The others knew I could do this, just like I could see the searchlights. But they didn’t know the whole truth like Bishop did.
“Better?” I asked.
“Much.” He nodded, entwining our fingers together for a moment that was equal parts blissful and torturous before he reluctantly let go. “I know you’re frustrated by some of the things I do, but you have to trust me.”
“I want to...”
“But?”
My throat tightened as I locked gazes with him. “How can I trust somebody who won’t even tell me his real name?”
“My name is Bishop.”
“It wasn’t always.”
“No. Not always.” He looked into my eyes and for the briefest moment I was certain he was going to tell me. Then something shuttered there, keeping me out when I only wanted in.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked his name. I loved his name, really. It was right and it suited him. But it wasn’t real. It was something made up, like an actor in Hollywood who wanted to leave his humble beginnings far behind.
If anything, I felt uneasier than I had before our private talk. I followed him wordlessly back to the dark alley to find Roth hovering over the angel while still holding the knife. The way he watched her was predatory.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded.
“She’s so hot. Too bad she’s an angel.” He gave me a cold grin. “I checked under her sweater.”
A sudden flash of fury turned my vision red. “Touch her again and I’ll kill you myself.”
“Chill out, gray-girl.” Kraven stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest. “I was chaperoning from a disinterested distance. Don’t worry, he didn’t get frisky. It was just her back.”
“She smells so good.” Roth crouched down lower so he could put his face close to hers. “Like strawberries and whipped cream. It’s making me hungry.”
“Get away from her,” Bishop warned.
“Make me.”
All I wanted to do was protect this defenseless girl. I was about to move toward Roth and kick him as hard as I could, hoping to do a little damage with my high heels, when she let out a gasp and her eyes snapped open.
“Back from the dead.” Roth gazed down at her lasciviously. “Welcome, beautiful.”
She stared up at him hovering over her with the knife in his grip. Then her hand shot out and grabbed his throat.
“Get off me.” She pushed him upward and then slammed him down to the ground. She easily disarmed him and held the knife to his throat.
He looked up at her straddling his chest, his eyes wide with surprise.
“That I didn’t expect,” Kraven said, from where he leaned against the wall. “But I kind of like it.”
“Easy.” Bishop approached the furious angel. “It’s okay.”
“How is this okay?” she demanded. “He was sniffing me like a horny dog. Very unprofessional. He must be one of the demons.”
“I’m definitely enjoying this,” Roth said with a lewd grin. “You can sit on me anytime, beautiful. Clothing optional.”
“You’re disgusting.” She jabbed the knife into his throat deep enough to cut him. He winced and blood trickled down his neck. The mocking edge to his expression disappeared. “I despise demons.”
In a single effortless movement, she got to her feet and inspected the golden dagger. Her gaze flicked to Bishop. “Who’s the leader here?”
“I am,” Bishop said.
“Depends on the day, really,” Kraven muttered.
The blonde’s gaze shot to him. “You’re another demon, aren’t you?”
“Is it my cologne or my good looks that gave me away?”
I was becoming more impressed by the second. I’d expected her to be scared and uncertain, like she’d been before. But this angel could kick some serious ass.
“I’m Cassandra,” she said when her attention fell on me. “You said your name’s Samantha, right?”
“That’s right. Samantha Day.”
She cocked her head. “I thought you were human, but...” She looked at Bishop. “I sense that she’s soulless—a gray. I don’t understand.”
“Samantha’s different from the others. I’ll explain everything later.” Bishop’s eyes flicked warily to the knife the blond angel clutched. “I’m Bishop. That’s Kraven. And the demon on the ground in need of a Band-Aid is Roth. Welcome to Trinity, Cassandra.”
“Glad to be here.” She rubbed her previously injured chest and gave him a bright smile. “Stupid ritual.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He grinned back at her.
I’d been more than prepared to like Cassandra, but a dark ribbon of jealousy suddenly appeared out of nowhere to twist through me.
“Take me to your headquarters and we’ll debrief,” she said.
“Sure thing.” Bishop glanced at me. “Samantha, go home.”
The gorgeous, blond angel gets a killer smile and I get the brush-off. Awesome.
“No,” Cassandra said. “She’s coming with us.”
“Is that necessary?” Bishop asked.
“I have a few questions for her.”
He flicked a glance at me before returning his attention fully to Cassandra and he gave her another knee-weakening grin before offering her his arm. “Of course. Anything you like.”
She took his arm and he began to lead her away, ignoring the rest of us.
I glanced at Kraven as that sharp-taloned jealousy I was trying to ignore began to leave claw marks on the inside of my chest.
He smirked at me. “Love hurts, sweetness.”
Chapter 4
I only had myself to blame. Bishop said I should go. Instead, I insisted on sticking around to help the helpless girl who wasn’t helpless at all.
