Page 24 of Secrets in the Shadow

“Because Ethan is proof of my wicked ways.” Raziel shrugged. He thought it was ridiculous a child should suffer just because they were an offspring of an angel. “Any Nephilim born are killed.”

“No!” Stewart shouted. The sound cracked through the tension like a thunderclap, his face pale with disbelief.

“No one is touching my fucking grandson,” Quinton growled, his fists tightening at his sides. His voice carried the kind of authority that made lesser men scramble for cover.

Raziel wasn’t a lesser man.

“Why would they wait three years?” Killian asked, seeming the only calm one among the three.

Raziel glanced away. Shame coiled tightly in his chest, suffocating and relentless. He’d been so careful not to touch Ethan, but he hadn’t used such caution while inside Ethan’s mind. So busy watching the Sollis, he’d let his guard down with his son.

“Because he held my hand. As soon as we made contact, our bond resonated, alerting the angels of his existence.”

“Just tell me what we have to do to protect him.” Killian took a few steps toward Raziel. “If you would have just come to us, talked with me and Stewart, all of this could have been avoided. If anything happens to him, it’ll be on your head.”

Quinton was on the phone, speaking quickly into it as Stewart took off downstairs.

“You don’t think I already know this?” Raziel snarled right back at him. “I’m being hunted for secrets in my head, and now my son will be as well.”

“How do we protect Ethan?” Killian asked, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

“You can’t.”

Chapter Six

“Where is Raziel?” The stranger barged past Cody and walked into the living room, glancing around.

“Excuse me?” He turned, wondering who this person was, how he knew Raziel, and where he’d left his manners. “You don’t walk into someone’s house unless you’re invited in, buster.”

“I do not have time for human games,” the guy snarled. “I need to find him.”

If he was looking for Raziel, did that mean he was an angel too? Even so, Cody wasn’t sure if this rude prick was friend or foe, and he had no way of getting in contact with Raziel to find out.

“You stomped your way into my house, not the other way around,” Cody huffed. “I don’t even know who you’re talking about, so get out.”

He decided to err on the side of caution. Raziel hadn’t mentioned any friends dropping by, which would have been weird since they’d just met. In any case, this didn’t feel right, and Cody wasn’t telling this very tall and muscular man diddly-squat about Raziel.

Not that he knew where the angel was, anyway. Cody rubbed his chest, the constant ache of missing Raziel still hadn’t gone away.

“You have no idea what’s at stake, human.”

“My name is Cody,” he ground out, wondering why he was giving a complete stranger any information about himself. For all he knew, he’d just given the guy a name to put on his hit list. That was how intimidating the stranger was. He had the “hired killer” look down pat.

If Cody hadn’t wanted to seem brave, he would have taken a few steps back already. “Now, tell me who you are and what makes you think this Raziel person is here.”

The stranger studied him so hard he should have left retina imprints on Cody’s face. He wished the jerk would look somewhere else other than at him.

“It’s better I show you than try to explain everything.” He walked forward, and Cody back-peddled so quickly that he ran into the coffee table, causing it to loudly scrape across the floor. Duchess yowled and shot from under the table, her tail puffed to twice its size as she bolted down the hall.

His cat had the right idea.

“I’m only going to touch your temple,” the man argued, seeming frustrated. “Hold still.”

Cody batted at his outstretched hand. “There you go again, just doing things without asking.”

“You are very irritating and getting on my nerves,” he replied. “I’m only going to show you why Raziel is in hiding and what he’s up against.”

Hiding? “Why is he in hiding?” he asked in a knee-jerk reaction. Shit. Cody winced. His concern was a pretty good indication that he knew Raziel.

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