Part 11
Angel stood beside his bed staring down at Cordelia as she slept; letting the words he had forced her to say wash over him. He closed his eyes for just a moment, savoring the lie. ‘I love you,’ he let her voice echo through his mind, his heart, before looking down at her again. It was time. Time to find her father. And time to let her go. He had his fantasy night to help sate the hunger he would feel for the rest of his existence without her. And now he would fulfill his promise. Reaching down, he brushed her cheek lightly with the back of his hand before turning to leave.
She had been so unexpected, filling an emptiness within him that was unfathomable. Her trust and belief in him had been a precious gift. But a bittersweet one. Before her, he had known solitude, had longed for something he really could not understand. It had been a painful and lonely existence, to have never known love, companionship, true desire. But now he knew. Knew the definition of those things to a fault. And knew that the pain he had felt before would be a muted version of what was to come. How much more would he hunger for those things now that he truly understood them? As he descended the stairs to the lobby, he couldn’t help but wonder if he might have been better off to have never known the deep emotions she had awoken in him.
No.
She had been and would always be a bright light in an otherwise bleak and dark existence. Cordelia had given a part of herself to him, and that light would remain with him forever, changing him. Diluting the evil that lay dormant within him.
Approaching the basement door, Angel’s mind strayed to Cordelia’s future. How could she ever be safe without him? Who would protect her? His own name began to materialize as the logical answer until he remembered the attack, her beautiful bruised face. He could never be her protector. He couldn’t even keep her safe in his own world.
The night of the attack replayed in his mind as he entered the sewer; Cordelia’s body laying on the marble floor, the burning rage that had consumed him, the feel of the intruders throat in his hand as he began to crush the life from him, demanding who had dared send them into his home.
Angel froze. His photographic memory focusing in on that moment. ‘Wolf!’ the man had uttered before dying.
Why hadn’t he recalled it before?
Angel’s jaw twitched, his eyes turning from mere hunter to inhuman predator. He turned, headed back into the hotel, up the stairs, and into Cordelia’s room, finding what he needed tossed carelessly on top of her chest.
The room was dark, but the bold print at the top of the expensive business card was crystal clear, WOLFRAM AND HART. The assailant’s words came back in Angel’s mind, ‘Wolf!’. A deep growl vibrated in the room as Angel turned the card over and read the address scribbled on the back of the card.
***
Lindsay pressed the lock button on his key chain causing a loud ‘beep’ to echo through the parking garage of the exclusive apartment complex. Gated more for prestige than for security, the complex was beautiful and pricey, just what a top executive at Wolfram and Hart should have. He’d lived there for nearly a year now, but he still got a small thrill each time he pulled into the iron gates and heard the guard call out a greeting of ‘Good evening, Mr. Lindsay’. Mr. Lindsay. He had made it. And for someone like him, someone who had come from very little means, very little respect, it meant something.
Sure some of the others in his department warned him constantly of the lack of security he would have living in one of the few buildings not owned by his employer. But he could care less. He’d accepted the risk and lifestyle, along with the salary, of a Wolfram and Hart employee long ago. He knew he wouldn’t last long in this world when he had signed his contract, in blood no less, but in return he would live out his short life in style, with respect. Sure, the ten foot iron bars that surrounded the place wouldn’t keep out the things that a Wolfram and Hart residence might, but they looked damn good from the street.
But tonight, the little thrill of his position in life seemed subdued. His thoughts, which were normally focused, controlled and calculating, were chaotic and unsure. A deadly concoction in his line of work. Cordelia had done that. Aroused something in him that had been silent for quite awhile. And as hard as he had tried to put her out of his mind, realize she was just another pawn in another of what would be many more games that Wolfram and Hart played, he could not shake the feeling of want when it came to her. The feeling of a future. A ‘what could have been’ scenario.
Lust. It had to be.
She was a beautiful young woman who would invade any man’s mind. He could shake it.
But even a trip to his favorite strip club earlier hadn’t helped the urges he was feeling. Maybe it was the old ‘forbidden fruit’ thing. Cordelia was off-limits. Either way. If Wolfram and Hart defeated Angel she was theirs, and if they didn’t, well, Lindsay wasn’t too sure if he wanted her bad enough to go through a legendary vampire.