Now I felt like a specimen under the microscope as Cassandra had been watching every move I made since we got back to St. Andrew’s, which was the abandoned church in an abandoned neighborhood the team had chosen as their makeshift “headquarters” and temporary hotel. Along with yours truly, the blonde angel swept her appraising gaze over the tall ceiling, stained-glass windows and rows of pews in the main sanctuary. Since there was no electricity, hundreds of candles were lit throughout, giving the area an eerie glow.
My feet hurt from these heels—which were meant for nightclubs, not brisk walks through the city streets. Still, the pain gave me a focal point. I concentrated on my aching feet rather than the threads of panic stitching unpleasant patterns through my gut. Even though I’d been given an uneasy pass when it came to the team, I still had a lot in common with a mouse in the middle of a group of feral cats. It didn’t matter if they had halos or horns.
While Cassandra studied me, I studied Bishop. Hard not to. My gaze was always drawn to him when he was in the same room as me. I couldn’t ignore him if I tried.
I refused to believe it was just because I was attracted to his soul, even if that was his hypothesis for my unearthly infatuation with him.
I didn’t feel like this toward Colin. Or anybody else with a soul.
Bishop was different for me. Different from anyone.
And when his gaze followed Cassandra through the sanctuary as if he couldn’t look away from her, the gnawing ache inside me suddenly had nothing at all to do with hunger.
The other demons had taken seats in the pews on opposite sides of the church. Kraven sat three rows from the front.
“Why’d they send another ange
l?” he asked sullenly, cutting through the silence that had fallen since we’d arrived here. “I thought we were supposed to be all nice and balanced. Now it’s four against two.”
“An exception was made,” Cassandra replied crisply. “Demons are rarely trustworthy enough to be part of a rare mission like this without causing trouble. Present company excluded, of course.”
“Don’t try to butter me up now, Blondie. You already said you despise demons.” His lips curled to the side. “It’s almost like you’re trying to hurt my tender feelings.”
She grimaced. “I apologize. That was rude of me. Truth is, I’ve never even met one before face-to-face.”
Roth sat in the front row, eyeing her with caution while rubbing the shallow wound at his throat. Demons and angels usually healed much faster than humans, but after the ritual, when the wound was caused by the golden dagger, it was a different story.
It was more dangerous to a supernatural than any other weapon.
“Can you heal Roth?” I asked Cassandra. I needed to say something, to be part of the conversation, not just the helpless mouse who lurked in the corner trying not to squeak. “Not that you’d want to heal him, but I was just wondering if all angels had that ability.”
“We can, in varying degrees of strength. I’m quite a strong healer.” Her gaze shifted to the demon. “Do you want me to heal you?”
Roth shrugged. “Whatever.”
Her expression soured as she moved closer to him. “A real charmer, aren’t you?”
“I try my best.” Roth stiffened as she reached toward him and brushed her fingers against his throat. There was a soft pulse of light and his tanned skin healed right before my eyes.
“You’re very gifted,” Bishop said. His angelic powers were limited due to his fallen status. He watched Cassandra with a wistful envy that made my heart hurt for him.
“Now that that’s done we can deal with the problem at hand.” Cassandra turned to the rest of us. “Your mission was to clear this city of its recent infestation of soul-devouring creatures. Yet one is here with us right now. Why?”
“Good question,” Roth said.
I wouldn’t underestimate this angel. She might look harmless, but she was anything but.
At the same time, I didn’t blame her for her confusion. I’d ask the same thing if I was in her position.
“Samantha’s different,” Bishop said calmly. “She isn’t ruled by her hunger.”
Kraven snorted at that, and I shot a dark look at him.
“Something funny?” Cassandra asked.
“No, ma’am.” He put his laced-up boot-clad feet over the back of a pew bench and crossed his ankles casually. I braced myself, expecting him to share what happened earlier at Crave, but he kept his mouth shut.
Shocker. But I’d reserve my gratitude for later.
Bishop raked his hand through his short, dark hair, his gaze flicking to me for a weighted moment before returning to Cassandra. In the shadowy light of the church, I wasn’t sure if his eyes were glowing or if it was the candlelight.
“Samantha’s important to us,” he continued. “She has a special psychic ability—she can see the searchlights. I can’t because I’m damaged from my fall.”
“I did hear about what happened,” Cassandra said, her brows drawing together. “I’m pleased you seem very capable despite the misfortune that’s befallen you.”
“Doing the best I can.”
“You must be very angry.”
“Someone sabotaged me, sabotaged this entire mission. Now I’m forced to deal with the consequences of having this soul. Can’t say I’m happy about it.”
“Nor should you be. What happened to you is unfair.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” He snorted humorlessly, reminding me uneasily of his brother. “I hold out hope that it’ll be corrected when the mission is complete and I’ll be pulled back with the others.”
