Page 87 of Angel Lost

I move before I’ve decided to. One second, Nico’s in his chair. The next, he’s pinned against the wall, feet kicking inches off the floor.

“You praying,tio?” My voice is low, dangerous.

He chokes out a laugh. “Wouldn’t do much good, would it?”

I bare my teeth, fangs pressing against my lip. “Listen well. I will find my sister, and bring her home. And if Lottie so much as whispers that you had more to do with this than you’re letting on, I will come back here and rip you apart. Understood?”

Mateo shifts in his chair, but doesn’t move to help his brother.Smart.

Nico’s lips twitch. “Enjoy your life while you have it,sobrino.” His voice is almost pleasant. Almost amused. “Because when you leave, this turf will belong to those who remain.” I drop him and he lands hard, wheezing. Then, I turn my back—the biggest insult I can give. Raff and Alairik follow, silent, but simmering with fury.

The portal spills open before me, waiting. I don’t look back.

My dorm room is dark, Lorelei curled up under the blankets, her breathing slow and even. Oblivious. I slump on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing. Nico’s words curl through my mind like smoke.

“Enjoy your life while you have it.”

Chapter Thirty: Lorelei

I lower my head to the table with athunk. This is impossible. Another whole week and nothing on Lottie. I loll my head sideways and watch Chano argue with Raff and Alairik as they’re hunched over a laptop. Without tuning in I know the conversation. He’s sure they’re missing something. Sure there’s a back door into his sister’s plans, a way to retrieve whatever she and her friends wiped from their computers. And Raff and Alairik are just as sure they’ve tried everything. And they all blame histiosfor looking the other way, letting her leave.

Above them a giant picture of roaring dragons hangs in a gilded frame. The monstrosity takes up a whole wall in Farrell and Kai’s living area. Two years ago, there is no way in all the hells Chano would be here using Farrell’s rooms as headquarters. Even a year ago it wouldn’t have happened.

I sit up, my elbow knocking Kai’s tattoo kit, the boxes piled haphazardly over this end of the table. Farrell, sitting opposite me, twitches. A whole-body shudder. Like the untidy clutter is physically hurting him. Pressing my lips together, I pretend not to notice.

The front door creaks and we all look over. Hewie. Not Zephyr. I close my eyes for a beat, pinching the bridge of my nose. Not Zephyr. He’s avoiding me. Zephyr is avoiding me.

I glance at the ancient grandfather clock. I don’t want to go back to the Gifted Academy without speaking to him. And yet, at least there I’ve something to do, something productive. Here, we’re just rehashing oldground. I’ve looked at the same surveillance footage twenty times. At least. And I’ve still no idea where Lottie and her dumb friends went.

I’m itching to do a deep dive at the Gifted Academy. There’s something wrong. Something needling my gut. It’s turning me into a kooky conspiracy theorist. I draw my brows together, observing Kai out of the corner of my eye. He’s never mentioned there’s something wrong at the Gifted Academy. He peers into the giant mirror above the hearth, pulling a face. If there was something evil going on, he’d tell me, right? Not that he even told me he underwent correction therapy. He mutters into the mirror, glaring at his reflection, hands firmly in his back pockets. His reflection scowls back, flicking him the V. I shake my head. His hands are in his pockets…Oh, hell no. I’m way too tired. Not enough sleep. Kai leans forward and headbutts the glass, a giant crack splintering it into two huge shards. Farrell roars his anger, but Kai? Kai looks serene. Blood runs down his face and drips slowly onto the floor.

Maybe I shouldn’t base any decisions on Kai.

My gaze strays to the clock again.

“He won’t be back tonight. You may as well go,” Kai mutters, gliding past. “He’s got a new…plaything. Angel boy is too distracted to deal with the likes of us.”

Drumming my fingers on the table, it hits me. I was right. He’s off screwing some professor, or student. Annoyance prickles at me. He should be here with me. Supporting Chano.

Farrell’s hand clamps down on my fingers, and the contact sends a jolt of heat up my arm—a fire that has nothing to do with forgiveness. I barely have time to swallow the shock before he lifts me, depositing me in Chano’s lap with clinical precision. I search his face for a hint of absolution, but his unreadable expression says nothing.

“Nothing will change if you two take five minutes. Lottie isn’t going to get more lost, and the Gifted Academy will still be there,” he declares,herding the rest out of his dorm. His tone is flat, yet his eyes linger on me. Kai protests all the way down the corridor as they leave.

I squirm in Chano’s lap, glancing back into his face. We’ve not really been intimate. Not in a long time. Maybe he isn’t in the mood? Maybe…His dick pulses under my butt. Strong fingers knead my shoulders, and I lean back with a sigh. His breath hot on my neck sends shivers racing across my skin.

“We don’t have to take it all the way, chica.”

I nod. But the tight burning in my pussy says we do. He drops kisses slowly down my shoulder, down my arm. Then he palms my neck, tugging on my hair. My back arches and I gasp. Chano stands, letting me slip to the floor. One hand in the small of my back, he directs me to Farrell’s room, to Farrell’s bed, a glint in his eye that I haven’t seen in too long. He pushes me almost roughly onto the bed.

“Clothes off, chica. Now.” The low growl in his tone has my lower belly clenching, but when I look up, he’s finishing a text. With a feral grin he tosses the phone down, his shirt following it, then his pants.

“Too slow,” he says, his fingers playing over the buttons on my shirt. Quick as lightning, he rips my shirt open. Cool air hits my skin, and my nipples pebble. Chano maneuvers me onto the bed, climbing in beside me, pulling me into his chest.

The bedroom door clicks, and I freeze. Citrus. Pine.

Farrell.

Is he really going to…

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