Page 428 of Evil Hearts

I snap my eyes shut, squeezing them tight as I can. Cool metal is placed at my temple, and I inhale a quick breath of surprise. There’s a trembling that starts in my hands and spreads throughout my body.

“P-please d-don’t…” I can barely dare myself to open my eyes. I know what I’ll find, and I don’t know what petrifies me more—the man with wings or the gun he’s holding.

I jump when his breath skims my neck. My eyes snap open, and panic rises in my chest. Whoever this man is, I need to get away from him. But I know without a doubt he’ll use the gun on me to make his point.

“Let’s play a game, little rabbit.” His lips are pressed against the curve of my ear. The hair on the back of my neck prickles, and gooseflesh blooms across my skin. “I’m going to count to ten, and you’ve got until then to get away from me.”

I take my lower lip between my teeth to keep from crying out. Tears burn my eyes and spill down my cheeks. “And if you don’t, well, you’ll know when it hits you.”

Chapter 3: Michael

“You’re not holdingit right,” I say and scrub a hand across my face. “If you’re going to hurt someone, you need to point the blade at their face, not their feet.”

“Easy for you to say,” Ivy whines and tries to heft the sword but fails miserably. “It’s heavier than it looks.” The tip of the sword hits the golden path at her feet.

I sigh loudly, shake my head, and march over to stand behind her. I reach out to latch on to her waist. She stiffens beneath my touch but doesn’t shoo my hands away when I reach past her and heft up the sword with ease. “Swing the blade side to side like this, see?”

“I can’t concentrate when you’re this close to me,” she mutters under her breath.

A small chuckle escapes me. “You should know,” I whisper back to her, “that you’re the only one I’ve ever gotten this close too.”

Ivy twists her body so our faces are inches apart. “Good, then you’ll never see this coming.”

My brow furrows just as she lifts up her arms and bashes my temple. I stumble backward and look at her, wide-eyed. I reach up to touch the side of my head, and wince at the sharp twinge of pain. She’s giving me a cheeky grin. My eyes narrow. “Oh, you’ll pay for that. Be lucky I didn’t bleed all over the place.”

“Angels don’t bleed, and it’s just a bruise.” She says. Then Ivy gives me an innocent look, still smiling. “Besides, weren’t you the one that told me to swing side to side?”

“So the student becomes the teacher. How wonderful.” I roll my eyes but soften my tone. She brings out the best in me and has in the mortal year that we’ve spent with her training to be a Warrior Angel in the army I command for the Creator. Ivy has accomplished so much in such little time, and my chest swells with pride at knowing she’s going to be by my side for eternity. It’s more than I could ever dream for. And I know she feels the same.

We might not have been together in the way she originally desired on earth, but this is about as close as we will ever get.

“Michael!”

I lower my arm and turn toward the sound of my brother calling. “Gabriel. What’s wrong?”

Gabriel is nearly out of breath, and bent over at the waist. “We need to get to earth, fast.” His head lifts up and he meets my gaze. “Please, don’t ask. We don’t have time.”

“Gabriel?” Ivy questions. “What’s going on?”

I reach out to grasp my brother by the shoulders. “I can’t just abandon my post. What is it?”

“It’s Eva,” Gabriel says through gritted teeth. My fingers dig against his shoulders when I hear the gasp from behind me. He straightens. “Raphe told me she’s been taken hostage.”

“Eva…” Ivy trails off. “MyEva?”

Gabriel gives a sharp nod in her direction before looking back at me.

“By whom?” I search his eyes.

“Quinn.”

I immediately release the hold I have on my brother and step back. I turn to face Ivy. “I need to go.”

“Wait, who’s Quinn?” She steps forward, her sword already igniting. “Michael, what does he want with Eva?”

Gabriel steps up beside me, his wings unfurling as he prepares to take flight. I shake out my own wings and stretch them to their full six-foot wingspan. “He’s a Fallen, and Raphe accidentally gave him false hope,” Gabriel says in a bitter voice.

“Stay here,” I tell Ivy when she starts to unfurl her own white wings. “You’re not prepared to face a Fallen.”

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