Page 47 of Lips of an Angel

What should I do? Raleigh was missing, and my powers hadn’t been this demanding since the night he’d spent in Beverly Hills. I shook out my arms, trying to will the incessant tingling away.

It persisted, keeping me on edge. Between my powers buzzing under my skin and my panic flooding my mind, it was too much.

Fuck it. What did I have to lose?

In the empty hallway, I gave in to my powers. Immediately, the dim space lit up in a soft, golden glow, not quite as bright as when I was alone, but enough that I wouldn’t be able to hide it if someone walked down the hall.

I’d always been in tune to Raleigh, and the moment I opened myself up to my powers, I felt a tug on my senses, like when you can sense someone watching you. Reeling in my powers, I left the hallway, making my way to the front door of the bar on pure instinct, following where the senses guided me.

Out on the sidewalk, Raleigh towered over a crowd of people. He stood with his back to the street, glaring at someone much smaller in front of him. Judging by the fury on his face and the emphatic way he gestured, it was a heated conversation. My wings stirred, the creeping under my skin becoming unbearable. Something wasn’tright, but I didn’t know my powers—didn’t use them enough—to understand what they were telling me.

Raleigh hadn’t noticed me yet, so I worked my way across the sidewalk, the person he was speaking to finally coming into view.

Fuck. It was Billie, and I didn’t like how close they stood to him. Cars whizzed past on the busy street, to the wind of their passage ruffling the arguing pair’s hair.

Billie noticed me first. I was no more than ten feet away, and the evil in their eyes sent a shiver down my spine—and cranked my powers into overdrive. “Of course, your pet’s here.”

Raleigh’s eyes widened, and his anger melted away. He ignored Billie’s sneer. “I thought you and Eli were wedding planning all night,” he said to me instead.

“Weddingplanning?” Billie interrupted before I could respond. They turned slitted eyes on Raleigh. “Sothat’swhy you’ve been so testy tonight.”

“I’mtestybecause you tried to shut my bar down and have my friend arrested.”

I blinked.What?

I reached for Raleigh to get his attention.

He shook his head. “Go back inside and watch the bar,” he said, “I’ve got this handled.”

Like hell. “Got what handled? What are you talking about?”

“I’m still talking to you, Raleigh,” Billie interjected, clearly annoyed that he was ignoring them.

“Well, I’m through talking to you,” Raleigh snapped. “If you have anything to say to me, take it up with the lawyer that I hired because of the stunt you pulled.”

Billie stepped between me and Raleigh, forcing him backward, and dangerously close to the curb.

My anxiety dialed up to ten. Scratch that, tenwas its resting heart rate, it rocketed up totwenty. My pulse hammered in my ears so loudly that I could no longer hear what Billie was saying. It took everything I had to keep my powers at bay. My hands curled into fists at my sides, trembles zapping up both arms. I could vaguely hear Raleigh calling my name, but I couldn’t respond. I’d never had such a difficult time keeping my powers in check, which could only mean that something big was about to happen.

Was this what that EMT felt on that fateful night when they turned me?

Heat flared through my body. Sweat beaded across my hairline. The people around me faded away. My powers, no longer content to sit on the sidelines, forced their way out of me. I knew what would happen before it occurred.

The space around me illuminated a vibrant gold, my hair lighting up like Christmas lights. My marks flared, eyes blinking after so long dormant. I shuddered as my wings broke free of my skin.

Then it happened.

Raleigh and Billie were screaming at each other, but I couldn’t make out the words. Billie surged forward, and time slowed. Planting both hands on Raleigh’s chest, theyshovedwith everything they had.

Raleigh, not expecting the move, fell back and his ankle twisted on the curb with a gut-wrenchingcrack.

But that wasn’t what my powers were building up to.

They were building up to the large truck barreling down on Raleigh as he pitched backward into traffic.

I didn’t even think. I reacted.

Sloth

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