Page 6 of Ruthless Angel

I couldn’t argue that. As much as I hated having them monitor my every move, I didn’t want to be caught in a vulnerable position. This Brady guy sounded scary as hell. The business he was involved in was terrifying and evil. I never thought I’d want the Angels to kill someone. I wanted them to kill this guy.

An hour later we were on our way over to the Gods’ house. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on my toothbrush and makeup bag. Some fresh clothes would be heaven.

“Let’s all be on our best behavior, okay?” I glanced between Cash and Daire as we pulled up in front of the house. “There’s really no need to keep up this beef with them. Maybe it’s time to take the high road.”

“That would be a lot easier if they weren’t filthy criminals,” Daire scoffed. When I merely stared at him expressionless, he added, “I’m not making any promises. If they start shit, we’ll finish it.”

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car. “Whatever. I’m not being part of this childish shit.”

Daire muttered something about making me sorry for the disrespect while Cash laughed. Ignoring them, I rang the doorbell, hoping the punishment for what I was about to do wouldn’t be too severe.

Raina flung open the door and hugged me. “No class today? Never mind, you probably need your things for that.”

“Do you mind if I use your bathroom? I need to freshen up a little and change.” Glancing back over my shoulder at Daire and Cash who ambled up the front walk behind me, I lowered my voice to add, “Something bad happened. Really bad. Daire doesn’t want me to tell you.”

“So naturally you have to tell me.” Raina nodded knowingly. “Come on in.”

Raina led the guys into the kitchen where she read the riot act to everyone gathered there. The Gods didn’t seem too happy to see us. Couldn’t blame them.

“Clover and I are going upstairs for a minute to do some girl stuff. I fully expect you all to keep your hands to yourselves. No fighting. Play nice, boys. I mean it.” She shook a finger at them.

Havoc snickered. “Careful with that finger, Bad Girl. You wouldn’t want me to spank your ass in front of guests.”

A pink hue colored Raina’s cheeks. When she didn’t sass him again, I suspected that Havoc’s idea of a spanking took a dirty twist.

She took my hand and led me from the room. I was nervous about leaving all five guys together without us. There was a good chance we would come back to bloodshed.

“Do you really think we can leave them alone down there?” I asked when we reached the top of the stairs.

Raina shrugged. “I don’t know. If they kill each other, then at least we won’t have to put up with this stupid rivalry anymore.” She brought me into a bedroom that smelled faintly of male musk and marijuana. “You can shower in this bathroom. It’s the one I use most so you know it’s clean. I’ll grab your things from the basement.”

While I showered, Raina waited in the bedroom. After a good scrub down and some dental care, I felt more like myself again. I changed into a fresh purple tank top and a pleated rainbow skirt. Knee high socks covered the ankle monitor but didn’t hide the bulge. Dammit. Opening the bathroom door, I waved Raina inside.

“Okay, what’s up, girl? Where’s Blaze?” She sat on the edge of the tub, watching as I picked through my makeup bag. “Holy shit, is that an ankle tracker you’re trying to hide?”

“It is.” Holding an eyeshadow brush in one hand, I turned to face her. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Someone grabbed Blaze last night. Some guy named Brady. Apparently, he’s into trafficking. The human kind.”

Raina listened with wide eyes as I told her everything. It felt so good to get it off my chest. I didn’t care how mad Daire was about it. I needed to go to my best friend on this one.

“This Brady guy wants you in exchange for Blaze? Fuck. We can’t let that happen. We need to find this guy. He needs to die.” Raina shot to her feet, as if she’d head out and do just that.

“That’s the problem,” I said, opening an eye shadow palette filled with rainbow colors. “Daire was against telling you. He didn’t want to ask the Gods for help. He’s going to be pissed when he finds out I told you anyway.”

“Sounds like Daire needs to get over himself. Would he rather lose Blaze? God, what is that guy’s problem? He’s such a degenerate.” Raina shook her head, disgust marring her face. “Sorry, Clover. I know you’ve got something going on with him. I guess I’m still holding a grudge.”

“That’s fair. You have every right.” I quickly applied a light dusting of purple eye shadow, topping it off with some mascara. Good enough.

After dragging a brush through my tousled hair, I followed Raina back down to the main floor. I sucked in a deep breath, steeling myself for Daire’s outrage.

“I’m not sure I like how quiet it is,” I remarked as we descended the stairs.

“That makes two of us.”

We entered the kitchen to find it empty. That was odd. Movement through the window drew my gaze to the backyard. Relief swept me to find the five of them out there. Nobody appeared to be beaten or bloody. A miracle.

They were passing around a few joints when we joined them. The five of them stood awkwardly in a circle, keeping their distance while muttering what passed for small talk.

Raina clapped her hands together. “Look at you all sharing space without trying to kill each other. I knew you could do it.”

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