Page 430 of Evil Hearts

Gabriel’s jaw clenches, and he immediately looks away.

“She hated you, you know.” He turns back toward me. He doesn’t say anything but slowly nods. I glance back at the silent but brooding Archangel. “I want a second chance. She didn’t deserve it, but I do.”

“Jezza wasn’t a Guardian Angel,” Gabriel blurts out. “Her punishment was different compared to yours.”

My hands ball into fists, and I can feel the imprinting of half-moons from my fingernails digging against my palms. “All the same, she killed way more mortals than I have. She took pleasure in it, even went so far as to bathe in their blood.”

“And you’re any different?” Archangel Michael snaps. “You’ll not get a second chance. You’ll burn in Hell if I have anything to say about it.”

I narrow my eyes, then swoop down and grab the gun. I click it into place and point the barrel at Michael. “If you think I’m going to burn in the pits, then you’ve got another thing coming.” I twist my body and aim over Michael’s shoulder.

“Quinn, don’t!” Gabriel shouts just as I fire a couple rounds.

The bullets of the 9mm zing through the air and hit their target.

Gabriel tackles me just as I hear the ear-splitting scream.

“Eva!” Ivy shouts.

Gabriel grabs the collar of my shirt and pummels my face. Blood oozes from where his fists break skin along my cheek.

“I got him. Go see if she needs help,” he calls over his shoulder to his brother.

Archangel Michael glowers down at me, and I look up at him through the sweat and blood. “Waste of space,” he mutters and stalks off to his beloved Angel and the mortal.

Chapter 5: Eva

“Eva? Eva canyou hear me?” The voice sounds far away and echoes all around in the darkness.

A sharp pain sears up my leg. My eyes snap open, but everything is blurry and out of focus as I come to. When my vision clears, I look up into a familiar pair of eyes. My heart skips a beat.

A ghost?

The ghost of Ivy gives me a weak smile. “Oh, good. You’re awake.” She leans back to allow me some room. “Easy does it now,” she says as I push up a little on my forearms.

This has to be a dream, because there’s absolutely no freaking way my best friend is alive.

I must’ve said that sentence out loud, because the ghostly Ivy throws back her head and laughs. “I’m not alive in the way you think, but I am here.” She reaches out and gently takes my hand after I’ve fully sat up. I look down, feeling the warmth radiating from her fingertips. “See? I’m real.”

My mouth parts in shock. I tilt my face to meet her gaze. Something moves behind her, and I feel the blood draining from my face. “This can’t be possible.” My gaze slides from the wings jutting out from her back to Ivy’s face. “I saw your—” I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself.

The last thing I want to do is bring up the dreaded memory of seeing her lifeless body in the hotel room. I still have nightmares about it. And it’s been over a year since she died. Seeing her now, alive and warm, is impossible.

Ivy lets out a soft sigh, releases my hand, and turns sideways on the bed. Her shoulders curve inward, and the wings attached to her back follow the movement. I look at them curiously. “I know. Michael told me about how you guys found me.”

My brow furrows. “Who’s Michael? Your ghost boyfriend?”

She chuckles and gently shakes her head. “He’s not a ghost. He’s an Angel, like me.” Ivy’s got a small smile on her lips, but there’s a sadness ringing in her eyes. “And no, he’s not my boyfriend. Angels can’t be together. Not how mortals can.”

I scoff at her. “You sound like you’ve never been a human before.”

Ivy shifts on the bed and sighs again. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“Be lucky I’m not the running and screaming sort of gal,” I tell her. I go to bend my knees and let out a soft gasp of pain.

Her baby blue eyes dart briefly to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t—” I say through gritted teeth and then glance down. “My leg…” I trail off. I swallow hard. The gunshots hadn’t been my imagination. The man with black wings had indeed shot me.

---