Page 78 of Death is My BFF

“Merciless?”

“I’ve crossed paths with Death a few times, none of which were pleasant. Not only does he have a notorious disregard for human life, but like most Fallen Angels, he abhors anything good and holy, like the realm of Heaven.”

“Did you—did you just say Death is a Fallen angel?”

“He is the Angel of Death, so yes,” David said, and blood pulsed in my ears. “The good news is, Death isn’t the one killing Light Angels for fun.”

“But he does killhumansfor fun,” I speculated.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’ll torture mortals with their own fears just for kicks and giggles. But mostly he partakes in how they’re supposed to die anyway and eats a small piece of their soul to satiate his death curse. Or so the legend says.” David rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “I digress, I have no sympathy for him. If you ask me, nobody made him become the monster he is today. He chose it. And he continues to choose it.”

“That’s not true,” I said, and David’s eyebrow arched. Even I was surprised I’d defended Death. “What I mean is, thatcan’tbe true.

What kind of person voluntarily becomes a monster?”

“A psychopath? As much as I disagree with Death’s methods, I’ve managed to stay out of his way. Until recently. He saw me with you at the carnival and threatened me last night.” His jaw tightened, sharpening it. “Shortly after my encounter with him, I told Devin, and he ordered me to cut ties with you, said our investigation wasn’t worth getting my head chopped off. I didn’t feel like I had a choice today, Faith, but not for my sake. I couldn’t riskyougetting hurt because of me.”

He loomed closer. “If Death really wanted to hurt you, he would have already. You being in the dark and unprotected feels riskier than telling you all of this. When you left my office earlier, it hit me how wrong it was to leave you defenseless. Haven’t you always felt special, Faith? You have a unique soul, and Death wants to keep you because of it. Predators don’t spare their prey unless they want to play with it.

The moment he gets his hands on you, I worry he’ll torture you like a lab rat and kill you. The point is, he’s unpredictable. I don’t know what the hell is running through that psychopath’s mind. You must believe I’m on your side. I would never try to hurt you like he would.

I want you safe.”

As I listened to his side of the story, I saw how authentic and exposed he’d made himself. I wanted to believe him, but I had to be absolutely sure he wasn’t lying.

“Give me your hand.”

“My hand?”

I stuck out my hand between us. “You can’t provide any physical evidence of who you are, and Death would never touch me.”Notafter what happened at the warehouse.

David edged closer. My body went static with fear. There wasn’t even a heartbeat of hesitation before his long fingers gently gripped mine.

Nothing.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” I said, staring down at our inter-twined hands. As if something would be triggered, I clutched his hand extra hard one last time and squeezed my eyes shut.

When I looked up at him, his mouth curved into an amused smile. “Satisfied?”

My face burned under his intense stare. “I have questions.”

He released my hand and crossed his muscular arms over his chest. “Go.”

“Why do you have the same ringtone as Death?”

“You’re kidding,” he said with a snicker. “You might not know this, but AC/DC is a popular band.”

“Weak answer.” My eyes narrowed. “Do you have wings?”

“All angels have wings.”

“Even Fallen?”

“Yes.”

Holy crud. My mind harked back to how Death had swooped down in the alleyway to save me. I hadn’t seen his wings, but he’d flown. How had I missedthatfact?

“Can I see yours?” I asked.

---