“Who cares about Jason?” I would love to have someone to beat up on right now. It’d be a great way to relieve some emotional tension.
Ally scowls. “He can heal a hatchet to the back, and he wants to squeeze your brains out of your ears like a Go-Gurt.”
“But what about Winston? When we got him, we promised to keep him safe.”
“I know,” Ally says, and all the sympathy returns to her softening brow and downturned lips. “I know. We’ll get him back.”
Gloria motions toward the door. “We should go while we can.”
I’m suddenly super grateful that Gloria insisted on having her own place in the city outside of Tate Tower. She wasn’t nearly as eager to integrate her life with Jeremiah’s, no matter how much he offered her, and I wonder if that’s because she knew this was coming.
Ally pulls me out of the bed and I place each shaky foot on the floor. After a couple of test steps, I feel strong enough not to lean on her.
Gabriel moves with us. “Don’t let me fall on my face,” I tell him.
The three of us hobble out of the hospital ward and down the hall to the elevators. The hallway looks darker than usual and suspiciously devoid of people. We stop outside the reflective doors and I can see myself in the metal. I look like hell. My hair is soaked and knotted on one side of my head. The other two don’t look much better—all three of us could pass for drowned rats.
The doors open and we step in. Ally punches a button for my floor.
“We need help,” Ally says and then she sees my glare. “I’m not saying we have to work with Jeremiah—or Nikki—I’m only saying that the three of us against Caldwell and his army, or just us against Jason, seems ridiculous.”
“Gloria is worth ten thousand of those guys,” I say in mock offense. No way I’m going to let her know how absolutely terrified I am of Caldwell. It’s not what he’ll do to me, even though we’ve been down that super fun road. It’s what he’d do to the people I love. Already he’s beat Ally half to death, murdered Brinkley, and kidnapped my dog. What’s next?
He knows exactly what hurts me most, and he isn’t the least bit hesitant to apply the pain.
“What about Rachel?” Ally asks. “If we could find Rachel, I would feel a little more secure. We could use her abilities to strengthen our defense.”
“I’ve been looking.”
Rachel disappeared the night Brinkley died, but that was two months ago. I’m worried Caldwell has her captive or has already killed her. I can’t imagine Caldwell would kill her and not taunt me about it, so I have to hope she’s still out there, laying low.
Caldwell’s conversation replays in my head as we step off the elevator and into my hallway. We need to stop by my room and get my things, and maybe Ally’s room too—though I have no interest in running into her girlfriend or seeing them be all lovey and shit. Gag.
You’ll find it harder to get out than you think. He’ll be safe with your sister.
I stop dead. “Maisie?”
Ally stiffens beside me.
“You knew I had a sister. You said her name.”
Ally’s eyes roll up toward the ceiling. “Do we have to do this now?”
I stop in front of my room and press my thumb to the keypad. It blinks red, rejecting my print. I try the other thumb. It blinks red again.
“What the hell?”
“He locked you out of your room,” Gloria says.
“No shit.” I give her a look. “Any other wisdom you care to impart on us?”
I’m trying to remember what I have in my room that I need. My phone and wallet are in my pocket. My computer is in there, my clothes, a picture of me and Lane—Lane. Don’t get me started about Lane.
I want to punch a hole in the wall. I turn to Gabriel who’s trailed us silently this whole time, his green eyes wide and alert. “No chance you can pick me up and drop me on the other side of this door?”
Gabriel shakes his head. “You must kill Caldwell first.”
“Ugh. What good are you?”
“I am the midwife of the new world.”
“Okay, that was a rhetorical question. We’ll talk about those again later.”
Ally and Gloria exchange a glance.
“Is everything okay?” Ally asks, her brow scrunching again.
“The angel’s worthless.” I finger the sore bump on my shoulder. “Either of you got any ideas?”
“Let’s try my room,” Ally says. “If Nikki’s there, maybe we can get a few things.”
I slump and fall against the wall dramatically. “Assuming she’s allowed to open the door for us.”
