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Emrick waved his hand up and down near her body. “You’re a bit fatter.”
Zaqiel opened his mouth to protest, a deep frown etched between his perfect brows. Before he could even get a word out, Evie had balled her hand into a fist and landed a punch on Emrick’s nose. Emrick’s head snapped back, but otherwise, he didn’t move, slowly lowering his head to glare at her. Evie appeared delicate next to the towering structures that were the angel and ex-angel brothers, but she hadn’t slapped him, not a Hollywood-esque slap across the face. She’d punched him with enough force I’m sure a human would have been knocked on their ass.
Quietly, I was impressed, and inwardly I chuckled, but judging by the darkness creeping onto Emrick’s expression, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
“I’m pregnant, you fucking asshole!” she snapped.
“Congratulations,” I muttered. It was an automatic response, although that didn’t make it any less genuine. I almost chuckled again at the way Evie’s expression changed in an instant from fury to a smile when she turned to me and then to anger when she looked back at Emrick. Zaqiel placed a hand on Evie’s arm and pulled her behind him, glaring at Emrick while Evie muttered something aboutmen with powerand someone calledTyson.
Zaqiel turned to me and held his hand out. I had to maneuver my arm to get to him, Mike repositioning his arms around me, holding me tight even while I shook Zaqiel’s hand.
“Zaqiel,” he said, his voice deep and soothing. “It’s nice to meet you, although I regret it’s under these circumstances.”
“Jacob. Thank you for your help.”
It all felt incredibly formal, and this wasn’t my element. I was out of place, albeit for different reasons. I was as much of an outsider here as I was in the office surrounded by business-minded people who weren’t like me, wishing they were working outside and getting their hands dirty.
“Come, we’ll head straight back to mine.”
Zaqiel hadn’t let go of my hand, and when Mike didn’t loosen his grip on me, Zaqiel pulled me forward. There wasn’t much strength behind the tug, but enough to get his message across—it was time to go.
I didn’t want to leave Mike. The revelation about his true nature and the beings we were dealing with had thrown me. Butlast nighthad been something else. How could I feel safe in his arms, knowing he was a demon? But I absolutely did, somehow more than ever. He was a constant, my rock in this world that I no longer understood, a bridge between my world and his, where he felt more alive and human than most people I’d met. They drudged through the day-to-day, but Mike lit up everything inside me, and I wanted to cling to that and the security he offered for as long as I could.
Slowly, Mike’s arms unraveled from around me, and the air was a stinging cold against me without his warmth. Zaqiel let go of my hand as I came level with him, and he nodded at me before I turned to face Mike. The space between us might as well have been miles for the way he watched me.
Zaqiel turned to Emrick. “This Tate, isn’t he one of yours? Why don’t you bring him into line as you do?”
“He never was one of mine.”
I used the time that Zaqiel and Emrick stared at each other to watch Mike. I wanted to memorize every line of his face. His five o’clock shadow was stronger now, bordering on becoming a beard as he hadn’t shaved in days, with flecks of gray throughout to match his hair. His jaw was tense and moving as he ground his teeth, and like mine, his hands twitched, wanting to reach out but resisting the urge.
“Let’s go.” Evie reached out and took my hand, and reluctantly I turned, craning my neck to watch Mike as long as I could.
“I’ll come get you as soon as I can.” Mike’s voice may have been steady, but in his eyes, I could see the hurt and the break of him.
“I’ll be waiting,” I whispered.
MIKE
Left alone with Emrick, we stood in stony silence for too long. Neither of us wanted to be the one to break it, but the longer we stood there, the more time we wasted, and we should be searching for Tate.
But where to start?
Emrick had made it clear that if Tate didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be, and since he already had a price on Tate’s head that had come up with nothing, our chances of locating him now were slim.
But evidently, Tate had a weakness.
Me.
Somehow, I needed to lure him to me now that Jacob was safe and out of the way of the tornado of danger that Tate posed. If I could get him alone, even if I had to tie him to a damn chair, maybe we could have an actual conversation.
Failing that, I’d leave him to Emrick.
Most of the guilt I had been battling with about taking Tate’s life had ebbed away the moment he had placed a knife against Jacob’s throat. If he had no qualms about taking away someone who mattered to me or ending an innocent life, then why should I care about leaving him with a fallen angel who would almost definitely kill him?
Because that wasn’t me, that was the demon speaking.
The demon who was controlling more and more with every hour that passed.
