Bad Habit (11 page)

“
I am happy to meet Angel’s novia.”
Ricky let his fingers gently touch one of the sapphire earrings
Isabel had lent her. He met her eyes, smiling broadly. “Are you
enjoying the music?”

Teri said she was and complimented
him on the club. He told her it had been their father’s restaurant.
When he’d taken over he put in a dance floor. The same cooks worked
there as when his father was alive but now they had a bartender as
well. The other musicians were reassembling on the stage. Ricky
kissed Teri’s hand and his sisters Isabel and Luz on the cheek
before joining them.

Arturo stood and held his wife’s chair before
leading her to the dance floor. They danced well together. Teri sat
grinning as Angel stroked her hand.

“
What are you smiling about?” he
asked.

“
Your parents. They look so young.
It’s nice to see people who stay in love.”

“
It’s a family tradition,” he
whispered. “Be careful if you marry a Garcia because we mate for
life.”

His breath on her neck incited a riot of shivers
like frenetic spiders skittering across her flesh.

Teri looked down at her drink, drawing a shaky
breath as she reached for it. She sipped the icy liquid too fast,
causing a stabbing pain in her temple. “What was it that your uncle
Ricky called me?”

“
Novia. He called you my
sweetheart. It can also mean my fiancée or betrothed.”

“
Ooh.” Teri took another sip
sending a shaft of agony shooting to her head.

Angel smiled. “Teri,” he whispered
against her hair so that only she could hear. “I know things are
moving too fast for you. I know you’re vulnerable. I’m crazy about
you but, if you want me to back off, I will.”

She felt as though a feather pillow
had exploded in her chest. “I—I don’t think I do,” she said,
resting the back of her hand against his chest.

He clasped it tightly and kissed
her fingers. “Good.”

The family continued to talk and
laugh together. Esme came to her brother Angel and asked him to
dance with her. He led the young girl to the floor and Arturo asked
Teri to dance.

Surprised, she said, “I’m terrible. I warn you.”

He smiled and held out his hand.
When they took the floor Teri found he had a strong lead. Teri
enjoyed the dance in spite of her lack of experience with Latin
dances.

“
Are you in love with my son?”
Arturo asked.

Teri was taken aback by his
question. “I can’t answer that,” she said.

“
Can’t or won’t?”

Teri twirled around twice and
returned to Arturo’s arms. “I think it’s early in our relationship
to make any serious announcements.”

“
If you think so.” Arturo smiled. “I
met Isabel when she was fifteen and I knew she was the one I would
marry.”

“
Fifteen? She was a
baby.”

Arturo shrugged. “Me too. I was
only seventeen and Isabel’s father wouldn’t allow us to date. I
called on her for two years and was allowed to sit in her parlor
with her grandmother chaperoning us.”

“
You were very patient.”

“
I knew what I wanted,” he said. I
was willing to wait.”

“
And you’ve been together since
then?”

“
Together until death do us part.
That’s what we promised each other.”

Arturo’s stoic certainty gave Teri
a glimmer of hope. What if there was a future for her that included
a man raised by such parents?

They returned to the table and Angel held her
chair.

“
Can we get a breath of air?” she
asked.

“
Of course.” He took her hand and
made a path through the crowd for her to follow. When they stepped
outside the warm air felt good after the air
conditioning.

“
Are you okay?” he asked.

“
I’m just a little
confused.”

“
Too much family?” he
asked.

“
No. You’re family is wonderful.
They love you very much.”

“
I know,” he said. “I think they’re
overwhelming you with all their questions and
assumptions.”

Teri ducked her head. “It’s okay. They’re just
curious about me and I don’t blame them. I don’t know who I am
anymore.”

“
I know who you are, Teri.” His
deep voice caressed her.

She looked up at him. “Do you now?”

“
Yes.”

“
Who am I?”

“
You’ll find out.”

“
You’re teasing me now.” Teri
turned away to watch another barge motoring down the
river.

Angel’s hands gripped her shoulders
and gently pulled her back to rest against his chest. “I know who
you are Teri,” he said against her hair. “You’re the woman I
love.”

Teri closed her eyes as Angel’s fingertips stroked
her shoulder. She felt her pulses racing as she tried to catch her
breath. “You don’t know me,” she said. “I don’t know if you’d like
the person I really am.”

He turned her around slowly. “What are you
saying?”

“
The person I was in New York
before...before everything happened, I was all about me. When I was
modeling everyone around me was all about me and when I went into
the advertising business I was still all about me. I only thought
about clients and campaigns in relation to what they could do for
me.” Her eyes widened as Angel started laughing. “Stop it! It’s not
funny.”

“
Yes it is,” he said, sobering. “I
thought you were going to tell me I wouldn’t like you because you’d
murdered your boyfriend.”

Teri howled in outrage and hit him on the arm. “How
could you think such a horrible thing?”

“
Don’t worry,” he said. “I would
still love you. I’d have to arrest you, but I’d still love
you.”

She hit him again and turned her back on him. “To
think I was sharing a profound inner revelation with you and you
still think I could be a killer.”

“
The only one you’re killing is
me.”

Teri whirled around, hands on
hips.

“
You’re killing me with that dress,
that face, that body. I haven’t been able to think straight since I
met you at St. Pius. I thought I was going to hell for lusting
after a nun. And then I figured out who you are. You’ve made some
bad decisions lately, but when I got to know you I couldn’t think
of you as a murderer.”

“
That’s comforting.” Teri narrowed
her gaze and stuck out her chin. “So, what now?”

