Preston Wall stared out his office window, but he didn’t see the full moon playing peek-a-boo through the clouds. He never slept anymore, or at least, he never slept more than an hour or two. His cursed mind replayed the moment he first laid eyes on Ariel, as well as the last time he saw the bitch. The impotent fury that consumed him when she slipped from his fingertips drove him close to madness.
His world had been damn near perfect before the little angel sashayed her ass into his office. Had he known she was some sort of supernatural creature, he might’ve handled their first meeting differently, but how the hell was he supposed to know she wasn’t human? Stuff like that only happened in movies, and he should know. He’d produced a few science-fiction blockbusters.
The cunt should’ve just let me fuck her.
The sound of a door opening caused him to swivel around in his leather chair. At first, he didn’t see anyone, then suddenly a man appeared, as if sprouting directly from the ground. No, not a man. Some type of shape-shifting demon that looked like a rat.
“Shit, I hate when your kind does that,” he muttered. “Is the deed done?”
The rat-faced creature smiled, the curled lips making his front teeth predominately stick out. “Mennally Croft is no more.”
“That fucking so-called sorcerer,” Preston muttered. “I told him there’d be consequences if he failed to produce the angel.”
Reluctantly, he reached into a drawer and laid a bundled stack of money on the desk.
The demon stared at the cash and licked his lips. “Might have more information for sale.”
Preston raised an eyebrow. “Unless it’s a location on Ariel, it’s worthless.”
“What if I told you I think I found you another angel?”
“I don’t want another angel. I’ve had plenty. Now I just want one. Ever since I’ve learned of your fucking kind, my world has been turned upside down.”
“Where there’s one, there’s usually more.”
Surprised, Preston leaned closer over his desk. “Are you implying this other angel could lead me to Ariel?”
“Her name is Eden, and she’s the companion of Gideon Marks.”
The news stunned Preston. “Are you sure?”
“I saw her with my own eyes.”
Preston’s mind whirled. Could Gideon Marks be hiding Ariel? It was a temptation he couldn’t resist.
“I’ll double your money, Kalem, if you can get me this Eden.”
The rat-faced demon smiled. “It’s as good as done.”
****
Their plane landed smoothly and a few moments later, Jacob drove their rented car to the safe house. Or safe condo, he thought. Better security twenty floors up. Alecia Falls was a part of the Seattle metropolitan area, residing to the east of Woodinville, with a downtown business district and a few high-rise condos.
“What makes the decision to shelter the women here rather than have them get a restraining order and keep them in their life?” Gideon asked.
“If the women have been hurt, or if their predator is smart enough not to leave any legal ramifications,” Jacob replied. “If it turns into a he said, she said kinda thing. Or, in the case of Ariel, a man who can buy his way out of any legalities.”
He pulled into the underground parking and found a spot. Once they stopped, they exited the car and he led them to the elevator. Since the building also housed offices, the elevator to the condos could only be operated with a passcode. He punched it in and the doors slid open a few moments later.
Another code allowed them access to the condos. Once they exited off the twentieth floor, a concierge desk waited with a security guard. Jacob had made sure to put several types of safety measures in place. Of course, he hadn’t figured on the supernatural bad guys out there.
Behind the desk stood a tall redhead dressed in a slim pencil skirt and button-up blouse. She smiled at them, but Jacob noticed her gaze lingering on him, which caused Eden to step closer to his side.
“Hello, Charlotte.”
“Welcome back, Jacob,” she murmured. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Yeah, sorry for the unexpected drop-by. This is Gideon Marks and Eden—”
“Smith,” Eden added. “Eden Smith.”
Charlotte pursed her lips as she studied Eden and Gideon for a moment. “Ah, okay. What brings you by?”
“We need to talk with Ariel,” Jacob said.
“Let me call her,” Charlotte offered.
Jacob nodded his thanks.
“This doesn’t look at all what I expected a safe house would look like,” Gideon replied, looking around the foyer.
“Each woman has her own apartment,” Jacob explained. “When I had this idea of a safe haven, I wanted to make it as secure as possible. Each place has their own lockdown protocols, just in case, and they are independent from the others. Which means if there is a threat for one person, it doesn’t have to threaten everyone.”
“That’s actually really smart.”
A light footfall sounded behind them and they turned to see a tall, beautiful blonde with dark-brown eyes. She suddenly stopped, eyes widening.
“What did you do?” she demanded of Jacob.
Jacob turned to look at Charlotte, who watched them with interest. “Perhaps we should talk in the break room.”
He led them down the hallway to a large room that housed a bank of windows. Even at night, the view was breathtaking, with the city lit up under the moon.
“I thought you were incorruptible,” Ariel said once the door closed behind them. “Do you know who these people are?”
“Cool it, sweetheart,” Gideon said. “Protecting you cost Jacob his life.”
Ariel frowned. “What’re you talking about?”
“He was wraith touched,” Eden said.
Ariel glanced at her briefly before turning away to look out of the windows.
“Did you hear what Eden said?” Gideon demanded. “We believe the man who wants you had Jacob cursed with a wraith touch in order to break whatever magic was hiding you.”
