Page 59 of Deliver us from Evil

Chapter Twenty-Two

Trinity

“…but I can’t blame you.I’mpissed off at me.”

Consciousness ebbs and flows, bringing with it a familiar voice. Who’s Apollo talking to? He seems agitated.

“You weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on his face. How he spoke about you.”

“Who?” I try to say, but nothing comes out. My lips don’t even move. I feel like I’m caught on the edge of sleep. My brain is certainly foggy enough. And all I want to do is slip away again.

Apollo drops his voice, makes it raspy. “Promise me you’ll show her.”

My fingers twitch. My lips move. “Apollo.”

But he’s so caught up in what he’s discussing with the other person in the room, he doesn’t notice.

“If I can just figure out that password. But what the hell is it? He said the combination was the same for the study and the safe, right? But the study didn’t have a lock. The basement had a lock…but we’d have to get back inside the house to check it out. And now that it’s a crime scene, the fuck that’s going to happen, right?”

Lord, maybe I should go back to sleep. I can’t understand a word he’s saying.

But then someone’s holding my hand. “Trin, listen. I know you’re in there somewhere. Can you wake the fuck up and explain this to me, please? Maybe you can decode the Gabriel Chronicles, and that would be swell, because Cass and Reuben are pretty pissed off with me. I need a win.”

Mmm. Sleep. That does sound good.

“Come on, Trin.”

How can I say no?

I force my eyelids open. They’re heavy, fluttering like a downed butterfly. Too-bright light spears into my head. “Ow.” I choke out hoarsely, squeezing my eyes shut again.

“Hey! You’re back!” Another squeeze to my hand. “Fuck yeah.” Something brushes my cheek. “Okay, so let me fill you in, right? I was chasing after Gabriel, and—”

“Apollo, enough.” A shiver chases through me when I recognize that deliciously low and rumbly voice.

Reuben.

I force my eyes open to slits and move my head to try and find him.

He’s standing opposite Apollo, on the other side of my hospital bed. As I catch sight of him, he wraps his hand around mine. So warm and tight.

“Welcome back,” he says quietly. “I hope you had pleasant dreams.”

“Course she did,” another voice says, the speaker out of sight. “Because she was dreaming about us. Weren’t you, darlin’?”

I have to tip my head forward to see Cass. He’s lounging in a chair pushed to one wall, but he stands and comes closer when we lock eyes.

“What happened?”

The last thing I remember is taking Gabriel to the bell tower. How he found the photo. And then…him shoving me against the wall. I hit it hard—is that why I’m here? I shiver violently, and Apollo immediately tugs the thin hospital blanket at my feet all the way up to my chin.

“Body warmth will work better,” Cass says, giving me a lopsided grin.

“Cut it out,” Rube demands, throwing him a faint scowl. Then his eyes are back on me. “How are you feeling?”

“Heavy.”

“Anesthesia,” Apollo says. “It’ll wear off.”

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