A crack beneath the doors spilled dim light onto the pavement. With a deep breath, I pulled it up, wincing as the metal screeched into the night. I stepped inside just as the door crashed down behind me. Flickering florescent bulbs barely illuminated the expansive space. The entire place was empty, except for a few plastic sheets that hung from the ceiling, blocking my view of the far left corner.
My heartbeat picked up speed. There was nothing in here. No place for the Legion to hide.
Where the hell are they?
Sweat beaded on my brow. If they couldn’t find somewhere to wait for me, they would have come back to the club to warn me, right? They wouldn’t have just let me wander into a killer’s warehouse all alone with no backup.
But what if something had happened? What if they hadn’t been able to get to me in time?
I took a step back toward the door.
“Mia,” a familiar voice drawled from behind the plastic sheets. Frowning, I whipped toward it and narrowed my eyes, trying to make out the vague form through the sheer material. Was that one of the Legion? I recognized his voice, but…no. It definitely wasn’t Caim or Phenex. Maybe Valac? I hadn’t spoken to him much.
The sheet rippled as the man pushed it aside. Noah stepped into the warehouse wearing black sweats and zero glasses. His green eyes gleamed beneath the overhead bulbs. Confusion pounded against my skull as I stared at him. Wait. Why was he here? Had he gotten a note from the killer, too?
Shit. He probably had no idea what he’d just walked into.
“Noah,” I said, rushing across the floor. “You need to get out of here. Now.”
A smile flashed across his face. “I’m surprised you were actually brave enough to show. You’ve run from everything else in your life. I thought you’d run from this, too. A pity, almost, that you chose guts this one time. You’d be better off if you’d fled.”
My lungs rattled as I gaped at him. Thoughts flicked through my mind almost too fast for me to comprehend them. Noah wasn’t here because the killer had lured him into his trap. He was here because…
“You can’t be,” I breathed as I took a step back. “Not you. You’re just…you’rehuman.”
He was a nerdy coffee-addict hipster who had swept my best friend off her feet.
Chuckling, he reached behind his back and pulled out a very, very sharp knife. The florescent light gleamed against the serrated edge. Specks of blood clung to the metal. I swallowed down a hard lump in my throat.
“I was shocked when Serena’s useless roommate walked right through Infernal’s doors without any trouble at all. At first, it annoyed me, Mia. But then I saw it for the opportunity it was.” He flipped the knife in his hands. “You would finally give me what I have wanted for decades. A way to find outexactlywhat Asmodeus and his Legion are up to in his fucking club.”
My heart thumped. “Seems a little over the top, don’t you think? You could probably just ask him.”
Sneering, he edged a little closer. “Asmodeus would never tell me a goddamn thing. Don’t you know who the hell I am?”
“Um. Actually? No.” I shrugged, trying my best to appear nonchalant. I needed to keep him talking long enough for the Legion to get here. And then we’d grab Serena and go. Was he keeping her behind that plastic sheet?
“My name is Raphael,” he growled.
I blinked at him. “Like the ninja turtle?”
“No.” He fisted his hands, and anger poured off his body in waves. “Like thefallen angel. How could you have never heard of me? Don’t they teach you humans about us in church?”
“I’ve only been a few times, and I never really paid attention.” I folded my arms and lifted an eyebrow. Somehow, my body remained far more calm than my mind did. Inside, I was screaming to run. “So, tell me. What’s your plan here? You’re going to give me Serena, and in exchange, I give myself up to you. And then what? How does that tell you what’s going on inside the club?”
A wolfish smile flashed across his face. “You’ll see. Az will arrive any minute now. He won’t be able to help himself. I sent the Legion off on a wild goose chase, and he’ll soon realize you’re facing the killer alone.”
Realization pounded through my veins. “You want him to show up.”
“Now you’re beginning to understand.”
“But why? I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “If he’s the one you wanted all this time, why do all this? You had a chance to face him in the alley. Why’d you run?”
He scowled. “That was Michael. Not me.”
“Michael?” I started to ask, but then stopped. “Oh. There’s two of you.”
“Four,” he corrected. “Though we don’t claim Gabriel or Suriel as ours. They want different things than we do.”
