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No…no, he didn’t deserve that.
And I did this.
The engine growls to a stop outside Vance’s sprawling mansion, and before the door swings open, I’m out, boots crunching on gravel. The air smells like salt and ash—a city on fire doesn’t forget to burn just because we’ve crossed into safe territory. I glance back at Luka, his jaw set, eyes hard as he herds us forward.
“Vance will have a plan,” Luka says, but his voice doesn’t carry the certainty it usually does.
“Plan?” I spin on him, my blood boiling. “We should be making a stand, not running to daddy.”
“Enough, Aisling.” Oberon’s hand finds my shoulder, his grip firm. “Gunnar’s caught. We go back now, we’re fish in a barrel.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t want to believe it.
Still…there’s only one person who can help us now, and he’s waiting inside.
Security guides us inside—Luka and Oberon on either side of me, Cassie and Roman behind us. I can feel Gunnar’s absence like an open wound, oozing blood—painful, unforgettable. We’re taken through a maze of hallways, and finally brought to Vance’s office, where he’s sitting at his desk.
Not even pretending to be calm…he’s simmering.
He looks up at me with cold blue eyes, hands clasped, his brow furrowed.
“We have to go back for him,” I say, casting all ceremony aside. “Gunnar—“
“I fucking knew you would get him killed.”
I go quiet, my eyes wide. “Vance…what the hell? This wasn’t me, it was—“
“The city was quiet before you came. Not good, not virtuous…but quiet. And now you’re here, and you’ve put the one person I vowed to protect in danger.”
“I want to go back for him,” I say. “I didn’t plan on any of this.”
“You bitch,” Vance says, getting up with a snarl. “Don’t act like you—“
Oberon lunges forward and Luka is the only thing that manages to stop him, as Vance lets out a harsh laugh. “What, you’re going to defend her?” he says. “You’re just as wrapped up in her game as anyone else. I offered all three of you sanctuary with the Angels and you insisted on making your own moves, and now Gunnar’s as good as dead.”
“You never cared about him,” I spit. “Don’t act like you—“
Someone clears their throat from the shadowy corner behind us, and I spin around to find an entirely unexpected, long and lean figure in a suit sitting in the darkness. I can’t make out his features at first, but then I realize who it is.
Nero Rossi.
Here in the Archangel’s haven.
The shock of seeing him here, smug and unscathed, burns through me. This isn’t my fault…it’s his. He put Cassie in our care, offered us help while in fact putting a massive target on our back.
He’s the reason Gunnar isn’t with me right now.
My alpha…my mate.
Gone.
“Nero,” I spit his name out like a curse. “Sitting pretty while we risk our necks? You could’ve helped Cassie.”
He doesn’t flinch. “No can do, Aisling. Rushing in would’ve been a mistake. Caius has eyes everywhere.”
“Convenient,” I sneer, the anger in my voice echoing around Vance’s stark walls. “So you wanted his eyes on us while you escaped. You fucking asshole—“
Oberon steps up beside me, his presence a solid reassurance. He keeps silent, but his glare at Nero says enough.