Reaching the dim corridor that led from the garage to the elevators, Lindsay felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He turned and eyed the brightly lit garage that lay still and silent behind him in the late hour of the night. He shook off the feeling and entered the corridor, heading for the elevators just steps away.
Lindsay stopped at the first set of round buttons and reached his hand out, but before he could touch the round, plastic button marked ‘up’, a cold hand circled around his neck from behind, lifting him and pushing him to the far wall.
Angel’s human face was a tight mask of fury as he held Lindsay firmly to the brick, his hand grasping the man’s windpipe just enough to be uncomfortable.
“They were there for me. Weren’t they?” Angel bit out.
Lindsay tried to still the tremble that the attack had set off in his body. So Angel knew. He could work with that. He’d learned a long time ago not to fight the current when the game switched directions. Fighting was always a sure way to drown. He tried to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly, but Angel’s iron grip prevented the action. “They were there for you,” he confirmed. “But the little delay in the lobby,” his voice rasped out, “And the idiotic semi-confession of one our men cut that route short.”
“What does Wolfram and Hart want with me?” he growled and exerted a little more pressure.
“The hell if I know? But they want you alive. My guess is they want you on their side,” he struggled to answer.
“And they thought that sending you in to play head-games with Cordelia would convince me?” Angel fought to stay in control at the thought of what this would mean to her. The hopes it would dash. He grasped Lindsay even tighter and tossed him effortlessly to the opposite wall.
Lindsay’s head hit hard against the brick and he slipped down with a plop to the concrete floor below, rubbing his raw neck and fighting off the spots forming in front of his eyes. When he blinked his eyes into focus and looked up, Angel stood before him, his human face now transformed into his demonic one. The tremble returned.
“Been a long time since I drank straight from the tap,” Angel’s voice was malevolence itself.
“So you’re going to kill me? Before you even know what it is they want with you?”
“No.” Angel moved with inhuman speed, pulling Lindsay up by his shirt. “I’m going to kill you for the bruise on her face,” his golden eyes burned through Lindsay, “for the disappointment I’ll see there when she finds out what I already knew.” Angel pushed Lindsay’s head roughly to the side, focusing in on the jumping pulse in his neck.
“Think she’ll forgive you when they find the body?” Lindsay was desperate now, no longer able to hide the fear in his voice. “She’ll know. She’s a smart girl.”
“Won’t find a body,” Angel continued to stare at the racing pulse, letting the man’s fear wash over him, call to him. “Just a pile of dust.”
Lindsay tried to swallow then, realizing just what Angel’s words meant. He’d turn him, then dust him. His instinct to live kicked in as his peripheral vision caught the descent of Angel’s head. “We have her father!” He breathed quickly, feeling the first touch of Angel’s fangs.
Angel stilled for a moment, pulled his head away and stared at the man before him. “What?” he growled.
“Her father,” Lindsay’s breath was heavier now that Angel had loosened his grip slightly. “He came to us to find her. When we realized she was with you, we thought we could use it.”
Angel’s golden eyes stared unblinking at the man, as if trying to weigh the credibility in Lindsay’s words.
“I can get him for you,” Lindsay was all salesman now. Bargaining for his life.
“Where is he?” Angel bit out.
Lindsay shook his head slightly against Angel’s grasp. “If you go to him they’ll know. You’ll give them exactly what they want.”
“I suppose you have a suggestion.”
“Let me bring him to you. Tomorrow night. Loading dock eleven at the pier. There is an old storage warehouse just behind. You’ll find him there.”
“You think I trust you?” Angel’s voice dripped with hatred.
“No. But I’m the only link you have to her dad.”
“I can sense a heartbeat a mile away. If you try to bring your little militia, I’ll know if it’s a trap before I even get close.”
“We’ll be alone.”
Angel held him there for several moments, deciding.
He released his hold on Lindsay, but his deadly gaze still penetrated him. “If anything goes wrong or if you’re screwing with me … Let’s just say what almost happened here will be your new wet dream.”
“Tomorrow night,” Lindsay ignored the warning.
Angel nodded.
***
Cordelia loved good dreams. As a small child she would dream almost every night. She remembered the feel of snuggling into her safe, warm bed, anticipating what fascinating things her vivid imagination would show her next. And she remembered each and every one too; although she had found out later that was not a common thing, still, she relished each of them.
Until a few months ago.
