Captive Angel

It had been almost impossible for Angel to meet Brandon's knowing eyes the next day without her face flaming with embarrassment. Hunter had just laughed, dropping a kiss on her lips and slapping his friend on the back.

Even with all the worries he had, nothing could ruin this day for him. Angel loved him.

It seemed as if he'd waited so long to feel like this. Even with Cindy, he hadn't felt the myriad emotions that Angel caused with just one glance of her sexy green eyes. He smiled, whistling as he carried the last of their supplies out of the cabin and stashed them into the truck.

The air outside was cold, the sky clear and sun shining brightly down upon him. He could hear winter birds calling to each other in the woods behind him and Angel and Brandon's voices coming from the open door of the cabin as they finished closing down the place and making sure the fire was out.

Then Angel was at the door, looking for him, the sun shining down on the red of her hair making it shimmer as if it were aflame.

"Ready to go?" she called, heading towards him.

"Honestly?" he asked her as she finished closing the space that separated them.

"Of course."

"I'd rather kick Brandon back out on his snowmobile and cart your cute ass back into that cabin. I think I might be satisfied after I make love to you for...oh, fifty years, give or take." He bent his head, finding her warm lips with his cold ones.

She let the love she felt for him flood into the kiss, hearing his hiss of approval as her mouth opened and her tongue speared into his mouth, changing a gentle tasting into one of heat and longing. Her hand went to his cold cheek, her fingers slipping into the chilly silk of his hair.

His hands came up, roaming over her back and down, resting on the curved cheeks of her ass, squeezing gently.

"You two need to get a room," Brandon said, rolling his eyes at the two lovebirds. "I've never seen so much sexual tension since...shit, I don't think I've ever seen it."

"Well, if you want to get lost for a few days, we might be able to keep our hands...oh hell, who am I fooling, I don't think I'll ever be able to keep my hands off of her," he brushed another kiss over her lips, laughing at the blush that bloomed over her cheeks.

"Okay, guys, if you're through embarrassing the hell out of me, I think we should get started." Over a breakfast of powdered eggs and boxed hash browns, they'd decided on a short termed plan, both of them overriding any thought Hunter might have of dumping them someplace to search for the stone himself.

They'd decided to head down to Buffalo, though that thought made Angel extremely nervous.

Brandon had left his car there, borrowing a snowmobile from his caretaker and driving it up the mountain. His rental car was still at the caretaker's house and he wanted to return it. Buffalo would be a wonderful place to check out the coordinates found in the journal and then they would decide what to do from there.

Angel settled into the back seat behind Hunter, letting the longer legged Brandon have the passenger seat. She could hear them talking but their words were like a background noise, other things were in her head, one thought especially that she just couldn't seem to disrupt. While Hunter was outside with the car, she'd asked Brandon what the date was, never having worried about it before.

Thanksgiving had been last week, It was now the first week in December. Angel had been held captive from the thirteenth of October. Almost two months had passed since she'd been taken from the parking lot of the hospital.

Her hand slid to her flat stomach, her fingers pressing with tender care as she wondered if it could be true. Two months and not once had she had her period during that time. Was she pregnant? Could she be carrying Hunter's baby?

She tried to tell herself that it wasn't possible, that missing a period could be caused by stress or any number of reasons. Then her mind flashed to that package of condoms, the package that still sat unopened, left behind at the cabin. Staring at the back of Hunter's head, she thought of all the times they'd made love, fucked like bunnies, she thought, smirking.

"Whacha smiling at, green eyes?" Hunter asked, looking into the rear view mirror as he managed to plow through another large snowdrift that stood between them and the main road. The gate was just ahead and he and Brandon would have to get out and shovel it out before they had a chance of moving it.

"Nothing much," she said, smiling as she felt his hand come back and caress her thigh. She laid her hand on top of his, twining her fingers around his strong ones. "What are we going to do if the cops are still looking for us?"

"I'm betting that Sebastian called off his dogs when he took Shanna. He wants the stone now, and he knows that I'll hand it over just to get Shanna back." He squeezed her hand gently before pulling his own away. "It's not too late to change your mind and go to Texas with Bran," he urged, catching her eyes in the rearview mirror.