Ally cocks her head, unamused. “I want to tell her we’re leaving at least. Maybe she’ll come with us.”
God, no.
“She probably knows we’re leaving,” Gloria says, running a hand over her head. Her hair is so short, it’s practically dry now. Lucky.
“Yes.” I try to capitalize on my window. “She totally knows. Can’t we just go?”
Ally leads us back to the elevator and punches the down button. The apartment she shares with Nikki is one floor beneath mine. The silver doors ding open and we step inside the space for a second time. I’m a little surprised and hella suspicious of the lack of people. And I half expect the elevator to stop at any time, Jeremiah holding us hostage until we agree to be his Intel slaves again.
I step off the elevator and find another empty hallway, which amplifies my suspicion.
“I don’t like this,” I say.
Gloria and Ally stop.
“What’s wrong?” Gloria asks. Her hand is itching toward her abdomen as if she intends to pull something out from under her coat. Does she have a gun in there?
“Where is everyone? Why is it so freaking quiet?”
Why would Jeremiah leave us alone like this? Worse, I didn’t feel alone at all. I turn to Gabriel. “Do you see anything I don’t?
“Much. At times, it is like revealing the intricacies of the universe to an ant.”
I frown. “I mean danger. Is there danger on this floor?”
“He’s watching you.”
Jeremiah? I ask in my head.
He nods.
Do a lap around the building. I want to know where his people are and what they’re doing. Go ahead and check the street and roof too to be sure. I don’t want to get outside and have Ally be all like, told you Jason was waiting.
Once he disappears, I turn to find Gloria and Ally staring at me with raised eyebrows.
“What?”
“You were staring down the hallway,” Ally says.
“Sorry?” If Jeremiah is watching us through the cameras or whatever, I can’t say more. “Let’s check your room and get out of here.”
Outside her sleeping quarters, Ally presses her thumb to the door and it blinks red. Access denied. She tries a second and third time, rolling her thumb a little to be sure it has good contact. Red. Blink, blink.
“Told you she wouldn’t let us in. She’s totally on his side anyway.”
The door opens and Nikki glares at me. “I’m on her side too.”
I open my mouth, and Ally tugs on my hand. Please, she begs with her eyes. Please don’t fight.
The look on Nikki’s face when Ally’s hand takes mine is priceless. It makes it a lot easier to break into a smile and whip up a chipper tone.
“Hi, Nick,” I say. “You look—tall.”
She ignores me, focusing her attention on Ally. “Are you really leaving?”
Ally tries to wedge past her, but Nikki stops her with a hand. “Al—”
“Told you she’s his lap dog.”
Nikki’s glare is sharp, but I’m not worried. I’ve never met anyone grumpier or more sardonic than moi. No, that’s not true. Brinkley is—was grumpier than me.
My heart flops.
In my head, I replay the scene. Brinkley raising his gun to shoot Caldwell, but even as he pulls the trigger, Caldwell is already gone. Pale hands wrap around Brinkley’s neck
and—snap.
My chest compresses tighter and the voices in the hallway sharpen back into focus.
“I understand I’m putting you in a horrible position.” Ally leans against the door jamb, talking to Sasquatch. “I won’t ask you to do anything to contradict his orders.”
“Al,” Nikki says, her shoulders slumping. “I’m supposed to convince you to come upstairs and talk. He only wants to talk.”
“Hopefully about the stick up his ass. We really need to address it.”
Nikki stands taller. “Why do you have to be—”
“So charming? Charismatic? Witty?”
“—such a bitch.”
“Stop.” Ally squeezes my hand so hard it hurts. “Don’t fight. Please.”
Nikki and I both go tight-lipped and red-faced. Neither one of us want to be the one to upset Ally first. I wish I could say I’m more mature than that, but Nikki and I have been at each other like this for months. I hate her. I hate that she’s trying to weasel her way into Ally’s life when it’s so perfectly clear she is only doing it so she can manipulate her for Jeremiah’s benefit.
So not happening.
Gabriel appears at my side. “The building is clear. The remaining personnel are in the control room upstairs.”
