Chapter 86: Chapter 86

(The Boldclaw Prowlers’ Pack, Ohio. Seven days before Cole and Isabelle's wedding)

Angel took a deep breath as the Jeep stopped just in the driveway. The place looked different from the last time he saw it. The expansive bungalow he remembered was now replaced by a massive duplex. The front porch was framed with exotic flower beds and the only familiar sight was the endless ridges of grapevines about a quarter of a mile away from the building spanning to the horizon. He wondered if the small cottages at the south end of the grounds were still there.

"Ready?" Cole asked and he directed his gaze at him.

"I still can't believe we are here…" Angel said, noting his courage failing.

"Believe me, I know exactly how you are feeling right now. But if you don't take that step and find closure, it will forever haunt you. Let's go," he said and without giving Angel the chance to react he pushed the door open and stepped out. Angel was forced to imitate the act. As soon as he stepped out the familiar scent of the field assailed him. He shook his head to keep the tears at bay.

"There you are!" a voice called from the porch. Angel turned in that direction and his eyes settled on an average-height older man in his late sixties. A scene from the past flashed in his head and a younger version of the man stood over his parents’ bodies as the truck carrying him drew farther away. Angel's heart skipped a beat and started to thud faster in the wall of his chest. He clenched his jaw.

Making sure to meet up with Cole, he muttered, "he is one of them."

Cole merely nodded.

"Nice to meet your acquaintance, Mr. Miller," the man greeted cheerfully.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Mr. Bradshaw," Cole replied. The man darted a look at Angel and smiled at him too.

Angel knew there was no way he could guess it was him. He was wearing contact lenses and tinted glasses. His hair was trimmed to his scalp and he wore a bowler hat. He was dressed in an expensive suit and there was a gold Rolex around his left wrist. Of course, the man would never believe someone like him could come back from the dead and the triumphant thrill that rushed through him made the corner of his lips tweak.

"Who is your friend?" the older man asked.

"This is Mr. Xavier, my business associate," Cole supplied.

"Oh, it is nice to meet you," the man said, offering Angel a handshake, which Angel pointedly refused to shake. He merely nodded and strode past the man and into the living room.

"Shall we," Cole said behind him.

Angel noted there was no trace of the previous owners in the house. His entire childhood has been erased just like the true owners.

"Would you please follow me to my study, we can discuss business there," the man said, giving Angel keen scrutiny.

Angel knew he must be wondering who he was and he couldn't wait to let him know.

Cole was able to gather that the man's children were the ones who had befriended him and their sole purpose was to steal their land. Which had worked perfectly. But just like his life after he was taken away. The older man too had suffered a series of bad luck. His sons, the boys that had betrayed him, were killed in a drunken accident which Angel thought was quite fitting and his wife after trying to cope with the grief for months committed suicide. The interior of the house, although neat, looked worn with time and the house was somewhat deserted. And for such a big house, he noted there were just two servants about. And the male one was the one at the estate gate.

"Of course," Cole said and darted Angel a look. The two followed the man.

"Drink?" the older man offered. Cole declined. Angel didn't say a word. "Please seat," the man gestured to the seat opposite his own by his desk. Cole strode to the side couch and sat down on it. Angel went to stand by the window.

"Okay, Mr. Cole, you said something about wanting to partner with our winery…"

"Your winery?" Angel scoffed and turned his gaze in the older man's direction. "I strongly disagree…"

Cole sighed. They had both agreed that Cole should do the talking but it stung to find the very people who had orchestrated the death of his family manning the land they stole and murdered for. The audacity of the fucker to sit there and speak as though he owned the damn place!

"If I recall well enough, this place used to belong to the wulfblood family and was formerly called Boldclaw Prowlers’ Pack," Angel delivered. The older man went pale and gave Angel a searching gaze. He then cleared his throat and leaned over his desk, Angel and Cole watched his every move.

"Yes, you are right. But the entire family died in an unfortunate accident and the city auctioned off this land which I bought with my dear wife…"

"Is that what we are calling genocide? Unfortunate accident?" Angel said with a mocking tweak at the corners of his lips. His eyes were cold as ice. The older man swallowed.

“Are we here to talk business or what?” the man said with fake bravado, trying to laugh off the awkward silence.

"Please, Mr. Bradshaw, forgive my business partner, he is a little touchy about the history of this property," Cole said, giving Angel a warning glance.

"I… um… I didn't know it was public knowledge now…" the man replied, seemingly flustered.

"Oh, it is not. We just like to learn a little about the kind of people we do business with, is all," Cole replied.

"Do they have graves at least?" Angel said. The man swallowed hard.

"Yes… I um… the city had them buried in a mass grave at the town's graveyard in Holloway," the older man answered.

"All of them?" Angel asked through gritted teeth.

"Um…yeah, it's the city business, we only bought the land," he replied, giving Angel a shifty look.

Angel could perceive his uneasiness and knew it was all blatant lies.

"We would like to look around to see the state of your vineyard, and the process of your winemaking before we commit ourselves to a partnership," Cole said.