“One should always have hope.” Cassandra turned to eye me curiously. “So you have supernatural intuition. It’s rare, but not unheard of. Perhaps you’re mentally stronger than other humans.”
“I do pretty well in school,” I said as lightly as I could. “Mentally, that is.”
Cassandra and the others could never find out what I really was. If demons and angels were forbidden to be together—to such an extent that this love had destroyed my mother and sent my father into the Hollow after her—I knew if anyone learned the truth I’d be in even worse trouble than I already was.
“Samantha isn’t what I expected,” Cassandra finally said. “When they briefed me about grays, I thought they would all be the same.”
“I know.” Bishop crossed his arms over his chest. “We were told we’d find mindless creatures driven by their hungers—created by an anomalous demon who devoured souls. That much was true. But it’s not always like that for those who’ve been kissed—and I believe it’s not only Samantha who’s different. We’ve taken to eliminating only those who’ve completely lost their control and their reason. Anything else would be murder.”
Something heavy inside me lightened at this confirmation, a part that was worried he and the others were indiscriminately slaying grays across the city.
“Is that why you’re here?” I asked her. “Because all the grays haven’t been wiped out of the city yet? Because the barrier’s still up? Are you like...like some sort of quality control agent sent to assess how things are progressing?”
When I got nervous, I started talking and asking questions. I was surprised I’d been able to hold my tongue this long.
“Yeah, Blondie,” Kraven spoke up. “Just what are you doing here?”
“I have a mission, of course. Part of it is to assess how the team is succeeding...” She paused. “Or failing.”
“What is your main mission?” Bishop asked.
She swept her gaze over the four of us before she said anything. “We know the Hollow is not acting as it normally does.”
Just the sound of its name spoken aloud made an unpleasant shiver race through me.
“Are interdimensional gateways to supernatural graveyards ever that reliable?” Bishop’s expression had relaxed and his tone felt almost too light.
Bishop had as snarky a sense of humor as Kraven did, only he usually kept it under wraps as leader. However, he seemed different with Cassandra around. More relaxed, more easygoing. I wondered if it was because he felt comfortable with her here...or if it was just the opposite.
“What have you learned about it?” Cassandra pressed, and she shifted her gaze to Roth.
He shrugged a shoulder. “It opens when it’s supposed to—at the death of a supernatural. Sucks in the garbage. Then it closes up. Other than it spitting the Source of the grays back out to cause this current little citywide infestation, I don’t think it’s changed all that much.”
She frowned. “So it’s true. What has been cast into the Hollow now has a chance to return.”
I didn’t have to look to see that Bishop had drawn closer to me. I felt it.
“We think so,” he said. “If a supernatural finds him or herself in the Hollow, there is the chance for escape. But the barrier is here to keep anything that gets loose in the city contained so we can deal with it.”
“Keeping us trapped here like rats also,” Roth grumbled. “All grays should die. Thinking any other way is just delaying the inevitable. And, for the record, I don’t think that Bishop’s pet gray should be given a break. We
don’t know that her soul can be restored.”
“Excuse me?” Cassandra said, her gaze moving to me again. “Your soul is still in existence?”
“The one who took it managed to contain it,” Bishop answered before I could. “We mean to find him and retrieve it.”
She watched me again like a scientist studying a fascinating microbe. “This must be why you’re different, Samantha.” She looked at Bishop. “Right?”
“Perhaps,” he conceded, but he believed I was different due to my secret origins.
Either way, I needed my soul back. It wasn’t even a question.
“Very good.” Cassandra nodded and slowly trailed her gaze over Bishop’s body. It was leisurely enough that the sour taste returned to my mouth. “Despite your personal difficulties, you appear to have everything under control here.”
“I do.”
“Then why are you bleeding right now?”
My eyes shot to him.
“Excuse me?” he asked tightly.
She pointed at his abdomen. “How were you wounded?”
His jaw tensed. “It’s nothing.”
“Bishop!” I exclaimed. “What is she talking about? Are you hurt?”
He didn’t look at me. “No.”
“Pull up your shirt,” Cassandra instructed. “Let me see.”
After another hesitation, he reluctantly reached for the bottom of his long-sleeved T-shirt and raised it up to show his flat, muscled abdomen. My breath lodged in my throat. There were three deep cuts in his skin. The flow of blood had slowed, but it had soaked through his shirt. Since the material was black I hadn’t noticed anything before.
I was horrified that he’d been walking around with these wounds all night and I’d had no idea. “Oh, my God! What happened to you?”
His gaze flicked to me. “Nothing. I was going to get Zach to heal me next time I saw him.”
“Nothing? That’s not nothing! Who did that to you?”
“He did it to himself,” Kraven said with disinterest, exchanging a wry look with Roth. “It’s his new thing.”