Page 30 of Soulless Angel

That’s when he did end the call. Fine with me. I had nothing more to say to him.

I relayed the brief conversation to Cash who chuckled. “You were sassy with him. I like it. You don’t let that side of yourself out nearly often enough.”

I scoffed. “It comes out when I need it most. Besides, if I get too sassy, Daire will go nuts finding ways to “punish” me.” Holding up a hand, I made air quotes.

Cash laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about Daire. He loves a good power trip, but he loves you more. He’d die before he let himself hurt you.”

I opened my mouth to protest and a memory stopped me. Daire had silently blamed himself for what happened when Brady took me. When he startled me awake during a bad dream, Daire had retreated to the basement where he’d punished himself by cutting deep gashes into his hand. He still had the scars from that night.

That was the one time I knew about. It made me wonder how many times Daire had found a way to punish himself without any of us knowing. He’d never been a typical nice guy. He never would be. However, he’d proven that he was a man willing to do anything to protect me. In his own messed up way, Daire loved me.

Somehow, I’d fallen for him too. That’s why I had to be with Cash when he went in search of Daire and Blaze. If something happened to them, I needed to be there.

Cash was quiet for a moment before adding, “For the record, Sunshine, we all love you.Ilove you.”

His hand slid across the console to rest on top of mine. I smiled.

“I know. I love you too, Cash.”

We turned into a residential neighborhood that looked like any other. Middle class homes with nice yards and decent cars in the driveways. Nothing too shady or suspicious. We passed Daire’s car, which he’d parked down the street from the house they’d targeted. Seeing his car sitting there gave me an ominous feeling. Something wasn’t right.

Cash didn’t bother to park away from the house. He drove right up to the two story house and parked in the empty driveway. Not a single light shone in the windows. Weird.

“Stay behind me,” Cash instructed when we got out of the car. “If we get jumped or anything really fucked happens, get your ass back to the car and leave. The keys are under the seat.”

I nodded, not willing to argue, even though I didn’t plan to leave any of them behind. I followed Cash around the front of the garage and up to the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked and ajar. This kept getting stranger.

He pushed the door open, poking his head inside. “Shit. I smell smoke.”

Shoving into the house, Cash rushed through the living room with his gun in hand. I hurried to keep up, my gaze darting around at the darkened interior. The smell grew stronger as we reached a closed door next to the stairs.

“It’s coming from the basement. I’m going to check it out. If the smoke is too thick, go back to the car.” Cash didn’t wait for me to agree before running down the stairs into the smoky basement.

I didn’t know if it was a good idea or not but I searched for the light switch, flicking it on before following. The air was a thick, gray haze. The stairs ended at a wall before taking a sharp turn to the left. I rounded the corner to find Cash hastily working to untie Daire’s hands.

Both Daire and Blaze were sprawled on the floor, their hands and feet tied. They were covered in blood and bruises. A bloodstained baseball bat lay on the floor several feet away. Flames erupted from a garbage can in the corner. The fire had caught a nearby wall hanging as it made its way around the room.

Flipping open my switchblade, I raced over to Blaze and began sawing at the rope tied around his hands. He mumbledsomething to me about getting out before the smoke got too bad. I ignored him, slashing at the rope.

A few feet away, Cash used Daire’s knife to cut his bonds. I coughed a few times, the smoke burning my eyes and lungs. It had caught the couch in the corner now. Shit.

Once Daire was free, Cash dragged him to the stairs, helping him out of the basement. By the time he returned, I’d freed Blaze’s hands and feet. Cash got him out, urging me to run on ahead.

I found Daire sitting on the front step, sucking in deep breaths of clean air. I too enjoyed some deep breaths of fresh air after being inside the smoky basement.

“What happened?” Placing a hand on his shoulder, I looked him over.

His injuries were nasty. A huge lump formed on his temple. Bruises down his cheek. Blood crusted in his eyebrow and down his face. I wasn’t sure if he’d need a hospital.

“Fucker jumped us with a baseball bat. Knocked me right the fuck out with the first hit. Fuck, it hurts.” Daire touched the lump on his temple and winced.

Cash and Blaze emerged from the house, continuing on to Cash’s SUV. He returned quickly for Daire, getting him into the vehicle too.

“Take my car and get these guys home,” he said, taking charge. “I’ll follow in Daire’s car.”

“Are you sure?” I glanced uncertainly at the two injured men in the SUV. “They’re hurt pretty bad. Do you think they need a hospital? What if they have head trauma?”

“Don’t worry about that, Sunshine.” Cash pressed a fast kiss to my forehead. “Desmond has a doctor on call. We’ll ask him to come to the house. Go now, before someone calls the fire department.”

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