Copyright © Terri Anne Browning/Anna Henson 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Terri Anne Browning, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. Angel’s Halo: Fallen Angel Written by Terri Anne Browning All Rights Reserved ©Terri Anne Browning 2017 Cover Design by Sara Eirew Cover Picture by Reggie Deanching Model Connor Smith Formatting by M.L. Pahl of IndieVention Designs 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Angel’s Halo: Fallen Angel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form by electronic or mechanical means, including storage or retrieval systems, without the express permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Playlist Next by Terri Anne Browning Chapter One Rory Three Years Earlier “AURORA? HONEY, IS THAT YOU?” I paused outside my mother’s bedroom, frozen as I fought internally with whether or not to go in. My mom had been bedridden for the last three weeks. When I saw her the day before, she had looked even more fragile than the day before that. She was getting sicker by the day—by the damn hour— and it hurt to see her that way. She had only been diagnosed with gastric lymphoma two months ago, but the doctors said there was nothing they could do. It had been left too long, and it had already spread. If she was lucky, she would have six months. At least, that was what they had said four weeks ago. But that was before Sabrina Michaels hadn’t been able to get out of bed. It was before she had started vomiting blood at the end of every day. It was before she had given up. Now, hospice came in once a day, to make sure she was comfortable, and to make sure the new live-in nurse my father had hired knew what to do in case something happened. Because it could happen any day now. There was no way to determine just how long my mother had, and it was breaking my heart. Slowly, I opened the door to the bedroom that had been my mother’s sanctuary for years, her own little slice of heaven that only a few people in the universe were allowed to share with her. I was one of the lucky few, but that privilege didn’t extend to my father. They had kept separate rooms since before I was a teenager. My gaze went straight to the hospital bed that was only one of many new additions to the décor of the room. There was a heart monitor on a rolling cart beside the bed, along with an IV stand, pushing fluids and blood into Mom. She had a feeding tube in now because eating just wasn’t possible these days. Timidly, I approached the bed, and my mother gave me a weak smile as she lifted a thin hand. “How was your date last night, my love?” My own smile was shaky, but I forced it to stay in place as I sat on the edge of the hospital bed that practically swallowed up the tiny woman. “Matt took me out to this old field, and we watched stars for a few hours.” It wasn’t a complete lie. We had gone to an old field, and he had spread out a thick blanket. He’d held me close while shooting stars had fallen across the sky, but my eyes hadn’t been on them. They had been wet and swollen as I had cried out my grief for my mother against his chest. He hadn’t said a word the entire time. Just rubbed his fingers up and down my back and let me cry it all out because he knew how much my mom meant to me. He knew how much I was going to lose when she took her last breath. Sabrina wasn’t just my mom. She was my best friend, and when she passed away, it would be just my father and me. A man who would try to control every aspect of my life. But Mom had stood in his way for years now, ensuring that I had my own life, that I could be free from him and his manipulations. Once she was gone, though, that would change. We all knew that. “He sounds like a good boy,” my mother murmured now, but I heard the underlying question. “He is a good boy,” I assured her with a slightly stronger smile this time. But this time, I was telling her a full-blown lie. Matt Reid wasn’t a boy; he was a man. His twenty-one to my seventeen could cause some serious trouble if we weren’t careful. And being a part of the Angel’s Halo MC probably didn’t make him a “good boy,” not when both my father and Creswell Springs’ DA were constantly trying to arrest someone from the motorcycle club. I wasn’t stupid; I knew Matt probably did illegal things when he was off on “runs” that took him away from me for days at a time. The truth was, I didn’t care what he was doing for the MC when he left. All I cared about was that he stayed loyal to me, that he only ever loved me, and that it was my mouth he kissed like he couldn’t get enough of my taste when he got home. That was all that mattered to me. I could live with the rest. “We haven’t had sex yet,” I assured her when she continued to just look up at me with that question in her eyes. “We want to wait until the time is right.” Which could have been any day in the three months since I had met him. Lord knew I would have willingly handed over my virginity to him the first time I had seen him at Hannigans’ the night I’d gone in on a dare. But like everyone else in Creswell Springs, he had known exactly who I was. Which meant he knew just how old I was, and while some of the brothers in his club were into jailbait, he wasn’t one of them. But he was just as addicted to me as I was to him, and instead of telling me to fuck off, he had asked to see me again. He called me every day, texted me all the