ANGEL'S WRATH by SK (SIN CITY HEAT) (19 page)

 
 
 
 
 
Hearing Angel’s voice, Darrell paused mid-step.
 
He stood motionless, his feet feeling like blocks of ice. A loud ringing sounded in his ears and his heartbeat sped up.

 
 
 
 
What the fuck did he just say? Bryan??

 
 
 
 
When Angel hung up the phone, Darrell slowly turned his head, his expression penetrating, as he stared over his shoulder. Angel’s steps were unhurried as he walked towards Darrell. He stopped an arm’s length away, his face relaxed and indecipherable. Obviously unconcerned, he slipped his hands into his pockets, tilted his head and stared back. Frosty grey eyes met ice cool green ones, each observing…waiting for the other to address the elephant in the room.

 
 
 
 
Seconds that felt like hours ticked by before Dominick called out to them, asking them what the hell was taking them so long. As if a spell had been lifted, Darrell’s eyes shifted away from Angel’s. His mind racing, he stiffly walked outside, feeling the prickles of a knife being plunged deep into his back by the man who he'd just been admiring a few short minutes ago.

 
 
 
 
Maybe he was mistaken. After all, how many 'Bryans' were there in the got damn world? It could’ve been anyone. Sitting down, his eyes lifted and focused on Angel, who was calmly puffing on his cigar while watching Darrell with an air of indifference. But Darrell wasn’t fooled. Behind the blank mask, Angel was just as alert and observant as he was. Yeah, somethin' was up.

 
 
 
 
Tapping his fingers on the table, Darrell forced himself to turn away and try to gain a degree of control because he was
this
close to losin’ it and confronting this bold, brazen muthafucka.

 
 
 
 
His mind switched back to the night several months ago when he and Bryan had words after Darrell found out Roni was alive. He wanted to get everything straight before he went the fuck off because if what he was thinking was true, Darrell felt as if he’d been made a fool of all over again, and if there was one thing he hated, it was for someone to think he was stupid and try and pull some shit over on him

 
 
 
 
What exactly was it Bryan told him about the dude who helped get Roni out of the country? Apparently this man and Roni’s husband, Frank, who died long before Darrell met Roni, were friends. That’s how this guy and Roni became acquainted.

 
 
 
 
"Frank and his ex-wife's family were Sicilian. His ex's family had ties to one of the biggest crime families on the east coast. Frank was born into that life. You could say they didn’t take too well to him divorcing his wife and marrying another woman - a black woman at that. It was one thing to keep her as a mistress, but to marry her was another entirely. Once you're part of something like that, there's no getting out. But Frank did. He just...walked away. He was under someone's protection - someone the Sicilians didn’t wanna fuck with, and when I met him, I understood why they let it go. This man's protection covered Roni as well, even after Frank passed away."

 
 
 
 
"Who is he?"

 
 
 
 
"That's not important. What is important is that you have to understand that I thought the syndicate had finally made good on the threats they'd made to Frank all those years ago. Why they would’ve waited so long and at that particular time was beyond my comprehension, but didn’t matter. I was sure of two things. One, Roni wasn’t gonna die. Two, she had to be protected at all costs." Bryan met and held Darrell's eyes. "The only way we could do so beyond a shadow of a doubt was to make it appear as if she were dead."

 
 
 
 
Darrell shifted his attention back to Angel who was still studying him cool as a muthafuckin’ fan. He was seemingly unbothered that Darrell was putting the last sections of the puzzle together one piece at a time.

 
 
 
 
Darrell’s eyes began to thaw, freed from the physical effect of the coldness which had spread through his body like a freezing blizzard. In its place, a molten, liquefied heat simmered, slowly working itself up to a boil. Connecting the last dot, he remembered the conversation he’d had with Roni when he finally came face to face with her in Aruba…

 
 
 
 
"This…friend. Bryan said he was the same person who made it clear to the Sicilians that you and Frank weren't to be fucked with? He must be a very powerful man to wield his authority and have it obeyed. Not to mention being able to make you just disappear like this without anyone being hip to what was going on."

 
 
 
 
"Yes. He’s very powerful. He and Frank went back a long way. It's funny because Frank told me neither of them ever really trusted anyone, but something happened which caused them to have a deep respect for one another. He was younger than Frank, but that respect turned into a life-long friendship. He's the one who made arrangements for me to be transported to Switzerland for treatment.

 
 
 
 
Hostile waves radiated from Darrell like a disturbance building up to a swell on the surface of the sea. His boys suddenly became aware of the fact that they were the only two participating in what had earlier been a lively conversation. They looked at Darrell then followed his antagonistic gaze directed at Angel. Tension thickened the air around them.

 
 
 
 
Dominick and Marcus exchanged perplexed stares, silently asking each other what the fuck was going on. The quietness of the night intensified. Angel’s eyes never left Darrell’s as he drew on the cigar again. Finally, he broke the silence.

 
 
 
 
“Got something you wanna ask me, D?”

 
 
 
 
The side glance Darrell threw Angel made it clear he thought the question was redundant. "What do
you
think?"

 
 
 
 
Angel's shrug screamed nonchalance. This was Darrell's call. "Hey, if you're good, I'm good. The way you've been staring at me made me think you needed to get some things off your chest."

