“Let her go,” Zeke replies darkly. Through our mental bond, he says,Try to stay calm, hummingbird. We’ll get you out of this mess, I promise.
Hope rushes through me, but it’s dashed away when Roderick speaks.
“Now that wouldn’t be very fun, would it?” He moves his grip, pulling my head back uncomfortably and exposing my throat. There’s a small prick of pain before a thin line of warmth tricklesdown my neck. I just hope Zeke doesn’t notice. If this is how I die, I’d rather he not witness it. “Do you like the way I’m holding her? When I saw you both stumbling about in the dark, I thought it would be fitting. You held me in a similar position not too long ago, if you’ll recall.”
“Yeah, and then you sent me off to my death. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Ah. So you went! I’m a little disappointed to find you here and looking soalive. Did you take this pretty little thing with you? I bet she’d make a damn fine bargaining chip with my less civilized friends.”
Anger blooms in my chest, bubbling up until I can’t hold it down any longer. “You murdering son of a bitch,” I bite out, my fear of dying floating away somewhere beneath the sea of red behind my eyes.
He chuckles and says, “I just play the card I’m dealt, sweet thing. And I bet if you knew anything about loss, you’d have made the same choices.”
I want to respond and tell him I would never, ever, take someone’s life. That he can spout whatever bullshit he wants about loss, but killing another angel just spreads the loss around and I have no interest in that. But before I get the chance, Zeke speaks again.
“The items weren’t there, you know. All we found were empty crates and trash. Until your boss showed up with his, how did you put it? Less civilized friends. Aren’t you supposed to be meeting him soon?”
I can’t see Roderick, but his body stiffens and the humor he had just moments ago vanishes.
“Your first time meeting him too, I think he said. Aren’t you a lucky angel. Finally getting to meet the man in charge.”
Zeke’s taunting him, but I can’t figure out why. Isn’t pissing off the guy who currently holds me at knifepoint kind of a dumbmove? If the weapon he’s holding is as deadly as I think it is, then I’d rather we stop provoking him.
What are you up to, Zeke?I push the thought toward him, but he doesn’t respond.
“What are you saying?” Roderick finally caves and asks.
“We came here to offer an exchange. Your information for ours. And trust me, you need us far more than we need you. But the longer you keep her in harm’s way, the less inclined I feel to help you.”
“You’re lying. There’s nothing you could possibly know that wouldhelpme. You just want to protect your precious little toy.”
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. Are you really willing to risk your life on it?” Zeke sounds so fucking convincing, which is most likely why Roderick stays quiet. Probably trying to decide if it’s worth trusting us or not.
In a flash, someone barrels into us from behind and I’m thrown forward. Instead of landing in a pile on the ground, though, I wind up a few feet away, crashing into a tree. My wrist bends uncomfortably as I land, and there’s a sharp pain beneath my right ear, but otherwise I’m alive. What the fuck just happened?
Raphael is beside me in a second, hauling me into his arms before setting me on a patch of moss. “Shit, sunshine. How the hell did you get over here?”
“I have no idea. How did you know where to find us?”
“That house leader of yours used the bond to call for help.” He presses a kiss to my forehead before adding, “Stay here. I’ve got to go help tame a beast.”
He rushes back to help Theo and Zeke where they fight to restrain Roderick, but I’m lost in a trance. Did Zeke really go to Raphael and Theo for help? My brain is working on information overload, and I can’t help but wonder if these small shifts in trust will change things for our group once we’re out of here.
Roderick fights back far more viciously than he did when we surprised him the first time, but he’s no match for three very tired, very angry angels. By the time I’ve checked myself over and taken a few steady breaths, they have him pinned.
I join them, tripping on the fallen dagger that Roderick threatened me with earlier. It’s nothing but a regular blade, wholly unable to kill me.
“Are you alright, sunshine?” Raph asks, pulling one of Roderick’s arms awkwardly around a tree while Theo does the same with the other.
I nod and smile. “Thanks for coming to my rescue. It wasn’t an angel blade after all, thank the Archangels.”
Roderick struggles to get free, but it’s futile.Not with my guys holding you down, I think with a smirk.
Your guys, huh?Raphael teases through our bond, causing my cheeks to heat. Ah, shit.
Um, I, uh, just meant—
“Quit it with whatever disgustingly mushy mental conversation you’re having and get to the fucking point. You want me to listen? Well, I’m listening.”
