Chapter 23

Angel walked for hours, going up and down streets trying to reach the beach, and have had to ask for directions twice.

They were on a boat. That's all Angel knew. When she was in Mathew's brief capture, she couldn't get much information due to her situation.

She continued till she got to the Blvd. And the phone vibrated in her pocket. She had to laugh at her luck just now seeing Emma's name appear across the top.

'Well, damn.' But she was growing butterflies. What would she say to her? she exhaled and pushed the green button to answer the call.

"Hello, Emma. Your brother isn't here at the moment." Angel said calmly.

"I figured something went wrong when he didn't show up last night," Emma said. "And where is my brother?"

"I have him- tied up." It was the quickest answer she could think of at the moment because she wasn't very well going to tell Emma that he was dead. That his jaw was no longer attached to his head.

"Well, isn't this unfortunate," Emma mumbled.

"I want to talk." Angel quickly said before Emma would decide to end the call.

"Oh?"

Angel would have to suck up to her to get to some kind of good side. "I don't want to have any problems anymore. Can we meet somewhere so we can... so I can apologize" she said, clenching her teeth at the last sentence.

It was silent on her end for a few moments, as if she was muted. "Fine, we can talk. Meet us at the harbor, the N dock. The boat will have a red halo on the back." Before the Angel could ask any more questions, Emma hung up.

Shit.

How was she gonna play off that she didn't have Mathew?

She picked up her pace to reach the pier. Making up conversations about what to say to Emma. 'Sorry, no, I don't have your brother.' or 'just let us leave, and no one gets hurt.

But she couldn't just walk in without some kind of security. Therefore, she'd have to make it to the Frog's Shop and get some form of protection. A weapon could cause some intimidation among the group in the right circumstances.

It was a typical day on the boardwalk with people going about their businesses. Tourists moving about the food carts, lines to the rides. Which made them preoccupied from seeing her try and a break-in.

The small ally she turned down was empty, reaching the gate to see the lock. There had to be a back way somewhere. Another door to get inside, maybe the roof-

"Well, shit. Oh well-" she put her hands on her hips, feeling defeated because she wasn't going to get inside. "Why did I even come-"

A strong covered hand was quickly put over her mouth to keep her from screaming. She hit their hand repeatedly, trying to peel it off her face. The person dragged her deeper into the dark of the hall. When they finally let her go, she turned to see a tall person completely covered in sunglasses, a mask going from the top of his ears down to his neck along with a dark poncho, gloves, and a big, long hat.

Their whole body was covered from top to bottom to protect their skin, protection from the sun, and she immediately thought it was David. that the blessing didn't work. He found her here at the Frog's shop, probably asking for help and to tell them the whereabouts of where the vampires were. But when the person finally revealed their face after taking all the layers off, it wasn't David.

"Dwayne? What the hell?! Don't ever do that again and what the hell are you doing here?" she was talking so fast because her whole body was shaking.

"I know what I'm doing. The real question is, what are you doing?" giving her a very inquisitive stare.

she looked back at the gate and back at him. "it's not what it looks like."

"I know," he said sarcastically, glaring down at her. "I heard you were leaving."

"You heard what Mr. Martin and I said?"

"Well, lucky for you, I was the one awake. Since we came back, we planned to take shifts to keep us protected. One of us needs to stay awake during the day. So as soon as we got downstairs, I slept till I switched with David earlier this morning."

At the sound of his name, her chest felt heavy. But it was nice to know that what happened between them wasn't heard by the others.

"I heard you talking to the old man." he leaned up against the wall away from any form of light. Then raised his hand at her. "Before you say anything, yes, I did listen in. And no, I don't care to mind my own business." he smiled at her.

"What happened between you and David is your own business, even though you both are really looking for trouble. All I care about is if it affects my brothers or me."

"I swear, Dwayne, I'm not going to the Frogs. I only came here to get something to protect me from whatever Emma is planning. I left to get my own brothers while they're still here and... alive."

"And you left on your own to do this because you had a 'fight' with David."