For just as her imagination had not failed her in her years of blissful innocence, it was just as active in darker times, even more so it seemed. Each dream of late had been filled with demons and fear. And betrayal.
Until tonight. She smiled in her sleep as a picture of Angel came into her mind. He was …smiling? The dream focused, became clearer, and she could see that he was smiling at a woman who stood by his side. At her. They were standing on a balcony, bathed in the light of a full moon, looking at each other as if they had finally found something, seen something in each other they had been looking for, waiting for.
He touched her cheek gently as he stared at her, “You didn’t have to,” he said to her dream self.
She watched as her smile widened then, “Yes I did.”
His smile faded only slightly, his face turning serious, “I love you, Cordelia.”
She was going to answer him, tell him that she loved him too, but the dream began to blur, then fade.
“Cordelia,” she heard a whisper, an echo.
She reached for the dream, still feeling the stroke of Angel’s hand on her cheek.
“Cordelia,” the voice whispered again.
Cordelia’s eyes blinked and slowly opened, focusing in on Angel who sat on the side of the bed, gently stroking her cheek.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
Cordelia stretched and smiled. He looked so serious that she wanted to reach up and wipe away the worried line on his brow. “Good morning,” she whispered back, the feeling in her dream overflowing into reality.
Until reality hit.
Cordelia’s smile faded and she shot up off the pillow. “Morning?” she glanced breathlessly to the balcony and the heavy drapes pulled together to block out the early sun. “I can’t believe I slept all night, wasted so much time, I’ve got to get up and-.”
Angel placed his hands gently on her shoulders, stopping her frantic exit from the bed. “I know where he is,” was all he had to say to freeze her. He watched her carefully, her eyes never blinking, her body gone still as stone. For a moment he thought she had stopped breathing.
“Where is he?” she finally asked as calmly as she could.
Angel paused for a moment. Last night he would have given anything to show up her runt of a lawyer. Now his petty vengeance brought about by jealousy seemed insignificant to the pain he knew the revelation would cause her. She had been betrayed. Again.
“The law firm that your friend works for, Wolfram and Hart, has him.”
“What do you mean, ‘has him’.”
“It seems his connection to them prompted him to ask for their help in finding you. When they realized that you were here with me, a vampire they were trying to recruit, they saw it as an opportunity to get close.”
Cordelia stared at him for a moment and he saw the anger begin to boil to the surface before she pushed passed him off the bed, heading for the door. He was there in a second, blocking her way. “Where are going?”
“To get my father from that lying, slimy, son-of-a-bitch,” she was shaking now with anger at being fooled, being led down another dark path. She couldn’t trust anyone. She knew that. What had possessed her to think that Lindsay would be just a normal guy willing to help? She could trust no one.
No one but Angel.
Her eyes softened a bit as she looked up at him through unshed tears. “You’re the only one, aren’t you? The only one I trust with my father’s life. And mine.” She had felt it before, but knew it emphatically now and it warmed her heart.
He didn’t answer her, not with words. He simply pulled her to him and embraced her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.
Cordelia absorbed the feel of his arms around her, nestling into the only place in the world that gave her some sort of stability, peace.
“So what’s the plan?” her voice softly vibrated against his chest.
“We meet the asshole lawyer tonight. He’ll turn over your dad.”
“And in return he gets!?”
“To live,” Angel answered unashamedly.
They held each other another moment and Angel was grateful to feel some of the tension finally leave her. “I wish I could change things for you, Cordelia. I wish that the world wasn’t a dark and terrible place. You deserve so much more, so much better than what the world is showing you. I imagine over the past few months you’ve had to learn a hard lesson fast. Had to beg and bargain for …” he closed his eyes and held her tighter, burying his face in her hair, “Even from me,” he finished in a desperate whisper. “I’m sorry.”
She pulled away slightly but kept her arms firmly around his waist. “Which thing are you sorry for, Angel? Saving my life, taking me in, rescuing my father, warning me about Lindsay, finding out the truth?”
“Making you pay for those things by forcing you to stay here with something like me. For last night! for making you! ..pretend,” each word seemed painful.
“So you’re sorry for last night?” she didn’t give him a real chance to answer before continuing. “Well, I’m not. And I never will be, Angel. Not as long as I live.”
His deep brown eyes were full of puzzlement as he stared down at her. How could she not be disgusted by his demand the night before?
