Graham, Jan - Finding Angel [Wylde Shore] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) by Jan Graham Page A

Angel’s mind. She had learnt so much from her mother and grandma when she was small and remembering them always left her feeling warm on the inside.
    Angel’s very superstitious grandmother had taught her that good and bad things always happened in groups of three. Because of her grandma’s teachings, Angel did not walk under ladders. She believed danger was imminent if a crow followed her, and she was wary if a black cat crossed her path. Angel doubted cutting her fingernails on a Sunday really meant the devil would be with her all week, but she made a point to never do it.
    Rationally, none of it made sense, but with a definite lack of spiritual guidance during her childhood, Angel had taken everything her grandma said onboard and used it as a general guide for life. Angel preferred her grandma’s view on the world. It seemed to make more sense than her mother’s view that everything was explained through Karma. Angel used to believe that Karma existed, but after her mother died, she saw little evidence of it in her life. She used to wonder if her mother would still hold to her views of Karma knowing what Angel’s life had become. After her mother’s death, Angel tried to always be a good person. She helped others when she could. She was a good student, and apart from developing a panache for down and dirty sex, Angel believed she had sown pretty healthy Karmic seeds. But, despite good Karmic sowing, Angel’s life was not a bed of roses.
    If Angel’s mum had been correct with her views on Karma, then Angel must be the devil. Given all that, Angel had decided it was much easier to believe her superstitious grandma’s view on why things happened.
    If something bad happened, then Angel always expected two more sad or upsetting events to follow fairly quickly. The theory wasn’t perfect, but it was all she really had to go on as an explanation of life events. Angel sometimes found it hard to distinguish between things that were positive and negative in her life. Often what she interpreted as positive would turn into a disaster, and events that seemed destructive turned into positive experiences. Angel couldn’t decide if she had finished with her current run of negativity. She was also having difficulty deciding what category recent events needed to be placed in. Samuel’s death was liberating, but there were ramifications she was still dealing with. She had new freedom, and for the most part she was no longer living in fear. Adrian’s visit was something else altogether. Yes, he had threatened her, but despite regretting her weak-willed actions toward him, the sex had been incredibly good. Next, there was Steve, who let slip about the surveillance. She was mortified to know that the police had let her suffer at the hands of Samuel while they sat back and listened, but Angel still felt a certain comfort knowing someone was there. She liked to believe the police would not let her be killed while they listened in.
    Angel liked to believe in the goodness of humanity. However, she was also aware that, on occasions, she was far too trusting when it came to others.
    So, had she experienced all the bad she was going to, or was there more to come? Angel wasn’t sure. Every time things seemed to be going well, her life always went off the rails again. Since his last early-hour visit, Angel had not heard from Adrian. She hoped he had decided that she knew nothing about the ledger and wasn’t worth harassing over it. She hadn’t heard from Steve either, but she assumed her house was still bugged. Angel had started getting on with her life. She had bought a car that ran well most days. It was old and a bit dinted, but it was a good price. She had sold another article to a women’s magazine and was slowly getting back on her feet financially.
    Despite all the uncertainty, Angel felt there was one event that, without a doubt, had been positive and would stay that way. That event was meeting Daniel and Christian. She hoped