"Well, when you put it like that, you make me sound selfish. But no."

He chuckled. "don't get all defensive. I might've done the same thing. It's far from selfish. When David came downstairs this morning, he was pissed about something, and I could tell. And of course, he didn't say anything about it, basically saying that it was about you. And so, after you left the house, I went upstairs as safely as I possibly could, and your old man friend was in the kitchen." He raised a finger at her. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything to him. I merely asked him a couple of questions. and of course, he didn't really answer with answers that I needed, so that's when I read your note-"

Anger was read on her face, and when she started to open her mouth to tell him off again, he lifted his hand to keep her from speaking. "that's getting annoying," she said through clenched teeth.

"You have nothing to worry about. So, I put the note back. And just followed your scent" Just great, she thought I have a scent.

"How did you even get here?"

"I 'convinced' the old man to let me borrow his car."

"You did what? You didn't need to take anything else from him. He's already done so much for us. He gave us a place to sleep protected us even though he doesn't even know what you truly are. Did you even hear the part where he said he was a priest?"

Dwayne nodded. "I'm not scared of a 'retired' priest. We'll be away from here and be over with all this soon enough."

"Over with in the sense that you want my family gone. Revenge? Well, of course, you do because that's what you all want, right? But you don't have to repeat anything to me. I already know."

Dwayne exhaled slowly."When we went to the Emerson house that night. It wasn't just because of what Star and Michael did but of what we lost."

Her heart sank at remembering Marko dead body, even imaging losing him kinda hurt. She knew he did bad things and she understood Uncle Sammy's side to be rid of them. But, Marko was like a friend to her. At least that's what she thought it was. He saved her and she saved him.

"Marko was one of us, and when I saw his body lying there, that's when everything changed for us. David was blinded with rage, and so were we. Something inside me knew it had to be the end. But it was overshadowed by my hate, our hate. We were pissed and being immortal teenagers convinced that you could have and do whatever you wanted. Having that type of mindset and the power to yield it, of course, you'd go and do things that you shouldn't. I may have come back still looking like a teen, but after the few days that I have reawaken and drank the blood of people today. I saw the new era through their eyes. And I realized then that I want to stay alive long enough to restart."

"That's what I was trying to convince David off, and I think it was. I just don't know how he's going to go about it. So how is that going to work? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you have a change of heart," his face curled up in a bit of an annoyance at that. "But I meant what I said in the letter that you all need to leave that you should just go and start your life somewhere else I mean, I'm not even staying in Santa Carla I live somewhere else. I'm just saying it isn't safe because of the hunters.

Dwayne didn't have an answer for her. He didn't have a clue where to even go. He just knew that if he did stay with those 'Frogs' around he'd kill them. Ok, it was time to change the subject before he got overheated.

"So did Star adopt Laddie?" The question threw Angel off, but she remembered their connection to one another. Laddie was a part of their family if you will.

"Actually, it was my Grandma Lucy. Before realizing the 'true' I was young and asked about it. He had told me that he had run away from home when he was a boy. And how he and my mom found each other. They took him in to get questioned by police as to why he had run. He explained that his home life wasn't happy and that there were cruel people who abused him. The kind police officer that helped Laddie also went and discovered that his home life was indeed unlivable. So, they put him in foster care. And that's when my grandmother took him in and adopted him. With the help of the police officer who later became my Grandpa Thomas." Dwayne listened intently, not moving, wanting to know more.

"After he graduated high school and got old enough, he went into training in Law enforcement. Grandpa Thomas helped him since he knew a lot of the whole department. And Laddie passed with flying colors." Dwayne's face lit up at Laddie's achievements.

"You were very close to him," she said, not really as a question but more of a statement. Because she wasn't going to push him to answer anything.

