“Hello, Asmodeus,” Gabriel said, his voice going hard. “Seems you and your Legion have trapped yourselves another human soul.”

“He hasn’t trapped me,” I shot back, but everyone ignored me as the rest of the demons landed on the streets. Their black wings beat behind them, shooting hot air across my face. And then the wings were gone, melting into nothing more than shadows.

I blinked as my mind tried to make sense of it.

“Well, this is bloody unexpected,” Suriel said as he took in the six angry demons. “You’re all here? Why?”

“None of your business,” Az said, taking a step toward the angels. “Leave now, Gabe. These streets are mine. I don’t want to fight you, but I will if I must.”

Gabe rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Fine. But we’ll be keeping an eye on things.”

With that, the two angels pushed up from the ground, spread brilliant silver wings, and vanished into the cloud-filled sky. My heart thumped as I tipped my head back to gaze up at the dark.

“Mia,” Az barked as he began to storm down the block toward his building. “Let’s go. We need to get you home.”

I pressed my lips together as I dragged my gaze away from the sky. He was already halfway down the block. The others followed behind him, bodies tense, gazes locked on the shadows they passed. Only Caim remained by my side, his hands slung into his jean pockets.

“Well, that was odd,” he said, motioning me forward.

I fell into step beside him. “Tell me about it.”

“I heard what they said,” he murmured as the humid breeze brushed the inky hair away from his face.

My head jerked toward him as a snake squeezed my heart. “Caim.”

“Don’t.” He held up a hand. “Like I said, I heard what they said. And I can put the pieces together to understand what happened. I don’t need an explanation from you, but he does.” He inclined his head toward Az who stormed ahead at the front of the Legion. “Loyalty. It is a very big deal to Az. I won’t explain why. That’s his story to tell. All you need to know is that he will never forgive you if you don’t come clean to him.”

I winced and glanced away. “You make it sound like I betrayed his trust or something.”

“Didn’t you?”

“No,” I said, fisting my hands. “The angels approached me after my first night at the club. Things were different then. I didn’t even know him.”

“And you think you know him now?”

I flushed, my gaze locking on my scuffed leather boots. “As crazy as it sounds, yes. I mean, I’ve joined this dangerous mission, haven’t I?”

He patted my shoulder and gave me a smile. “Then, you know how important trust is to him. You need to tell him everything.”