"It was too late the minute you told me you loved me, Hunter and you know it. I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone." And she was not telling him about the baby until this whole thing was done either. If he knew, no force on heaven or earth would be enough to keep her with him through the rest of this mess. He'd ship her off so fast, her head would spin.

"Stubborn red heads," he grumbled good naturedly, sliding the gear shift into park and turning in his seat. "I just want you safe, Angel. You can't blame me for that."

"Didn't you two have this conversation yesterday?" Brandon asked, his expression innocent. "Oh, wait, you had it this morning over breakfast, too. Oh and after breakfast," he added. "Give it up, Hunt. She's got her mind fixed."

"You're not helping, Bran," Hunter groused, turning and undoing his seat belt before he opened his car door and slid out. He went to the back of the SUV, pulling open the gate and grabbing the two shovels out before retracing his steps. "You gonna help me with this or sit in the warm car and watch me work?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

"No."

"That's what I thought," Brandon grumbled, undoing his own seatbelt and opening his car door. He sunk down into the snow and trudged through it towards the gate and Hunter.

They spoke little while they cleaned off enough of the driveway to get the gate opened and then Hunter drove the SUV through, the four wheel drive vehicle sticking to the road like a trusty mule. He waited for Brandon to get back into the truck and then stared at the final obstacle.

The main road had been plowed, the snow stacked and packed along the edge of the road like a tiny mountain, standing sentinel between them and their goal. Hunter could see the path Brandon had made in it as he'd rode over it on the snowmobile the day before. But their bigger and heavier SUV wasn't going to go through that, or over it.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

"Oh, come on, James Bond," Angel joked from the back. "Hit the button on the console and send the mirrored satellite into position so you can melt the path for us using the sun's amplified rays. Or you could just put out the wings and send us flying over it."

"Funny," Hunter smirked, looking back at her. "The mirrors on the satellite broke and I haven't had a chance to send this down to Q to get the wing attachment put on. Besides, Bran's more the James Bond, Secret Agent type than me."

"Yeah, he does have that Pierce Brosnon thing going for him, doesn't he?" She poked Brandon in the arm, laughing when he puffed out his chest. "So, you two going to dig or..."

"Yeah, yeah, quit being in such a big hurry," Brandon said. "Besides, what about women's rights? You wouldn't want me to deny you your chance with the shovel, would you?"

"Yes," she said with no hesitation, making Hunter laugh.

They got out of the car after warming up and attacked the small man made mountain with a fierceness that spoke of wanting to get the job done. Angel got out of the car, grateful for the boots and heavy coat that Hunter had bought for her. She walked around to the front of the SUV and leaned against the front grill while she watched them work, her mind busy with thoughts of the journal and her own concerns about being pregnant.

She hadn't noticed any of the changes that her body should be going through. Well, maybe her breasts felt a little heavier and maybe a touch more sensitive. But her body was still as lithe and slender as before and she hadn't had a moment's nausea or dizziness. It could just be stress, she tried to tell herself, though deep down inside she knew the answer.

Somehow she had to find a way to get one of those over the counter tests without Hunter knowing about it. Then she had to find time to take it without him around. She sighed, staring over at him as he continued to work, joking with Brandon about how the FBI had made him a weakling. It wasn't going to be easy to do.

It seemed in no time at all that they managed to chip their way through the icy snow mountain, making a path through it just wide enough for the SUV to squeeze through.

"No way to hide those tracks, even after the next snow," Angel said to Hunter as he came up and buzzed a kiss across her rosy cheek.

"Yeah, let's hope we don't need to use this to hide out in again." He took the other shovel from Brandon and led the way around the SUV to drop off the shovels. Before she could climb in the truck, he grabbed her around the waist. "I know you're worried, baby, but you have to know I won't let anything happen to you," he murmured against her mouth.

Angel wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, wondering what he would say when and if she told him she was pregnant. If she knew Hunter, he'd be on his knee in a minute, proposing marriage. Did she want that? Did she want to have him marry her because she was pregnant with his child?