"He never really talked about what happened at his home. So, I didn't ask. I suspected bullying. But like I said. He didn't say much about it. He'd come down to the boardwalk almost every week. Obviously, I didn't care at first. Until he tried stealing some hotdogs from a vendor and got caught. The old man was gonna take the kid away, probably to the police. But I intervened. Saying that he was my troublesome little brother and gave the money to the vendor telling him it wouldn't happen again. I took a him with me and piled some more food into him. He didn't say much at first except to thank you and watched me. Laddie was sure hard-headed though. I tried to push him away, and he'd come right back. I guess I conceded because I had a little brother a long time ago. I kept telling Laddie the streets were no place for him. His answer would always be, 'I can't go home. And I won't go back...' So being in this shitshow. I took him to David. And David, being David and having the problem that he had with Star at the time. Took him in as one of us.

It was fine in the first week or so. And it seemed like Star and David didn't fight as often as they did, but When that night came… When David gave Laddie the wine. It's Not what I wanted for him." Dwayne tensed.

"I know." Angel already knew about David keeping Laddie for Star to keep her in the group. "Marko told me."

"You could have told me that you already knew," he smirked.

"Well, only Mom's side. not yours."

"That makes since."

"Would you like to hear more?" Dwayne hesitated but nodded. "He's got a fiancé named Sarah, and they're expecting their first child soon." this made Dwayne turn entirely and look at her. A grin was curled up on the corner of his mouth. But it faded as soon as it appeared.

"You act like such a hardass, just like David. But you trying to convince me that you don't care is retarded. I know deep down he cares about you still. I saw it when we were in the club parking lot. That moment between you too."

Dwayne shook his head with disagreement. "Then he's a fool."

"What happened to your little brother?" she bluntly asked, making him turn sideways to her. "You said Laddie reminds him of him."

"Dead. He died years before all this."

"What...what happened to him?"

"He was hit by a car. It had broken his spine, and doctors said there was no fixing it, and our family didn't have the money to afford the surgeries, but we gave him the best last few months of his life that we could before organs started shutting down, and I think just a little part of me died with him. After that, I didn't care about school, started working, hated that, and met David. We were friends before becoming vampires. Him Marko and I built bikes together, even though Marko was better at it than us. Paul was better at breaking them." he grinned.

"Dwayne, I'm so sorry that happened. What happened to the driver?"

"The woman? When he passed, my family tried for involuntary manslaughter, but the judge favored her case." his brows furrowed angrily. "She didn't even care, no words before the accident or after he died."

"Oh-" she began, but before she could respond. Dwayne's face lit up with a sinister smile.

"But I found her again. After I changed, it was like fate that id cross her path again after 4 years. She probably didn't even recognize me. Id grown out my hair, got taller and much more attractive,"

"Are you boasting right now?" Angel said. "Your 'Paul' is showing."

He may have ignored her comment, but she didn't miss the smile corner smile before he continued." she was on the boardwalk. David and I were perched watching out onto the sand, and I could see her in the dark, walking around with one other person."

"Taking her was easy. David and I played our part well without a hint of discovery, which was the end for her. And in her final moment before id ripped her apart, I made it known who was killing her." his voice was stern. "But out of it, I did get some karma which I'll never forget. Seeing 'that day' relived expect I was in the driver seat and couldn't do a thing to stop what was about to happen."

Angel's heart had been pounding the whole time, hearing his happiness shine from killing the woman.

"Dwayne, I don't know why you are really here. And I'm not asking for any help neither am I stopping what I'm doing for my brothers-

"Why do you think I'm here?" she shrugged. "I mean, I should be taking you back to David have him deal with you. But I wanted to help you get them back as well." he exhales slowly. "Laddie is...important to me. And now that he's a part of your family, I would do that for him. Imma help as much as I can." Angel smiled, feeling more relaxed after Dwayne's dark spills.

"So, what are we doing here?" He said, looking at the gate up and down.

"After what happened to us at Emma's house and then with the car with...Mathew. I figured I'd steal something useful from the Frog's shop. Another gun maybe? like what Amorita had. I did see a few knives in there when Uncle Sam brought me. So, I figured they'd be packing with something."

"but they're only just a bunch of humans, right? You have me now." He grinned.

