Page 124 of Enchanted

A chill went down my spine. I’d always thought of Dr. Hall’s smile as comforting. Professional.

Neither of those words applied now.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment,” he said conversationally. “Not as long as I’d initially anticipated. Given your diagnosis, I’d expected to have to wait for several more months.”

My mind was spinning. Nothing was making sense. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I wanted the extra time to get to know you,” he said. “To test your worthiness.”

“Worthiness for what?”

His sinister smile spread. “Why, for being my mate, of course.”

I stared at him. “Your what?”

He gave a throaty chuckle. “Don’t tell me your angel hasn’t explained mates to you. Or has he kept you in the dark about everything?”

I stayed silent. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I wasn’t telling this fucker anything about Rami.

“I see,” Dr. Hall mused, leaning back in his chair. “You really should be thanking me, you know. If it weren’t for today’s little adventure, he might never have told you the truth.”

The insinuation stole all the air from my lungs. “That was you? You killed all those people just to…kidnap me?”

He grinned, like I’d somehow pleased him by putting it together so fast. “You didn’t make it easy. I knew you had an appointment today, but not where you’d go afterwards. There are bombs set up all over the hospital, and in all the surrounding businesses. All I had to do was wait to see which you’d visit.”

All the blood drained from my face. “You can’t be serious. You’re a doctor. You’re meant to save people, not kill them.”

“I’m no more a doctor than you are,” he said dismissively. “What I am is an expert liar and forger. I had to do it, Ethan. It was the only way I could get close to you.”

Just how long had he been watching me? “Who are you?”

“Damien Gaunt, at your service.”

“At my service…” I was in complete disbelief. “And your service includes murdering innocent people like you did today?”

“Usually, yes. But you can’t be too angry about that. Not when I haven’t even told you the best part.” He showed me the screen on his phone. There was a map covered in several flashing red dots. “See all of these devices? They’re still active. All it’ll take is one little tap here, and the accident and emergency department will be inundated…unless that’s the location I choose. I was very thorough.”

“You’re psychotic,” I whispered. “Those are innocent people! Why would you do that?”

“Because of your angel.” He pocketed his phone. “I have to have insurance in place. Tell me, do you think he’ll choose to save you, or legions of strangers? Angels are the most moral of us, after all. I say we put that to the test.”

He couldn’t be serious. He couldn’t.

But as I stared at his serene expression, I knew he was. He’d already killed today.

He was fully prepared to do so again.

“I knew something had to have happened when your results suddenly showed you were cancer-free,” he mused. “I’ll admit, if I hadn’t already chosen you, that alone might’ve done it. I was slightly put out when I spotted Ramiel’s mark on your forehead, until I realised the challenge it presented.”

He flashed his teeth, showing elongated canines. I suddenly suspected that angels and demons weren’t the only supernatural creatures that existed.

I doubted I was going to come out of this alive, but I couldn’t give up. Hadn’t when I’d been given my terminal diagnosis, and I wasn’t about to now. Even if I only stayed alive long enough to tell someone about the other bombs…I had to make it.

My plan was to keep Damien talking. Rami would be searching for me. I knew it in my bones. All I could do was buy him time. “What mark?”

“Right here.” He reached out and touched my forehead, making me recoil away from him. “You can’t see it, naturally, but I can. Ramiel marked you as his.”

“What does that mean?”