Chapter Five

When Dom’s face turned red, Raul let him go. He was tempted to beat the information out of him but knew it would do no good. Dom was loyal. He’d die before betraying his alpha. That loyalty extended to Raul’s mate as well. His fragile, human mate.

“Just tell me if she’s hurt,” he said finally.

“Not physically, no,” was Dom’s cryptic response.

“What the hell does that mean?” he bellowed.

Dom held up both hands, palms out. “I’ve said too much already. Go home, Raul. I’ll take care of your things and be home later if you need me.”

“Fine,” Raul snapped, temper straining at the leash. He handed Dom the paperwork and check, laid his gear and weapons on top of his desk, and then left, trusting Dom to do exactly as he said.

He hit Speed Dial as he crossed the parking lot before placing the cell phone to his ear. “Come on, come on. Pick up the phone, Angel.”

When the answering machine came on, he hit the Disconnect button and immediately redialed. Why the hell had he let Angel convince him not to keep checking in? He jumped into his SUV, cranked the ignition with a vicious twist of the key, shoved the vehicle in gear, and peeled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

It was after nine in the evening, and traffic was still a bit heavy. He weaved in and out, causing more than one motorist to honk at his aggressive driving. Raul didn’t care. He’d called three times—make that four—and Angel still hadn’t answered. Not the house, the cell, or office phones. All calls went straight to voice mail. As a bondsman, her job was rarely nine-to-five. She spent a lot of time on the phone with prospective clients and concerned family members. He’d never known her not to answer his or anyone else’s call.

On a good day, home was a thirty-minute ride from the office. He did it in fifteen. Gut clenching, he braked in front of the apartment complex with a squeal of tires, noticing his apartment was dark. Raul left the vehicle parked crookedly in the driveway, dived out the driver’s-side door, leaving it open, and sprinted for the entrance.

He dashed up the stairs and had his unit door opened and the alarm disabled in seconds.

“Angel! Where are you, baby?” he asked, trying to ignore what his senses were telling him.

He raced through the small apartment, checked every room, every corner, his heart unable to believe what his eyes and mind were telling him. Raul came to a halt in their bedroom, which he’d instinctively saved for last, fearing what he’d find. There the evidence was undeniable. His mate, the love of his life, was gone. The closet and drawers were empty of her clothing. The bathroom and dressers bereft of her possessions.

He threw back his head and let out an enraged howl.



Raul was due back today. Should have been home hours ago, according to his business partners. She’d spent the day in uneasy anticipation of his reaction to her moving out of his apartment.

Angelica nervously paced the floors of her new four-bedroom/two-and-a-half bath ranch-style home. The house had been foreclosed on by the bank and put up for auction where she’d bought it for a ridiculously low price. It was a home meant for the family she hoped to one day have with Raul.

She loved Raul with all her heart. Wanted to have children and grow old with him, but she could no longer live with secrets between them. She wanted all of him. Wanted to give him all of her. As long as they were both hiding who they were at their core, their relationship would never work.

Oh, she knew Raul loved her. It was there in everything he did, every gesture he made. Her happiness was his happiness. Yet she knew there was something he hid from her. Knew it and was sick of it. When was he going to trust her enough to tell her the truth? If they could just get past this one little thing…

Her cell phone rang again. She glanced at the screen. Not Raul this time, but Dominic. “Yes?”

“He’s home and headed your way. I hope like hell you know what you’re doing,” he said with a low growl. Dominic and Raul were like brothers. He’d only reluctantly agreed to help her once she’d convinced him and the others that her goal wasn’t to leave Raul, but to force him to take their relationship to the next level. Now that the moment was at hand, Angelica wasn’t quite so sure she’d chosen the right course of action.

“I do.” Angelica endued her voice with confidence she didn’t feel. She swiped the touch screen to end the call and tossed the phone on the couch.