No secret plan to sedate us and lock us up?
“No.” Gabriel doesn’t have to use the mind speak since no one can see or hear him but me.
“Jess?” Ally is frowning at me again.
I turn and find they’re all looking at me. The light from the hallway shines down on us, giving the impression that I’m a stage actor who’s just missed my line. “What?”
“Nikki is volunteering to come with us.” Ally’s using her patient I-hate-repeating-myself tone. She knows I’m talking to Gabriel. She also knows that I don’t want Nikki or anyone else to know that.
“No.” I put my hand on my hip. “She wants to spy on us for Jeremiah.”
“I want to help you.” Nikki’s face is still red, but she’s fighting to keep her tone level. “You need me.”
“No one here needs you, sweetheart.”
“Jesse.” Ally almost stamps her feet. “We do need her if you want to attack Caldwell head-on. We need all the help we can get.”
Come see me alone, Caldwell had demanded. I hate to admit it, but now that I’m awake and the world is coming into focus without the blurry edge of drugs, I’m starting to see my situation a little differently.
I don’t even want Ally and Gloria to come. I don’t want the people I love anywhere near Caldwell. But do I think I can get Winston back without them? That’s a soft maybe.
Is Caldwell going to try to kill me, I ask Gabriel.
“Yes.”
Wow, way to sugarcoat it. Like as soon as he sees me?
“No. There is an order to abide.”
Can I get Winston back alone?
“I do not know.”
If I bring them, are they in danger of being killed? It’s a stupid question. I know the answer even before Gabriel confirms it.
“Yes. He wants Alice dead.”
“Jess?” Ally tugs on my hand.
“I think you guys should stay here. Maybe you shouldn’t leave the tower.”
“I know he asked you to go alone,” Nikki says, ratting me out. “That’s stupid and dangerous.”
“No.” Ally lets go of my hand and grabs her hips. “You are not going alone. Are you crazy?”
Gloria is the only one who doesn’t chastise me. “We all need to get out of this tower.”
Nikki searches Ally’s face for an answer.
“The tower is going to be bombed. Everyone should leave.”
“Were you going to tell me?” Nikki asks, her eyes wide.
Ally frowns. “Of course. I wouldn’t just leave without letting you know you’re in danger. But you won’t be in danger because you’re coming with us right?”
“Can we at least have dry clothes,” I moan. “It’s like negative a hundred out there and my hair is wet.”
A swarm of emotions plays over Nikki’s face. She opens her mouth only to close it again. She stands aside and lets Ally into the room. Nikki closes the door, leaving only a crack.
“You’re going to leave us,” Gloria says.
I give her a nervous smile. “Am I?”
“You understand that Caldwell still wants to eliminate the competition.” It’s basically a really nice way of calling me stupid to my face.
“I know.” I absentmindedly pick at the bump on my shoulder. “But I want Winston back, and I want you guys to be safe. I’ll have Gabriel, my shield, and my firepower.”
I think she’s going to give me more shit about this, but she just nods, a bizarre kind of approval.
I peer into the dark room and see Ally shoving her things into bags. Nikki is murmuring soft words to her. I don’t want to leave them. By the time I get back—if I come back—she might be engaged to this wench.
So not happening. The door opens wide again and Nikki steps out into the hall with her own bag packed and hanging from one shoulder.
“Okay, let’s go,” Nikki says.
“Issuing orders now?” I ask. “What about my dry clothes?”
“We’ll stop by your room and let you change. But you have to be quick about it.”
“Sure thing, Sasquatch.”
“Can I dry my hair?” Ally steps out into the hall and lifts her bag up onto her shoulder.
“You’re such a girl.” Nikki smiles at her, taking one of her hands in her own. “I really like that about you.”
Oh yeah. There’s no way I’m putting up with this for long.
Chapter 10
Jesse
We reach the first floor and the elevators open to the sight of Jeremiah and a small team of guards. Given the immensity of the room, they aren’t that intimidating. A huge domed ceiling hangs above, letting in the moonlight. A Christmas tree at least fifteen feet tall stands off to one side, its big red bows and cream decorations matching the soft swirls in the marble floor.
