“On it,” I said, tossing the food remains in the trash. I grabbed Angel’s hand and tugged him toward the front of the truck.
He slid into the driver’s seat without a word, leaving me the passenger side, which was fine. The front of the vehicle felt more like a panoramic bubble than something military-grade. A dozen mini screens filled the dash, each flickering with a different angle around the truck.
“I don’t know why that guy gets under my skin,” I muttered, glancing back at Remi and Ezra arguing behind us.
“He’s fae. It’s what they do.”
“All of them? Or is that just a sweeping generalization?”
Angel stared into the dusky horizon. “Probably. I’ve only known a handful.”
“Sergeant Hanna’s fae. She doesn’t flirt with anyone.”
“She gets under your skin in different ways.”
“And Robin seems genuinely nice.”
Angel sighed. “Yeah. I get it.”
“Get what?”
“That I shouldn’t judge the entire species just because I want to strangle Remi.”
I smothered a laugh. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
Angel’s expression didn’t change, but his voice went low. “I don’t like how fixated he is on you.”
I waved a hand at him. “Mated to you, remember?”
He let out a breath like he’d been holding it too long. “Right.”
The bond between us was still fresh. Most of the time it lay quiet, barely there, like the faint warmth of sunlight through a window. But then one of us would reach out, even unintentionally, and I’d feel it, a gentle brush of warmth, a soft nudge in my chest, like being held without touch. It was comforting and familiar. Even if sometimes it scared the shit out of me how fast I’d come to need him.
I nudged his arm lightly with mine. “How does this watch thing work? One of us handles the windows, the other takes the screens? There’s a lot going on.”
“We split the screens. Truck’s got sensors. Any movement out there will show up here before you’d see it through the windows.” He tapped the central monitor, which displayed the opposite NHV truck in eerie infrared. The whole thing looked like a shadow in a void.
“Creepy how everything looks like another world here,” I noted.
“It’s another dimension,” Angel said. “Maybe a thousand dimensions rolled into one. At least that’s the theory. Keep an eye on the screens on the top on your side; they focus behind the other truck and out. They’ll be watching our backs the same way.”
“I’m looking for movement?”
“Only if it’s heading for the tear.”
I studied the strange, pulsing center of the barrier and the tear behind it for a few minutes, pondering just how and why it stopped. It no longer looked like a pulsing lightning bolt of purple descending from the sky, more a scar hanging on the threads of reality. Though since it was small and unmoving, I understood what they meant about the danger of it tearing further was minimal unless something forced its way through on this side.
I settled back into the seat, easing into the stillness, and slipped my hand into Angel’s, fingers curling instinctively around his. His thumb brushed lightly across my knuckles, an unconscious gesture, but grounding. He’d already proven he’d follow me across the Veil and into danger to keep me safe. And I planned to return the favor.
12
Angel continuedto shove snacks at me while we watched the screens. I admit to thinking TFW would be more intense, but we’d been at it less than eight hours. Twice my cake vanished, though I was certain I hadn’t eaten it all.
“Are you eating my cake?” I asked Angel, a little grumpy from the boredom.
“No. But I have more cake.” He opened a cooler sitting behind his chair and grabbed another box, setting it beside my plate on the console between our seats.
I sighed and pushed the plate aside, annoyed that nothing was happening, even while paranoid of something happening. “Is it always this quiet?”
