Page 131 of Ruthless Ambition
“Where have you been?” Angel asked me as she looked at a gigantic teddy bear.
“Working, making sure I uncover everything there is to uncover about Will Hershman.” I looked at her. “Who’s the bear from?”
“Clark Fitzpatrick.” She rolled her eyes. “I feel bad.”
“It’s a,” I thought about it, “a grand gesture.”
“It’s scary. Do you know how many times I’ve woken up and it’s been staring at me?” She glared at the offending bear. “I mean, I had a stalker, and now I have oversized bears leering over me.”
“I’ll ask the nurse to give it to the children’s ward.”
“Oh.” She smiled but quickly hid it. “That would be a nice idea.” We sat in silence until Angel got impatient. “How many of my clients have you taken?”
“None. Although Tyquan Mays has had his transfer approved to Boston.”
“Really?” Angel asked as she sat up with excitement and flinched a little. “You didn’t do anything to it?”
“It was a great contract. I merely ensured they dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.”
“And he’s still mine?”
“I think the days of us screwing each over in the boardroom are over, don’t you?”
Angel glanced at me and then shrugged. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
She gave me a covert look. “Pussy,” she muttered.
I laughed out loud, and I saw her gleeful smile before she turned her head away. “I can easily keep it up if you want, Balan,” I told her as she turned her attention to me.
“I don’t want it to be different because I was given a concussion by an asshole,” she said to me.
“A concussion, a punctured lung, and some significant facial bruising,” I said soberly.
“And my hair,” she said as she self-consciously touched her head. “Can’t believe he ripped so much of it out.”
“It will grow,” I told her gently.
“You hit him,” she said as she stroked her hands over her covers. “Badly, I think.”
“He beat you badly,” I countered.
“It doesn’t make it right.”
“It isn’t wrong,” I told her. “Not in my eyes.” I watched her. “This is a problem for you?”
“The police officer told me that he’s in this hospital.”
“He is,” I confirmed. “He’s handcuffed to the bed. He can’t get out.” I frowned. “Are you worried about him being here?”
“No, Onyx, I’m worried that you beat a man half to death and put him in the hospital.”
“He putyouin the hospital; he beatyouhalf to death. He’s lucky I let him breathe.”
Angel shook her head. “It’s not your right,” she said firmly. “You may be a Devil, but the law is in place for a reason. You want to feel like a vigilante, read a comic book.”
I stood. “I’m glad you’re okay,” I told her smoothly. “I should go. It’s past visiting hours, and I’m breaking the rules,” I said tersely. “And I should go before someone finds my cape.”
