Once he and Charmeine had hung up, Raziel took his laptop out of his briefcase. With a silent click of a button, he turned it on and opened the files from Project Angel, the covert CIA department which had funded and overseen the Angel Killers. He’d managed to take it over months ago; the special agents now all had angel burn, or had been killed.

Except one.

A few strokes on the mouse pad, and a photo appeared on the screen: a résumé head-and-shoulders shot of an intense-looking young woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Sophie Kinney – a junior agent who’d been quickly elevated by the angelic invasion of her department; she and the traitor Nate had barely made it out in time to save their lives. From his exploration of Willow’s thoughts, Raziel knew about Sophie’s role the day the Second Wave had arrived. She and Nate had taken Willow to the cathedral by helicopter; Nate had stayed behind to help Willow with the attack on the gate – and been killed, as it turned out; the memory filled Raziel with satisfaction. Meanwhile, Sophie had escaped to a safe location. Smart girl.

But she’d been seen by the security guard at the back door. The same security guard who she’d later tracked down to question in disguise, in an attempt to find out where Kylar had gone – because as far as she knew, he was the only Angel Killer left in the world. Raziel’s response to the security guard’s worried email had praised him for his devotion to the angels and asked him to keep his encounter with Sophie confidential.

Just send me the contact details that were left with you, and the angels will take care of the matter, he’d finished. And he had done so to perfection. His email to Sophie had, he thought, been something of a masterpiece.

I understand you’re looking for Alex Kylar. So am I. I was a friend of your former colleague Nathaniel, and share Nathaniel’s goals. There are several of us in Mexico City – where, as you might not be aware, there have been multiple angel killings recently. We believe Alex Kylar is here, and that he’s formed a new group of Angel Killers. There are further details that I cannot disclose via email, but as a matter of extreme urgency, we feel that you, our group, and his need to join forces in order to battle the threat that faces this world.