Captive Angel Ch. 12

"Will you marry me?"

Those words echoed in her ear for a moment, as she lay stunned upon the bed. No matter what, she hadn't expected a proposal, not now, not while they were on the run.

When she didn't reply, only sat there and stared at him, Hunter grew nervous. "I know it's sudden, I know we're in the middle of a tense and possibly deadly situation, but that's all the more reason to do this, Angel."

"Then afterwards, when there is no more tense or terrible situation, what will we do then?" she asked him quietly, her fingers itching to pick up that ring, to slip it on her finger. She longed to scream yes and throw herself into his arms. But there was the practical person inside, the one that had always made her sit on the sidelines and study, who hadn't allowed her to date because it took away time from her books, who paid her bills on time and only allowed her the one credit card to have - just in case.

She wished she could wring its practical throat.

"We'll do what every couple in love does. We'll get married. You'll get a job with one of the hospitals in the city if you want. We'll talk about having children someday and we'll make each other supremely, ridiculously happy."

He scooted closer to her, lifting her hand and holding on despite the small jerky moves she made to free herself. This wasn't going the way he'd expected it to at all.

He slid the ring on her finger, happy to see that it was a perfect fit. "Just wear the ring, Angel, think about it. You don't have to give me an answer now." Hunter leaned up, his lips finding hers for a single sweet instant and then he rolled away, getting out of the bed and going into the bathroom. He turned, glancing back at her as he closed the door, wondering at the expression of confusion upon her face.

Angel stared down at the ring, feeling her eyes fill up with tears. He'd gone out tonight with Brandon and bought her this ring, wanting to show her how much he loved her and she'd chased him away. Her hand slid down to her stomach and she thought of what he'd said about having children someday.

Would he be happy to know that someday was coming sooner than he thought?

Why was she hesitating? Why hadn't she just said yes? She loved him, she knew exactly how she felt for him and she knew it wasn't a fleeting thing.

Why couldn't she just say yes and let tomorrow worry about itself?

Before she could change her mind, she slid out of bed, pulling the bathrobe around her in the chilly room. She heard the toilet in the bathroom flush and then water being ran and finally the door opening. As soon as it did, she threw herself in his arms, startling him enough that he took a single step back as he fought to keep his balance.

"I'm sorry, Hunter. I love you and if you really want me, I'll marry you."

"Well," he said slowly. "I'll have to think on that." He blinked and a huge smile spread across his face. "Of course I want you. I love you, Angel." He bent and kissed her until the world swam around them and left them both breathless. "When?" he whispered into her hair as he held her to him. "When will you marry me? We could probably find a Justice of the Peace and do it tomorrow."

"Whoa!" Angel said, laughing. "Slow down, cowboy. Don't you think we should get the threat of Sebastian from around our necks before we get married? Besides, I'm legally dead. I don't have any identification."

He cocked his head, staring down into her lovely face. "Hmm, that's true. It could make it kind of difficult. So, okay, then, if not tomorrow, when?"

"The day after we get our lives back," she said quietly, her heart beating so fast she thought it would beat a hole in her chest. "As soon as I'm proclaimed legally alive, you and I will get married."

He swept her up in his arms, startling a small shriek from between her lips. "Aaron Hunter, what are you doing?"

"We need to sleep," he said simply. "We've got a lot of miles to cover

tomorrow and a stone to find. I want this done with so I can claim you as mine and tell all the guys who stare at you that you're off the market."

"What guys?" she asked as he snuggled her down in the sheets.

"Oh no, I'm not telling you. You only have eyes for me," he said, laughing as she pouted. "Now hush, woman, I need sleep."

Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him of the dinner he'd brought back for her. "...After you eat," he laughed, getting out of the bed and walking naked to the table where he'd left her food.

Angel couldn't help but admire the view so nonchalantly exposed to her, smiling at him when he turned around.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, acting as if her bold appraisal was embarrassing.

"Yeah, right," she snorted, laughing. "You know you have a nice butt. Besides, if I didn't look, I'd expect you to be checking my pulse."

He brought her a plate of chicken and pasta in a white sauce, heaped with broccoli and mushrooms. "I hope you like pasta," he said, sitting next to her and swiping a mushroom from her plate.

