“I know—that’s clear. Thank you.”
The door to the club opens, and Thana stalks out with a few enforcers on her heels, as if they are in a hurry.
“What’s up?” I tip my chin up. If my presence surprises her, she’s good at hiding it.
“Got a heads-up about a fallen in the territory,” she answers while looking me over.
“And?”
“No one seems to know who he is, and he ignored the riders who tried to speak with him.”
“Ignored them?” That piques my interest.
“Acted like we didn’t even exist is more like it,” says a small female demon with long, silver horns, while watching Modeus out of the corner of her eye.
“Yet here you stand.” I shift so I’m in her direct line of sight.
“There were only two of us,” she defends, blinking a few times.
“I’m handling it,” Thana says, sounding bored.
I look at the small group she’s amassed to take with her. Fallen can be dangerous and unpredictable, especially the ancient ones, and the fact that he ignored an Obsidian rider might spell trouble. “I’ll come with you.” I watch a tiny muscle tic near the corner of her eye. She hates the idea, which makes it even more appealing to me.
“Not necessary, and it’s beneath your station,” she comments, as if I’m some sort of princess instead of the president of this club. My instincts tell me I should squash her here and now, but that might cause a larger mess than I have the energy to deal with, especially considering her position is so short-lived.
“I would only ask my club to do what I am willing to do myself. I would also advise you to keep your opinions to yourself.”
“He’s on Highway 17, headed this way,” Thana tells me in a flat tone.
“You up for a little more riding?” I look at Modeus, and I’m met with his heavy-lidded gaze.
“I’m always up for a ride.” The sexual undertone I didn’t mean to put into my question is just as thick in his response. We really need to get ourselves together, or maybe apart.
* * *
Lore
The fallen ishard to miss, even from a distance. His long black hair hangs over his shoulders and down his chest, concealing part of his bare torso. My stomach twists. Something about this feels familiar, like I’m experiencing the most intense sense of déjà vu.
“Lorelei.” Modeus whispers my name, and I hear him clearly. When I glance over, he’s watching me, but there’s no way I really could have heard him over the rumble of our pipes, especially not the way he sounded, which was resigned.
I take another look at the fallen angel up the road. Could he be here for Modeus? Hell no longer holds his chains. There’s a nasty churning in my gut, but I can’t call it fear. In truth, I don’t know what the hell it is.
Modeus stays right by my side, only slowing his bike when I slow mine. Thana put herself at the front of the pack, so she’s the first to stop, still several feet back from the dark angel. “Why are you in Obsidian territory?” Her voice is clear and steady.
The angel doesn’t even spare her a glance, his eyes remaining locked on me. “He will make a good sergeant,” Modeus comments, but I’m too confused for his words to actually register.
“Fallen, why are you here?” Thana demands again, slipping off her bike with the other riders near her.
Wings as black as night snap out behind the angel, and in a blink, he’s standing in front of me. I don’t react at all. I’m frozen, but it’s not from fear. Shouts erupt from the riders, but the only thing that really registers is the black, claw-tipped fingers lifting toward me. Still, I don’t feel threatened.
His knuckle brushes my jaw as if I’m as fragile as a snowflake. I break his gaze to examine Modeus, who is still at my side. He knew what was happening before I did.
Two mates in as many days feels like overkill when I’ve gone a lifetime with neither. I can’t help but wonder if this would have happened if Harlow were still here.
“He’s going after Lore!” a male voice shouts much too late to have been any help.
With the fallen’s knuckles still brushing my cheek, I cut my eyes from Modeus’ accepting gaze and look beyond the male in front of me. Thana is rooted in the same spot. You’d think a sergeant at arms would be doing more to protect her president than watching a possible threat invade my space.
