A Fair Game

Chapter 9

Cathy Vitale was enjoying her time alone. The first thing she did when she woke up was walk out onto her balcony and watch as the sun rose. It was a beautiful, bright morning in Sicily. So, what better way to spend it than at the pristine vineyards on the estate?

As she strolled through the rows of wine grapes, she wondered what her oldest brother was up to. Angel hadn't been seen since yesterday morning. He just took off without informing everyone about his whereabouts. Not even Spike, who was closest to him, had an idea. She knew Angel could take care of himself, but still, she worries for him. One time he disappeared for a week and Spike and Gunn found him bound and bloodied in an abandoned warehouse.

She looked up and spotted a white rose in a bush nearby. She walked over to it an plucked it. Its beauty was so approachable, yet unattainable, she thought as she held in the palm of her hand. She lifted it up to her nose to sniff it and suddenly heard a rustling behind her. She slowly turned around to inspect the source of the noise. Her eyes widened suddenly, as a tall, unfamiliar man hit her in the head. Before she knew it, she was knocked out cold.

The sun was shining high and bright in Calabria. Angel was starting to wake up from the wildest dream ever. He suddenly realized that there was something warm in his arms. He slowly opened his eyes to find a diminutive blond curled up next to him. He smiled as he watched Buffy sleeping soundly. Wait... Buffy? he jumped up as he came to realization. His wild dream from the night before wasn't a dream.

"Holy shit!" he swore under his breath, wide-eyed. He placed both hands on his head. "Holy shit!" He said again, this time with a smile forming on his lips.

All of a sudden, his phone started to ring, ruining his silence. With a groan, he picked it up to answer it.

"What do you want William? I'm kinda busy at the moment, if you don't mind," he said, disgruntled.

"Number one: don't call me William because Spike is way cooler. Number two: I bet you're not busy. Number three: where the bloody fuck have you been? And lastly, our little sister is missing."

"Where I am is none of your business and WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Angel yelled into the phone.

"One minute Cathy was in the vineyards and the next she was gone!" Spike answered.

"GONE? What do you mean GONE?"

"I mean gone as in poof! Disappeared! She can't be found!"

"Fucking son of a bitch!" Angel muttered.

"You know something about this?" His brother asked suspiciously.

"No." Angel hung up.

A soft moan escaped from his lover as she stirred. She gradually opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

"Angel?" She called in a quiet voice.

"Baby go back to sleep. I've got some stuff I need to take care of," he replied.

"Where are you going? Why don't you come back to bed?"

"It's nothing you need to worry you're pretty little head about," he said, loading his silver gun.

"No. You're not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on," she stated firmly.

Angel put down his loaded gun onto a table and pulled out his phone from his pocket. He punched in a few digits and let the phone ring.

"Yo, Boss! Everyone's going crazy over here. What are we gonna do about your sister?" he heard Gunn say through the speakers of the phone.

"We aren't going to do anything about my sister. I'm gonna take care of the son of a bitch ALONE. You hear me?"

"But how? I mean, you don't even know who he is... or do you?"

Angel paused for a moment and sighed before saying," No. I don't know who it is. In fact, I have no leads whatsoever."

"You're lying, Angel. I know you wouldn't do something so stupid like kill a man when you don't know which man you're going to kill."

"And so what if I was lying. You will take no part in this, lies or truth. That's an order."

"Fine. You owe me an explanation... And I want it now."

"Sorry, Gunn. I have no time for storytelling."

"At least tell me where you are."

"You know, around," Angel replied. "Listen. I've got a job for you. If Buffy is in trouble, you answer the phone," he said, then he turned towards Buffy. "Did you get that, Buff?" She nodded.

"Gunn, I know you are planning to go looking for me and bring backup. I'm gonna say this once more and I ain't gonna say it again. You will take no part in this, EVEN if," he paused to look over at his lover, giving her a sharp glare.

"EVEN IF Buffy asks you to help look for me, which she is DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO DO." Buffy's expression turned sheepish as she heard him.

"Alright, alright, Boss! I promise!" Gunn relented.

"You'd better," Angel warned before hanging up the phone.

He walked over to Buffy and gazed at her perfect nude form. His hand gently grazed the side of her body from the bottom of her hip to the top of her breast. Then, he placed her hand in his.

"Now, baby, I know you're stubborn. I know you're impulsive. I know you're everything in between," he said calmly. "But just this once, when I ask you to not do anything stupid, please do NOT do anything stupid. You are going to glue your ass to this bed and stay put."

"But Angel I can't just stay put! How am I supposed to not do anything knowing that you're in danger? And what am I supposed to do while you're gone?" she whined.

"You, my dear, will forget about me for a some hours. If you become bored, play with yourself. Watch porn or whatever. When I get back, tell me if I'm hotter than the guy porn stars" He chuckled. "I've been told that my goods are way better than anyone else out there."

Buffy pouted and he grinned at her reaction. He placed his hands on both sides of her head.

He tenderly kissed her lips for a brief moment, then he placed a firm kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," he told her in an airy voice before walking out the door.