"I think you like pasta," she laughed, holding out a forkful of the stuff for him to eat.

He helped her eat it, laughing as she fed him tantalizing pieces of chicken with her fingers, licking and biting at the sweet digits until they were finished.

He put the plate on the floor next to the bed to take care of in the morning and then curled up behind her, his hand resting against her own, playing with her finger that bore his ring.

They fell asleep with their hands entwined, his face buried in her hair.

* * * *

The trip to Jemez Springs, New Mexico took them two days to make.

Brandon had thought to stay in the car and get an early start searching for the cave by making the trip in one day, but Angel's stomach was still upset.

Now that they had reached the pretty little village with its wealth of hot springs and scenic trails, they had to decide how best to search for the cave.

After checking in at the lovely Jemez Mountain Inn and booking two of their six rooms for an extended period, they gathered in Hunter and Angel's room to plan.

"Hunt, pull out the map, I picked this one up when we checked in. Let's see if we can get any closer to the right location without searching blind."

Brandon pulled a local map of the trails and things to see from the back pocket of his jeans, unfolding it and laying it out on the small table. Hunter went to his small pack and pulled the map he'd gotten from the library back in Buffalo, folding the page out and pointing out the exact location of the cave.

"It looks like mom and dad found an old mine and followed it down. The miners must have broken through to the cave before mining was completed." Hunter traced his finger down the map that Brandon had. "If we hike up the Jemez Mountain trail, we shouldn't have any problems getting to it."

"Not as long as the weather stays good. This area can get cold at night."

Brandon glanced out the window that looked down on the picturesque little village.

Hunter turned to Angel, rubbing her shoulder. "I'm betting there isn't any way I can talk you into going to that day spa we passed a few miles back for the day and leaving this one up to me and Brandon, is there?"

She smiled lazily, her green eyes dancing. "What do you think?"

"God save me from stubborn women," Brandon said under his breath, blinking innocently when Angel turned a baleful look his way. He held his hands up in surrender as her mouth opened, having learned in the past four days that cutting comments were her specialty. "Hey, I give."

"Smart boy," she purred, tapping him on the cheek and making him laugh.

She picked up the small map that he'd brought, her eyes surveying the area they'd indicated. "There's a camp ground not a mile from this mine. We should hike and set up camp there than if it takes more than one day for us to find the stone, we won't have to make the trip more than once."

"You know what that means," Hunter said, groaning.

"More shopping?" Brandon asked, his tone matching Hunter's.

Angel laughed with them, going to the window and looking out at the village.

She watched as people passed by below them, going about their business, running to the post office or to the small market down the street. Cars drove through town, most ignoring the twenty-five mph speed limit signs as they cruised from spot a to spot b. It was the middle of the week, so the motel was empty of other guests, the town full of locals.

"Are you coming, Angel?" Hunter asked, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her close. She put her hands on top of his, the sparkle of the diamond solitaire he had given her catching her eye as a ray of sun sent dazzling colored light from its faceted surface.

She wiggled her finger, playing with the light while she enjoyed being in Hunter's arms. "Yes, I guess I should to save you two from shopper's hell."

She turned in his arms, kissing him. "Besides, I'm starving."

"You know, we could still go to the feds with this information," Brandon said, grabbing his jacket from off the back of a chair. "We could use their help to get Shanna back and maybe nail Sebastian Antonelli finally."

Angel felt Hunter sigh. "You know as well as I do, Bran, that bastard would move her somewhere else or kill her before he could get caught. And who knows who's loyal to him and who isn't. I'm not taking that chance with Shanna's life."

"Yeah, yeah, it was just a thought." He ran a hand through his hair while he waited for them to grab their coats. "It's just..." he let his voice trail off. "Nothing."

"No, it's not just nothing," Angel said, coming up and putting her hand on his arm. "What were you about to say?"

"I'm claustrophobic," Brandon blurted out, feeling his cheeks heat up. "If that tunnel is anything like what your father describes, Hunt, there ain't no way I'm going to be able to handle it."

Hunter laughed. "You're kidding, right? It's a joke?" He waited for Brandon to speak, seeing the man duck his head. "You're not kidding. Dammit, Brandon."

