Page 42 of Secrets in the Shadow

The smile faltered as Raziel opened his eyes. He stared at Ethan, and then his gaze flicked to Cody before it settled on Stewart. “Carol put it there.”

Chapter Ten

“Carol?” Stewart took a step toward Raziel, his expression pained. “My sister? Ethan’s mother? That Carol? Are you sure?”

He wished he could spare Stewart’s feelings, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie. Raziel was devastated as well. It might have been a one-night stand, but Carol was still Ethan’s mother.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, unable to fathom why she would do something like this to her own newborn child. How could any parent...

And the fact that she’d been human, like her brother, made it even more implausible for her to have done it alone.

Ethan could recall his birth clearly, just as he’d recalled being in her womb.

Just like he remembered the tube in his mother’s hand.

Raziel had been right. The Sollis had been put there intentionally.

Zymore returned to the living room, his hands stuffed into his pockets, a nonchalant air about him. Standing, Raziel tracked him with narrowed eyes.

The guy could be avoiding his gaze because he’d been kicked out of the room, but Zymore was never one to back down. Something felt wrong. His instincts screamed it.

“Where were you?” Raziel asked, his voice low and clipped, drawing everyone’s attention.

Zymore stopped near the center of the room. “Needed fresh air.”

The son of a bitch was lying. Raziel’s jaw tightened. “Fresh air?”

“Yes.” Zymore sighed. “You know, the stuff you breathe in and out of your lungs.”

The atmosphere grew heavier, the silence thick with tension. Stewart, standing near the back of the room, glanced uneasily at Killian, who stood rigid, his jaw tight. Quinton straightened from where he leaned against the wall, his eyes sharpening. Ryker bared his canines, looking as if he was ready to maul the angel.

Cody shifted beside Raziel, his fingers brushing his arm lightly. The warmth of the touch grounded Raziel for a moment, but it didn’t diminish the knot tightening in his chest.

“You’re lying,” Raziel said flatly.

“Like I give a shit what you think,” Zymore snapped. “Paranoia doesn’t suit you.”

“Paranoid?” Raziel’s voice rose, his wings spreading slightly. He should never have allowed the bastard to stay. Sadly, there had been a small part of him that thought maybe the guy was telling the truth, that Zymore really had their backs. “You’re working with him, aren’t you?”

The thought sickened Raziel. He’d allowed the angel—who had stood by and watched him get beaten—around his son, around his mate and the bear shifters.

“You just proved my point,” Zymore scoffed.

“I’m not paranoid enough,” Raziel snapped. He looked around for Ethan, only to realize his son wasn’t in the room. Panic set in. How had the toddler slipped from under all their watchful gazes? “Where’s Ethan?”

Everyone glanced around just as the sound of small footsteps drew Raziel’s attention. Ethan entered the living room, the bear no longer in his arms. How had he gotten out of the room? He’d just been standing by Raziel. His tension eased for a brief second at the sight of his son—until he saw the figure stepping behind Ethan.

Bashar.

Raziel’s heart stopped. The corrupt angel placed a hand on Ethan’s small shoulder, his smile calm, almost pleasant. But there was nothing pleasant about the cold gleam in his eyes.

He’d used the Sollis to mask his arrival. That’s why the entity had been so active. Bashar had been using it to spy on them. It dawned on Raziel that it hadn’t been the Sollis saying Cody’s name clearly.

It had been Bashar somehow speaking through it.

“Raziel,” Bashar greeted, his tone infuriatingly calm. “It’s been too long since your last beating.”

“Ethan!” Stewart tried to run toward him, but Killian grabbed him and pulled his mate back, a deadly snarl rolling through his chest as he looked at Bashar.

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