“You’re right you know,” she said softly. “I’m learning a lot about the way the world works, how hard and selfish people, and non-people, can be. How the things we want out of life will probably never come without a price. That all of us are searching for something that we would be willing to bargain with just about anything for. I guess we just have to make sure that what we want is worth it, worth the bargain I mean, and that we’re willing to pay the price.
“None of us are immune to it. Not even you,” she reached up then with one of her arms and touched his face with the back of her hand. “What were you looking for in Sunnydale, Angel? Acceptance, worth, ..love?”
His jaw tightened at her accuracy and his eyes slid away from her face.
“You tried to bargain your strength and assistance for it in Sunnydale but they turned you away. You tried here, with strangers, but they didn’t know you, couldn’t accept what you were. Last night, you looked for it in me. Don’t be sorry for that. Because I couldn’t bear it if you were sorry now that you’ve finally found it.”
Angel’s eyes darted back to her face.
Cordelia laid her palm on his cheek. “I love you, Angel. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone or anything as much as I love you. And I’m telling you now, here, in the light of day because I know you’re just dumb enough not to realize that I meant it last night.”
“Cordelia,” her name sounded like a desperate plea. “I can’t walk in the sun, can’t father children, won’t age, won’t ever …”
“And I don’t have super strength,” she interrupted. “Can’t cook for my life, will grow old and wrinkly while you still look like Salty Goodness, and on occasion I can be a tiny bit strong willed. Do those things make you love me any less? That is, if you do love?” her voice suddenly sounded unsure.
“Love you?” Angel almost wanted to laugh. Dipping his head to hers, he captured her lips passionately.
When they finally broke away, Cordelia was breathless and dazed, “So that’s a yes I take it?”
“Yes, I love you. And whatever the price, it’s worth it if you love me in return.”
***
Wesley, Gunn, and Fred sat on the crimson lobby sofa while Angel and Cordelia stood before them, explaining Angel’s discovery and the plan to retrieve her father that night. When they were finished and the few remaining questions were asked and answered, the group began to disperse. Gunn and Fred decided on an early lunch. Wesley and Cordelia declined their invitation; Wesley burying himself back inside his office and Cordelia content to just be near Angel, enjoying the small smile that flashed across his face now and again at her. Reaching out, she took his hand when they were finally alone in the lobby. She felt a thrill of happiness shoot through her at the feel of his hand in hers, the way his fingers intertwined with her own and gave a small squeeze. Angel was coming out of his shell, out from behind his mask, and she loved him more and more each minute.
“Angel,” the sound of his name on her lips and the feel of her hand in his, that she had been the one to reach for him, made him full of a happiness that had never existed inside of him. For once in his existence, he had something he desired. Something good and kind and wonderful. He knew that he would never measure up. Never be near what she deserved, but as long as she would let him, he would try. Pulling her into an embrace, he looked down at her and gave her another one of the small smiles that he seemed unable to control ever since she said that she loved him.
She loved him.
Dipping his head down, he gave her a soft, short kiss, remembering almost instantly that they were not completely alone. When he lifted his head, he glanced to the office windows.
Cordelia followed his gaze, then looked back to him. “You need to talk to him. He’s been tormenting himself over not telling you.”
“Good.”
“Angel, he’s your friend. I know that’s a new concept for you, but he is. And you’re his. Go in there and talk to him. Make him feel better. No matter the way he handled things, his intentions were good. His only thought was to help you.”
Angel blew out a sigh of defeat and reluctantly let her go before heading into the office.
Wesley sat behind a mountain of books and files. The only part of him visible was from the forehead up. “Angel,” he addressed with some surprise as the office door closed. Wesley stood but didn’t round the desk.
“Cordelia said we should talk,” Angel commented uncomfortably.
“Well, yes. I suppose we should. First, I want to say that …I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark about your condition. I thought it best.”
“It’s alright. It probably was. In any case, it doesn’t matter now.”
“So your ability to transform has completely returned?” Wesley went into science mode.
“Seems so. It was slow going the first few times, but no real trouble after that.”
“And your human form, it’s not difficult or painful to hold?”
Angel shook his head.
Wesley smiled, “Excellent,” then sobered again. “So, you forgive me? For the omission?”
Angel thought of Cordelia’s words that morning, about the price of things that come into each person’s life. “You did it to protect me. That alone makes it worth forgiving.”
