Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“Of course.” Ella would prefer it that way.
Mia texted him again: I’ll be right out.
Together, they left the nursery and made their way toward the exit. Just as they neared it, a bunch of the Black Saints filed inside. All frowned on realizing that Ella seemed about to go outside.
“Where are you two ladies heading?” asked Merchant.
“My anchor’s outside. He wants to talk.” Mia raised a reassuring hand. “I’m not going to invite him in here, so relax.”
“I don’t much like the idea of you speaking to him out there either,” commented Blackjack, his brow creased. “He’s a dick.”
“I’m going to hear him out. Ella will be with me. And we’ll stay within the gates.”
She and Mia walked out of the building, their arms linked. Some of the Black Saints followed them outside but lingered near the bikes—making no attempt to hide that they would be keeping an eye on things.
Joe stood beyond the chain link fence several feet away from the gates. His stance was casual, but his face was lined with tension.
They moved to stand opposite him, keeping the fence between them.
He paid no attention to Ella, his eyes focused on her sister. “Hey, Mia,” he said, an odd hitch in his voice.
Something’s wrong, Mia told her telepathically.
Ella didn’t let her expression change. What do you mean?
I don’t know, I can’t explain it. There’s just something off with him psychically. Like when you hear a song and there’s an off-note that jars.
Her belly roiling, Ella was just about to suggest—okay, insist—they return inside. But she froze as his hands splayed against the fence, his fingers poking through the diamond-shaped gaps.
Fingers with black tips, like they’d been charred.
Mia gasped. “Oh my God, what happened?” She instinctively reached out and touched his hand.
Like that, Ella felt a wrench on her body as she and Mia were swiftly teleported out of the compound.
A field. They now stood on an open, wide-ass field. A tall, blond, winged male who carried an aura of power faced them—archangel, Ella thought. On his left was a slender grim-looking male who didn’t seem entirely sure he wanted to be there. On the archangel’s right stood none other than goddamn Maxine.
Son of a bitch.
More, as if the situation wasn’t bad enough, they were surrounded by dozens upon dozens of strix.
Fuck.
The archangel looked at Joe. “Sleep.”
Like that, the demon toppled to the ground at the sisters’ feet, out cold.
Oh, hell.
In a matter of milliseconds, three things happened.
Ella’s demon went AWOL.
The archangel took a step forward.
A ring of ultraviolet flames formed around her, Mia, and Joe. Flames that grew and curved and swam … before then forming a glowing-ultraviolet shield.
Mia slid her a sideways look. That wasn’t me.
It wasn’t me either. It was Peanut. And that wasn’t scary at all.
Through the shield, Ella watched the archangel curiously cock his head.
“That I did not expect,” he said.
That made two of them. Call out to Dice, Mia. Do it fast. We need to get away from here right the fuck now.
Grabbing his ringing cell phone from his office desk, Viper looked at the screen. Teague. He felt his brow dent. It wasn’t often he heard from the hellhorse.
Leaning back in his leather chair, he was just about to answer the call when Darko materialized in front of him. his expression hard.
“Don’t go postal, okay,” urged Darko, “but you should know that, uh … Ella and Mia disappeared.”
Everything in Viper and his entity went rigid. “What do you mean they disappeared?”
“They were there and then they were gone. Poof. Mia’s anchor teleported them away from the compound.”
Rage and dread clawing at him and his entity, Viper shot out of his seat as he tried touching Ella’s mind. Nothing but dead air. “I can’t reach Ella telepathically, so she isn’t close by.” Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Terror took him over. Terror for her, for their child. Terror that he’d lose them both.
Dice. He should contact Dice and have him reach out to Mia.
Viper would have done exactly that if the seraphim hadn’t right then appeared beside Darko.
“I just heard from Mia,” Dice clipped, his eyes hard. “Fucking Joe took her and Ella. Only it seems like he was forced to do it by an archangel. A blond archangel with dove-gray wings.”
Realization smacked Viper right in the face. “Ophaniel,” he snarled, his entity bashing at his insides, demanding they track and kill the archangel. “Either he lied that he hadn’t taken up the Uppers on their offer, or he’s since then changed his mind.” Viper took a quick step toward Dice, urgency gripping his gut. “Where are they?”
“They don’t know. Mia said there are no landmarks, nothing that stands out. Just grass and trees and dark fucking clouds. Oh, and strix. They’re fucking surrounded by strix. Ophaniel is working with them somehow.”
It had to have been him who’d lowered Ghost’s cloak and possibly even targeted Ella. “Then his plan must be to allow the strix to do his dirty work.” Viper gripped his still-ringing phone tight.