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ngela was still deeply lost in her thoughts when the sound of the elevator was heard. Both her and May looked towards the sliding double doors. Her body froze up a little when she caught a glimpse of David's figure in the distance. He made his way through the glass doors and into the apartment; she noticed a small smile appearing on his lips when his eyes caught hers, but he was quick to clear his throat as he brought himself back to the current moment.
He cleared his throat, but before he could say anything at all, May was quick to cut in.
“Did you find anything?”
Angela stayed silent, and her eyes remained glued to David, waiting for him to say something, anything at all. David opened his mouth just as he was about to say something; he was cut off once again by May.
"Oh, and by the way, I filled her in on the William situation."
David's eyes widened; he turned towards her and finally began to speak.
"So now that you know about William, my people have come to the conclusion that he's the one who is behind Toby's disappearance."
Her breath hitched; she looked towards May, and with a hint of doubt mixed with hope, she spoke up.
"Do you think he won't say anything to Toby?"
May looked towards David for confirmation, but David's gaze was lingering towards the ground instead. He took a while to speak, and with every second that passed, she felt the anxiety rising to her chest.
"In this case, he thinks I'm the one who double-crossed him. I've gotten word that for now, your friend seems to be safe, but if we want things to stay this way, we must get to him fast."
Angela turned towards them both for the reason it seemed to her that they both were pretty used to things like this. She hadn't even gotten the chance to speak yet when May cut in.
“What do you think we should do?”
They looked at each other for a few moments until David carefully tucked his hands into the pockets of his trousers as he spoke.
"Well, I think it's time to put an end to the William chapter once and for all. He has caused other innocent people and us enough agony...."
Angela didn't know what exactly his words meant, but she could tell by the look on May's face that something was up. She looked between the two of them and noticed that the color had drained from May's face as the girl spoke in a shaky breath.
"David, you know what going after him openly means, right?"
He nodded his head as he spoke.
“It means we’re about to start a war.”
Angela couldn't even think straight; the words kept swimming around in the back of her mind; she knew that they didn't have long to save Toby and the anxiety was at an all-time peak. She turned towards David and spoke with desperation lingering in her tone.
“What type of war exactly are you talking about?”
David looked back at her; he didn't say anything for a few moments; he just waited in silence, causing her even more anxiety by the second. She stayed quiet; their eyes were fixated on each other until he finally spoke up.
"The kind of war that either leaves him or me standing at the end."
Angela stared at them, and she was about to speak up when David spoke before her, cutting her off right away.
"You don't need to worry about anything at all. I have your back, and I will make sure that your friend returns safely to you. In the meantime, you can stay here, and my people will keep you protected."
Before he could go on, Angela cut him off; she stood up as she spoke with all the force in her body.
"No way, I'm not sitting here and doing nothing. If you're going to war, you must count me in. I'm a lawyer, for God's sake; fighting is a part of my profession."
She looked between both May and David. They had the same look of shock written all over both of their faces. She waited for either of them to say something until finally, David cleared his throat; he didn't really need to say anything at all. Angela watched as soon after May looked towards and spoke in a calm tone.
"Okay, well, I think I'm going to leave the two of you to handle this, I’m just going to give you some space."
She didn't wait for either of them to say anything as she hurried towards the glass doors leading to the elevator, and before Angela knew it, she was gone. Pin-drop silence filled up the space that they were standing in. Angela looked towards David, and she knew just by the look on his face that he was about to give her the bad news; his expression shifted, but she didn't wait for him to say anything.
Instead, she cut in; this time, she took a step closer to him. There were merely a few inches between the two of them when she reached him; she could have sworn she saw his breath hitching as he tried his best to remain steady, and Angela finally spoke with all her defenses down.
"David, please? You have to let me fight with you."
He looked away from her, turning his head to the left. She knew she was the one who could weaken him within seconds, and she could see him trying to fight it. He slowly brought his hands forward, and before she knew it, his hands were wrapped around her wrists; he was holding her close to his chest, unwilling to let her go as he spoke in a gentle tone.
"Angela, this isn't fun and games; nothing about this war is legal in any way. If you get caught up in any of this, you could lose your license to practice, and your career would be tarnished for good. It's better if you stay away from this...and stay away from me."
He looked away; he was refusing to meet her gaze. The tears had already started to brim around the corners of her eyes. She sniffled, and she noticed that his grip tightened around her wrists immediately. She looked up at him as she spoke, ignoring the fact that the tears had slowly started to make their way down her cheeks.
"David, we can do it differently this time. We can work together and put him behind bars for good."
She trailed off; she needed something, anything at all, to just try and keep him close to her. He finally managed to look at her, and she noticed the same tears lingering beyond his eyes as well as he spoke in a low tone.
"I wish it were that easy, I really do. But for now, this is my war to fight, and I need to keep you safe. I cannot lose you, Angela. I just can't."
She couldn't hold back the tears anymore; she looked over at him, and she could see that he had dropped his own defenses, too. She wanted to say something, but the words just refused to leave her mouth. She was lost; her body froze up when she felt his hand slowly letting go of her wrists.
Just when she thought he was about to push her away, the unexpected happened; in one swift motion, he pulled her towards himself. She gasped; he wrapped his right arm around her lower waist, and their bodies were practically pressed together. Angela's breath hitched; his honey-coated brown eyes were fixated on her; she could feel her heart thumping against her chest. Slowly, he raised his left hand, and before she knew it, his fingers made contact along her skin; slowly, he wiped the tears which were making their way down her cheeks. She felt his breath as she spoke in a gentle manner.
"I don't like to see you like this; please don't feel hurt; I'm just trying to protect you."
Angela tried to keep herself calm; she looked up to meet his eyes, but before she knew it, he grabbed onto her face by gently placing his hand under her chin. Her breath hitched, and shivers went down her spine. He whispered in a very low tone that was barely audible, but she heard it.
“May I?”
His eyes gestured towards her lips; she gave him a slight nod; he reached down, closing the gap between them, and he gently placed his lips upon hers. She felt electricity rushing through her entire body. She was slowly being consumed by him; he was holding onto her as gently as he could, as if she was made of glass. She pushed forward; their bodies were pressed together. There was merely any space between the two of them.
Angela's breath halted; he ran his tongue along the side of her lower lip. She wanted to reach over for the winter coat that was placed on his body, but before either of them could move further into each other, David's phone began to ring in the pocket of his jacket.
She heard him cursing under his breath. He pulled away from her slowly; he looked over at her and noticed that her cheeks were flushed with a light shade of pink. He spoke up with his own chest heaving up and down. He was out of breath.
“I’m so sorry, I need to take this.”
Angela stood there as David turned around and placed the phone to his ear. She zoned out completely and barely heard what he was saying, she kept on replaying what had just happened in the back of her mind. She couldn't believe it, at the moment, it felt as if time had completely frozen in its place. Her head was buzzing, the feeling of his touch on her skin still remained in the back of her mind.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard him speak from a distance. Angela looked up immediately and tried her best to focus as the words left his mouth.
“I just got a location on your friend.”
