Thorn snorted. “So glad to hear you admit that.”
“Don’t get cocky. Your Hellchasers won’t be any better.”
“Depends on the Hellchaser.” Thorn winked at Gabriel. “I assure you I have some that can bring that bastard down. Myself included.”
Never mind the fact that he had a grudge against Belial that was a long time coming.
Thorn took another swig. “So what’s Baby Belial doing to makeyoucrazy? I thought I was the only one he was picking on lately.”
Michael finally relaxed. “I wish. He’s captured one of my lieutenants.”
Thorn arched a brow. “How’s that possible?”
“We’ve no idea. Her name is Ariel and we can’t find her. No one knows where she is or what happened to her.”
“Thought you were omniscient.”
Michael sneered. “Don’t make me hit you.”
Yet Thorn so loved tormenting him. This was what he lived for.
“Anyway,” Gabriel said, drawing his attention back toward him. “We need you to find her and return her to us.”
No small feat there. “Well, you’re in luck. I was about to go hunting anyway. It dawned on me that my favorite menace wasn’t here. Which had me wondering why his troops were attacking so vehemently.”
Gabriel frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Thorn let out a weary sigh. “Hence why you get your asses kicked all the time. Called distraction, buddy. Vicious little war tactic. Keep your enemy’s eye on one thing while you go off and do something else. It wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I caught on to what the dipshit was doing.”
Normally, he wasn’t so slow on the uptake.
But things had been a bit hectic lately.
Because of what Belial had been doing to keep him distracted.
“We don’t play games with people.”
Thorn choked on his drink. Yeah, right. “The fact that you can tell that lie with a straight face offends me.” And that was the basic difference between their sides. With his former ilk, they made no bones about the fact that they were evil and couldn’t be trusted.
With Michael and crew, they lied and promised utter faithfulness and honor.
Until they stabbed you in the back while smiling in your face.
But then that was the thing about betrayal. It could only come from people you trusted. Those you didn’t expect it from.
Good news, he never trusted anyone. His childhood had tutored him well on just what traitorous, lying bastards everyone could be.
Even his own mother.
He pitied the rest of the fools who had yet to learn the lessons his youth had taught him.
“So you want me to find your soldier. Return her to you and banish Belial back to his hole.”
“Exactly.”
He nodded at Gabriel. “An Arel… I’m thinking that’s worth at least twenty pardons.”
Michael gaped. “Twenty? Are you mad?”