 
 
 
 
His face thunderous by this point, Darrell leaned forward and pointed a finger at Angel. "Don't patronize me, a'ight? I'm not one of your flunkies and I will…"

 
 
 
 
"Hey!" Marcus tried to catch Darrell's eyes, but Darrell was too focused on Angel. "What's goin' on, D? What's wrong?"

 
 
 
 
"I'd like to know too," Dominick added, staring at his brother. "Angel...?"

 
 
 
 
Angel took a sip of his drink before answering. "Ask your friend. He seems to be the one with the problem."

 
 
 
 
Darrell stood up, eyes flashing. "Oh, I got the problem? Nah, chief, I think you got it backwards. You 'bout to be the one with the mu'fuckin' problem."

 
 
 
 
When he moved towards Angel, both Dom and Marcus jumped up. Angel lounged in his chair, legs crossed, amusement resting on his lips which only incensed Darrell further. Marcus put a hand on Darrell's chest. "Hold up, Darrell. Talk to me, bruh."

 
 
 
 
But Darrell saw and heard nothing but Angel. "This shit funny to you? You like playin' with people's lives? Let me tell you somethin', you done fucked with the wrong one. This might be the time you wanna call your 'security' 'cause things 'bout to get ratchet out here real quick," Darrell sneered.

 
 
 
 
"Fuck," Dom muttered under his breath, knowing his brother would not appreciate the slight, and when he saw Angel's face, he was right.

 
 
 
 
Angel became very still, resembling a perfectly carved sculpture. The coldness emanating from him quickly reached his eyes which became crystalized sheets of ice. Frigid, glacial, and dangerous. The warning in them was very clear. He stood up, tilted his head slightly and drilled Darrell with a stare.

 
 
 
 
"Darrell, please don't make the mistake of thinking I need someone to fight my battles. You're a very smart man, but that would be one of the dumbest things you could ever do." Angel took a couple of steps and spread his arms wide, palms up. "But if you don't want to take my word, go for it. I'm right here, brother."

 
 
 
 
"You sonuvabitch!" Darrell tried to rush past Marcus, but Marcus grabbed him and held tight. Dom looked from Darrell to Angel.

 
 
 
 
"Angel, what the fuck! Somebody gettin' ready to tell me somethin' right now!" Dom was starting to get as pissed off as Darrell and Angel and had no idea why.

 
 
 
 
"Darrell, calm down, man!" Marcus growled.

 
 
 
 
"Calm down? Y'all wanna know what he did? Huh? Remember I told ya'll Bryan said somebody made all the arrangements to get Roni out of the country, leavin' everybody to think she died in the hospital? Your brother is the person that orchestrated the entire thing, Dom!"

 
 
 
 
"What?" Dominick looked even more confused. "What are you talking about? Angel doesn't even know Roni."

 
 
 
 
Darrell spat out a harsh laugh. "Ask him! I heard him in the house talking to Bryan on the phone just now! Go on," he barked at Angel. "Of course I don't expect you to tell anybody the truth. That's how you do thangs, ain't it? Let other people do your dirty shit so your hands stay squeaky clean!"

 
 
 
 
"D! Come on, man!" Dom's scowl told him that shit wasn't cool.

 
 
 
 
Everyone knew he was referring to what happened between Angel and Dominick years ago. When Dominick was sixteen years old, he'd been caught by the feds with a suitcase full of drugs he was holding for Angel. Rather than turn his brother in, Dominick took the charge; they both knew if Angel was convicted, he would face life in prison. Angel paid off a federal judge to insure Dom received a light sentence. Dom served time in juvie, and on his eighteenth birthday, was transferred to a minimum security prison until he turned twenty-one. The incident caused an irreparable rift between Angel and his parents. Angel and Dom didn't speak again until last year when Dom came to Angel for help.

 
 
 
 
 
The fact that Darrell would dare throw that in Angel's face infuriated him. His body stiffened as anger made tiny cracks in the calm facade he usually armed himself with at all times. "Who in the fuck do you think you're talking to?"

 
 
 
 
"Who the fuck does it look like? Things not so amusing now, right?"

 
 
 
 
Angel took a quick step towards Darrell then stopped and forced himself to regroup. If it had been anyone else throwing insults at him like this, he wouldn’t have hesitated to grab the gun strapped beneath the table where they'd been sitting and put a bullet in their skull. It took everything in him to mentally retreat behind the normally impenetrable wall that acted as his shield against the rest of the world. Letting the corner of his mouth lift tauntingly, he backed up one, then two paces and picked up his glass before looking at his brother.

 
 
 
 
"You need to put a leash on your boy before he gets hurt. I won't warn him again." With that comment, he turned to go back into the house, ignoring Darrell completely, letting him know he was a non-factor in his mothafuckin' world.

 
 
 
 
Enraged, Darrell pushed a momentarily lax Marcus out of the way and barreled towards Angel, determined to show him just how relevant he was and get some answers. He'd only taken a couple of steps when men seemingly materialized out of thin air with guns drawn and aimed straight at him. Angel pivoted around slowly, his lips tight, his eyes thin slits.