Page 5 of Damned By His Angel

“A warm berry pie always solves anyone’s blues.” I jerk in fright at the sound of the voice. I look up to find the older woman from earlier, standing there with a large slice of pie and a warm smile on her face. My stomach grumbles and I wince in shame. My family never worries about money and yet here I am down to my last twenty dollars. I have my cards and all my accounts are loaded with money but I’m smart enough to know he would be tracking them if I was to use them. I only had the cash in my wallet with me when I left the bar that night, I guess I should have thought this out better.

“She doesn’t like berries.” I snap my gaze to the other side of the woman and my eyes widen at the sight of Cronos standing there looking like a dark angel. The woman smiles and pats him on the arm like they are familiar. The instant he looks at her, his anger vanishes and a warm look enters her eyes.

“Sit down, boy, I’ll fix you a couple of plates and bring them out,” she says.

“Thanks, Beth,” he answers as she walks away and drops into the seat in front of me. That warm look from a second ago is replaced by a blank expression when he looks at me. I feel so out of sorts with him. It was never like this between us before.

“How did you find me?” I throw his words back at him, the slight narrowing of his eyes tells me he doesn’t find my question amusing.

“What the hell are you doing here, Amelia?” I stiffen but don’t flinch away from his harsh tone.

“I needed to… get away,” I lie.

I can see it in his eyes that he knows I’m lying. If he calls me on it I don’t know if I will be able to tell him the truth. I’m so ashamed of myself for what I allowed to happen and for how long I endured his cruelty.

“That his kid?” My jaw unhinges at his bold question, instinctively wrapping my arms around my belly. I wore this dress that night to shield my growing bump. Colson hasn’t touched me in months and I have been so grateful for that because I can’t hide this for much longer. When I take too long to answer he rests his forearms on the table and leans forward slightly. “Answer me,” he forces out through clenched teeth.

“H-how did you know?” I rasp out.

He scoffs. “I know every inch of your body, Amelia. The fact you thought you could come here and I wouldn’t notice that fucking bump is bullshit.” A warmth overcomes me at his declaration. He doesn’t say it to be cocky, he says it because it’s true. He spent many hours studying every inch of my body as he ravished me.

You look good with the devil inside your pretty little cunt.

I shiver as the memory of his words replays in my mind. I quickly push them out of my head and force myself to focus.

“How did you know about… him?” I ask. Cronos’s whole demeanor changed when he leans back and crosses his arms over his chest, then darts his gaze out the window of the diner.

“I came to see you six months ago.” My eyes widen in surprise.

“What?”

He slowly turns his gaze back to me but remains silent when Beth places two plates in front of us, the scent of the greasy food has my mouth watering and my stomach rumbling. I thank her and throw my manners out the window as I dig in. I moan when I chew the crispy bacon. I flick my gaze up to see Cronos frowning at me.

“What?” I ask around a mouth full of food.

He shakes his head. “Nothing, eat.” He doesn’t have to ask me twice. I shovel everything into my mouth like a starved prisoner, I guess in a sense I was. I was never allowed to eat anything like this. Colson always said I needed to watch my weight so I only ate what he allowed—oats, boiled chicken, brown rice or fruit. I was placed on a bland food diet, and it killed me to not eat my favorite treats. I push those thoughts out of my head. I escaped, I don’t ever need to think about him again.

I surprise myself when I shovel the last bit of eggs into my mouth and sigh in contentment as I sit back in my seat with a smile on my face but the moment I take in Nos’s angry look, the smile slips right off and I revert back into myself and drop my gaze to my lap, sit up tall and keep my shoulders square like he taught me.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he snaps loudly. I gasp quietly and peek out the corner of my eye to see we have attracted the attention of the people eating around us. “Look at me!” I snap my head up automatically, fear takes a hold of me. I know rationally that Nos would never hurt me but I also thought the same thing about Colson and look how that fucking turned out for me! He flicks his eyes between mine and I see the moment he begins to piece things together, horror fills me.

I jump to my feet and rush out the door, needing to escape him and his prying eyes. I look left and right, trying to gauge which direction to go in. I dart left but I don’t make it more than two steps before he grips my arm and yanks me back. A shrill scream escapes me without consent. Nos immediately releases me and raises his hands. Both of us stand here panting and staring at the other in terror.

He knows!

“Angel.” I slam my eyes closed at his pet name for me. It's been so long since I heard it and I never knew how much I missed it until now. I slowly blink my eyes open and the sight of the anguish and anger warring in his brown eyes spears me.

“Don’t ask me what happened,” I clip out. His jaw locks and his nostrils flare.

“That why you won’t go back to your dad?” I turn my head not wanting to see the judgment on his face.

“I don’t want him to know about any of this,” I spit. I take a second to gather myself before facing him again. “This is my business, not his.”

He eyes me for a beat before nodding. “Get in the truck,” he says as he walks past me and opens the door to a beaten up old Ford pickup with peeling paint. I don’t question his request as I follow after him and slide into the cab, he follows after me. The ride back to his place is quiet. I guess neither of us know what to say to the other, the silence is awkward and filled with tension. There is so much that was left unsaid between us, but what I can’t stop thinking about is him saying he came to see me six months ago.

He puts the truck in park out in front of his house but neither of us move to get out. “Why didn’t you ever come to me when you came to Chicago six months ago?” I see his shoulders hunch out of the corner of my eye.

“Let’s go,” he says, not bothering to answer my question as he climbs out. I sigh and follow after him, not having much other choice. I shiver and pull my thin cardigan around me and rub my hands up and down my arms. Nos opens the wooden door and steps aside to allow me to enter first. I forget what it is like being around him. He always made sure to open doors for me like earlier and right now. I step inside and gasp.