Page 59 of Wicked Little Tricks

My gut twisted as we walked out into the open air. There were apartments above Crimson Kisses. The fall would definitely be enough to kill someone.

My heart sputtered as I viewed Braxton standing on the very edge of the roof, bound and gagged. His face was bloody, but I didn’t see the injuries. He wore graysweats and a white tank top because they had taken him out of bed. A male vampire stood on either side of him, ready to give him a quick shove should a devil appear.

It was obviously a hastily thrown together plan, but it wasn’t a bad one. Ivan needed Braxton nearby to bargain with me, but he also needed him in a place where he couldn’t easily be snatched away.

A few paces away from Braxton, Ivan spread his arms. “Here is your wolf, now tell me what you know. I will decide if it is worth his life.”

I was already regretting my decision. All I had to tell him was that there existed a petite female celestial who knew the angelic Lucas. It wasn’t exactly a lot to go on. “Take him away from the ledge first.”

“You are in no position to bargain further,” Ivan said coolly.

The blonde vampire squeezed my arm painfully for emphasis. I would have liked to throwheroff the roof, but I couldn’t summon my anger. The real fear in Braxton’s eyes broke my heart. This was all my fault. I should have never brought him with me to Crimson Kisses.

“There is a female celestial in the city,” I explained. “Your guy who tried to kidnap me from the Circus would have seen her. He interrupted our conversation. She’s the one you need to find. She is a direct link to my mother.”

Ivan wrinkled his nose. “That is hardly useful information.”

I tugged against the pair holding onto my arms. “Yeah, but now you have a leg up on everyone else. All you have to do is find that woman, and you win. She also knows the angelic, Lucas. You can use him to find her.”

Ivan spat onto the rooftop. “Lucas cannot be touched. Your information is worthless.” He glanced back at the two holding onto Braxton.

No. I wasn’t about to watch my best friend plummet to his death. I tried to shift partially into another realm to break my captors’ grip, but for some reason it made me dizzy and I keeled over. I staggered across the roof, somehow entirely free of them. Shocked, I looked back to see them both as surprised.

I recovered before they did and ran toward Braxton. “Sebastian!” I shrieked.

Braxton struggled as the two vampires fought to push him over. Someone grabbed the back of my shoulder—I thought it was Ivan—and I shifted again.

Suddenly I was right next to Braxton. Not thinking beyond my panic, I wrapped my arms around him and tried to pull him back from the ledge as the other two vampires fought against us.

I distantly registered the sound of the metal door slamming open, then shouts erupted over the sounds of our struggle.

The vampires trying to shove us over stopped for a moment, and I twisted my body, pushing Braxton to fall over securely onto the roof. I had a glimpse of severalnew arrivals, elves I thought, then I lost my balance and toppled over the edge.

I was airborne for a heartbeat. I would have liked to say that my entire life flashed before me and it was beautiful and meaningful, but all I could think was,oh shit!Then a hand wrapped around mine. Wind whipped my hair around me as I was lifted back up to the roof. Shaking, I fell into Sebastian’s protective embrace. I clung to him, panting and fighting tears as I looked back at the spectacle.

Several elves had come onto the roof. They wore normal clothing, mostly in hues of green and brown, but I could tell they were elves by their magic. It felt very green and alive. At their forefront, Elena aimed an honest to goodness bow and arrow at Ivan’s heart.

The others also held weapons, some of them with bows aimed at the other vampires.

I peeled away from Sebastian enough to see Ivan’s features contorted with rage. “How dare you.”

“You know I only took this job to find the girl.” Elena’s grin was more a feral snarl.

Braxton hobbled to his feet and hopped over to us. “What the hell is going on, Eva?” he whispered.

I pulled my arm away from Sebastian to grip Braxton’s shoulder, needing to assure myself that he was safe. “If I had any idea, I would tell you.”

“Leave now,” Elena continued, “and my king will not hear of your treatment of me.”

Ivan spat again. “Your king would not risk war over a lowly elf.”

Elena still held her bow at the ready, though her arms must be aching by now, even if she showed no signs of it. “Perhaps not, but he would beverydispleased to hear that you beat up his daughter.”

Ivan’s jaw fell open. I was pretty sureallof our jaws fell open.

“Princess Millelena?” Ivan balked.

Elena’s grin broadened. “One and the same. And if I recall correctly, your master has an alliance with my father. I’d wager she will be mighty displeased if you let that alliance go to shit.”

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