Page 87 of Guarded
I didn’t want to sit—I was too restless. Too desperate to track Noah down and figure out what the hell was going on. But from the pointed look Nox gave me, I knew there was little point fighting it.
I dropped heavily into the chair, scowling at the angel opposite.
“Have you tried calling him?” Micah asked. “I looked after his phone up until last night, but he has it back now.”
Was that why Noah hadn’t responded to me until then? “I tried, but he didn’t answer. Why did he need you to look after his phone?”
Micah shrugged. “He didn’t say. Just said it was important and to not let anyone else near it. So that’s what I did.”
“Where is he?”
Micah cleared his throat. “He’s still at the Juniper compound.”
“Is the conference over?”
“Yes.”
Another look passed between the mated pair. It was pissing me off.
“Can we cut the bullshit?” I said. “Why isn’t Noah back and what the fuck aren’t you telling me?”
Micah ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “We’re not intentionally hiding things from you, Jeremiah. It’s not our place to speak of it. I’m just trying to respect Noah’s privacy here without being a dick to you.”
“Tell me what you can, then.”
“He’s stayed behind to help his old unit.” Micah braced his arms on his thighs, a shadow passing over his face. “Their leader, Lyle, lost control of his powers the day he tried to apprehend myself and Nox. It appears to have affected his cognition and reasoning, along with his reactions and spatial awareness.”
Lyle. The name slipped through my mind like poison. Without even hearing anything else, I was willing to bet he was the reason Noah had walked away from his unit. The reason he’d been so anxious about his return.
Nox blinked at Micah. “You didn’t tell me this.”
Micah gave him a wry look. “When would I have had a moment? We’ve been…occupiedsince I got back.”
Nox’s tongue flicked out over his lower lip and I decided that the carpet was suddenly very interesting. “Well, you were away for far too long.”
The room was warmer than it had been a few moments ago. Desperate to bring this back on track before the two of them were distracted by their libidos, I cleared my throat. “Um, can you focus? You guys aren’t the only ones who’ve been apart, and I’m hoping for a reunion of my own.”
Micah flushed, but Nox just smirked and flicked his middle finger at me. Charming, as always.
I ignored him, too riled up about Noah to engage. “I didn’t realise archs could lose control of their power…or that it would have such an effect on them.”
“Other supes don’t know about it because it happens so rarely,” Micah said. “We’re taught about the dangers oflosing control from a very early age. Those who do are rarely left alive long enough for anyone to learn what happens next.”
I knew enough about that day to know that hadn’t happened with Lyle. “Yet you two let him live.”
“Not by choice.” Nox scowled murderously. “Trust me, if it wouldn’t have put the Seraphim in danger, Lyle would’ve been wiped from existence a long time ago.”
Micah grunted in agreement. “And now Juniper are paying the price for our choice. They’re being ruled by an unstable leader who is determined to take them all down with him. It’s complicated to explain, but the reality is this—if Lyle’s condition gets out before Juniper or ourselves can take Gloria down, they could all be punished as a result.”
Nox rubbed at his chin. “Lyle is a cunt, but an intelligent one. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s put safeguards in place to protect himself in favour of his unit.”
“He sounds like a real piece of shit.” Flames licked at my fingers as my demon poised, waiting. “What does this have to do with Noah?”
“Juniper asked Noah to assist them with Lyle for the duration of the conference.”
I went deadly still. Assist? What the fuck did that mean?
“I won’t lie to you, Jeremiah,” Micah continued, “I’m concerned as fuck. While I can empathise with the unit’s concerns, I don’t like what they’ve asked of Noah. Not one bit. The things I heard Lyle saying to Noah…”