“
I’ve got a lead. I’m just waiting
to see where it goes.”

“
I mean between us?” She held his
gaze steadily.

He flashed her a wide grin. “I’ll
take it as a good sign that you agree there’s something between
us.”

“
Of course there’s something
between us!” Teri turned away, pacing a few steps and then
returning to confront him. “I can’t even breathe around you. When
you look at me like that I feel dizzy.”

“
I’m liking that a lot.” Angel
grinned as he reached for her.

“
Don’t be smug.” She felt as though
she was melting into his kiss.

#

Teri and Angel returned to the
dance floor while his family continued to exchange amused glances.
She felt self-conscious at first, but soon lost herself in the
music and movement. She lost herself as she danced in Angel’s arms.
And when they sat with the extended Garcia family, she enjoyed
their company. She was aware that Angel’s people had expectations
of her, and she wasn’t sure she could live up to them. But they
were so warm and had been so kind to her. They were the kind of
family she would choose, if she could assemble a perfect loving
family.

“
We’re going for a drive,” Angel
announced taking Teri’s hand. “We’ll see you back at the
house.”

A chorus of catcalls greeted their
departure. Stepping out into the night air was like putting on a
damp garment. The scent of magnolias enveloped them. As before,
Angel curved his arm around her waist.

“
I could get used to this,” she
said.

“
Me too.”

“
Where are we going?”

“
We’re really going for a drive. I
want to cruise by the nun’s place just to make sure everything is
alright.”

“
Why?” she said. “Do you think
they’re in danger?”

He unlocked the car and put her
inside. “I don’t want to take any chances,” he said when he slid
onto his seat. “And I want to see if the PI who’s surveilling the
place has anything for me.”

They drove in silence to the rear
of the small apartment complex. “Duck down,” he ordered. He circled
the block slowly, commenting that the same cars were there earlier
but Marcel’s gray sedan was not in place.

He drove her to his parent’s house.
Angel took their bags out of the trunk. They entered through the
back door.

Angel set the bags down. “Hang on
while I take care of something.”

“
Sure.” She waited while Angel
checked to make sure the doors were locked securely. He made a
quick circle of the house, returned to her side with a slight
grin.

“
I don’t want to frighten you, but
I had to make certain the house was secure.”

“
You make me feel safe.” She stood
on tiptoe to graze his cheek with a kiss. He gazed at her intently
for a moment before gathering their bags. Teri followed him
upstairs.

He opened a door along the corridor
and placed the blue bag and her painting equipment inside. “You can
sleep here.” He turned on a light beside the bed.

She smiled as she saw a photograph
of a much younger Angel in a baseball uniform. “This was your
room.”

“
My mother keeps it as a shrine,”
he said.

He sat on the edge of the
bed.

She picked up the photo. “You were adorable.”

“
I still am,” He grinned at her.
“Come sit beside me.”

Teri joined him, thinking of the
last time they shared a bed. She gazed around the room at the
mementos on shelves and framed on his walls. The beautiful little
boy had matured into a ruggedly handsome man with magnetic appeal.
Perhaps his early success in sports and academics had contributed
to his core of confidence.

“
The bathroom’s down the hall.”
Angel squeezed her thigh, starting a tingling sensation where his
hand rested.

Teri was well aware that they were
alone in the house. “Where are you going to sleep?” she
asked.

“
I’ll either bunk with my little
brother or crash on the sofa in the den.”

They sat gazing at each
other.

“
Well, goodnight,” she
said.

“
Goodnight.” He brushed a kiss onto
her lips and slipped out of the room, leaving her to contemplate
her situation.

Teri turned back the covers and
touched the pillow, thinking of young Angel sleeping there. She
unzipped the blue bag and took out her nightgown and tooth brush
before tiptoeing down the hall to the bathroom.

Angel leaned against the door
inside Mikey’s room. He heard Teri close the bathroom door and the
rush of water. He smiled, thinking of her in the heavy cast iron
claw-foot bathtub, thinking of her in his bed.

#

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Angel groped for the cell phone. It
was 4:15 in the morning. “Garcia,” he said without opening his
eyes.

Mikey turned over in the other bed.

“
Is this Detective Garcia?” The
voice was feminine and shaky.

He sat up, his bare feet contacting the cool
hardwood floor. “Yes it is.”

“
It’s Clemmie. Sister Clement from
the convent.”

“
Yes Sister. I remember
you.”

“
I think there’s a problem.
Something seems to have happened outside the apartment. The police
are down there and they have a big German shepherd. They’re going
all over the grounds with him.”

“
Don’t go out, Sister. I’m coming
right over.” Before he snapped the cell closed Angel was putting on
his clothes and grabbing his keys.

“
Wha’sup, big bro?” Mikey
asked.

“
I gotta go out. If I’m not back
when Teri wakes up you take care of her.” He was half out the door
but spun around. “By that, I mean keep her here. Entertain her.
Don’t let her go out. Got that?”

“
Sure big bro. You can count on me.”
Mikey turned over and Angel closed the door quietly.

He tiptoed down the stairs and out
the back door. The dawning of the new day was at least a couple of
hours away. Angel eased the rental car out of the driveway and onto
the silent streets. With little traffic he made it to the apartment
in less than ten minutes.

He saw the flashing lights from a
block away and detoured to his previous parking place on the side
street behind the small complex. He entered the grounds and wound
his way to the nuns’ apartment. The grass and plants were covered
with dew, glistening in the glow of artificial lights. A damp earth
smell mingled with the heavy scent of magnolias.