Chapter 12

TWELVE

Willow

Voices. I hear voices somewhere close by. Gabriel's is the only one I recognize. Another man and a woman are with him. Panic surges through my limbs. I don't make a sound. If I didn't need to breathe, I wouldn't. What if Hannah and Isaac found me? What if Hannah turned her charms on Gabriel and he's in her thrall?

"Sinclair, if I had any idea why this happened to her, I would tell you," Gabriel says. "I found her in the basement of St. Mary's Cathedral, being tortured. For what purpose, I do not know."

There's a soft beep, followed by a growl. "The Bureau's techs say the disc delivered an electrical charge through the wires to her vagus nerve. Similar devices are used to stop epileptic seizures in humans, but this one had a magical component as well. Whoever did this to her…they are not human."

"Of course they're not," the woman scoffs. "She's a witch. A very powerful one. The healer confirmed as much. She wouldn't have simply let someone implant a torture device inside her—" Her voice cracks. "Oh, God. Unless it was a fae."

"Zoe, my love. Breathe."

I risk opening my eyes to slits. I'm lying on a couch in a ritzy apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the city. My shoulder throbs, but it's almost like the wound is a distant memory now. And the ache is too.

My tank top is torn, but no one undressed me, thank God. Though where the hell are my shoes?

"Willow?" Gabriel's voice startles me. I try to sit up, but a wave of dizziness sends me crashing back down to the couch cushions. "Fuck. The healer said she would be fine." He kneels next to me, smooths a hand over my hair, and stares down at me with those golden-hued eyes. "Say something, deliciae ."

"I'm…okay." My voice doesn't sound like mine. My throat is so raw, I'm surprised I can speak at all. "I have a medical condition."

Understanding dawns over his handsome face. "You told me of this. When we met in the church."

"It doesn't go away," I manage. "Help me?" If I try to sit up on my own, I'm just going to topple over again. And I want Gabriel's arms around me for at least a few minutes before I have to run again. I can't stay in this fancy apartment with huge windows that look out over the city. Even though I feel safe here, I can't trust him. Or anyone. Not after Hannah fooled me so thoroughly.

Gabriel slides one arm around my back, managing to cup my head as he lifts me gently.

Wow. His touch is every bit as comforting as it was weeks ago. It's not only his strength, but his essence. He's steady. Reassuring. Confident. "Do you have much pain?" he asks.

"My throat." My fingers flutter over my neck, and I wince. The skin feels burned. Like the world's worst sunburn. I know I screamed, but this is…more.

Gabriel brushes my hair back, rests his palm over my chest, and closes his eyes. A low growl rumbles through him.

The man and woman standing behind Gabriel look at one another. The man nods. "I can try, my love."

"Willow?" The woman lowers herself down to sit on the glass coffee table. "I'm Zoe. This is Sinclair. He's part incubus demon, and he has this…talent. If you let him, he can convince your body to sort of…forget the pain."

"No!" I shove at Gabriel's arms, but he only tightens his hold on me. "I can't. You don't understand. Hannah…she…"

"Hannah? Is that the woman who was hurting you?" His eyes flash a deeper amber. Anger coils in his limbs. "What is she?"

Sinclair claps his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "Are you trying to scare Willow? Or are you simply that terrible at reading human emotions?"

The men glare at one another until Zoe shakes her head. "I don't care how badly the two of you want to punch each other—or this Hannah woman. Stand down." She leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees. "I didn't trust Sin either the first time he offered to take some of my pain away. Granted, I thought I was human back then."

Sinclair chuckles. "My love, ‘back then' was only three weeks ago."

With a slight grimace, Zoe rolls her shoulders. "Since I've barely been ‘alive' for two years this time, three weeks might as well be ten years."

This time?

I'm so confused. It must show, because Gabriel cups my cheek, his thumb skating gently under my eye. "Zoe is a daughter of Seraphim. Reborn in a human body, but very much celestial. You can trust Sinclair. He is only part incubus. His other half is—" at Sin's cough, Gabriel sighs. "He does not lie."

"Yeah, and I'm sure if I'd asked her, Hannah would have said the same thing. She said she was human, and I believed her. I'm not making that mistake again." This time, Gabriel doesn't stop me when I wriggle out of his arms. The room only spins for a few seconds before I get my bearings. My feet ache. Where the hell are my shoes? Was I wearing them when I ran from his hotel room? I don't remember.

"I believe she is part fae," he says. Zoe stiffens, and a growl escapes Sinclair's clenched jaw. "Her words affected me, but I was able to resist."

Shit. Why does that make things so much worse?

Because if she can influence Gabriel—if it's not just me—she can turn the whole world against me .

My gaze sweeps around the room. A long hallway with several doors to my right. A darkened fireplace to my left. Straight ahead…is that a kitchen? I blink hard. Yes. A large, stainless steel refrigerator stands tall in one corner. The front door must be in that direction. But with three people—beings—in my way, do I have any hope of escape?

"Willow, no one will harm you here." Sinclair takes several steps away from Zoe. "Gabriel can be quite an ass, but neither of us lie. It is not in our nature. I believe I can prove this to you." He shrugs out of his robe to reveal a sculpted chest covered in scars.

Fear steals all the heat from my body. Gabriel doesn't move. A hint of a smile curves Zoe's lips. Sinclair closes his eyes for a brief moment. A rush of air swirls around the room.

Huge, black wings beat softly, lifting him from the ground. "My mother was a succubus demon. But my father was an angel. Zoe is a daughter of the Seraphim. And the man in front of you is none other than one of the first chosen. You were saved by the Archangel Gabriel."