The eight of us left the inn and headed into the forest. All I wanted was to get back to my townhome with Rocco. He wasn’t going to be staying in those disgusting motels anymore or frying hamburgers in greasy spoons. That life was over.
I had an idea. An offer I didn’t think Costin would refuse.
“Rocco,” I said as we followed the others through the trees toward the clearing where Raven could shift into a dragon and fly us home. “When we get back, you’re living with me.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I am?”
“Yes.”
“And what am I going to do?”
“Work for Costin.”
He stopped dead. “What?”
I turned to face him. “Students need to know how to protect themselves from demons, especially possession. You have firsthand experience. More than any of us.”
He was quiet for a moment. I watched the resistance war with something else behind his eyes — something that looked dangerously close to hope.
“How do you know he’ll accept me? He thinks I’m a traitor.”
“You’re that sure?”
“I have faith. Especially in you.”
“Interesting proposition.”
At least he hadn’t said no.
Raven peeled off her clothes and shifted into a dragon. This time we all rode on her back. Rocco and I sat up front, his arms wrapped around me. I leaned back against his chest as the ground fell away beneath us, and let myself think about what came next.
If Costin said no, I’d leave Red Rose Academy. My life was with Rocco, and I would follow him anywhere. But I had a feeling Michael would be paying Costin a visit before it came to that.
A smile broke across my face. I wished Michael would pay Angelo a surprise visit too. Make the vampire mafia king an offer he couldn’t refuse.
It would be good to see Angelo Santi brought to his knees.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Rocco
I held my arms around Selena's waist as we flew over the ocean. We’d been flying for almost five hours. We’d be back home soon. This was so much more relaxing than last time. No deadline. No demons breathing down our necks. The worst was over.
Or was it?
Michael said we belonged to him now. And if we didn't answer his call, we'd die a slow and painful death. The Archangel's version of a retirement plan.
I'd traded one godfather for another. But maybe with Michael, I'd find something Angelo never offered.
Redemption.
And Selena was part of this whether I liked it or not. She had the same tattoo. The same dagger. The same target on her back. I couldn't leave her now — not with demons to fight. Not with everything that was coming.
I didn't want to leave her. That was the truth I'd been running from all night.
I thought of her townhome. Modest but homey. Warm. Ten times better than anything I'd been living in. A place where the sheets didn't smell like mildew and the walls didn't shake when trucks passed on the highway.
Maybe I could have that. Maybe I deserved it.