Wesley gave a tentative smile and Angel turned to go.
“Angel, wait,” Wesley rounded the desk.
Angel paused and when Wesley looked out to Cordelia who sat lounged on the lobby couch, Angel took the silent cue and shut the office door.
“Since, as you now know, I had already found what I thought to be the cause of your condition, I began several weeks ago looking into the other mystery that has haunted you. The fact of your soul.”
“What about my soul?”
“Why it was restored? Who restored it?”
“And?” Angel seemed almost bored at the topic. The truth was that he had never really cared why on that one night he had awoken different, changed. For the first few years he had even deemed it a curse, the guilt of his soulless life almost too much to bear. Now he knew not to question it. It just was. And in truth, he feared that if he dug too deeply, he might not like what he found.
“Well, I haven’t found anything substantial. But there is a prophecy-“
Angel rolled his eyes at that. Everyone knew that prophecies were semi-truthful at best. And at worst, out right fantasy.
“Please, Angel, hear me out. There is a prophecy, written by the Diocian Sect in ancient Greece. They were said to be priests and guards to the Oracles. Some of it has been destroyed, but the part that remains intact mentions a warrior who will come to his destiny in this time. One who is dead yet can live, possesses a strength born in darkness but a soul born from light. It says that only he can defeat his own kind, and create the rest to come.”
“The rest what?”
“I’m not sure,” Wesley sighed with disappointment. “But I have located a spell, one said to grant an individual an audience with the Oracles. I think if we want to find out why you were given a soul, or a purpose that you may be chosen to fulfill-.”
“Right now my purpose is to get Cordelia’s father back. The rest, and I’m not saying that I believe any of this, can come after that.”
Wesley’s shoulders slumped as Angel turned and grasped the doorknob then paused before leaving. Without turning, he said, “Just that you care, that you spent so much time on this, means something to me. Thanks,” he finished and then left the office.
***
Lindsay’s heart began to beat slightly faster as he approached his office and saw the look on his secretary’s face. She averted her eyes as soon as he reached her desk and he knew that trouble was waiting behind his door. Entering his office with practiced coolness, he gave Mr. Manners, his two right hand assassins, and Lilah Morgan a passing glance before shutting the door.
“Did I miss a memo?” he turned to the group.
Holland Manners motioned for one of the men to lean down and whispered an inaudible order into the man’s ear. The man nodded to the other assassin and both men left the room. Lindsay tried not to break a sweat as his boss’s attention turned to him. “Lindsay,” he began with a smile that was far from warm. “I assume since I didn’t hear from you last night, or this morning, that you were going to provide me with a full written report of your little …meeting last night. I mean, anything less would be …deceitful.”
Lindsay’s face paled visibly and he noted the huge grin that had spread across Lilah’s face.
“I was going to come see you personally, sir. I know how important Angel is to you and I didn’t want any interference on this,” he tried, with a cutting look to Lilah.
“Really? You know, it’s come to my attention that your interest in this case might not be so loyal, your judgment not so clear.”
Lindsay was silent.
“She’s very pretty, Lindsay. But she’s one in a sea of millions. I mean, if you’re really that taken with her, my wife Candy can give you the number to her plastic surgeon. He can make anyone look like …well, anyone. You can create your own version of her and get past this ridiculous stumbling block.”
“Sir-“
“I mean, honestly Lindsay. Did you really think that by living in an independent complex that we wouldn’t know every move you make? Every deal?”
“I wouldn’t actually have turned him over, sir.”
“Yes, you would have. Lucky for you, the idea sprung an inspiring new direction thought up by our own Lilah,” Mr. Manners smiled up at Lilah.
“It was nothing, sir. Just being a team player,” she directed the last comment to Lindsay.
“Keep the meeting as is. You’ll go alone, with her father.”
“And?”
“And that’s it. After reviewing the situation and talking it over with Ms. Morgan, I’ve decided that the way to get to Angel is through the girl. And the way to get to the girl is through her father. We’ve offered him a deal and he has accepted. Now, with her father working for us, she can be convinced to join our little team too. And once we have her, Angel’s a given.”
Lindsay gave his employer a look of suspicion.
“Why so quiet?” Mr. Manners ask him with a smile. “It’s a perfect, uncomplicated plan. Simplicity at its best,” he stood then and crossed the room, Lilah following like a dog on the heels of its master. “Oh, and Lindsay,” he paused at the door, his face void of the fake smile before. “This is going in your permanent file,” he said before he and Lilah finally left the room.
