Page 11 of Gargoyle Defender

“Yeah. Got it.”

Hopefully, Tanner would make it through the night without another attempt on his life. Otherwise, no orders from Cassiel or anyone else would stop him from defending his mate.

Chapter Four

Ronen spent the night circling the sky above the facility in between bouts of perching on palm trees. He wasn’t a fan. The lack of thick branches and a trunk to lean against was ridiculously uncomfortable. But since he wasn’t a part of the ground mission, he was stuck on the outside perimeter.

As it was, he’d already had a head full of Victor’s complaints about his presence. Ronen had a feeling that no one believed Tanner was his actual mate or Nephilim, that he was merely hot for Tanner and looking for an excuse to hook up while on the job.

He was still fuming about it. While many of the gargoyles banged humans indiscriminately, Ronen didn’t. What really upset him, though, was the assumption that Tanner wasn’t a Nephilim. The team’s belief was unsettling. It meant that all they detected in Tanner was the darkness, that all his light was hidden from everyone except Ronen. Ronen’s fear that his mate would succumb to the rogue forces before he could be saved terrified him.

After discreetly verifying that Tanner made it back to his dorm room safely, Ronen had retrieved his car and driven back to the lair. He snuck into the Gesu Church, located the hidden panel behind an antique tapestry, then made his way down the winding stone steps to the entrance. He was now waiting in the conference room for the others to arrive. Ronen grunted. He couldn’t wait to face the irritation of his team members.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t lover boy.”

Victor’s voice sounded from behind him at the entrance to the room, but Ronen didn’t bother turning around.

“I was wondering when you’d show up.” Ronen kept his voice even, refusing to give Victor the satisfaction of seeing him riled. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Victor stalked around the conference table, his heavy footsteps echoing in the otherwise empty, stone-walled room. “You’ve got some nerve showing up here after that stunt you pulled.”

“What stunt would that be? Following protocol by monitoring a Nephilim who happens to be my mate?” Ronen met Victor’s glare with one of his own.

“Don’t play dumb.” Victor slammed his palms on the table, leaning forward. “You compromised the mission by getting personally involved. That boy is no Nephilim,” he scoffed. “He’s just a human with a darkness in him that you’re mistaking for something else because you’re thinking with your dick.”

Ronen gritted his teeth. The accusation hit too close to home, making it sting even more. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” Victor straightened, his scarred face twisting into a sneer. “I’ve seen this before. Slayer gets fixated on a human, convinces himself it’s some grand destiny. Next thing you know, he’s compromising missions, endangering the team.”

“Tanner is different.” Ronen rose to his full height, towering over Victor, his back prickling where his wings itched to break free. “I can sense it. The light in him—”

“The light?” Victor barked out a laugh. “All I detect is darkness. He reeks of it. You think your dick has special sensing abilities the rest of us don’t possess?”

Ronen clenched his fists, his claws on the verge of shooting out. “When did you get close enough to him to detect anything? Huh? What do you know about Tanner?”

They both squared off, the only barrier between them being the large, round oak table.

“Boys, please! Have some decorum. We occupy sacred ground.” Cassiel appeared in his field of vision. “Well, sacred something.” She arched her eyebrows. “Can we bring it down a notch or ten? We’re all fighting the good fight, remember?”

“Ha!” Victor pursed his lips. “Are we really?”

Cassiel scrubbed her face with one hand. “Don’t make me summon Michael. We can’t call on him every time one of you gets his jock in a twist.”

They both slowly took their seats, their eyes narrowed at each other. Ronen inhaled a few calming breaths, then regarded Cassiel.

“What do you mean? Has Michael been summoned since we got here?”

Cassiel lifted an eyebrow. “Notice that Samir isn’t present?”

Ronen pressed his lips together. I fucking knew it. “He’s a traitor, isn’t he?”

Cassiel threw her hands in the air. “You guys need to knock off the distrust with each other. Seriously man. I get being careful, but none of you have worked together as a team since we got assigned this detail!”

Ronen understood her frustration. They were all operating at cross-purposes. Still, what else could he do? It wasn’t as if he’d deliberately sought out his mate. Maybe she should summon Michael. Then they would know for sure about Tanner and could quit riding him. But first, he needed to know what was going on with Samir.

Victor still looked as if someone had broken the head off his favorite doll. “So, what was it then? And why wasn’t I informed? I was the one who brought him on board.”

“I’m informing you now,” Cassiel said, her tone firm. “Samir's been reassigned. Michael and Uriel materialized at the end of the operation last night, said he was to report to the San Gabriel Mission, then escorted him out. That’s all I know. We should have an emergency replacement by tonight.”