“So, the textswerefake.” Suriel nodded, his golden hair gleaming beneath the moonlight.
“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “I meant every word. But I also don’t want to get fired. And I will if they think I’m spying on them for some angels.”
Suriel sighed and exchanged a glance with Gabe. “Mia, what you don’t understand is that there’s far more at stake than just—”
Caim dropped down onto the sidewalk, landing in a crouch between me and the angels. Massive wings stretched out behind him, the deep black feathers rippling in the breeze. They were like five times the size of his body. My mouth dropped open, and I stumbled back.
“Gabriel. Suriel,” Caim growled out as a warning. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Suriel gave him a winning smile. “We were just introducing ourselves to your newest employee. Strange, isn’t it? A human working at a supernatural club? One who knows everything about vampires, demons, and wolves?”
“Stay away from Mia,” Caim said, his body trembling with anger. Slowly, he stood, and his wings flared wide. “You’re not welcome atInfernal, and you’re not welcome near any of us.”
Gabriel arched a brow. “Us? Are you saying this little human is actually one of you?”
“Gabe.” Az dropped down on my left side. I whipped my head toward him, swallowing hard at his wings. They were corded in pure muscle, clearly apparent even beneath all those feathers. Slick and black, pulsing with pure power. As much as I hate to admit it, I gaped.
“Hello, Asmodeus,” Gabriel said, his voice going hard. “Seems you and your Legion have trapped yourselves another human soul.”
“He hasn’t trapped me,” I shot back, but everyone ignored me as the rest of the demons landed on the streets. Their black wings beat behind them, shooting hot air across my face. And then the wings were gone, melting into nothing more than shadows.
I blinked as my mind tried to make sense of it.
“Well, this is bloody unexpected,” Suriel said as he took in the six angry demons. “You’re all here? Why?”
“None of your business,” Az said, taking a step toward the angels. “Leave now, Gabe. These streets are mine. I don’t want to fight you, but I will if I must.”
Gabe rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Fine. But we’ll be keeping an eye on things.”
With that, the two angels pushed up from the ground, spread brilliant silver wings, and vanished into the cloud-filled sky. My heart thumped as I tipped my head back to gaze up at the dark.
“Mia,” Az barked as he began to storm down the block toward his building. “Let’s go. We need to get you home.”
I pressed my lips together as I dragged my gaze away from the sky. He was already halfway down the block. The others followed behind him, bodies tense, gazes locked on the shadows they passed. Only Caim remained by my side, his hands slung into his jean pockets.
“Well, that was odd,” he said, motioning me forward.
I fell into step beside him. “Tell me about it.”
“I heard what they said,” he murmured as the humid breeze brushed the inky hair away from his face.
My head jerked toward him as a snake squeezed my heart. “Caim.”
“Don’t.” He held up a hand. “Like I said, I heard what they said. And I can put the pieces together to understand what happened. I don’t need an explanation from you, buthedoes.” He inclined his head toward Az who stormed ahead at the front of the Legion. “Loyalty. It is a very big deal to Az. I won’t explain why. That’s his story to tell. All you need to know is that he will never forgive you if you don’t come clean to him.”
I winced and glanced away. “You make it sound like I betrayed his trust or something.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No,” I said, fisting my hands. “The angels approached me after my first night at the club. Things were different then. I didn’t even know him.”
“And you think you know him now?”
I flushed, my gaze locking on my scuffed leather boots. “As crazy as it sounds, yes. I mean, I’ve joined this dangerous mission, haven’t I?”
He patted my shoulder and gave me a smile. “Then, you know how important trust is to him. You need to tell him everything.”
“Yeah, but…” My gut flipped over. More than once. It felt like it was doing somersaults. “Won’t it make him angry?”