Lindsay walked to his desk and sat down hard in the chair, blowing out a deep breath. The where and when of the plan might be the same, but the presence of the two Wolfram and Hart assassins told Lindsay that Holland Manners had made alterations. And that was bad news even in a portal to hell like this one.
***
The drive to the docks had been quiet. The five occupants staring ahead as the pier came into view. Angel had planned to leave Cordelia and Fred behind, taking the two men with him in case of trouble. And keeping Cordelia and Fred far from it. But that had caused Cordelia’s sweet disposition caused by their new found love to turn into something that made even Angel quake with fear.
He tried not to let a smile break out on his face as he passed a glance to her sitting stiffly next to him in the front seat. He had tried everything he could to make her stay behind, and she had fought him tooth-and-nail. They had both been furious. And she had been a force to be reckoned with. A tigress.
Angel reached over the leather seat with his free hand as he steered with the other and grasped one of hers balled tightly into a fist in her lap. Pulling her hand a little closer across the seat, he twined their fingers and gave a squeeze. So they had fought. It wasn’t the end of the world and it certainly wouldn’t be their last knock-down-drag-out. In truth, it was nice to have someone to fight with. And to make-up with.
Cordelia’s features softened and she squeezed his hand in response, turning to look at the side of his face. Her eyes held deep emotion. God, she loved this man or vampire or whatever the hell he was. And the fight had just strengthened her belief that they were good together, why being together was so right. Yes, he was possessive and overbearing and had a head as hard as steel. But he didn’t scare her. And he was the only person that she had ever met that could take one of her tongue lashings and want to hold her hand just fifteen minutes later.
The thing was, along with the strong physical attraction and the deep soulful love that they felt for one another, that they understood one another. Cordelia understood that Angel had very few things in his existence that truly were precious to him. Therefore, he guarded them to the point of near suffocation. And Angel understood that Cordelia would never leave his side, or abandon anyone she cared for. She would never let another person fight her battles for her, or walk alone into one they had taken on together. Her smile widened and she looked at the side of his head for one more moment before turning her gaze back to the road.
Angel broke a smile too, his eyes staying focused on the building ahead of them as they pulled into the lot. They had apologized to one another without a word. He had never imagined that a relationship with another being could be so powerful.
Reluctantly, Angel let go of Cordelia’s hand to turn off the engine and exit the car. He glanced back to Gunn who held up his trusty ax. They had armed themselves sparingly, ready for trouble, but light so they could get in and get out fast.
Angel scanned the lot as they all exited the car, zeroing in on a heartbeat just around the corner of the building. Lindsay. He glanced to the others and than led the way to the side of the building, Cordelia close at his side.
Lindsay stood leaning against a cedar lamppost just a few feet from a side entrance to the building.
“Where is he?” Cordelia was the first to ask.
“Here, just as I promised. He’s inside, waiting on you. I found him. Just like I said I would. No matter what he’s told you, remember that,” he looked at Cordelia with almost believable innocence and reached out and touched her arm. She recoiled at the feel of his skin on hers, jerking her arm away. Lindsay might be human, but he was more of a monster than anything she had come across. And the thought of him now made her sick.
Angel stared at Lindsay’s hand for a moment, remembering that same hand touching Cordelia in the hotel lobby. A blind rage dropped its veil over his mind as a low, rumbling growl escaped him unchecked.
“What is it?” Wesley asked. “You sense danger?”
Angel pulled himself to focus and scanned the area, but couldn’t sense a trap of any kind. Even so, he caught Cordelia’s arm when she reached out for the door. “Let Wesley and Gunn go in first. Okay?” he asked softy.
She nodded her head and let the two men pass to the door.
“You’d better go too, Fred.”
“Ain’t you comin?” Gunn turned to ask just in front of the door.
“In a minute,” Angel’s eyes never left Lindsay’s, an animal zeroing in on its prey.
“Angel,” Cordelia tried.
“It’s okay, Cordy,” he used the nickname for the first time, thrilling them both. “I won’t kill him. I just need to make sure that this ends now.”
She seemed unsure, but then nodded her agreement. All she wanted to do was go to her father now. To make sure he was safe, that he would stay that way, and to start her life with Angel.