time, and we saw each other as much as possible without my father finding out. Because if Derrick Michaels ever figured out that his only child was dating one of the MC members, he would lose his mind—and then arrest Matt. “Tell me what else you’ve been up to,” Mom urged as she shifted uncomfortably, repositioning herself until she could find a small semblance of relief. I reached for the IV stand and picked up the little button that would automatically dispense the powerful narcotics that would ease her pain. “No, darling. Don’t do that just yet. I lose track of time when I use those damned meds. They confuse me, and I want to focus on you right now.” Hating that she was in pain, but wanting to give her what she asked for, I replaced the button and sat back, filling her in on everything that had happened since I had seen her the evening before. There wasn’t much to tell her, so I told her more about my date with Matt. “He keeps talking about the future, as if he wants me to be a part of his life forever.” Mom’s green eyes, which had once been the same shade as mine, were now dimmed with the yellowing of the whites from jaundice and the pain she was in constantly. But they brightened just a little when I told her about Matt. “He really does sound like a good boy, Aurora.” “I love him, Mom,” I confessed. It was the first time I had said it out loud to anyone other than Matt, but it felt good to tell her. “It makes me feel better that you will have someone who will be here for you when I’m gone,” she murmured weakly, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Tears instantly pricked my eyes, but I held them back like a levee holding back the sea. “Don’t talk like that, Mom. We still have plenty of time together.” We both knew I was only lying to myself, and when she opened her pain-filled eyes, the look in them told me that. “It won’t be long now, my baby. I can feel myself fading a little more every hour.” “Mom, no,” I whispered brokenly. “Yes, sweetheart. But I want you to know that I love you. You were the best thing to ever happen to me. You are my greatest joy and my greatest sorrow.” Two fat tears fell from her eyes, but she didn’t seem to have the strength to lift her hands and wipe them away. Reaching for a tissue, I mopped away the tears and tightened the hold on my own. “I love you too, Mom. You are my best friend. You’re my favorite person in the world, and I don’t want to lose you.” “You won’t,” she whispered. “I will always be here for you. I will always take care of you and watch over you.” Her icy fingers wrapped around my wrist and tightened so hard I knew she was using the last of her energy to do it. “When you turn twenty-one, you won’t ever have to worry about anything. I’ve made sure of that. Just try to put up with your father until then, Aurora. After your twenty-first birthday, you can walk away from him and never look back, I promise.” “I don’t want anything but you!” I whispered as the first tear broke the barrier and spilled free. “I would give up everything if I could keep you, Mommy.” Weak hands pulled my head down onto her chest, and my tears flooded over my lashes, soaking into her silky nightgown. “Shh, my baby. It will be okay. I promise. You’ll be just fine.” M ATT I pulled through the gates at the clubhouse and parked my motorcycle in its usual spot. I probably should have just gone home, but I was exhausted, and the clubhouse was closer. I only wanted a shower and a few hours’ sleep before I picked Rory up later. Inside, the place looked like a ghost town compared to how it was at night. Usually, the sheep came out to play when the sun went down, and most of my MC brothers were all too willing to be part of the game. Three months ago, I would have been among them, but since I’d met Rory, I’d gotten bored with the sheep. I passed Raider coming out of his room. He lifted his chin in greeting and kept walking, his phone pressed to his ear. I unlocked my door and slammed it shut behind me. My first thought was to just face-plant into the mattress, I was that fucking tired, but I needed a shower. Ten minutes later, I was crawling under my covers. I plugged in my nearly dead phone and made sure to set an alarm so I could wake up in time for my date with my girl. The picture of her on the background of my phone smiled up at me. I stroked my thumb down one red-gold curl and then put the phone on the bedside table. Sleep. I needed sleep. After dropping Rory off at her house the night before, I’d gone on an overnight run. Jet had needed me to pick up a shipment of liquor his distributor had left in Oakland by mistake, so I’d had to take my truck down to pick it up. After dropping it and my truck off at the bar, I’d been running on fumes. My eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow. “M-Matt!” Rory’s voice pulled me from a deep sleep. My eyes shot open when I felt her hand shake my arm, and I flipped onto my back, pulling her down onto my chest in the process. “Hey, girl,” I said with a groan as I used my free hand to wipe sleep from my eyes. “Matt,” she whispered, but I still heard the tremble in her voice. I looked up at her, saw the tears flooding from her pretty green eyes, and knew something had happened to her mom. “Ah, babe.” I rolled so she was on her back and I could lean over her. I pushed back the strands of tear- soaked hair that were glued to her face and cupped her