Did he?
Lucifer was considered the seducer, able to tempt the unsuspecting into forgetting themselves. Yet, since the dawn of time itself, Raphael’s charming persona had been exploited to bring others to the Creator’s fold. People trusted friendly and flirty. Michael never failed to send him in as the first line of defense.
“Rafe?”
“It’s possible. There’s a vulnerability to her. An openness. And she’s untrained,” he confessed, hating himself for revealing her weakness.
“Untrained?” Michael’s voice sharpened, and Raphael could almost hear the wheels spinning in his brother’s mind. The advantage was theirs if they could isolate her. “How long do you need to secure her?”
“Secure as in mate with, or imprison?”
“Either. I’ll leave it to you to decide.”
“A few weeks. Two months tops,” Raphael hedged. “Can you keep Luc busy that long?”
“You have one week.”
Was a week long enough to break Luc’s hold? Raphael recalled her behavior toward him thus far. They’d need an inciting incident to drive her into his arms. Perhaps two. Pushing Luc’s infidelity, a potential threat, or even a tragedy, such as the loss of a dear friend, would shake her foundation.
Katie’s pretty, animated face flashed in his mind. Losing her would knock Nadia low. Though it pained him, he’d do what was necessary to protect his brethren and the Creator.
12
“My liege.”
Luc glanced up to find Thamiel lingering in the doorway. His tone was off, and he displayed a solemness far beyond his norm.
“What is it?”
“Dinathial and Raziel… they were found murdered this morning.”
Flat denial was Luc’s first reaction. Rage, his second.
“Where?”
“The bodies were left on the walkway beneath Nadia’s flat.”
Luc’s heart, usually unaffected and steady in most circumstances, began to thud hard. The sensation was so foreign, he forgot to breathe.
“And Nadia?” he asked, fearing the worst. If the opposition found and harmed her, he would see they paid the ultimate price.
“I don’t know, sir. The news was delivered to me. If you’d like me?—”
Luc was up and running, his need to get to her, to protect, stronger than finding out who had killed his favorite daemon.
“Stay inside with the doors locked, Thamiel. Let no one inside. I will return shortly.”
“But I should come with you.”
“Stay here. That is an order.”
“Yes, my liege.”
Thamiel took his responsibilities seriously, but as one of Luc’s truest creations, his life was too valuable to risk. Today, the man had suppressed his devastation to do his duty. But soon, after they found and enacted revenge on whoever was responsible for the murders, they would both have time to grieve.
Luc ignored the agony of tearing flesh as he transitioned. Wings extended outward, he took to the sky. During flight, his mind ran through various scenarios, the worst of which? Finding Nadia dead. He was still an hour out when an overhead shadow warned him of the pending attack.
Had he not been distracted, he’d have anticipated it earlier.