"What is it?" he asked, staring down into her beautiful face and noting the worry and the frown in her eyes.

She smiled, waving away his concern with one hand. "Nothing, just thinking about stuff," she said.

"What stuff?" he asked, not about to be put off by her words.

"Oh, little things. Sebastian, Clyde and Floyd, your sister, to name a few," she said. "Oh and the fact that I can't feel my toes right now, despite these fantastic boots you made me get."

He opened her car door, helping her in and kissing her once more, quickly.

"We'll talk tonight?" he asked, waiting for her nod before he closed the door and got back in the truck.

The trip to town went quickly after that. Hunter followed Brandon's directions and turned off the main road to get to the caretaker's house, dropping him off there. They made plans to meet at the Buffalo Library where they would do some research into the area the coordinates pointed to and decide upon the best way to handle the trip. Then they would follow

Brandon to drop off his car and find someplace to stay for the night.

In the library, they found maps and scattered them over the long wooden table, digging out Donovan Hunter's journal and opening it to the right page.

She read out the numbers while he did something with the maps, finally finding the right one and holding it open, his finger pointing at a tiny spot that wasn't much more than a pin prick.

"Jemez Springs, New Mexico," he read slowly, staring at the map. His eyes narrowed in thought and he looked up at her. "I think I remember mom talking about this place. They have hot springs, if I remember correctly."

"Do you remember anything else?" she asked, coming up to stand next to him and look at the map. He was right, it was nothing more than a tiny village, barely earning a dot on the road map.

"Not really. My parents were always going on and on about the places they had gone. It was kind of like having to watch your neighbors slide show from their vacation to some remote place, you fought it as much as you could. I think my folks knew us kids weren't into what they were doing. By the time they were killed in the collapse, they pretty much had kept what they were doing to themselves. Maybe they were just trying to protect us, I don't know."

He rolled up the map he'd been looking through, going to the copying machine and paying the $0.15 to copy the page. Folding it carefully, he put it in the same page as the numbers and closed the journal.

"Did you find it?" Brandon asked, coming in and earning a dirty look from the librarian, an older woman who wore her pale blonde hair in a thick bun at the base of her neck and looked at him with disapproval through tiny glasses that sat on the end of her pert little nose.

He smiled at her, shrugging guiltily and then turned back to Hunter. "Well, where are we off to next?"

"How do you feel about New Mexico?" Hunter said, earning himself a dirty look from the little blonde.

"New Mexico? Your folks sure got around, Hunt."

* * * *

Angel lay in the tub, up to her neck in fragrant bubbles. Her red hair was piled loosely on top of her head and her eyes were closed, a fine sheen covering her face. The water felt fantastic, easing every little ache and pain she'd ever had. When she'd seen the tub in the room that Hunter had rented for them for the night, she'd been unable to wait, shooing him out of the room and dropping her clothes even before she'd reached the bathroom.

It seemed like forever since she'd had a good long soak, one that eased the body and the mind, though if she let herself think, she'd probably be tenser than she'd been when she'd gotten into the tub.

New Mexico. It was even further from Michigan and home than Wyoming, further from her work and her life. Though, now that she thought about it, everyone she'd ever known thought she was dead. So as it was now, she was homeless, penniless and living off of Hunter, depending upon him for every bite of food or stitch of clothing that went on her back.

The thought riled her enough that she reached over and lifted the stopper from the bottom of the old fashioned tub, pushing herself to her feet.

The world spun around her for a moment and she put her hand out, searching for something to support herself with. "Whoa!"

"Angel?" Hunter's voice called through the door. "Are you okay?"

She tried to answer him but the dizziness got worse, small black spots creeping over her vision. Sinking back down in the quickly diminishing water, she didn't even notice when it splashed up around here, some sloshing over the edge and forming a puddle around the base of the tub.

"Angel!" Hunter called again, knocking on the door. He heard the splash and reached for the door handle, turning it and pushing it open.

She sat in the tub, her face white, shadows around her eyes making them look bruised. Her eyes were huge, panicked, and he hurried toward her, dropping to his knees in the water next to the tub. "What is it, Angel?"

