"He's in a good mood," Angela said with a shaky smile, forcing her demon back.
Marc's voice and eyes were hard. "I won't let him hurt you or the boy. I'll protect you. My word on it."
Angela turned away as her heart continued to thump. That was the first time in over a decade she had stood up to Kenny so openly. There would be a payment for it.
"You can't promise that. You think you know what you're up against, but you don't. He's a violent, trained killer, and in the end, someone's blood will spill."
"His, not yours," Marc stated flatly and she shook her head, hating it that he was thinking of murder again.
"Please don't, Brady. It's on my hands if you kill him, and it would destroy me as sure as losing my boy would. My freedom's not worth another life. I need you to swear to me that you won't."
"I can't. You don't deserve to be treated that way, and I won't just sit by and watch."
"I'll figure something out. For now, you think we can stay here until the storm's gone?"
He sighed at her obvious distraction, looking around as he ran a hand over neck-length black waves in frustration. Wasn't he getting to her at all?
"Sometimes too much."
He flinched guiltily, and she waved a hand. "Well?"
"I don't know. Let's have a look around and we'll decide." Marc let it go, didn't tell her he could make it look like an accident and not feel any guilt. He too, was a violent, trained killer.
"Dog, in." Marc closed the door behind the big animal, not wanting him to get distracted by things blowing in the heavy wind and run off into the storm.
"Guns and light. Move out," he ordered, thinking if he decided to handle her man that way, Angie would never know. He'd lock it up so tight, even he wouldn't be able to access the memory.
3
A few minutes later they were on the upper balcony, the ghostly smell of popcorn and butter that still haunted the stale air, almost covered by the fishy rot blowing in through the broken glass doors with the rain.
"Wanna watch a movie while we wait?"
Angela smiled sadly. She hadn't been to a movie since Charlie was a baby and kept herself from saying it only by looking at the poster for A Miracle on 34th Street, trading one pain for another. "You know how?"