At once, the sound stops. I gasp, clenching my hands into fists, willing it to begin again.
At last, it does. And this time, I’m sure of it: itislouder.
“Please,” I whisper under my breath. “Please.”
Is it Damien? Has he found me?
It’s impossible, but I can’t help but hope it’s true. Damien has always done impossible things. If anyone can find me here, six feet underground, locked away in a coffin, it’s him.
Suddenly I’m aware that the air is giving out. My dizzinessoverwhelms me. Wouldn’t it be my luck, just as Damien comes to save me, for me to die?
I want to cry, but I don’t think I have a drop of moisture left in my body.
Damien. Save me. Please, save me.
I continue to will it with all my heart as the scratching gets louder. After all, who else could it be? Who else cares enough to look for me and dig me out?
I find myself hoping it’s him even more than I hope to be saved.
There’s a sudden, sickening thud, the sound of metal against wood. Then a loud ripping noise as the bolts that fastened the top of the casket are pried out forcefully, the wood imprisoning me cracking.
I can see the trees. I can actually see the trees.
I spend the next few moments so greedily gulping down air that I don’t even think to look upon the face of the person who’s currently standing over me, his face a puzzle of amusement and disgust.
I expect to see Damien.
Instead, the person who clasps a hand around my upper arm and drags me up is… Noel Zapata. One of the Angels.
What. The. Fuck.
3
Damien
I’m awoken by the press of cold steel against my head. Opening my eyes, I see that Vincent has been bound and gagged, Logan is knocked out, and Garrido is leering down at me, his eyes glinting with greed.
His worn-out outfit resembles that worn by the others around me. There must be dozens. I chuckle, wondering just how terrified of us Angel must be. Dozens of guards for the three of us. Ridiculous.
Garrido stares at me. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting me to laugh.
“You’re fucked, gringo,” he scowls. “You were right to question me, earlier. Only I didn’t give you the right answer. You guys didn’t pay me enough, you see.”
My eyes meet Vincent’s. The poor boy looks devastated. “Well, take me to Angel,” I say.
“Oh, I will,” smiles Garrido, and the last thing I’m aware of before I’m out cold is the flash of metal coming down hard on the side of my head.
__
I awaken with a grunt in a small room. Logan is already conscious, his hands and feet tied to a chair. His temple is bleeding.
I glance down and notice I’m in the same predicament. Vincent is on the other side of me, moaning in pain, and thereare about a dozen guards around us.
I see with a slight smile that our backpacks have been searched and emptied. That means they found it, and if I know Gabriel half as well as I think I do, he’ll keep it close.
By the time he realizes what it is, it’ll be too late.
Just as I see with satisfaction that my plan has worked, the door opens onto Gabriel himself. He walks toward us, smirking.