Suddenly, without warning, she shoved him aside, moving past him and to the toilet. Raising the lid, she lost the contents of her stomach, her body shivering and shaking in reaction. She felt Hunter come up behind her, wrapping a towel around her shuddering body and then felt his arm go around her, helping to support her and brushing the wisps of hair away from her face.

The waves of sickness eased slowly until she was finally able to pull back from the bowl, wiping one shaking hand across her mouth. She took the cloth he offered her, using it to dab the sweat from her face and leaned back, feeling his chest behind her, relaxing into him.

"Better?" he asked softly, pushing a lock of hair from her forehead.

"Yeah," she said, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry, baby. Was it something you ate?" he kissed her brow, holding her gently.

Angel sighed. She knew the truth, she knew why she was ill, but she wasn't going to tell him. "No, I think I used too hot of water in the tub. When I stood up, I got really dizzy."

"How are you feeling now? Still dizzy?"

"No," she said, sitting up with his help. The tile on the floor was cold against the back of her legs and the smell of her illness made her feel slightly queasy. Leaning forward, she flushed the toilet and the put the lid back down, using it to help her stand up.

Before she could get to her feet, he was lifting her in his arms and carrying her out of the bathroom, laying her gently upon the bed. He went to the small closet, taking out one of the fluffy robes that came with the room and helped her into it. Then he sat down on the bed. "No more baths for you, young lady, not if you're going to pass out and throw up every time."

Angel laughed, even as he took the few pins she had out of her hair and got out her brush, using it to brush out the burnished locks. "Are you trying for employee of the month?" she asked him, a gentle smile upon her lips as she enjoyed the feel of his hands stroking over her hair.

"Does it come with a raise?"

"No, but you do get all kinds of fun and fascinating perks," she sighed.

"Now that sounds like a plus," he put the brush down, curling one long lock around his hand. He leaned down to kiss her but she put her hand up in front of her mouth.

"Nope, not until I brush."

"I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for dinner, but you look so tired baby." He played with the ends of her hair, stroking them slowly over his hand and then over her cheek.

"I am tired," she said. "Someone wouldn't let me sleep last night."

"I told you Brandon snored."

Angel snorted. "Yeah, his snoring just kept me up all night. It didn't have a thing to do with a jealous man who couldn't manage to keep his hands out of my pants for one night."

"Like you minded," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Very true, I didn't mind in the least," she sighed again, covering her mouth when a yawn surprised her. "Bring me something back?"

"Anything special you want, love?"

"Anything that isn't canned," she said vehemently, making him laugh.

He kissed her cheek again than grabbed his jacket and the room key. "Lock the door and don't let anyone in, okay, baby? I've got the key and will let myself in."

"Yes, daddy," she smirked, closing her eyes as if they were too heavy to keep open. They were, for some reason she was so impossibly tired right now, all she wanted to do was curl up in the starchy hotel room sheets and the too hard hotel room pillows and sleep like the dead.

He heard her breathing deepen before he reached the door of the room and he turned his head to look back at her, concern etched into his face. Seeing her like he had, sitting in the tub, that look of panic in her eyes had frightened him.

Hunter made sure the door was securely closed behind him and then went down the hall to where Brandon's room was. He knocked on the door, calling out to Brandon.

Brandon came to the door with a towel around his waist and his dark hair wet, hanging in curls around his face. "Where's Angel?" he asked, looking around his friend for the shorter woman.

"She's not feeling all that great. She's sleeping. I told her we'd bring her something back."

"Damn, and here I was hoping to show her what a real man looked like," he grinned, backing quickly away from the door.

"Put some clothes on your scrawny body and let's go," Hunter growled, stepping into Brandon's room. He'd collected his luggage from the rental car and he headed towards one of the bags now, pulling out clothes and stepping into the bathroom to pull them on.

After brushing his hair back from his face, he stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed to pull on his socks and shoes. Hunter stood in front of the television, flipping through the channels looking for the news.

...word on the missing couple wanted for questioning in a series of disappearances and murders beginning in Chicago last month. The couple was last seen heading west in a stolen SUV...