course.”
Okay, they’re pissing me off, too, Eve groused.
“Is there news of the priest?” Uriel asked.
Gadara leaned forward. There was nothing about his posture or features that bore witness to his ordeal, but it was there in his eyes. Especially when he looked at Alec. “Nothing;’ he replied. “He has not been seen nor heard from since he recovered enough to leave the tower. He has left the church and broken his residential lease. I will find him. It is only a matter of time.”
There was a length of silence as the archangels flipped through copies of the various reports in search of unasked questions. Eve waited for queries about Ima or the necklace, but they didn’t come.
Sydney raised her hand, which raised one of Gadara’s brows.
“Yes, Ms. Sydney?”
She cleared her throat. “Montevista. . . Did he get in?”
“He committed suicide,” Sarakiel said.
“I know that. What does that mean?” Sydney’s gaze darted across the screen, then shot to Gadara. “Diego did it for us. To save us. To save us all.”
“I testified highly for him, Ms. Sydney’ Gadara murmured.
“As did I’ Alec said.
“That’s it?” She looked at Eve and tears welled. “That’s all?”
“I think we are finished here;’ Michael said. “If we have further questions, we can revisit this discussion.”
Eve quickly found herself in the hallway outside the conference room. Sydney hurried off, her shoulders tight and her posture defensive. Sarakiel, Gadara, and Reed lingered behind, speaking in harsh tones.
Hank was walking up to Eve when Alec appeared beside her. He caught her elbow and asked, “Can it wait, Hank?”
“Certainly.” The occultist smiled. “Good to have you back, Cain.”
Alec grinned. One blink later, Eve found herself standing in the midst of a city at night. The sights, sounds, and smells were foreign and exotic. Her disorientation lasted a moment, then she tugged free of Alec’s grip and smacked him in the arm. “Don’t do that without telling me first!”
He caught her about the waist. “Have you ever been to Cairo before?”
“Cairo,” she repeated. “No, I can’t say I have.”
“There’s a first time for everything.” The glint in his eyes told her he was thinking of a more intimate first time between them. “Are you hungry?”
“When am I not these days?”
“Good.” He held her hand and tugged her out of the shadows. “There’s a great restaurant up the street I’ve been dying to take you to…”
***
Lilith stood in front of the window with her back to him, dressed in white from head to toe—turtleneck, slacks, and high-heeled boots. Her waist-length hair was so pale that it blended in with the rest. As a whole, her sleek alabaster form was a stark contrast to the greens and blues Sammael had determined would showcase her to perfection.
The same snap of his fingers that had wrought the instantaneous change in the color palette also urged her to turn around. She spotted him and her entire demeanor changed. Her shoulders went back and her stance widened. Defensively aggressive.
“Lilith’ Sammael murmured. “How good of you to come so quickly.”
“As if I had a choice,” she retorted, but her breathless tone gave her away.
He terrified her. He could make her tremble and cry, cower and beg. And she loved it, which gave him power she’d rather not cede. She’d been grateful when he tired of her so many, many centuries ago.
Which begged the question: what had possessed her to incite his wrath, when even his amusement was a horror to her?
“You did have a choice.” He moved to the chaise by the fire and sprawled across it. “You chose to barter something of mine for your own gain. Which is why you are here now. Had you chosen to barter something of your own, you would not be.”
Her chin lifted. “You have something that belongs to me. I needed something of yours to entice you to give it back.”
“Hmm” His mouth curved. “You speak in near riddle. I need to punish you soon, so hurry up and tell me what you wanted.”
Lilith hesitated, her gaze darting about as if she was trapped, which she was. He couldn’t allow anyone to steal from him. Such offenses had to be dealt with harshly and swiftly, as he’d proven to Asmodeus.
“I want Awan.”
Surprise reverberated through him, followed by a growing delight. “I had forgotten about her.”
“I haven’t.”
“You could have just asked me.”
She clasped her hands behind her back. “I knew you wouldn’t give her to me.”
“Did you? And you reached that conclusion how?”
“Because,” she pouted. “You’ve always made certain that I