Page 12 of Azrael

Fucking hell.“I was out riding, heard a scream and went to check it out.Found her in an alley with three men intent on doing whatever they wanted with her.She was a bit banged up, had to get stitches in one arm.Turns out she was searching for me.I guess I’ve made a name for myself.”

“Angel of Death?”he asked.

“Does everyone but me know about it?”

Charming chuckled.“Most likely.Did she say what she wanted with you?”

“Her mom is missing.I don’t have all the details yet.Just know her mom was born in Egypt, but apparently her family is from Israel.Dad was American.Died a few years ago.Sounds like it’s just her and her mom.”

I heard Charming walking through his house, then a door open and shut.I was willing to bet he’d gone outside so he wouldn’t bother his family.“How old is she?”

“Says she’s twenty-two.It’s not like I asked for her ID.”I tipped my head back and closed my eyes.“Now you know as much as I do.I’ll see what I can get from her, but I’m probably going to need some help on this one.She wants me to find her mom.”

“We’ll talk more in the morning.But you know damn well she can’t move in with you.”

Before I could say anything in response, he ended the call.I stared at the phone a moment before I got up.After I made sure all the doors were locked, I went to the bedroom and stripped out of my clothes, then flopped back on the bed.I had a feeling things were about to become complicated.

Chapter Four

Azrael

I didn’t invite many people into my home.There was a reason for that -- plenty of them, actually -- but I’d made an exception for Zara.Completely out of character for me, but I hadn’t been able to just leave her in that alley.

I’d let her sleep in this morning, but apparently the smell of bacon had woken her.Of course, I still didn’t know about her food preferences.My mother had been raised Muslim, but she hadn’t raised me in the faith.Bacon had been on our table when we could afford it.But I wasn’t sure about Zara.

She padded into the kitchen, looking rather adorable in my clothes.I fought not to smile.

“Sit,” I told her, pointing to one of the wooden chairs at my kitchen table.

She didn’t sit.Instead, she paced, her hands twisting in front of her.Her blue eyes darted around the space, taking in the sparse furnishings, the worn countertops, the tidy sink.She hadn’t really gotten a good look at my house last night.Now, in the broad light of day, everything was laid bare.I wondered what she’d expected.Probably not this -- not a simple house at the edge of the Devil’s Boneyard compound, tucked away from the noise and chaos.

I turned on the faucet, letting cold water wash over my hands.“It’s time to talk.I need all the details you can give me.Start at the beginning.Pretend we didn’t speak last night.”

“My mother’s been taken.”

I studied her face carefully.I remembered her saying she was twenty-two.She was young -- too young to be mixed up in the kind of shit that usually found its way to my doorstep.Pretty in a way that was hard to ignore, with skin a few shades darker than mine and those startling blue eyes.

“What makes you think that?”I asked.

“She’s been missing for days.She wouldn’t just leave.Not without telling me.”Zara’s fingers tightened on the chair.“I went to her house, and there were signs of a struggle.A broken vase.Her purse was still there, her phone.”

“You call the cops?”

She let out a bitter laugh.“Yeah.They took a report.Said they’d look into it.Then they asked if my mother had any ‘male friends’ she might have gone off with.Asked if she was the type to do drugs, to disappear on benders.”

“Even with the scene laid out the way it was?”

“Yeah.They said she could have accidentally knocked the vase over or some bullshit along those lines.”She gave a heavy sigh.

I nodded, unsurprised.“Your mother’s name?”

“Mazida.Mazida Quadir.”

“And your father?”

“Carter Colton.Like I mentioned last night, he’s been dead a few years now.”

I pushed away from the counter and walked to the refrigerator, pulling out the orange juice.I poured two glasses and set them on the table, then retrieved the food I’d made.

---