“I knew it. Shit’s about to get real.” I groan. The shield flares to life around Ally and knocks Nikki back a pace. God, if only I could make it bigger and push her halfway across the room. That’d be awesome. I wouldn’t even mind that I stand exposed and vulnerable in the center of this grand foyer.
“I’m not here to fight.” Jeremiah steps away from his detail with his palms out in surrender. I don’t lower the shield. I glance at Gloria to make sure she’s okay. She’s got her hand on her gun, but hasn’t raised it yet.
“You’re here to stop me.” I step in front of everyone. Keep an eye on her, I tell Gabriel, aware that my back is exposed to Nikki.
“If you have to go, fine.” His tone suggests it is everything but fine. “I only want to make sure you understand that I am on your side.”
“You shot me in the neck, sedated me, let my dog get kidnapped, left me and Ally trapped in a burning building, tried to hold me hostage. Oh, I don’t know why I must be so confused about whether or not you’re on my side.”
His jaw clenches. “If you need our help, you need only ask.”
“I can’t sit here in your fancy building while Caldwell has Winston. The fact that you expect me to do that is absurd. What really pisses me off is that you think you can just give Ally a good shake whenever you want something from me. If you ever do that again, you’ll be lucky to keep both your hands.”
My firebombing power flares. Ally is safe in the shield and Gloria is far enough away, assuming I don’t actually explode. The flames dance up my body and I let them simmer, despite the creepy way my skin crawls. It’s all I can do not to squirm like I have to pee.
“You know what they say about playing with fire, right?” Okay, I can be a little melodramatic. Shoot me. What’s the point of having a fancy power if I can’t make people back off?
He turns toward Gloria.
“I want to thank you for warning us about the bombing.” Jeremiah m
eets Gloria’s eyes. “You’ve saved lives.”
“Damn right she did. And don’t forget it.”
I snap my fingers for dramatic effect, and the flames sputter out around me. I can smell the strange stench in the air, almost like burnt rubber. I wonder what the fire burns from the air?
“Now move so I can save my pug.”
Jeremiah steps aside. His men do the same. “Call us if you need us.”
I don’t say anything more. I don’t need to. That’s the awesome thing about being me. Just go all fiery and walk out like, what, bitches? What?
We make it out of the building without further incident, Jeremiah and his men standing illuminated in the great foyer, watching us leave.
The freezing December air whips around my face, tousling my damp hair. At least Ally was smart enough to ask for those dry clothes or I’d be completely miserable right now.
“This way.” Gloria points us down North Michigan Avenue toward the subway.
I come up beside Ally and offer to carry one of the three bags she packed. She lets me take one.
“I need to talk to you,” I say, adjusting the weight of the bag on my shoulders.
“I won’t share anything you say with Jeremiah,” Nikki says. “I promise.”
“Pinkie promise?” I say, derisively.
Nikki’s face falls flat.
“Seriously, can we have a minute alone?”
“Can it wait until we get to Gloria’s?” Ally asks, pulling hair out of her mouth.
No, because I’ve already half decided that as soon as we reach Gloria’s, I’m taking off, but I can’t say that with Sasquatch listening.
I want Ally to know I’m leaving but not to worry about me. It will never fly, but maybe I can get her to understand if I explain it to her. I want to tell her what Gabriel said about the earth and the shield. After all, it’s the first real clue we’ve received about what the angels might mean. Ally could figure out Gabriel’s warning, I just know it. And I know she has her own secrets to share, like about this so-called sister of mine.
We descend the stairs to the subway. The pale fluorescents overhead flicker as we wiggle through the turnstile and then down another flight of stairs. At this time of night, the platform is nearly deserted. Gabriel catches up with us as we are stepping onto the car. His wings lay flat against his back as if in consideration of the few other passengers riding the train. I find it comical since they can’t even see him, let alone get an angel feather to the eye.
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