"Oh! I … um wasn't aware you intended to tour the grounds today?" he replied and Angel saw panic in his eyes. A deep frown furrowed his eyebrows. He wondered what he was hiding and didn't want them to see. Cole must have caught on too because he gave Angel a loaded glance.

"The day must have been tiring for you, taking on so much responsibility at your age."

"I assure you. I am quite strong enough and in good health. There's nothing I can't handle around here and we are doing just fine," the man replied with a little fiery voice, puffing his chest out with pride.

"Then walking us down the field shouldn't be a problem," Cole said and stood up. "We can talk numbers when we return," he added and Angel knew that was the bait. The man looked torn but then squared his shoulders and gestured to the door.

Angel was certain he was lying about the graveyard and thought they may find it in the compound.

As soon as they stepped outside again, the doors to the Jeep behind them were pushed open and the old man was startled to a stop when he saw ten armed men step out.

Cole had given Jason, Ash and his men the instruction to parade and serve as security as soon as they reappeared.

"Who are these people?" the man asked in a panic.

"My security aides. Is there a problem?" Cole asked instilling bemusement in his tone.

"Problem?! No no, not at all." the man said and turned in different directions, seemingly at a loss. Cole gestured to the field and he nodded, turned in that direction and started to walk. Angel, Cole, Ash and Jason followed.

"This is an impressive spread," Cole said.

"What?" the older man said, absentmindedly.

"The grapes, they look well protected against the frost …"

"Oh, yes, we have the over-vine sprinklers, and a wind machine to keep them in the right temperature," he replied.

Angel felt choked up with emotions so much that he could literally see his parent's handiwork everywhere he looked. Even the way the grapes were wrapped up securely with leaves and covered with a net to protect them from frost seemed familiar.

He swallowed, and stopped to touch one, his mother's scent assailed him making his eyes blur with tears.

Taking a deep breath he directed his eyes to Cole and watched him tailing the bastard that stole his inheritance and murdered his parents and pack members. Cole had pleaded for him to remain detached but it was damn hard.

He took a different route needing to leave space between himself and his parents’ killer and also wanting to see if the cottages were still there or if they had been erased just like the main building.

He felt three of Ash's men tailing him. And he appreciated Cole's way of being ready for trouble. After walking about a mile he saw the rest of the grounds from afar and saw that all the cottages were gone except for a dilapidated one. The patches of land used for the cottages were now an extension of the vegetable garden. Angel looked about.

"They seemed to have a well-kept farm with just two ground maids," one of Ash's men said. Angel was glad he wasn't the only one who thought that was weird

Angel walked in the direction of the cottage and was almost there when he heard the old man's voice.

"Woah! You can't go there, we have really vicious security dogs in there," he said. Angel wasn't so sure, but he thought he saw a sweat break and fell down the side of the older man's face. His upper lip beaded with sweat and it was below 10 degrees out.

He drew in the air and his parents' familiar scent assailed him again. He had no idea if it was something that had to do with his memory, the environment or if there was something sinister going on.

Angel shared a look with Ash, Cole and Jason. The three men seemed to grow taller as they received his silent message. He strode further and when the old man tried to stop him, Ash pointed a gun to his head. The stench of urine filled the air. Angel need not be told the old man had wet himself.

Upon getting to the cottage, Angel kicked the door open, hesitated and strode in. He had no idea what he was hoping to find. He had thought of finding graves but nothing prepared him for what was inside the cottage.

Right there sitting on a floor mat was a chained couple.

They both cowered to a corner staring back at him with weary gazes. Even as powerless as they seem, the male shielded the female with his thin form.

Angel came to an abrupt halt. Taking deep breaths. He took off his hat, and then his glasses, the female stood up, her eyes widened in shock. Angel knew she had recognised him even before he took out his contacts. The male slowly rose too, standing tall. They both watched him as if he were a ghost.

Their clothes were tattered but clean. The only thing in the house was the mat they stood on. Angel lowered his blurred gaze to the chains around their ankles. They looked starved and emaciated.

Walking to the concrete block where the chains were embedded, he pulled them out with a growl. And then brought out a gun Cole gave him and walked up to the couple to shoot the chains until they broke.

Thin hands reached for his wrist and his shoulders shook with tears.

"Angel," the female whispered. Angel dropped to his knees and allowed her to wrap her fray arms around his head. She shook with tears and yet not a sound came out.

"Mama," Angel whispered.

Another set of arms wrapped around him from the back and his father's familiar scent enveloped him. He hadn't been hallucinating, his parents were still alive and that bastard had kept them as his slaves for more than a decade.

When he came out with his parents, the old man was on his knees face down. Cole looked from him to the couple he was holding close to his body and nodded to himself.

Angel had seen Cole Miller angry before but he had never seen the homicidal shine that gleamed in his eyes at that moment. Angel recalled he had told him how his mother and brothers were killed and understood the emotion too well.

Angel watched as Cole directed his eyes to meet his father and asked, "Do you have the house deed?"

Angel's father nodded.

Cole stood over Mr. Bradshaw and asked him to look up. The man complied, gazing up at Angel and his parents. His black eyes registered shock as he recognised Angel. Cole pressed his gun to the back of the old man's head and pulled the trigger.