“And Gunn,” Angel addressed the man before he entered the building. “Leave the ax.”
Gunn never missed a step as he tossed the heavy weapon instantly to Angel, shooting Lindsay a shitty grin before leading the way for the others into the building.
When the door was closed and the others were safely inside where Angel sensed no assassins’ heartbeats and no immediate danger, his gaze dropped down to Lindsay’s right hand. “That’s the second time I’ve watched you touch her. It’s offensive. And you know what they say,” Angel gave the ax a practice swing. “If your right hand offends me……”
***
The warehouse was dark and musty. And completely silent. “Dad?” Cordelia called, answered only by her echo.
“Maybe he’s hidin’,” Fred offered hopefully.
“Dad? It’s me. Cordelia,” her heart was beginning to sink at the silence that answered them.
“Stay here,” Gunn offered sympathetically. “Wes and I’ll take a look around.”
Cordelia nodded and Gunn and Wesley began to walk away in the darkness. Only a few feet away from the girls, they froze when they heard Cordelia gasp, “Dad?”
Wesley and Gunn turned to see Cordelia and Fred looking up to the metal landing that hung a few yards away from them. It was set high, accessible only by the metal stairs in front of it, and was engulfed in shadows. But there was someone there, the silhouette of a man answered back. “Cordy? Baby?”
“Oh my god,” Cordelia breathed before racing to the stairs. “Dad.”
Gunn began to follow, but Wesley placed a hand on his shoulder. “Give them a moment,” he urged gently as he watched Cordelia bound up the noisy stairs, his heart overflowing for her and her happiness.
Cordelia reached the top and stopped, her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the man just a couple of feet from her. Her father. She ran and embraced him, then pulled away to look at him again, to make sure he was real. “Lindsay said you were here, but I was so afraid it was another lie. Are you alright?” her eyes began to rove over him, visually inspecting him for injuries.
Clinton smiled, “I’m fine sweetheart. Just a little worried about you.”
“So they didn’t hurt you are anything?” she needed reassurance. She had envisioned so many terrible things, imagined the worst of what could have happened to him during her time in L.A.. She needed to hear it from his own lips that he was safe, that he would be alright.
“Hurt me? Of course not. They’ve been great. They’ve taken care of me, even fixed that little heart problem that seemed to be creeping up on me. And they’ve offered me a job, honey.”
“Oh, dad,” Cordelia felt tears burning her eyes. He hadn’t changed. He still thought that the perfect job and enough money would make him happy. But he couldn’t seem to understand that life would never be perfect, for anyone, and no amount of money is ever enough when you count on it for happiness.
***
Angel entered the warehouse and walked up behind his three housemates who stared to the landing above them. “Where’s Cordy?” he asked as he handed the bloodied ax to Gunn.
Gunn stared down at his favorite weapon and then back to Angel with a cocked brow, “Run into something big and bloody outside?” he asked.
Angel shrugged carelessly as he made out Cordelia and her father on the metal floor above and ahead. “Lindsay got a little out of hand.”
“He’s not, you didn’t, I mean….”
“No, Fred. He’s alive. I made sure of that,” Angel said with eerie satisfaction. “So he was here?” he changed the subject as he tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation between the two shadowed figures ahead.
“It would appear so,” Wesley commented. “And you still sense no danger?”
Angel opened his senses again, scanning the interior of the building, “No,” he answered as he focused on the heartbeats of the inhabitants of the warehouse. “It’s weird though,” he continued, counting off the heartbeats of Wesley, Fred, and Gunn. “Everything in me says this is a trap, but I just can’t….” his voice trailed off as he sensed the vamp. “There’s a vamp in the building. Damn it,” he started looking frantically from one wall to the next. “I was scanning for humans. They must have vampires working for them as well. But the scent, it’s….familiar….” his gaze shot back to the landing. “Oh God,” he whispered.
***
Tears slipped unchecked down Cordelia’s face. “Daddy, money isn’t everything. It can’t make you a better man.”
“But they have made me better, honey,” he took the step that was between them and embraced her. “And you’re right. Money isn’t everything.”