"I'll go," Angel sighed. "I don't mind tight spots and I'm smaller than either of you so you shouldn't have any problems if you have to lower me down."

"No."

"What do you mean, no? What, did you expect me to do, go out there and cook for you two he men so you can go play in mines and freak the hell out of Brandon?" Angel threw her coat on, heading for the door. "I'm going, Hunter."

"Angel, we aren't even going to discuss this. An old mine isn't safe." Hunter grabbed his own coat and shrugged it on, catching up with his wife-to-be as she started down the wide front stairs.

"Then you aren't going either," she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp and smiling at the lady who was standing at the small front desk in the lobby.

"Angel," Hunter growled, his voice full of warning that she was poking a stick at a sleeping bear and should watch herself.

Angel came to a standstill outside the front doors of the quaint looking inn, forcing Hunter to side step or plow into her. She turned around, the sun catching the fire in her hair, making her green eyes sparkle like emeralds.

Her expression grim, she poked her finger into Hunter's chest as she spoke, making sure her point came across.

"I am not some poor little girl that has to be protected. I've managed pretty well on my own for quite a while. Just because you put this ring on my finger doesn't mean that you get to boss me around. Now, Brandon can't do it, I can. Deal with it and let's get this thing done."

Hunter grabbed her hand, holding it against his heart. "If something happened to you, I'd die, Angel." He stared down into her eyes, feeling the resistance melt out of her.

Angel stared up at him, her anger dissipating in the face of his love. The four-letter word she muttered sent Brandon into peals of laughter and even brought a smile to Hunter's sober face. "Not fair, Hunter. Not fucking fair at all, playing that card."

"All's fair, baby," he said, leaning down and capturing her lips. "Does this mean that you'll stay out of the mine?"

"No, but it does mean that I'll be extra special careful," she said, sending him the most innocent of smiles. "Now take me somewhere and feed me, I'm starving."

* * * *

Whether it was because they felt safe, or because they were all involved in the argument, none of the three noticed the big black car that slowed down behind them. They didn't see the tinted glass window roll down or note the man behind the steering wheel. If they had, they wouldn't have been joking.

"I got 'em, boss," Clyde said into his cell phone, slowly pulling to the curb with the big car.

Sebastian laughed, his eyes roaming over Shanna's body laid out on his table, her arms and legs shackled to the four corners. Floyd stood nearby, his hand down in front of his crotch, trying to hide the tell tale bulge at the sight in front of him.

Shanna was so tiny; they'd had to lengthen the shackles with chains, causing the leather to drag on her wrists and ankles. She'd been on the table now for two days with only a stone faced old woman to come in and take care of her more private needs.

She was nude but for a short covering made of terry cloth that managed to conceal what was most important and still leave her feeling as if she was exposed to the whole world. The old woman would come in, let her use a bedpan, wash her from head to toe as if she were a piece of meat and had no feelings. Then the covering would be flung across her body again and she would be left alone.

Except for when Sebastian, as he'd introduced himself to her, wanted to gloat and to tell her what he had planned for her for when the ruby was finally his and Aaron and Brandon were both dead, their bodies forever entombed in a part of the new interstate highway extension. He had customers, clients if you'd like, in foreign countries who would pay well for a woman of her beauty and innocent demeanor.

The thought of becoming part of a harem, or a whore for strange men in a foreign country frightened the hell out of her. She'd tried to escape, managing to pick the lock on the door of her room upstairs, almost making it out of the mansion before she'd been caught. After that, Sebastian was taking no chances, installing her in this horrible room, forcing Floyd to strip her, letting him run his huge, clammy hands over her body. Then she'd been forced down on this table and left.

"No, Clyde, we'll let them do the work for us. Wait until they come out of the cave with the stone. Then you can kill them and bring the good doctor back to me. She and I have things to discuss." He closed his phone with a snap, laughing as he reached down and plucked at the terry covering. "Your brother is so predictable, my dear. He went running for the journals just as I had thought he would. Now he knows where the stone is and the tracking unit we put on your friend, the agent is working marvelously."