Ariel gave an annoyed sniff. “Damn it. I worked hard to make sure he spilled blood the day he moved me here.”
“What are you talking about?” Jacob demanded.
“Do you remember hurting yourself?” Gideon asked him.
Jacob thought back. “Yeah. I went to open the door on her apartment and somehow, I scrapped my knuckles on the frame. It was minor.”
“But it was enough,” Eden said. “Spilling blood in the name of protection is one of the strongest natural bonds there is.”
Ariel spun toward Jacob and poked him in his chest. “And now you’ve ruined everything!”
Jacob took a step back. “And just how did I ruin your everything?”
She flicked a hand toward Gideon. “You’re hanging out with a vampire. And another seraph. I could’ve sworn you didn’t know about the Shade.”
“I didn’t until your kind almost killed me!”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Wraith touch, huh? So how come you’re not dead?”
Jacob couldn’t believe her attitude. This Ariel was vastly different from the woman he’d met months ago, begging him for help. Back then, she presented herself as meek. Helpless. Shy. This woman … seraph … had a calculating glint in her defiant eyes. Deciding to put her in her place, he flashed his fangs.
She stumbled backward.
“You turned?” She gasped. “How could you? You were supposed to protect me! How am I supposed to hide from Preston now?”
“So it is Wall you’re hiding from,” Eden said.
Ariel ignored her. “What a selfish bastard you turned out to be.”
“What did Wall do to you?” Gideon asked her.
“I wanted to be an actress, but I wasn’t about to let him paw all over me,” Ariel replied. “When he tried to rape me, I decided to put him in his place.”
Suddenly, her voice was in Jacob’s head.
… I hate him…
… He will pay…
… I will own him…
Jacob placed a hand on his head to try to block her out, but he couldn’t. Her voice screamed inside him, the desire for vengeance so strong it almost brought him to his knees.
“Stop thinking,” he managed to say through the pain.
Vaguely, he was aware of Eden yelling, running forward, and then just as quickly as the burning need had filled his head, it was gone. He looked up and saw Eden had pushed Ariel against the wall, and the two stared at each other.
“I can’t believe it,” Eden whispered as she looked deep into Ariel’s eyes. “You’ve burned your soul.”
“Let me go,” Ariel muttered, trying to break free.
Eden held her firmly. “You’re no longer an innocent seraph. You are fallen.”
“You think you’re so pure, but dealing with those two, you’re a step away from being me,” Ariel said. “And then soon you’ll be after revenge too!”
Eden shook her head. “You’ve turned away from our very nature. I pity you, Ariel.”
She let the other angel go and Ariel lifted her chin. “You can go fuck yourself. And soon, Wall won’t be bothering me anymore. He wasn’t the only one who knew how to curse someone.”
Gideon took a step closer. “What did you do to him?”
Ariel gave a calculating smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “And they will be tormented day and night, forever a day, until death.”
“Oh, no,” Eden said, sounding shocked. “She’s poisoned his eyes.”
Jacob frowned. “What does that mean? Is he going blind?”
“No, a seraph is born with the desire to help people,” Eden said. “It’s in our soul. But if a seraph rebels, he or she turns their back on their own nature.”
“They hurt instead of heal,” Gideon replied.
“What does that have to do with his eyes?” Jacob asked.
“Remember how my wings pushed you away from me?” Eden asked instead.
Jacob nodded.
“Besides wings, a seraph’s defenses include a secretion from the quill of a feather. It produces when we’re truly frightened. This secretion is like malaria. A parasite infection that, if found in a human body, like dripped into the eyes, it finds its way into the brain. As it grows, it eventually causes the victim to go mad before death.”
They turned to look at Ariel.
“He had me pinned down,” she whispered. “What was I supposed to do? Just let him rape me?”
“You aren’t the judge and executioner, Ariel. He needs to be punished per human law. Otherwise, you’ll have the Shade cops come down on us!”
“You’re so naïve,” Ariel yelled. “The cops punish us not them! That disgusting piece-of-shit human would never be punished, so I had to do it.”
“You could’ve told him how to purge it from his body,” Eden said.
“Oh, I did,” Ariel said smugly. “Why do you think I’m in hiding? He deserves what’s happening to him.”
“How is it purged?” Jacob asked.
“Remember how you said my blood is magic? Her own blood could kill the parasite and that’s why he wants her,” Eden replied. “She can save him.”
“But I won’t,” Ariel stated firmly.
“We could make you,” Gideon reminded her.
Ariel looked between them and then slowly backed away. She shook her head before opening her mouth and screaming so high-pitched, it crippled them. Jacob covered his ears, the ringing in his head almost unbearable. The bank of windows shattered on the resonate frequency and in an instant, Ariel had jumped through. With the scream cut off, it took him a second to clear his head. He looked out of the broken windows and saw a pair of eggshell-colored wings flying away.
“Damn it!” Eden yelled. “You aren’t getting away!”
Before he or Gideon could react, Eden jumped out the window. Her wings tore through her shirt and she flew after Ariel, moving so quickly she was soon out of sight.