Angel (A Companion Book to Monster) (Impossible #1.5) by Julia Sykes Read Free Book Online

me.
    He glowered down at her.  “Apologize,” he growled threateningly.
    Her eyes were wide and fearful, but Bradley didn’t allow her a second to gather her thoughts.  He shook her hard, and I saw his fingers dig into her upper arms ruthlessly.  “Apologize!”  He demanded again, more harshly this time.
    “I…”  She was gasping for air, trying to find her voice.  “I’m sorry.”
    “Bradley, that’s enough.”  Although I could do little more than struggle up onto my elbows, I unleashed the full force of my menace upon him, willing him to leave her alone.  Claudia’s eyes found mine, and the terror in them only increased my fury.
    Bradley seemed to sense the anger that was rolling off of me in waves, filling the small space.  He released her, rounding on me with a glare.  Who was this cruel man standing in my bedroom, terrorizing an innocent woman?  He certainly wasn’t anyone that I recognized.
    “What is wrong with you?”  I demanded, not understanding what was happening to my friend.  “Stop fucking doing that.  She’s not hurting me.  We just had a little disagreement, that’s all.  I can fight my own battles.”  My hands curled into fists as I took in Claudia’s pale face again.  “And I won’t allow you to abuse her.  Not after she saved my life.”
    Bradley’s mouth hardened into a grim line, but after a moment he nodded jerkily.  “Fine,” he said curtly.  “She’s your responsibility then.  You’re the one who wants to keep her here, so you’re going to have to keep her in line.”
    That suited me just fine.  As difficult as it was to be trapped in her presence without touching her, anything was better than seeing her tormented by my best friend.  “I’m pretty sure I can handle her,” I said coldly.
    He held my furious glare, the two of us squaring off against one another as an unfamiliar, violent tension filled the air between us.
    Then my stomach growled loudly, and all the aggression went out of Bradley instantly.  My concerned friend was back.  Could it really be that he was only treating her so badly out of loyalty to me?  If that was the case, then he was seriously misguided.  I knew that I was weakened from my injury, but any idiot could see that I would be able to handle Claudia easily even in my condition.  And I knew that I would never need to in any case.  She was far too gentle and compassionate to ever hurt anyone.  Even if she had looked like she wanted to kick me in the balls a few times.
    “You should eat something,” Bradley said kindly.  “I’ll get you some food.”
    I fixed him with a frown.  “Get something for Claudia too,” I demanded.
    Bradley’s glare returned.  “I thought I just said she was your responsibility.”
    Why was he being such a dick?  “Well,” I said, my voice tight with annoyance, “I can’t exactly take care of myself right now, so I’d appreciate it if you could help me out.”
    His scowl deepened, but he gave another short nod before turning on his heel and leaving the room.  Claudia and I waited in silence, the only sounds coming from the kitchen as Bradley got some food together for us.  I wanted to say something to her, to apologize for what my friend had just done to her.  But even though she deserved an apology, I doubted that it would do much to alleviate her hatred towards us.  Was “sorry” supposed to make it all okay?  Besides, I didn’t want to seem like I was siding with her over Bradley.  He might be completely out of control right now, but he was still my best friend, and I wasn’t going to invite her to start trash talking him again.
    She chose the moment that Bradley entered the room to start bossing me around again.
    “You should take some more pain killers after you eat,” she told me.
    Annoyed, I rolled my eyes at her.  Although I found her authoritative air cute, I didn’t appreciate her trying to boss me around in front of Bradley.  Especially because he