Wanted Angel - Sadie Moss Page 0,3

around the corner until we’re faced with one of New York’s many bridges.

I can’t imagine anyone as powerful as Valentina living under a bridge. Is she camped out under here disguised as a homeless person?

Ryland moves forward quickly but confidently, striding under the bridge and vanishing into the darkness. I swallow hard, unsure if I can follow. My feet feel like lead. What if there’s an ambush of some kind waiting under there?

Beckett takes my arm and leads me under the bridge, and I press myself up against him before I even realize what I’m doing. It’s just so natural to trust him like this, and it’s become a habit for him to hold his arm out and for me to take it. His presence soothes me. Beckett’s been protecting me from the beginning. I know he’ll keep me safe no matter what happens.

As we step into the darkness beneath the bridge, I can’t see a thing. It’s all shadows on top of shadows, and I press myself as close up against Beckett as I can, terrified.

“Where’s the damn door…?” Ryland mutters up ahead.

I can’t see what’s happening, but I hear what sounds like whooshing noises, and then creaking. A few sparks fly, gone too quickly for me to really identify what they’re lighting up. Magic is happening, I know that much. I feel a tingle in the air, a sort of vibration, before a door opens up and light pours out through it.

Oh, I see. Valentina doesn’t live under the bridge. This is just the entrance to wherever she does live. It’s a well-chosen hiding spot, I’ll give her that.

“You all right, angel?” Beckett murmurs, his mouth by my ear.

The heat of his breath makes goose bumps scatter across my skin, and I nod firmly.

It’ll be okay. I have my men with me.

Normally, this is where I’d remind myself that they’re not really my men, but at the moment, I can’t bring myself to do that. Because right now, it feels like I need them more than I ever have before. Not just as backup and self-appointed bodyguards, but because… well, if things go sideways tonight, they’re the people I’d want to have with me in my final moments.

The last ones I’d want to see before the end.

Holy crap. That’s big.

Huge.

I’m really falling in love with the sins, aren’t I?

I need to save up all the courage I can muster to face Valentina, so instead of answering my own silent question, I tighten my grip on Beck’s arm as we follow Ryland, stepping through into the witch’s lair.

Chapter Two

Sawyer

My shoulders are so fucking tense it feels like they’re turning to stone.

As we step through the doorway and enter the dark corridor beyond, I let out a breath, trying to banish the demons that howl in my head. My brothers know how much I dislike the idea of asking Valentina for help, and I’m sure the angel has picked up on my tension as well. But for some reason, I don’t want Trinity to know the true depth of my unease.

I haven’t seen Valentina since the day she cursed me, leaving my face and body marred with scars.

To be honest, I never planned on seeing her again.

But if she can help us protect the angel, it will be worth it.

Trinity is beautiful and pure. She cares about people in a way that still sometimes startles me. She doesn’t deserve to be hunted by supernatural bounty hunters for simply trying to do the right thing. And she doesn’t deserve to have my twisted past interfere with her hope of removing the bounty on her head.

So here we are, creeping into Valentina’s underground lair.

But that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.

Ryland holds up a hand, pressing a button on his Rolex and making a soft light emanate from the watch. He’s obviously had it enchanted, since the light expands much farther than the usual illumination of a watch face would.

He glances back at me over his shoulder, his angular jaw and closely trimmed beard shadowy in the dim light. “Will she have dangerous protections on this place?”

I shrug, although the motion feels like it might crack my shoulders. They’re still tight, despite my efforts to relax them. “I doubt it. Nothing designed solely to kill anyway. She runs a business, after all. If her protections are too stringent, she’ll never get any customers.”

He nods sharply and turns around, striding down the long tunnel as the rest of us follow. Beckett keeps Trinity