“This is where Michael needs to get his head out of his ass. Just because he doesn’t understand my life doesn’t mean he gets to define me. I am useful.”
“You teach self-defense classes and spend your nights playing vigilante.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Protecting others is in your blood, Ori.”
My new life wasn’t built to save others; I needed to save my heart. Even close friendships were painful after the betrayal. “I can’t.”
Gabriel nodded slowly. He understood better than anyone. “I’m sorry, Ori. I shouldn’t have come. I’ll find a different solution.”
I appreciated his apology, but it was the words he didn’t say that took hold. Gabe wouldn’t have come if he wasn’t desperate. There wasn’t a different solution that would ensure Ares’s son was safe. He knew I hadn’t changed, but he couldn’t stop his brother from hurting one of his best friends.
Someone who was like a father to me.
Gabriel got up to leave, but I raised my hand. “Hold on.”
Through hooded eyes, he watched me. He wanted to know if I’d healed enough. I hadn’t, but I owed Ares too much to ever repay.
Shaking his head, Gabriel set his beer down. “No, Ori. I shouldn’t have asked. A true friend would’ve known better.”
I wanted to hate Michael for manipulating us both, but I’d been a soldier for too long. The best commanders looked at the big picture, not individual soldiers. It didn’t matter this would hurt the angel Michael loved most. Not even Gabriel escaped the “big picture.”
No, I couldn’t be mad at Michael. If he’d asked me first, I’d have declined, and he’d have sent Gabriel. This fell squarely on me.
I grabbed Gabriel’s arm before he walked away. “I’ll do it.”
“Ori.” He put his hand over mine. “It’s okay. Ares or I can go with him.”
Like always, he tried to protect me. If it was that easy, he’d never have asked. They couldn’t do it, and I was the best after those two. Gabe had come to spare Ares having to beg. “You’ve always been a shit liar. Comes from having such a big heart. I’m the right angel for the job. I need to step up.”
I kept my head down so he couldn’t see how much I didn’t want to accept. For more than seventy years I’d avoided my friends and family. I didn’t want their sympathy or useless words of encouragement. I needed to heal before I could accept anything from them.
As the years turned to decades, the solitude calmed my soul. I healed by realizing all I needed was myself. Soon I found intrusions irritating and unwanted.
Agreeing to this mission washed away that hard-won calm.
Gabriel surprised me by yanking me to my feet and pulling me into a hug. His aura was a mess of relief, sadness, fear, and a hint of anger.
He’d had to choose which of his two best friends would get hurt. I’d have made the same decision he did and hated it just as much.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “It means the world to me. Ares, too.”
Hugging him back, I pushed aside my fears. Ares had been a father figure to me, and I’d have died for him. This only felt like dying. “Give me the mission briefing before I kick you out.”
Ifinished reading the limited intel on the energy surges a few times before I had the courage to open the file on Ezekiel. I met him a few times but couldn’t remember a thing about him. The tall, lanky kid with a mop of wavy brown hair staring at me in the picture looked like his mother, not his father. He was also cute in a way that made my dick twitch.
Another reason I shouldn’t have accepted the mission.
The business he’d started was moderately successful, and he’d built a good reputation for getting results. He might not be the best choice, but he wasn’t a bad one, either.
I could tell by his smirk he could be a handful. So was I at his age. Served Ares right having a son who pushed his buttons like I did.
According to the report Ezekiel, was smart, didn’t get in trouble, and had no interest in angel politics. Everything I’d expect from the son of Ares. I skimmed the rest of the file and was about to put it down when a sentence caught my eye.
Ezekiel’s last three relationships were with men. Gabriel and Ares might not have made the connection, but Michael knew. He was trying to do more than show me I could be useful.
I flipped through the file again, looking for reasons to dislike Ezekiel, but nothing stuck out. Michael knew exactly what he was doing.
Except he didn’t know me as well as he thought. I’d make sure Ezekiel was safe, but once we finished the job, I’d go home. Alone.
Zeke
