Page 19 of Angel's Vengeance

“But you know where his home base is located.”

“Yes ...”Oh, she did not like this line of questioning.Not one bit.

Rhode stood, and Neela forgot just how breathtaking the full measure of this man truly was.Dark eyes and powerful muscles framed by steely contours were wrapped up in a silk shirt and dress slacks.He was the picture of seductive stealth, and her heart ached with joy to see him standing so tall.

“Can you access it?”he asked.

“I can ...Why are you asking, though?”

“Can you move freely throughout his property?”

Then it was her turn to ask the questions.Neela abandoned the coffee on the table and shot up.“Okay, what’s all this about?I just broke free from that asshole.I’m not about to run back there.”

Rhode stepped forward.“You can, and you will.”The heat from his words thickened the air between them.“I need that relic, and I need you to get me close to it.”

“What?Are you insane?”

“As much as it pains me to admit, you and I share a common goal: Cyro’s destruction.If I can gain that relic, the sentinels and I will finally be able to return to the Empyrean and stop him from creating an army capable of invading Heaven’s highest realm and snuffing out all life as we know it.”

Neela shook her head.“That’s a literal suicide mission.”

“Not if you’re with me.”Then he leaned forward, and her muscles tightened with that strange tickling energy from when she’d touched him last.“Besides, I have a feeling you know more than you’re letting on.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You do.”His deep eyes swirled with a dark promise, which quickly faded to the pearlescent silver of the wings she’d seen earlier.“Because you have seen me before, Neela.Somehow, you know me, and I intend to find out how.”

Her throat clogged with undue tension, but she gritted her teeth through it regardless.“I amnotgoing back there.I can’t.Do you understand me?Ican’tgo back to that life.”

Rhode straightened, and an unreadable expression danced across his features.“How about an exchange?”

She regarded him and, dammit, hated that she was so intrigued, both by what he might offer and to keep listening to him talk.“What sort of exchange?”

“A story for a story.”His shiny black loafers made their way across the carpet until their heels clapped out a slow rhythm on the galley kitchen’s linoleum.On top of the windowsill sat a small aloe plant Neela had learned that Molly used for cooking burns.She’d snip off the tips of its leaves to source the cooling gel within as needed.Neela feared for the poor plant as Rhode caressed one shiny pointed leaf between his fingers, taking its sensory measure as one would a bolt of fabric.“You have a fondness for plants.”

“Yes.”

“There is an arboretum not far from here.Do you know what that is?”

“Of course I know what an arboretum is,” she rushed out before her limbic brain could settle her excitement.Be cool, Neela.Be.Cool.

“I will take you there in the daytime—today, even, while there is no threat of Cyro finding you.”

An arboretum.A botanical garden full of trees, shrubs, and other woodsy plants she could never hope to harbor in her small night-blooming greenhouse.To have one in New Hampshire that was still open in the winter was more than her frazzled mind could handle.Was he seriously offering to take her there?To see itin person?

“I believe there is a year-round greenhouse there as well.”

Hot tears stung her eyes at the enormity of what he was offering her.“You would take me there?Really?”

“Yes.I will let the plants and wildlife share with you the story of this land, these mortals, and why their souls are worth saving.In exchange for a story of your own,” he added pointedly.

“And what kind of story do you want to hear from me?”

A sharp knock on the door nearly shook the apartment.The sound was only mildly louder than Iron’s booming voice.“Brass is back.You guys ready to go?”

“What do the mortals call it these days?”Rhode mused.“An origin story?”

“Origins of what?I already told you all about me.”

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