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "I can't always count on you because, first of all, how are you able to be moving around right now? Second, aren't you like sleepy?"

He laughed. "I told you I had already slept for a few hours, and usually, it makes us fully rested. I'm covered. I'll be alright."

"OK? and no, I still don't know what we're going to be walking into. But even if they are 'just humans' I doubt their the 'sit down and talk' type. Which is why I'll feel safe if I hide something that might help me in the future."

"You? Fighting?" he laughed softly. She rolled her eyes.

"Focus." she snapped. "On another note, we don't know what type of information Emma's already gotten out of Luke. I know he won't say anything, but what if they... did things to him to make him talk."

"He won't say anything. Being a son of Michael Emerson shouldn't of made him soft. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, Yes, I will help you break into this place." He leaned down and grabbed the lock smashing it into pieces. Then pulled up the gate for her to go in. "I'm going to wait out here. You just holler if you need some help," he said, surveying the room, especially up toward the ceiling where all the crosses were hanging down from.

"I won't be long."

She went under the gate and looked around before heading to the backroom. Slowly pushing open the door being empty, she began searching quickly but quietly. The old couple weren't anywhere to be seen neither were the Frogs. And Amorita- was in a hole. Most of the backroom consisted of stocks of comics, Paperwork, An old computer on top of an old desk. However, she did find a retractable knife in the drawer. Which she put in her back pocket. With a sigh, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

No guns. It was strange, realizing just the other day, that the frogs were hunters and that Amorita had been packing When she tried to kill Marko. Too bad they broke that gun into pieces. And even though she did have Dwayne, who was probably three times the strength of any human being. Her mind still raced to possible problems.

Instead, she thought of another idea. Heading back towards the counter was a phone.

"Thank you for calling Santa Carla Sheriff Station. How can I help you."?

"Hi, yes. is Laddie Emerson in today?"

"Not yet Hun, he had a family emergency. May I ask who's calling?"

"Um, you can tell him, Stella. I just need to leave him a message."

"of course, Hun, what would you like for me to say."

"Can you tell him that the boat is at N dock and will probably be out on the water within the next hour?"

"Alright," she said slowly, unsure of its meaning.

"Thanks. Bye." Angel hung up the phone and returned to the lifted gate.

"Have everything you need?" He asked when she exited from under the gate, and he closed it after her.

"Not really. This is all I could really find. They must have their stuff somewhere locked up." She showed him the knife then put it back into her back pocket. "Also, don't be mad-"

He smiled. "I know you called someone."

"Yes, the police station I left Laddie a message." Dwayne didn't look pleased. "It's a part of my own plan and when he shows up. You can just hide.'

"And what is this plan?"

"Well, I go to the boat stall as much time as I can. By the time the police get there, we should be alright. I would say just hide, and then You can be gone before then."

"How does she know that you're coming?""

"She called Mathew's phone this afternoon. I may have told her that he was still alive and that we had him tied up somewhere." She said looking ashamed. "sorry it was literally an in the moment type of situation."

"That's not much of a plan. heck, you're lucky I was even here to help you get into this place." He said, pointing his thumb toward the gate. "And what if they take you?"

"That's when you swoop in." She grinned. "Like you said, just humans..."

"We're really putting our faith in the fact that they might be humans. But, on the other hand, we really don't know what we're walking into, do we?"

Angel frowned. That's when she felt Dwayne's hand on her shoulder. She straightened and looked up at him.

"It's alright, well, talk about it when we get to the car," he said as he covered himself back up. Then, hiding any skin from being exposed to the sun walked out onto the boardwalk. And quick even during the day time he was fast.

Once they made it to the car she saw that all the windows were protected with something. Like blankets and paint, expect the front window because he was safe enough with his clothes and sunglasses. He started the ignition and blasted the cold air.

"Sorry, but it helps me from getting overheated," he mumbled, his voice soft from being covered.

"it's fine, I get it. Now Emma said her boat is at the Santa Carla Harbor, N Dock?"

"Ya, I know where that is." he pulled out onto the road and headed into the direction of it.

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