ANGEL'S WRATH by SK (SIN CITY HEAT) (22 page)

 
 
 
 
Years later, Frank found out he had cancer. He fought a brave fight, but eventually it took his life. When the attack happened on Roni, Angel was out of the country. Bryan contacted him immediately, afraid it was the work of the Sicilians even after all these years. Roni had no enemies, so that was the only thing they could assume. Even though her diagnosis was dire and the doctors gave her little chance of survival, Angel made arrangements for her to be secretly flown out of the country to Switzerland where a team comprised of doctors from all over the world worked together to save her life using
 
alternative methods not sanctioned in the United States.

 
 
 
 
"I think you pretty much know the rest. My mother was born and raised in the islands. When I suggested she come here to recuperate, she did, and eventually decided to stay. It was her choice whether or not to tell you she was alive, and whatever she chose to do, I supported her. When Marcus spotted her in Aruba a couple of months ago, her first instinct was to take off, but I convinced her it was time to stay and stop running away from her past." Angel stopped, facing Darrell. "I've always been grateful for the closeness and friendship you and Marcus have with my brother, but I promised Frank I'd always look after Roni. She was my priority, my
only
priority at the time. The end result is what's important, isn't it? Roni pulled through, she's involved with someone, you've moved on and have a beautiful family. Everything worked out the way it was supposed to."

 
 
 
 
Darrell listened intently to everything Angel told him and nodded slowly. "You're right, it did."

 
 
 
 
Angel nodded once and placed a hand on Darrell's shoulder. "Good. I assume you've gotten over your tantrum and we'll be able to celebrate my wedding in peace tomorrow?"

 
 
 
 
Staring at him solemnly, Darrell replied in monotone. "Nikki threatened to kick ya' ass, right?"

 
 
 
 
Angel answered in the same leveled voice. "Worse. She gave me that...look."

 
 
 
 
Darrell nodded immediately. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. The one where she stares into your eyes and bats her lashes at you like you the mu'fuckin' man who has the ability to reach up and snatch a star outta the sky just for her. And because she believes in you, she knows you can do this one little thing for her."
 

 
 
 
 
"That's the one," Angel confirmed.

 
 
 
The two men burst out laughing at the same time before walking back towards Darrell's villa in a companionable silence. Suddenly, Darrell came to an abrupt stop and turned to Angel.

 
 
 
"Hey. Were you really gonna let those men shoot me, bruh?"

 
 
 
 
Angel's expression never changed. "They're trained to shoot if I'm threatened in any way. Luckily, you stopped moving." He slapped Darrell on the back and continued on to the pathway that would lead him back to the main house, smiling to himself when he heard Darrell exclaim under his breath: "Sonuvabitch."

 
 
 
 
"N
ikki, you look beautiful," Aleesha said softly.

 
 
 
 
All of the women were in the large bedroom helping Nikki get ready for her wedding which would take place in less than an hour. Her make-up had been applied to perfection. A soft blush highlighted her contoured cheekbones, cinnamon gloss kissed her full lips, and her dark, liquid eyes were lightly lined to make them pop out and give her a sexy, sensual look. The hairstylist piled her hair loosely atop her head in a mass of curls with wispy tendrils adorning the sides and back. A stunning diamond pendent hung from her neck to nestle between her cleavage and huge diamond studs twinkled from her ears, both gifts from Angel.

 
 
 
 
"Thank you, Aleesha." Nikki smiled at the women and stood up in front of the full length mirror, again admiring the gown she'd chosen. As soon as she saw it, she knew it was the one. The elegant simplicity of the white gown tied in perfectly to the beachside wedding she and Angel planned. Her stomach had only the slightest hint of roundness, allowing the material to flow gracefully down to her bare feet. Her manicured toes peeked out from underneath, showing off the diamond toe ring when she walked.
 

 
 
 
 
For a moment, a wave of sadness hit Nikki when she thought about her family. She never in a million years would've guessed she'd be getting married without her mother helping her to get dressed on her big day, or her father not walking her down the aisle. All morning, she had been checking her cell phone, hoping they'd at least call, but no one had. She understood their doubts about her marrying Angel, but was it wrong to at least want their support?

 
 
 
 
"Nikki, you okay?" Keisha placed a light hand on her arm.

 
 
 
 
"I'm fine." Nikki forced a smile before taking a deep breath. Today, she was marrying the man she loved with all her heart, the man who was the father of her unborn child. Her parents would eventually come around, but she wouldn't let their disapproval ruin their wedding day.

 
 
 
 
She looked at Keisha, who would become her sister-in-law today, and Jerra and Aleesha.
 
The three women were all surrounding her as if they knew what she was thinking. She had gotten along with them like long lost friends from the very moment they were introduced, and was so thankful they were there to help take some of the stress off her shoulders.

 
 
 
 
"I just want to thank you all again for coming and sharing this day with me. Hopefully, when we get back to Vegas, we'll get to see a lot more of each other."

