AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But I did notice. Several people, with thetap-tapof high heels ringing out like a warning bell above the others.
My shoulders inched up. The walls and ceiling of the salon closed in on me.
Fear tightened my nape.
I took a step back from the group. Not to run—it was too late for that—but to give myself some space.
The song ended and the room went silent. Philippe released the thrall and took hold of my upper arm.
“Zoe,” he said with a sorrowful shake of his head. “I think you’ve been very bad,n’est-ce pas?”
18
RAFE
Ieyed Philippe’s aristocratic profile through the partially open door and fingered my switchblade. The desire for revenge writhed, hot and black, in my gut.
Mess with one Kral, you messed with us all.
Me and my brothers weren’t called the Dark Angels simply because we were named Gabriel, Zaquiel and Rafael. That nickname had started in the vampire world. The Kral brothers fought as a unit—and we didn’t show mercy.
My fangs pricked my gums. It would be so easy to slip into the salon and stake the Paris enforcer. A quick, surgical strike. I’d never have a better opportunity than now, when he was under the music’s dark spell.
But there was that promise I’d made Zoe, and besides, she’d stuck her neck out to sneak me in as her bodyguard. I couldn’t repay her by making her an unwitting accomplice to Philippe’s assassination.
Footsteps came down the steps. Victorine and Étan, escorted by a member of Philippe’s staff. Bringing up the rear was a woman and the real Jean-Michel.
Holy hell.
I instinctively started the fade, but it takes a few seconds. Both Victorine and Étan saw the fake Jean-Michel.
Étan reacted first. His good-looking face twisted. “Thrice-damned Kral bastard.”
He leapt forward, but I made it into the shadows just in time. His hands closed on empty air.
I grinned into his furious face. “Missed,” I mouthed, even though he couldn’t see me.
Victorine raised an imperious hand at a security cam. “Lock down,” she ordered.
I took off down the hall. Just as I reached the stairs, a solid steel gate slammed down from the ceiling. I skidded to a stop and shot a glance over my shoulder. The other side of the hall was blocked as well.
Trapped.
“Madame?” The butler appeared in the doorway of the salon. “May I be of assistance?”
“Shut the door,” she rapped out. “Now.”
I was already inside the salon. I raced across the room. Zoe stood alone, shoulders tight, the masklike expression on her face.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Behind me, the piano music stopped. There was an excited murmur.
I kept going.
“Victorine?” Philippe cut through the questions. “What’s wrong?”
“That man in the hall wasn’t Jean-Michel,” said Victorine. “We believe it’s a Kral.”
