The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,167

to where she was fawning over a pair of heels that would match her dress, it felt like all was right with the world. At least this one. I had my girl, I had my guy, and my legion was better than it had ever been before. Life was perfect, or as close as I could imagine. Right up until the door chimed at the front of the store.

Sia glanced up at the sound, and her eyes went wide. I didn't even get to turn around before she was shoving herself to her feet. Something was wrong, and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw it. Metallic, brassy hair was visible over the racks and aisles in the little boutique store. I didn't even need to see his face to know who that was. The color belonged to Gabriel. My only question was how he'd managed to find us.

And the man wasn't just here shopping. Sure, he had to weave through the aisles, but his direction was unmistakable. He was coming straight for us. I moved to stand before her, knowing that even if she didn't need the protection, I still wanted to give it. But as Gabriel came into view, the asshole did nothing but laugh at me.

"I'm not about to pick a fight here," he assured me. "Relax, Samyaza."

"How'd you find us?" I asked.

He jerked his thumb back towards the parking lot. "The car is a dead giveaway. And so you know, the deli on the corner has the most amazing coffee. They also make a really good croissant sandwich. I highly recommend it."

Sia moved up to stand beside me. "What the hell do you want this time?" she demanded.

"You fucked up my wards," he said. "What I want is an apology. We know you're here. You know we're here. There doesn't have to be a fight this time. Just leave us alone and we won't fuck with you at all."

"No deal," Sia said. "You and your little…" She huffed in frustration. "One of those slaves you took was my friend," she finally said.

Gabriel just laughed. "So? It's just going to die anyway. So are you. Hundreds of people come into your life and then go back out of it, and yet you humans get so worked up about being wronged. You act like death is a tragedy instead of just the natural order of things."

"In case you missed it," she said, "the natural order of things is for you to stay on your plane and suffer with the lack of aether there. So don't come talking to me about the natural order. Not when your entire society is designed around fucking that up. The natural order of things is for you to leave humans the fuck alone."

"Not gonna happen," Gabriel said, all but blowing off her rant. "I just wanted to stop by and give you the option. Oh, and to also let you know that if you fuck with me again, I'm going to make you pay for it. Think of last night as your freebie. The next time, however, I will bring the wrath of angels down on you. Do you understand me, little girl?"

I just lifted my palm over my face and shook my head. "You don't really think that's going to scare her, do you?"

"I don't really care," Gabriel said.

"Bullshit," I snapped. "You know what she did on Vesdar. You know she can do it again. That means that right now, you are freaking the fuck out, and trying to act like you have the upper hand. It's all bullshit, Gabriel, and we know it."

But a smile slowly began to spread across his lips. It was the kind of look that said he still had an ace up his sleeve. In other words, we’d missed something. I had no idea what, but the angels seemed to think it was a game-changer.

And Sia didn't care. "Yeah," she drawled, "you're thinking there's nothing I can do to get rid of you. There are too many angels dug in on Earth. Too many people spread across the globe. Even if I do put up a veil, it won't matter because you already have your army here. You could still gather up your slaves in massive groups, and use those angels to slip them out en masse. But, that's where you're wrong. See, I've pushed all of you off a plane before, and I can do it again."

"You couldn't on Vesdar," he countered.

"I did it the