 
 
 
 
"You can count on it, sis." Keisha smiled at her as the three women gathered around. "Between the two of us, we're going to make sure that this family remains close." Her eyes dropped to Nikki's stomach as she placed a hand over her own six-month pregnant tummy. "Especially now that our children will be first cousins."

 
 
 
 
"It's so great that your kids are going to be so close in age." An expression of longing crossed Aleesha's face for a quick second. She and Marcus had been trying to conceive but it hadn't happened, and Aleesha was afraid she knew why.

 
 
 
 
With Marcus being a physician himself, she'd resisted his gentle suggestion that they go and get tested to rule out any underlying medical problems. Up until recently, Aleesha had been able to buy more time, but before they left for the Caribbean, Marcus sat her down and told her he'd made an appointment for them to see a fertility specialist at the hospital where he worked. Speechless, Aleesha listened to him explain that he understood she was hesitant about undergoing the tests because of what they might find, but it was best that they knew what they were facing and meet it head on. An appointment with the specialist usually took months, but because Marcus and Dr. McBride were colleagues, he'd made an appointment with them the next day. The results would be waiting for them when they got back home.

 
 
 
 
If Aleesha was right about her suspicions, the tests would confirm those fears. That's why she would have to speak to Marcus, and soon. Before the results came back. It was bad enough that he would know she only came clean because she had no other choice, but things would be worse if he discovered the reason before she could sit him down and break the news to him her way.

 
 
 
 
Feeling them staring, Aleesha glanced at Jerra and Keisha. She gave them a quick smile to let them know she was okay, but their concerned expressions mixed with warnings was her answer. They knew as well as she did that she was running out of time to speak to Marcus.

 
 
 
 
"Angel, it's your wedding day. Stop worrying about business and just concentrate on your bride." Oscar's voice held a hint of censure. "If any problems arise, they'll be handled. I think I can hold everything together for a week."

 
 
 
 
"I'm not doubting you old man, just checking in." Angel could almost see his mentor grimacing in disgust. "Of course I trust you to put out any fires until I come home."

 
 
 
 
"Hmph. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for rushing back after only a week. Your bride deserves a proper honeymoon." Oscar had seen numerous women come in and out of Angel's life over the years. When he first met Nicole, he had his doubts. She wasn't like the others, but it hadn’t taken long to realize she loved his Angelo very much.

 
 
 
 
"Don't push it."

 
 
 
 
"Hmph," Oscar grunted again. "I'll talk to you soon, Angelo."

 
 
 
 
After they hung up, Angel stood looking out the window of one of the spare bedrooms as he thought about Nicole. He hadn't mentioned to her that he'd called her parents again and tried to get them to change their mind. Her father wouldn't even talk to him, and the conversation with her mother had been brief and stilted. When she asked him point blank if he was still involved in illegal activities, his silence had been his answer. Lying was one thing he refused to do, and when she didn't hear him deny anything, Mrs. Randolph promptly hung up without another word.

 
 
 
 
He hated that there was friction between Nikki and her parents because she'd always been so close to them. Even though she tried to hide it, he knew she was hurting because they weren't there. Hopefully, once she had the baby, they would become more open to the fact that he was a part of her life, for better or for worse.

 
 
 
 
"Ready to get this show on the road?"

 
 
 
 
Angel turned around as his brother, Marcus, and Darrell came into the room. Marcus carried a bottle of champagne while Darrell and Dom held the glasses. "Of course," he answered accepting the glass Dom handed to him.

 
 
 
 
With a flourish, Marcus popped open the bottle of Cristal and topped their glasses. They all held their flutes in the air and waited for Dom, who was the best man, to make the toast.

 
 
 
"Big brother, words can't express how happy I am that you finally found somebody to spend your life with. There's nothing like having that special someone waiting for you at the end of the day who loves you unconditionally. We know, because we were lucky to find our soul mates and with Nikki, so have you. I can't wait for our kids to be brought into this world. A new chance to get things right with a new generation. To family."

 
 
 
 
"To family", they all echoed before taking a sip of the champagne. Dom and Angel embraced tightly, the emotion and love the two brothers felt for each other was evident before Angel hugged Marcus then Darrell.

 
 
 
 
With thirty minutes left before it was time to gather at the beach for the wedding, the four men shared more champagne and laughter. Marcus, Darrell, and Dominick were teasing Angel about getting ready for married life when Marcus' phone vibrated, indicating he had a message.

 
 
 
 
Darrell scowled at Marcus. "Dr. Bennett, you ain't on call all the way over here in the Caribbean. If you don't turn that shit off, I swear to God, we're gonna jump yo' ass and take the got damn thing and keep it until we leave."

 
 
 
 
Seeing the gleam in Darrell and Dominick's eyes as if they were contemplating doing just that, Marcus held up a hand and took a step back. "Hold up, hold up, hold up," he laughed. "I've been expecting this. It won't take but a minute, then I promise, off the phone goes."