He was almost home and exhaustion was really setting in. His eyelids were getting heavier by the second. He kept blinking hard to keep them open.
Just a couple of blocks from his house, his cell phone rang, jolting him back to life. He grabbed it from the passenger seat and frowned when he saw it was Eric again.
“Hey, man.” Angel could hear Romero going on in the background but Eric, or something, was muffling the phone and he couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“You home yet?”
“No,” Angel said. “Almost.”
“It is her, man,” Eric said.
It took a moment for it to register. “Sarah?”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “She’s with a guy.”
Angel’s heart thudded to a standstill. He had to pull over, so he could think… breath.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s her.” Eric sounded almost apologetic.
Angel fell back in his seat but still squeezed the steering wheel. He swallowed hard, not wanting to believe. “Where?”
“Some greasy spoon off of Proctor,” he said. “I’d never even seen this place before.”
“She still there?” Angel sat up straight. It suddenly hit him that Eric wasn’t talking about seeing her earlier. She was still there with another guy.
“Yeah,” Eric said. “They’re in there eating. They were holding hands when they walked in, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold this guy back. He’s ready to run in there now.”
“No, no, no!” Angel put the car into gear. “I’m on my way. How do I get there?”
Angel’s mind raced. How long had she been doing this? He thought of all the Saturday’s she had worked and he’d never even questioned it. The rage ripped through his veins, and he welcomed it. It was a familiar emotion that he at least knew how to deal with, and it helped numb the pain.
She’d completely blindsided him and he felt ready to tear someone apart. He stepped on the accelerator. He’d have his chance soon enough.
*
Sydney and Sarah had driven for a while, with Sarah deliberately directing him into streets she and Angel never frequented. She saw a small café in the middle of one of the small streets that was still open. “There.” She pointed.
Sydney frowned. “Are you sure?”
She wasn’t, but it seemed perfectly discreet. Definitely not somewhere anyone from school would be hanging out. “Yeah.”
He held her hand as they walked in almost guardedly. There were only two other people in there and they were sitting together, yet it still took a while for the elderly waitress to come around and take their order.
Sarah took advantage of the time to ask more about Carina. She was determined to catch up on all of it, every little detail. She was still feeling terrible that he hadn’t been able to share anything about it with her. Even after their food came she continued to grill him, at times feeling moved and holding his hand across the table. How had she missed it all?
Finally, they finished, Sydney insisted on paying. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked out the door. She leaned on him, her eyes at the floor, and then she looked up. Her legs almost gave out when she saw Angel. The bitter repulsion in his eyes was undeniable. He glared at Sydney then very slowly turned until his eyes locked on hers.
“You been working, Sarah?”
CHAPTER 21
Even as Angel had driven into the parking lot and seen the yellow Impala parked in front of the café, he’d held out hope that this was all one big mistake.
He’d parked next to Eric’s car where he saw Eric and Romero standing. Eric motioned to the window of the café as Angel approached them.
It was her. And she looked unbelievably seductive. She sat there gazing attentively into another guys eyes. Angel had watched disgusted as she reached across the table and held his hand, and he noticed her cle**age was out there like he’d never seen it before in public.
Eric and Romero filled him in on how they spotted the car leaving the beach and followed them to this secluded hole in the wall. Sarah wasn’t stupid. She just hadn’t counted on dumb and dumber seeing her.
Now, standing here looking at her startled eyes, he searched for answers. Her once beautiful green eyes, that normally gazed at him so brightly and with such emotion, were almost gray. And all he saw in them was fear and what looked too damn much like guilt.
It felt unreal, like some kind of weird nightmare. He sized her up and down, taking in the provocative dress she was wearing. For a second he thought he was going to be sick. Then he heard him talk.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, man,” the guy said.
Angel charged forward ready to rip him apart, his voice boomed. “How the f**k do you know what-"
“Stop.” Sarah jumped in between them.
Angel stared at her, a red haze of pain and anger nearly blinded him. Was she protecting this guy? He squeezed his fists tight.
“Angel, I’m sorry, I should’ve told you this a long time ago.”
Angel’s heart sank. A long time ago?
“This is Sydney.”
Angel’s mind went blank. He stood there, heart hammering away. He took a step back. “Sydney?” He stared at her then back at the guy.
“Yeah,” she said. “I meant to tell you from the very beginning but you’d just assumed he was a girl, and I know it was stupid of me but…”