up at him. "Do you feel lighter? I do. Like I was carrying all this extra weight on my shoulders and now it's just… gone ."

She looked up his body to see him nod. "Yeah. Not necessarily lighter but definitely more settled."

"Guess there's something to this whole love thing after all," Angel joked.

He raised a hand to cup her face. "You don't have to say it if you're not ready," he told her gently. "Just know I feel it and I meant every word I said to you."

She turned her face to press a kiss to his palm. "Me too."

"Does that make me your ol' lady now?"

Angel chuckled. "If the cut fits."

He smiled down at her. "I want to make love to you again, but I'm out of condoms. Plus," he indicated around them, "I would really like to make love to you in a bed. Bathrooms are fun and all, but not really convenient." Then he added, "Or sanitary."

Angel was trying really hard not to think about the fact that they were on the floor of a public bathroom. But, considering that she still had Nathan Moore's blood and who knew what else on her, the bathroom floor was probably cleaner than she was.

Cage's thumb was rubbing over her tattooed wrist. "Want to tell me about these?"

Angel knew what he was referring to, but she still looked down. "After we lost Amber," she swallowed hard, "after I couldn't feel her anymore… My mom was so determined that she was alive. She wouldn't believe me when I told her that Amber was gone. The guilt, I think," Angel added. "No mother wants to admit that she failed to protect her child."

Angel cleared her throat. "I thought I could find her. I thought that, maybe, I could feel where her body was and bring her home. Then Mom would stop looking, stop telling people that Amber was still out there somewhere…" A shudder ran through her at the memories. "A man found me on the streets. I was able to get away before he touched me, but I cut my wrists really badly when I cut the ties."

Angel closed her eyes, not wanting to see the scars that reminded her every day that she almost became a statistic.

Cage's voice was gruff with emotion. "That's why you fought so hard for Bree to live."

"That's why I fight for everyone to live. Life is too precious, too fleeting, and everyone deserves a chance to live it."

Both of them had been careful not to reference their shared experience at the bar or the consequences of that union. Angel wondered if it was better to just not include that night in their history but knew that they couldn't just forget about forgetting about it. They'd created a child that night. The universe had deemed it wasn't a child they would get to ever meet, but it had still been theirs .

Angel felt a tear escape her eye. She went to wipe it away but Cage's thumb got to it first. "They call it a chemical pregnancy," she explained softly. "The egg never attached itself to my uterine lining. They claim it was never real. That, if I hadn't taken that pregnancy test so early, I'd have never known." She took in a shuddering breath. "But it felt real to me."

"Maybe what you need is closure. A chance to say goodbye."

Angel looked up at him. "Maybe you need that too."

He nodded slowly. "I can see it, you know. A little girl with your spunk, covered in mud, and not taking shit from anyone, even her parents."

Angel's smile was sad. "She would have had you wrapped around her little finger."

"Completely," Cage agreed. He wiped another tear from her cheek. "Just like her mother."

Angel turned her face into his hand. "It can be small, but I think you're right. I need closure. We can't tell Bree the details, but she has the right to mourn too. She lost a sibling."

"We can put together a little service," Cage told her softly. "Maybe light some of those floating candles to give our baby a proper sendoff."

Angel felt her chin start to tremble again. "I think I'd like that."

"It's late," Cage reminded her. "There's no way in hell either of us is sleeping in my apartment. Why don't we get dressed and head home. Bree's probably asleep at Bulldog's already. We'll take her out to the park or somewhere nice tomorrow and tell her what happened."

Angel nodded. "Thank you."

As they got themselves dressed, Angel grabbed the paper towels she'd used earlier and threw them out. She was a mess. Still, she needed to clean herself up enough to walk home.

Cage stood behind her and watched as she wet a paper towel and scrubbed her face. "I meant what I said, you know."

Angel looked into the mirror and met his eyes. "What's that?"

"When you're ready, we can try again."

Angel's heart pinched at the idea, but she was open to it. "I need to talk to Tessa. I don't remember everything the doctor told me that night. I need to make sure the chances are low of that happening again. I don't think… I couldn't…"

Cage's arms encircled her middle from behind. "We'll talk to Tessa or make an appointment with your vagina doctor."

Angel snorted. "Really? Vagina doctor?"

He placed his chin on her shoulder and smiled at her in the mirror. "Whatever happens, whatever comes next, we face it together, sweetness. You are no longer alone."

Angel leaned back against him. "I like that, not being alone."

"Well that's good because my mom is going to flip her shit that I am now in a committed relationship and am going to be a dad." He added softly, "I'd like to adopt Bree too. I've been thinking about it basically from the beginning. I want to be more to her than just her kidney donor."

"We'll ask her," Angel told him. "I don't have an issue with it as long as it's what she wants too."

Cage kissed her cheek. "Hurry up. I want to get you home and in the shower. You smell really bad."