Briar didn’t hesitate.
She ran.
Straight for the trees.
“I’m getting help!” she shouted over her shoulder.
Jasper cursed softly but didn’t chase her. Instead, he grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him, fingers digging into my jaw. “Let her go,” he said evenly. “They don’t know where we’re headed.”
His thumb brushed my cheek like a lover’s touch.
“By the time anyone finds that bitch,” he added, smiling, “you’ll already be home.”
Zach’s arms tightened around me as he whispered, “I’ll be with you, it’s going to be okay.”
The last thing I saw before they dragged me toward the back of the house was the dark line of trees swallowing Briar whole.
Running. Breathing. Free.
While I was being taken back into hell.
CHAPTER FIFTY
THE WAR ROOMwas already full by the time Ash finally showed.
Devil sat at the head of the table, arms crossed, face set hard as poured concrete. Mystic leaned against the far wall, quiet and watchful, eyes never still. Thunder paced near the door like a caged animal, boots thuddin’ against the floor with every turn.
I sat rigid in my chair, jaw locked so tight it ached. The coffee in front of me had gone cold a long time ago.
No one talked.
We were waitin’.
The door opened without ceremony and Ash walked in like he hadn’t just stepped into a room packed with coiled violence. Expression calm. Eyes sharp as ever.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said evenly. “Took a minute to confirm a few things.”
“Start talkin’,” Devil said.
Ash nodded once. “Zach is alive.”
The words landed, heavy, but no one reacted. We already knew. Knowin’ didn’t make it sit any easier. I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But somethin’ in my chest went tight and cold, like a fist closin’ slow.
Ash kept going. “Not just alive. He’s been active for years. After he was caught with Lark back then, the cult didn’t kill him.”
Thunder stopped pacin’. “Then what the hell did they do with him?”
“They transferred him,” Ash said. “Sent him to Gabriel’s place. He worked directly under him.”
My fingers curled against the edge of the table.
“Gabriel,” Devil repeated. “That isn’t punishment.”
“It probably started that way,” Ash said. “But Gabriel tested his loyalty. Over and over. Zach proved himself.”
Mystic straightened. “You’re sayin’ he didn’t just survive.”
Ash nodded. “He advanced. Full Shepherd now. Initiated. Loyal.”
