Page 426 of Evil Hearts

I frown at him. “I’m listening.”

“There’s been talk in the pits,” he says, lowering his voice.

I roll my eyes heavenward. “There’s always gossip down there. So what?”

Raphael leans closer. “A Fallen got a second chance.”

A lump forms in my throat and makes it hard to swallow.A second chance? A Fallen redeemed himself?

I’ve a hard time just spitting the word out, and when I do, it’s merely a whisper. “How?”

“You heard about Lucy getting married briefly, right?”

If looks could kill, he would be six feet under. “What’s that got to do with—”

“The Fallen he wed, she got the second chance.”

Any words I was about to say dies on my tongue. Lucifer had married a Fallen Angel. That same Fallen had gotten a second chance?Her? Out of all people?

“Impossible.”

“Gabe says she got redeemed. She now lives as a mortal,” Raphael says with a sad smile. The twinkle in his eyes is gone. He’s more solemn then I’ve ever seen him. And unfortunately, he’s been one of my constant companions since I fell. To see him this way makes my chest tight.

“Jezza got saved…” I trail off. Jezza had been known as one of the cruelest Fallen Angels in existence. If she had been saved, could that mean…could there be a chance for me too?

Raphael nods slowly. “She did. And that’s why I wanted to come and find you.”

“Why?” My hands ball into fists at my sides. “To give me false hope?” I can’t keep the bite out of my words.

He reaches out to place a hand on my shoulder. I stiffen beneath his touch. “No, Q. To give you the chance you deserve.”

I level my eyes to him. “And how am I supposed to do that?”

“Well, that’s the million-dollar question now, isn’t it?” Raphael says and releases his hold on my shoulder. “I don’t exactly know myself.”

I give him a deadpanned expression. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll think of something,” Raphael mutters and takes a few steps away from me. “Anyway, I gotta head back before Lucy throws a tantrum.” Before I can utter a curse at him, he’s gone in a plume of red smoke.

I let out a breath, shake my head, and turn to look down at the corpse. Now there are two things on my plate to worry about. Hiding a dead body or getting a second chance? Which will come easier?

My eyes roam over the blood pooling at my feet.Definitely hiding a dead body.

Chapter 2: Eva

I’d never hadto witness death with my own eyes, but seeing it changed me and those I cared about. Families and friends can become divided after a tragic death, and I had to experience it, to go through it, to figure out how to sort the rest of my life after witnessing my best friend’s death. Losing her was hard, and even after a year, it’s never going to be easy.

Ivy lost her life to a heart attack. She’d been healthy, happy, and a month away from marrying a man none of us were quite happy about. We’d taken a girls’ vacation, and it was there in the hotel that we’d found Ivy on the floor in our room. She’d been alone when she passed. Seeing her death, it changed Hartley and me.

Hartley, my other best friend, cut out everyone and buried her feelings. It’s not her fault for feeling this way. Ivy was the glue that held our trio together, and without her, things will never be the same. They haven’t been in the year that Ivy’s been gone.

While Hartley kept attending college despite everything that happened, I couldn’t go back. Everything reminded me of Ivy, and I had a mental breakdown about a month after her funeral. I couldn’t stay in college anymore, so I dropped out.

“Ives, you’ll never believe this.” I bend down to place a small bouquet of red roses atop Ivy’s headstone. “They’re making a prequel of the live action ofThe Lion King.” I shake my head,and the corners of my mouth quirk up a little. “You loved the sequel more than the first.”

The smile slips off my face, and I let out a weary sigh and move to take a seat beside the headstone. I don’t care if my jeans are covered in dirt and mildew. This is as close as I’ll get to my best friend these days. My eyes start to burn, and I wipe at the tears on my cheeks. “I miss you.”

“They can’t hear you from where they are,” a voice calls.

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