Floyd moved down to the end of the table where his boss was lifting and dropping the small cover, his beady little eyes searching for the shadowy flesh under it, wishing he could touch. He brushed the back of his hand over her satiny calf, his thick tongue roaming out of his mouth to slick over his full lips. "Can I touch her boss? Just once?"

"You wish to touch the captive?" He pursed his lips and then tapped his finger against them as if making a hard decision. "I suppose that would depend upon what you'd like to touch, Floyd. Considering the pain her brother has put your through, I suppose some consolation should be due to you."

"I want to play with her pussy, boss," the big man said eagerly, his hands already sliding up her legs.

"NO!" Shanna shrieked, kicking her legs futilely against the heavy shackles holding her down. "Don't let him touch me, please." Her big amber eyes, huge with panic, met Sebastian's. His were calm, even slightly amused at the terror he saw in her.

"I always wondered about the dear senator and his proclivity to young, trainable women. Something tells me that the skeletons in his closet would be quite interesting to talk to." He stood back from the table, watching as Floyd's hands trembled in his eagerness to touch the pretty captive.

Floyd yanked on the cover, flinging the piece of material to the floor, his greedy eyes roaming over her soft flesh and taut curves. She was slender, her skin pale. She writhed on the cold steel table, her body arching away from Floyd's hands, trying to clamp her thighs together with a desperation that was almost palpable in the air around her.

"You're so pretty," Floyd murmured, leaning over the table, his hands sliding over the smooth columns of her thighs. "Clyde would like you, too." He dug his thumbs into the heavy muscle in her upper legs, cruelly pulling her thighs apart, leaving her open to his touch and his eyes.

Shanna screamed, dreading the first touch of his fingers, closing her eyes tightly. It was a mistake, that automatic response that had her eyes shut, for as soon as she did, memories swarmed over her, memories of the things that her husband had forced upon her, the degradations he'd made her commit, the pain he'd put her through. It wasn't Floyd's big clumsy hands that were upon the soft flesh of her sex, pulling apart the tender lips to get at the pink flower beneath. It was Jackson's. He was the one who'd tied her down, who'd whipped her and beat her, leaving bruises and welts that she hid with the designer clothing he bought for her. He was the one who liked to watch her with other men, who got off on seeing them debase her.

Floyd ran his big clumsy fingers over her softness, pushing inside of her. "Damn boss, she's a tight one."

"Good, they'll pay more for merchandise that hasn't been ill used. Careful with her Floyd, we don't want to bruise this one. Not yet at least." He chuckled as he watched his man finger fucking the girl whose body shook with terror. "I don't think she likes you, Floyd."

"No boss, she don't yet, but she could," the big man said, looking up at his boss hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Floyd. I've got plans for this one." He walked towards the table, bending to pick up the cover.

Floyd took his time, sliding his finger along the pink slit, fumbling it around the small knot hidden by its hood, slipping inside the girl's channel. He could feel her quivering, feel it around his hand that was clamped between her thighs, wishing he dare rip open his pants and mount her right there. But the boss had said no.

"Enough, Floyd. Let her go," he said, holding up the cover to put it over Shanna.

He did, slowly, finally pulling his hand from her soft flesh and bringing it to his nose to inhale her scent.

Shanna was caught in the midst of a waking nightmare, with her eyes closed she could see Jackson, so much bigger than she, so much stronger, coming towards her with that look upon his face. It was the look she had grown to fear, watching for it every day when he would return to their penthouse apartment or to their suburban home. It was a look that meant his day hadn't gone the way he would like and she would be made to pay for whatever those other people had done to ruin it for him.

A whimper came from her lips and she longed to cover her mouth with her hands, knowing that if Jackson were to hear her whimper or cry, it would be ten times worse for her. She cringed away, wishing she could run, not understanding quite why she couldn't. He was angry, angrier than she'd seen him before.

Oh God, it was because she had left him. She had run away and he had found her, bringing her back. He'd told her how many times that she would never get away from him, that he would kill her before he would allow what was his out of his sight. "Please," she moaned, unable to stop herself. "Jackson, I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me."

Sebastian cocked his head to the side, staring down at the terrified girl as if she were some experiment that was extremely fascinating. He listened to her whimper a little more than reached out suddenly, his hand connecting with Shanna's cheek with a sharp sound.