Cordelia hugged him back tightly, burying her face against his shoulder. So he still longed for wealth at any price. She was grateful just to have him back. They could work on the rest later. “It’s alright, Dad. As long as you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
“I just want to take care of you, and your mother, Cordelia. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Cordelia hugged him tighter again, listening to the vibrations of his voice against her ear. She felt like a child again, being comforted by her father. She closed her eyes and snuggled close to him, remembering the way she used to lay her head on his chest as a child and listen to the rumbling of his deep voice and the reassuring thump of his strong heart.
Cordelia frowned.
“And now that I have you back, we can make our way back to your mother, convince her to join with us,” his voice vibrated in his chest but the reassuring heartbeat…..
Join with us? What did that mean?
“You won’t find it you know. I missed it at first too.”
Cordelia felt sick. She pulled back slowly, or maybe it was quickly, but it felt like forever as she looked up at her father. Except he wasn’t her father anymore. Not really. She swallowed hard, fighting away the bile that rose in her throat at the sight of her father’s vampiric face.
He kept a strong hold on her. “It’s just a small price to pay, honey,” he looked at her as if she was the one that had lost her mind. “The sun, a heartbeat. Those are small things compared to what you get in return. With my powers, and with Wolfram and Hart backing me, there’s no limit to what I can do,” his boast fell on deaf ears. Cordelia couldn’t think, much less hear or feel. She just shook her head, again and again, as if denying what had happened would make it untrue.
“No, no, no,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. It only hurts for a moment. Now be still.”
Cordelia struggled against him, pushing at his shoulders uselessly as he bent toward her neck.
“Be a good girl, Cordelia. Don’t fight your father,” he said against her neck.
“No,” she whispered as she felt the small prick of his fangs. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
But it never came.
Clinton froze, his body rigid as he pulled away from her, a pained look on his demonic face before bursting wordlessly into dust, leaving only Angel standing before her.
Angel felt a terrible pain shoot through him as he watch Cordelia grasp wildly at the particles of dust that filled the air. She reached for them, followed them to the metal floor as she sunk to her knees and wept. “Daddy,” she sobbed.
It was the only word she spoke. And it pierced Angel straight through his heart. He stepped forward to her as she sobbed, her head bowed down in her hands where what few bits of dust she had grabbed remained. He paused, her sobs racking his entire body. Looking over her to the stairs, he saw Wesley, Gunn, and Fred standing in stunned silence. “Take her home,” his whispered plea was hoarse and laced with his own tortured emotions.
He looked back to her for a moment, then turned to go.
***
Wesley closed the door to Cordelia’s room softly, thankful that after a full night of nonstop crying, she was finally asleep.
Intent on getting some rest himself, he turned and ran into the last face he’d expected to see in the new hours of the day. “Angel,” his voice showed his surprise. “You disappeared so suddenly last night that I thought….” Wesley trailed off the rehearsed chastising he had planned for Angel and his disappearance. The vampire looked terrible. A picture of tortured agony. In that moment Wesley forgave him. He guessed that Angel had needed a night away to digest what he had been forced to do, just as Cordelia needed the breakdown she was experiencing to cope. “I’m glad you’ve returned,” he settled. Cordelia needed Angel now more than anyone else.
As Wesley turned to lead the way back to Cordelia’s door, Angel stopped him. “I’m not staying,” he stared at the door instead of Wesley. “I just wanted to make sure she was…..alright,” the last word seemed to break a little.
“Well, she is not. She needs you, Angel.”
“Why”” he turned to his friend, “So I can hunt down and kill another member of her family?” he bit out the disgust with himself.
“Angel, you can’t leave her like this,” Wesley was angry now.
“I have to. And I don’t have time to argue,” he said as he handed a small file to Wesley. “It’s everything I have. Bank accounts, safe deposits, etc.. Some you already know about, some you don’t. I want you, Gunn, and Fred to have a fraction of it,” he continued as Wesley took the file and thumbed through the pages, realizing that a fraction of Angel’s net worth was a fortune. “The rest I want to go to Cordy,” his voice threatened to leave him again at the nickname he had just begun to use. “The hotel, everything. She deserves….” his voice did fail him then as he looked back to the door.
“She won’t understand this.”
Angel gave a short, humorless laugh, “Yes, she will. Tell her that I’m sorry. Tell her…..tell her that I never even deserved the fantasy, much less the real thing,” Angel said before touching the door to her suite. He paused there for a moment, then turned to leave.
“Angel,” Wesley called to his back.
Angel didn’t turn, or slow his dragging steps.