cheek. “What happened?” “Sh-she’s gone.” “I’m sorry, Rory.” I pressed a kiss to the middle of her forehead and then tucked her head under my chin. “Is there anything I can do?” “Just hold me.” One chilled hand touched my bare back and held on tight. “Always,” I vowed, and I held her for a long time. I felt her tears running down my chest, but I didn’t bother to wipe them away. I let her cry it all out, just as she’d done almost every night this past week. She had known the end was coming, but I knew she hadn’t been completely prepared to say goodbye to her mom. “She told me she loved me,” Rory muttered a long while later, her voice rough and scratchy from all the crying. “She was holding me, Matt. She barely had the strength to lift her head, but she was still the one holding me. And she wouldn’t take the pain meds, said they confused her, and she wanted to just talk to me for a little while. She was holding me and stroking her fingers through my hair like she would do when I was a little girl, and sh-she whispered she loved me.” Her pain soaked into me. I could feel it all the way down to my bones, but I welcomed it, wanted to take it all away so she didn’t have to feel the grief that was consuming her. “Baby.” “And then the heart monitor went crazy…be-because her heart stopped. She died holding me!” A sob tore through her, making her entire body shake. I tightened my hold on her, afraid she would physically shatter if I didn’t. “She died doing the only thing she wanted to do, and that was always holding you, Rory,” I reminded her. She had told me all about her mother, so I knew Sabrina Michaels had passed away doing the one thing that brought her peace. “You were the only person who mattered to your mom, baby. She loved you more than life. If I were the one dying, it’s exactly what I would want my last minute on earth to be like.” “D-don’t say that.” She sobbed harder. “I can’t lose you too!” I kissed her forehead and began to wipe away her tears. “I’m not going anywhere. Ever. You’re stuck with me for life, girl. But let’s be honest here. One day, we’re both going to die. It’s the ultimate end game. And when I go, I want to be holding you.” “Matt…” “I love you.” I brushed my lips over hers, making sure not to deepen it too much, because that always led down a dangerous road. One taste of her was never enough, and my body was begging for more than just that, but there was no fucking way I was going to take things further with her until she was legal. But this time, I lingered for a moment, wanting to put everything I felt for her into our kiss. Her fingers threaded through my hair, pulling my head down farther, silently demanding more. My door crashing open made me jerk my head up, my arms tightening around Rory to protect her from whatever danger had just broken down my bedroom door. Looking up, I saw Sheriff Bates storm in with two of his deputies, and Mayor Michaels right behind them. Fuck. “Dad!” Rory screamed as the sheriff and his deputies came around the bed and yanked me up. I was in nothing but a pair of boxers, the only thing I’d pulled on before getting into bed, and my cock was still hard as a damn rock. The cops all looked down at my straining dick, which only had the sheriff pushing me up against the wall. “You sick fuck. She’s only a child.” “She’ll be eighteen in ten weeks,” I snapped back. “And I didn’t touch her.” “Stop! Matt’s done nothing wrong.” “You’re an underage girl in bed with a twenty-one-year-old thug who is practically naked,” Derrick Michaels bellowed. “What the hell don’t you see wrong with that, Aurora?” “Don’t arrest him!” she screamed when Bates snapped on the cuffs, tightening them so hard that I knew my hands would be numb in no time. I didn’t struggle. I hadn’t done a damn thing wrong, but there was no use in giving them something that could stick. Like assault on an officer. Jenkins could get me off on whatever trumped-up charge these idiots were trying to throw at me, but if I head-butted the sheriff and knocked out the two deputies, they would hold me on the assault charges. “Rory, baby, call Raven,” I told her as Bates turned me around and pushed me in the direction of the door. I dug in my heels, wanting to soak up the sight of my beauty still sitting in the middle of my bed. “Wh-what?” she choked, turning her angry gaze from her father to me. “Call Raven,” I repeated. “She’ll handle the rest.” “Oh.” I shot her a wink and a grin. “It’ll be okay, baby. I’ll see you in a few hours.” “I love you,” she sobbed as the sheriff led me out of the room. The clubhouse was just as deserted as it had been when I’d come in earlier, and I knew no one was there for sure. There was no fucking way these dickheads could have snuck up on me if they had been around. I wasn’t worried, though. Rory would call Raven, who would get the MC’s lawyer down to the police station. Jenkins would have me out by dinnertime, and I’d pick my girl up for our date. It was four hours later before Jenkins had me out, however. By that time, I was starving and in need of another shower, but all I wanted was to find Rory. That fucking sheriff had taken his sweet-ass time letting me out, finding every reason to keep me in a holding cell with some college prick who had been arrested for drunkenly pissing in public on campus and some guy who had been muttering to himself from the moment he’d been pushed into the cell with me.