She didn’t want to cross that bridge later. She wanted an answer now. They hadn’t even giventhema chance, and it seemed that the whole universe was against the idea.
“Take my hands, Light.”
She stared down at his outstretched hand. It felt wrong, like another door closing.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out, glancing at Azazel’s outstretched hands before looking at the screen.Simon.She clicked open the text.
There are three people in the house. They aren’t human. They’re looking for you.
Chapter 42
Simon
Yesterday
Simon ran a hand over his face, nervous energy thrumming through him. He slid the laptop away, pressing a button beside him to elevate the bed. The epidural in his lower back numbed the area, giving his mind a chance to clear from the morphine he’d been on for the past several days.
When he’d asked for his laptop, it had been purely to catch up on work and put his life in some semblance of order, but when the notification popped up telling him someone had disabled the security around the estate, he brought up the feed, scrolling back until he found it.
Something obscured the camera, making the image distorted and blurry, but the audio came through clearly enough.
“Gabriel?”
It was Rebecca’s voice. He scrolled through feed after feed, following the ones where something distorted the image. It took the stairs and stopped in her room. There were muffled sounds, nothing he could make out with his pitiful human ears.
She moaned, saying Gabriel’s name a few more times, but the image never cleared. He fast-forwarded, scowling as everything blurred by. He stopped when the camera played in real time. The feed was live but still too distorted to see.
Simon laid his head on the pillows, staring at nothing as he listened for signs she was awake. Alive.
Something crackled over the audio, and he jerked, turning his head to stare at the fuzzy screen.
“What’s wrong?” It was Rebecca’s voice, but it sounded scratchy from disuse.
“Things have changed.” He knew that voice:Gabriel.
He reached for his phone, searching for Allie in the contact list, and pressed her name. It rang once, twice, three times. On the fourth ring, it went to voicemail.
Gabriel spoke again, turning Simon’s attention back to the computer. “You’re in grave danger. The sooner you unlock your seraph side, the safer you’ll be.”
Rebecca’s voice came though clearer this time, a flirting edge to her words. “I have you. What do I need my gifts for?
Simon’s grip tightened on his phone. He squinted at the fuzzy screen, cursing the faulty equipment.
“I’ll never leave. I told you that. But we…”
“Can’t? Can’t what?” her soft voice said, all traces of flirtation gone.
“I’ve accepted my place at Samael’s side and will now and forever be a ruler of Primoria.”
“Oh.”
Simon's teeth ground together.
Rebecca’s voice continued over the audio as he tapped an impatient finger on the laptop. “Wait. Don’t go.”
He dialed her number again. It rang. It rang again. “Pick up Rebecca.”
“You should take that. It might be important,” Gabriel said as the ringing continued in Simon’s ear.