Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (122 page)

“
Fine.
Did he agree to stay away?” Angel's next words sent Michael
back into the house before the sentence was even finished.

“
If
you let a bitch get some mothafuckin' words out! I called, told him
to stay away from Stick, and he lost his shit! He's on his way there
right now! Get her out of there, Boo, because he's pissed!”
Michael wrapped his fingers around Morgan's arm and was about to pull
her to the side of the room to tell her they had to leave right then,
when Kole's truck sped into the front yard. “Michael? You
there, Boo? What's going on?” Michael ended the call with Angel
by means of hanging up, and looked down at Morgan and 'Ele. Both
women were staring at him.

“
Kole's
here, he's pissed. We have to go.” Michael had no fear of the
man, but he didn't plan on taking any chances. Morgan's eyes closed
and she pulled her arm from his grip. A gentle hand took her other
arm, and Morgan looked down to watch a tear fall from 'Ele.

“
Child,
stay right here. I'll handle this.” That was last thing Morgan,
or Michael wanted, but it was too late to argue as they all turned
when they heard the front door slam open.

Kole
pushed the bedroom door open the rest of the way and was standing in
front of Morgan within seconds. Michael, once again, stepped between
them.

“I'll
say this once, Kole,” 'Ele sat up as much as she could, her
body shaking with exhaustion, “you'll leave right now and calm
down, and not come back until your head is right.” Kole looked
at his mother, his chest heaving in anger. 'Ele stood her ground and
stared him down until Kole backed off and left. The room was silent
for several moments as 'Ele cried openly in his wake. “I'm
sorry. I don't know why he acts like that, but I'm so sorry.”
Morgan held her and told her that it would be alright, but 'Ele
continued. “I'll have Kala take him somewhere if you want to
visit again. If you don't... I understand.” The sadness that
filled her eyes was almost unbearable. Morgan wiped her own tears
from her face and stood tall beside the bed.

“I'll
come here every single day if you'll have me. I won't back down to
Kole, or anyone else. Do you hear me?” 'Ele smiled, loving the
strength she saw in Morgan, then sighed. She wasn't sure how long she
could keep Kole in check, but having Michael there was comforting.

Michael's
phone, once again, ended the moment. “It's Angel. I hung up on
him, I'll be right back.” Michael went to the front room and
fell to the large floral cushioned sofa to take the call. “Yeah,
I hung up. Morgan is fine, Kole is gone.” That's all Angel
needed to know, at least, that's what Michael thought.

“Ah,
hell no! You don't hang up on my ass! Put Stick on the phone, I've
tried calling her a hundred times!” Actually, he'd tried three
times...in two minutes. Michael told him that Morgan was saying her
goodbyes to 'Ele and that she would call him later.

“
But,
I have another favor.” Michael stood and took a quick look to
make sure Morgan wasn't listening. When he saw that the coast was
clear, he asked Angel for his help. “Look, I have to go back to
Cali...tonight. Don't ask, I just do, it's an emergency. I need,”
he looked over his shoulder again, Morgan was still in the bedroom,
“I need you to call someone to come here and...well..look out
for her. She's planning on staying here for the week, and that
bastard isn't going to stop. Do you know anyone who could fly out
here on short notice?” Angel stood and began to pace the
kitchen, thinking of who would be best for his Sticky Buns.

“
No,
Boo, I don't know who could do it...but I'll call some bitches and
find out. Call ya later.” That time, Angel hung up on Michael.

Chapter
Two

Angel
took PoPo on his finger and quickly took the steps by two, all the
way up to his bedroom. This was going to take some thought. He set
the big macaw on his perch and put a small handful of treats in his
bowl. PoPo thanked him, with a loud “mothafuckin' nuts,
mothafuckin' nuts” as the bird picked up a peanut with his toes
and brought it to his beak.

“
PoPolicious,
I'm going to need you to keep your snout shut and let daddy's brain
waves work for a mothafuckin' minute,” Angel spoke as he put a
finger to his full lips. He checked his reflection in the mirror and
fixed a curl before making his way over to his bed. Even in an
emergency, a bitch's curls need to look good.

He
knew he didn't have very many numbers, so that would help, but trying
to decide was the tough part. Alrik was at the top of his contacts,
but he wasn't good for the job. He also had Clayton, but Morgan
hadn't really spoken to him since going to Las Vegas. When it came
down to it, he knew there were only two real options. “Aright
Boo thang,” Angel tapped on Finlay's picture and brought the
phone to his ear to listen. “Mothafuckin' voicemail. This is a
crisis and you're off playing Castlemania.” If Morgan could
hear him, she would have corrected him in saying
Castlevania
,
but even then, just because he had a castle didn't mean he was
playing
in it. He hung up the phone before it reached the end
of the voicemail message, and scrolled to his second option.

The
only other person to call was Tanner. He was the second choice,
simply because Angel knew the two had just gone through a little
turbulence, but Angel knew it would also be a good time for the two
to work things out in person. He scrolled to Tanner's picture and
pressed the contact.

“
Tan-mothafuckin'-man!
You need to come see my Stick!” Angel was caught off guard when
Tanner answered before the second ring.

“Angel,”
Tanner laughed, and tried to catch his words. “I don't want to
see your
stick.
”

Angel
huffed loudly before answering. “I ain't talking about
my
mothafuckin' stick, although, I assure you, it's worth seeing.
That shit needs to be in the genius book of records.” Tanner
didn't have time to correct him before Angel continued. “Morgan
is in Hawaii and she needs your help. Koala bear is acting a
mothafuckin' fool and...” All Tanner needed to hear was that
Morgan needed his help. He asked Angel for more details, and found
out what hotel she was in, and made flight arrangements while Angel
was still on the phone. He would arrive in Waikiki at
seven-forty-five the following morning, and assured Angel he'd let
him know when he found her.

