Page 52 of Wings of Torment
His hand rests on my ass and I lean into him, wishing my hair was down to cover the words I desperately need to share with him and also wishing some of this was real and not just a charade. But between being watched and what we’re here to do, I can’t let myself get distracted.
His free hand moves to my neck, guiding my lips to his. Everything fades away as I let him tug me into the kiss, except it never lands. He shifts me slightly, trailing his nose down the curve of my neck and placing a kiss there instead.
“The guy in the corner. Do you recognize him?”
When I shake my head, it’s barely a movement at all. “Oh, no you don’t,” I say playfully. “I made you wait at least a few dates beforethat.”
We drink the shake, acting like we’re blissfully in love and ignoring the angel in the corner. I just want him to leave, but it’s obvious that he’s going to follow our lead. Fuck.
We pack up, holding hands and walking down the street like we really are just a couple out for a stroll. I casually point out the places I saw Roderick arguing with angels, and Zeke makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to cross the road and walk up that side of the street.
Sometime while shopping, our tagalong leaves us, likely getting bored when he realizes we’re not a threat, and finally I can breathe a little better. At least for a few seconds, before I realize which street corner we’re standing on. The dead end.
My hands are clammy as I think about the man I left lying on the ground. Could I have saved him? Will we find his body there, or has someone already removed it?
Zeke tugs me with him so abruptly, I have to bite my tongue not to make a sound. Then he’s pressing me into the wall and I struggle to pull air into my lungs.
His teeth nip at my earlobe, causing shivers to race across my flesh. “Is this the street where you saw the body?” he whispers, keeping his voice low.
“Yes,” I reply, trying to ignore the feel of his hard body against mine, and the very obvious bulge I feel pressing against me. There’s no denying the thrill of excitement I get from knowing that he wants this too. He may act like he wants nothing to dowith me most of the time, but his body can’t lie. He’s enjoying this just as much as I am.
“Shh,” he whispers, gripping my neck as he pulls back until we’re finally face-to-face. The heat I find within his green eyes must surely match mine. He trails his gaze down my face, to my lips, and just as I’m positive he’ll kiss me, he pulls away.
Focus, Hayliel. You have a job to do, and it’s not time to ride his dick.
I count to thirty, trying to cool down my throbbing core and chill the fuck out, but then we’re tiptoeing down the street, keeping close to the wall. Until we know what we’re walking into, it’s best we go unnoticed.
It’s weird being back here, but I’m glad to have someone with me this time. Maybe revisiting this place while it’s empty will help me replace the memory of that night so I can actually sleep tonight.
Except we’re not alone.
Someone paces at the end of the street. Four steps away. Four steps back. He’s talking to himself, seeming angry, but I can’t make out the words enough to understand why. That nasal voice, though, is hard to forget. Roderick.
Shit.
I mouth the name to Zeke, but he doesn’t follow, so I point and make a stabbing motion instead. Well, he certainly can’t mistake that.
On the other side of the wall, the pacing stops. Roderick’s muttering continues, but now there’s a new sound. A distinct tapping that I bet must be from his slate. Who’s he talking to, I wonder?
We stand as exposed as I was last night, listening to the man who took the life of an angel because he wasn’t part of the plan. I want to laugh at our stupidity. What were we thinking? What wasIthinking? I guess I assumed he’d be long gone from thisplace and that maybe we’d find a clue to where he lived so we could break in and snoop. But now, hiding behind the wall from the same angel who appeared in my nightmare last night, I’m not sure what the plan is.
Zeke, on the other hand, has no such worries. He pulls something from his pocket, presses a button, and suddenly he’s holding a thick bat. Before I can get his attention to ask him what the fuck he’s doing, he creeps closer, moving as silent as a soft breeze.
When he’s close enough, he swings the bat so hard he knocks Roderick off his feet, and before he gets back up, Zeke kicks him in the face and knocks him out cold.
“Umm, what the hell was that?” I ask him while staring at Roderick’s limp form. He’s got a thick nose and bushy eyebrows, but otherwise he just looks like anyone else. If I saw him on the street, I’d never know he was a murdering psycho.
“The way I see it is we need answers, and he’s going to give them to us.”
“Right,” I reply, unsure if this part of the plan was smart or idiotic. I guess we’ll find out.
I take in the scene, then look up to the sky and realize we’re practically begging someone to come find us. Fuck. Whose dumb idea was it to come here again? Alright, fine. So it was mine. But to actually attack and confront this murderer? Well, that’s all Zeke.
“Tell me again how things went last night,” he says, placing a pair of cuffs on Roderick. Does he have a tickle trunk in his pants or something? Where does he keep pulling this shit from?
“Roderick was here with a few angels. He wasn’t happy about something. One of his minions spilled the beans on their plan or something. Then another guy dropped in from the sky, and that’s who Roderick killed. When I left, he was lying there.” Ipoint to a spot not too far from where Roderick lay now. “Then they all went into a building, but I’m not sure which one.”
“Azrael said he found the body, but we’re trying to keep this whole thing under wraps until we know more.” Zeke moves from door to door until he finds one unlocked. The door creaks and groans when he opens it, just like it did last night. I go still, wondering if maybe we should have scoped it out a bit more before being as loud as fucking possible and alerting anyone to our presence, but no one comes.
