I awoke when I heard a sudden noise. I half sat up. The throw fell from my shoulders as I rubbed my eyes. It was still dark, but I could hear voices in the distance. I listened more carefully to pinpoint the noise that had woken me up.

The steady footsteps on the steps leading to the front door made me sit up straighter. Angel had found me.

The door opened, and light flooded in the room. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light. The figure stilled in the doorway for a moment. It was Angel. He entered the room and his presence dwarfed everything, including me.

I stood, feeling a little shaky and still half asleep. And in no way prepared for this confrontation with him.

"Are you quite done with the dramatics?" He was angry, but there was also a tired edge to his voice. "I don't have the time or patience for games."

"You can't just keep me locked up against my will and disappear with no explanation." I put my hands on my hips. He couldn't treat me this way.

"Yes, I can." He moved closer, and I had the urge to move away, but the back of my knees hit the sofa.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Your stubbornness is going to be your downfall one day, Kira."

I frowned. "I'm standing up for myself because no one else will." There was no one to fight my corner.

"I thought you would have at least matured over the last two years."

His words hit me right in the chest, and I wanted to lash out at him. It took all my strength to hold any sort of composure.

"I'm not immature," I argued hotly.

My anger did not illicit any type of response except a shrug of his shoulders. "Your actions speak volumes Kira."

I clenched my teeth together, trying to stop my temper from pushing me to do something I would inevitably regret.

He took a step closer, and I had to look up at him to hold his gaze. To be this near to him seemed to scramble my fuzzy mind, and I swallowed when my eyes dropped to his lips before I looked straight into his eyes.

"No more secrets. You're going to tell me why you sent me away." While I held his stare without wavering, I reminded myself how strong I was. I could handle anything he revealed.

"Sit," he said, and I frowned, not liking his tone or his command.

"I'm fine standing," I replied defiantly.

"Sit down Kira." His voice was louder and more commanding, but I remained standing.

"I can listen just as well while standing." I crossed my arms. I would not do as I was told. I wasn't some lap dog.

"Suit yourself." There was an undercurrent of irritation in his voice. "When's the last time you saw your father?" he asked, his expression watchful.

"I don't know... before I left." It wasn't like my father was going to win any father of the year awards. The only person who had loved me had been my mother. My father was too self-centered to consider anyone else other than himself.

"You haven't heard from him at all in the last two years?"

I shook my head. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

He rubbed his chin. "Your father stole some money from some very bad people."

It didn't surprise me, but what I couldn't figure out was what that had to do with me.

"So." I shrugged my shoulders dismissively.

"You know what happens to thieves," he reminded, softly.

"You find them and make them pay the money back?" I lifted an unsure eyebrow at him.

He shook his head. "They get made an example of."

It was difficult to care about someone who hadn't given a shit about me. "I still don't know what any of this has to do with me." Couldn't he just get to the point?

"He stole money from the Vincents."

The Vincents were a ruthless family that dealt with every seedy criminal activity. I knew them for their vicious way of dealing with people who wronged them and they were direct rivals to Angel's.

"Has something happened to him?" I asked, trying to figure out the strange emotion I was experiencing. It wasn't fear, but it made me uncomfortable.

"No. Your father went into hiding. No one has found him."

"I still don't know what this has to do with me?" I asked, still not seeing a link to this conversation and what happened to me.

"To pay his debt to them, your father gave them you."

I frowned as his words sunk in. "Me?" I touched my hand to chest as I tried to understand what that meant. "He gave me to them?"

Angel gave me a solemn nod as he studied me.

"I don't get it." I was at a loss, my mind reeling and struggling to come to terms with what that meant.

"But I'm not a possession. I'm not an object that can be given away or exchanged." I was stunned. Of all the stupid, ill advised things my father had ever done, this had to be the worst. I lowered myself into the chair. "I can't be owned."

Silence ensued.

"What would they even want with me?" I asked, still trying to figure out what value I could have.

"You really want me to explain that?" His voice was grave and for the first time, I felt a genuine fear.

My father had worked for the Knox family for as long as I could remember. The Knox family had intertwined my life for what felt like forever, or as far back as my memory would take me.

I frowned. "Why don't they just find my father and get the money back?" I stood and paced.

"I have already offered to pay all the money back and more, but they have refused. They want what your father promised them. They want you."

"How could my father do this?" I put my hand to my head, suddenly I felt weak, and I sat back down.

There was silence as Angel allowed me to process what I had discovered.

Then I realized. "That's why you sent me away."

He nodded.

He had sent me away to keep the Vincents from taking possession of me. Suddenly, he didn't seem to be the bad guy in this situation.

"So what happens now that I'm back?" It frightened me for what that would mean for me.

"Nothing good." His tone was foreboding, and I felt a shiver of fear.

His phone rang, and he answered it. The phone call was brief and his responses curt and to the point.

"We need to go back to the house," Angel instructed.

I looked up at him. He had tipped my world upside down, and I was still trying to find my feet in this new situation. The last thing I felt like was leaving the safety of the cottage.

"Either you walk or I carry you. Your choice." He took a threatening step in my direction. The thought of him so close to me made me shoot up despite my unsettledness. He always had a way of making me very aware of my femininity and I hated it.

"I can walk," I grumbled.

He opened the door and waited for me. I led the way out of the cottage and he followed me.

It was dark, and a few times I stumbled. Angel caught me, but I pushed his hands away. "I can do it myself."

I was determined not to be some damsel in distress. I was strong and I would show him I wasn't some wilting flower ready for some guy to swoop in to save me.

"You want to fall flat on your face, be my guest."

He took the lead, and I hurried after him. His long strides, making it more difficult to keep up with his pace.

When we returned, we didn't use the secret door, Angel headed to the main front door. One of his guys opened the door for him. He entered and stopped to look back at me.

I took my time in reaching him, and he grabbed my arm. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"It's called not being a doormat."

He shook his head. "No one could ever accuse you of that."

Bruno met us as we entered. Angel scowled in his direction and I threw him a sympathetic look. I hadn't meant to get anyone into trouble, but that didn't seem to matter to Angel, who was dragging me to the study.

"Stop Angel," I said, unable to keep up with his pace. I tugged free.

Angel turned to face me, and his expression made me falter a step backward.

"I'm doing everything I can to make sure you don't end up in a situation I can't get you out of. Do you understand?" His voice boomed, and I felt the full force of his anger.

It was the first time he had ever spoken to me like that. I didn't know how to handle this Angel.

I bit my lip and nodded slowly.

He took my hand and allowed him to lead me to the study. At the door, he stopped for a moment before he opened the door.

The room wasn't empty. A tall man dressed in a suit who had his back to us turned to face us.

"Kira?"