*****

That
evening, Morgan and Michael were saying their goodbyes, at the same
time Tanner was already on his flight. Michael knew Tanner was
coming, and although the idea of
that
man coming made him a
little uncomfortable, he was more than thankful that Morgan would
have someone to watch over her. But, it was news he was going to keep
to himself. He thought about telling her the truth to prepare her,
but he knew Morgan really cared for the Aussie, so it would be a nice
surprise.

“
I
wish you didn't have to go.” Morgan puffed her bottom lip out
and frowned dramatically. “We didn't even get to go out for
drinks.”

“I
know, I'm sorry. Next time, though.” Michael pulled her into
his arms and hugged her tightly. He wished he didn't have to go
either, but made a promise to himself that he wouldn't allow as much
time to pass before he had her in his arms again. “I've got to
go. Please, keep me updated.” He kissed the top of her head and
she nodded that she would let him know if Kole acted out again.

She
watched him through the wide glass windows in the lobby, as he
climbed into a white and green taxi. Morgan had been looking forward
to spending the week with him, but on the other hand, she couldn't be
selfish and expect him to miss work because of her. “But I'm
glad you got to meet 'Ele.” She smiled as the car disappeared
around a corner and turned around to head to the hotel restaurant.
She also knew that Michael intended to make good on his promise to
visit one another soon, and that made all the difference in how she
felt when saying goodbye.

Michael
thought of Molly, and the fact that he'd have to face her again after
all the time they'd spent apart. He still loved her, more than he
cared to admit, and cheating on his wife had been the worst decision
he'd ever made. He looked back at Morgan as the taxi began to make
its first turn. “Then again, Morgan...you might have been worth
it.”

*****

Tanner
stretched his long legs as far as he could in the seat. The trip was
long, but he was grateful to have been able to sleep most of the way
to Hawaii. His eyes moved slowly to the window, refusing to take in
the sights from his view in the sky, as his mind was full of only
Morgan.

He
had received a call from Angel, a very frantic Angel, and was told
that Morgan could be in trouble. He was told about Kole, at least the
parts that Angel knew of, and how Michael was taking care of things
and had to leave Hawaii. It was an information overload, which was
always expected from Angel, but it had been more than enough for
Tanner to put his awkward feelings aside, and head straight to
Morgan.

He
also knew in his heart that it wouldn't have taken a near emergency
to get him on a plane, he would have gone anywhere to see her for any
reason.
What have ya done to me, Morgan.
He turned his head to
the front once more, and closed his eyes. One last hour to wait
through, and he would be in Hawaii.

*****

Morgan
crawled slowly from her bed at five-thirty the next morning. She had
barely slept, and the images that had kept her awake were still
consuming her as she made small steps to the bathroom. “I hate
you, Kole. I fucking hate you right now!” Her mood was
terrible, her eyes felt as if they were full of hot sand, and she had
been starving for hours.

Kole
had scared her, it was that simple, and the feeling that a man could
have that much power over her was infuriating. She had no idea how
much the situation had affected her until then, and at that moment,
she had no idea what to do about it. The one thing she did know,
however, was that she planned to call 'Ele at a reasonable hour that
morning, and tell her that she wouldn't be stopping over that day.
“I'm sorry, 'Ele,” she spoke to the empty shower as she
started the water, “I just need a day to get my head together.”
She stepped under the hot pounding stream and moaned loudly as the
water helped ease the intensity of her own thoughts.

It
wasn't until her fingertips began to look like raisins, that she
realized how long she'd been standing in the shower and finally
decided to step out. She felt a bit better, at least physically, but
even the hot shower hadn't done much for her mood. Morgan wrapped a
towel around her body and brushed out her hair quickly, then tied it
back with a few bobby pins. She didn't spend a lot of time on her
makeup, but it was still early, and she didn't need to impress anyone
in the lobby when she ordered breakfast.

“
Actually,”
Morgan spoke to herself. She finished the thought in her mind, and
decided breakfast would come to her instead. She didn't want to see
anyone at the moment, but she knew she could make a phone call, and
that sounded much better than dealing with the public.

Her
stomach growled loudly as she walked over to the window, and she
shook her head, finally able to smile for the first time that
morning. Michael would have been making fun of her for the excessive
noise coming from her stomach, and in a way she couldn't explain, it
was a comforting thought.

“
Okay,
okay,” Morgan told her stomach as it growled again, and she
made her way back to the nightstand where she could call the front
desk. In three rings, a man answered the phone. “Uh, hi. Good
morning. I'd like to place an order for breakf...” Before she
could get the word out, she heard something bang in the room next to
hers. Her brows came together as she quickly walked across the room,
and she made sure the door was locked.

“
Ma'am?”
The man was still on the phone, and for a moment, she forgot she was
placing an order.

Her
attention went back to the call. “Yeah, sorry.” She
walked back toward the bed, “I'd like to order breakfast.”
Morgan didn't make it back to the bed before she heard another loud
sound in the room next to hers. That time, something hit the wall,
and then she heard the television turn on...loudly. She covered the
phone with her hand and walked back over to the door between the
rooms. “Seriously? Some people are trying to sleep!” It
wasn't quite the truth, but it
was
early, and she didn't want
a
neighbor
who would be making all that noise.