AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sariel seemed utterly unphased. Meanwhile, I was trying not to grimace at the burn from the sip I’d taken.
“It would explain why he wants Aria,” he said. “And me.”
“I never thought I’d be saying this, but I wish I hadn’t approved of that goddamn bastard. I'm sure that Hewett is tossing and turning in his grave at the mess our daughter is in.”
“It’s not your fault,” I assured her. “From what I’ve seen, Azazel can be… compelling.”
Sariel nodded his agreement. “You rarely leave King Charles, Grandma. How did you come to that conclusion?”
“I was reading about the disappearance of a blessed-blood wolf when I recognized one of the people interviewed about their disappearance. Tyler Bastille,” she said. “You might not know him, but he’s a fallen-blood wolf. A mean bastard, too. Owns a few clubs up in California and attracts a lot of negative attention, but he’s legitimate on paper. The blessed-blood used to work at one of his bars when she went missing. I thought it couldn’t be a coincidence; there was no way a wolf like her went missing while working for him, yet he had ‘no idea’ where she went.”
I blinked. Sariel motioned for her to continue, sipping from his glass.
“I did a little digging. I’m not too tech savvy, but I can search for people on Facebook. Imagine my shock when I learned she’d been working for your father not even two weeks prior, but apparently was fired without explanation.” Credence emptied her glass. “Facebook is interesting, because people will just share all of their business without considering therepercussions. Did you know Tyler called her to offer her a job within hours of her getting fired from AMH?”
Sariel and I frowned, glancing at each other.
“I decided to look into other AMH employees that had been fired,” she said softly. “They’reallmissing, Sariel, with the same or similar stories to that woman. They’re fired without being told why, they get hired at one of Tyler’s clubs or businesses, and then they go missing while working for him. Some of the businesses aren’t in his name, so it’s hard to make the connection; shell companies, apparently.”
“Jesus Christ.” Sariel swallowed the rest of his drink and refilled his glass. “Heistrafficking supernaturals.”
“It would seem so,” she said. “I just don’t know why. What does he have to gain from it?”
I remained silent.Icould have been one of those employees. Or worse.
“Azazel won’t get his hands on you,” Sariel promised, as if reading my mind. “I swear to you, Aria.”
“And what about everyone who will come after me?” I asked back. “How do we protectthem?”
Credence smiled at me sadly. “We can’t save everyone, Aria. We just have to be grateful that some were saved at all.”
That didn’t sit right with me, but I could only nod my understanding.
14
ONE INSANE ANGEL
Aria
There was someone on the property.
I was half asleep. Bunny’s growling echoed through the house. A switch flipped, and light filtered in beneath my door; I could hear Credence scolding the dog, who only continued to bark and growl. At one point, I heard her claws as she scratched at the door.
It didn’t take a genius to discern that she was warning us, and that thought jerked me fully awake.
I scrambled to pull my pants and boots on. When I emerged from the room, Sariel stood in the living room, fully dressed and holding Bunny by her leash. She looked absolutely rabid.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked.
“Someone breached the wards,” he said. “Someone with ill intent.”
My stomach heaved. “Azazel.”
Sariel’s jaw clenched. “He shouldn’t know how to get here, and the only other person who might know would never give it up without good cause.”
Credence came bustling into the room with a tray of corked test tubes that reminded me of the concoction I’d been taking to keep my wolf subdued; they were potions.
“You two get out of here,” she said, reaching for Bunny’s leash. “Sariel, take her to the hatch.”
