Page 102 of Viper

Ghost shrugged. “Beats me. I’d like to know the answers as well.”

Viper crossed to Ella’s car just as she and her sister hopped out of it. Pulling his woman close, he searched her from head to toe. “Were you bitten?”

“No, the strix never got that close to me. I’m okay, just a few minor wounds.”

“I’ll never consider any injury you suffer ‘minor’.” Viper pressed his palm to hers and then pushed healing energy into her.

Her eyes widened. “Oh. You kept that nifty ability quiet.” She looked at Mia, who was receiving the same aid from Dice.

Satisfied she was fully healed, Viper caught Ella by her nape. “I know it’s not who you are, but I can still wish you’d stayed in the damn car.”

“Technically, I did.”

He felt his nostrils flare. “Not with every possible entry and exit closed.”

“As you said, that’s not who I am.”

“It should be totaled,” said Rivet, eyeing the vehicle.

Ella shrugged. “A little magickal protection goes a long way.”

“Was it my imagination, or did your car actually zap a strix?” asked Blackjack.

“I’d set the trap for my note-writer, but the strix suffered for it.” Her attention drifted to the two dead bodyguards, and her eyes dulled. “They were killed so fast I didn’t have a chance to do anything to stop it.”

Picking up on the guilt lacing her voice, Viper gave her a pointed look. “The strix are to blame, not you.”

“My words, your mouth,” Mia said to him before then turning to Ghost. “I’m guessing the strix barreled into you out of nowhere, since you went hurtling through the air.”

He stiffly inclined his head. “They did.”

“I never see you,” said Ella. “I catch glimpses of your brothers in the distance sometimes, but never you. How didthey?”

“I can cloak my presence, which is why I can stick close to you without being seen,” Ghost replied. “For just a few seconds, the cloak dropped.”

Ella frowned. “But … how could they have made it drop when they couldn’t see you?”

“They must have guessed I was here when they saw your car. They somehow know I watch over you and that you use this route. They were prepared for an ambush.” Ghost absently rubbed at dried blood on his jaw. “Don’t know how they lowered my cloak, though.”

“Maybe they didn’t,” said Dice. “Maybe a celestial is working with them. They hate hell-born demons, yeah, but the Uppers are desperate to take Viper down. They could have decided to make an exception.”

Ella’s gaze flew to Viper, a pinch of fear there. “They want youdead? Why?”

Hearing the worry in her voice, he felt his heart squeeze. “Baby, they’re not going to get their wish. Soon enough, they’ll come to terms with that and back off.” Maybe. “In the meantime, they’ll send other celestials on what are basically suicide missions.”

“If a celestialwashere just now, surely they wouldn’t have hidden and watched the battle,” said Mia. “They would have struck while you were preoccupied with the strix.”

Viper shook his head. “I threw up a forcefield. It hid the battle from view, and it would have stopped anyone outside it from landing any hits of their own.”

Ella poked him. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t stay in the car.Fully.”

“We talked about that already.” Ella looked at Ghost. “Speaking of the car, how are you managing to keep up with it if you’re not driving? Do you have wings or something?”

Ghost’s lips curved a little. “Or something.”

Viper thought Ella might push for an answer, but she sighed, her gaze again drifting to the dead guards.

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