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Every hair on the nape of his neck stood.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
Lucifer hung up. He slowly lowered the phone and took a deep breath.
Blade’s hands balled into fists at his side. “Lucifer’s involved in this shit?”
“So it seems.”
“Who’s Lucifer?” Angel asked.
“I need to go home,” he said and snatched the keys for the Bugatti out of Angel’s pocket.
“What the fuck? You’re going to get changed when you know where she is?” Angel asked.
“Lucifer won’t start until we get there. He likes an audience.” He glanced at Blade. “Burn the fucking house down.”
He got into the Bugatti and tore out of the neighborhood. In his rearview mirror, he saw the flicker of flames.
Nine hours ago, Angel forced his way into the ICU and found Lyla missing. It took too fucking long for them to figure out what happened and hunt these fuckers down. When he got the call about Lyla missing, Blade had a syringe ready, but his wrath was ice cold. He couldn’t afford to lose his shit.
He pulled up to his home. The guards that came toward the car froze when he emerged looking like an extra from Kill Bill. He walked in the house and took the stairs two at a time. He stripped off his suit, showered, and redressed. When he finished, he slipped on brass knuckles and strapped on a collection of knives. He walked out of the bedroom and hesitated only a moment before he entered the nursery.
Carmen sat in the rocking chair with Nora in the crook of her arm. Her face was ravaged with worry and fear. Bloodshot eyes flicked to him when he entered. She rose.
“Did you find her?” she whispered.
“I got a call from Lucifer.”
He didn’t need to say more. Carmen understood. The blood drained out of her face.
“Lyla’s in Hell?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t allow himself to wonder what they’d done to her because that would shatter his control and he couldn’t go into Hell with anything but a clear head. He had to believe she was there, alive and whole. Any alternative was unacceptable. He took Nora from Carmen. His daughter blinked up at him with her mother’s eyes. The edges of his control began to fray. He suppressed the killing haze and buried his face against his daughter to drink her in.
This would end tonight. If Lyla didn’t return, neither would he.
“Gavin,” Carmen whispered.
He clenched his teeth to hold back the rage building in his throat. His hands shook as he held his daughter. Nora kicked his chest and waved her arms. She looked up at him with such trust and innocence.I’ll bring Mom back. He said it silently because he wasn’t capable of speaking. He tipped her against his chest and took a deep breath, the first in what felt like hours.
Carmen’s baby blue eyes shimmered with tears. “Bring her back.”
He nodded and handed the baby over. “Take care of her.”
Carmen’s fear clouded the air. “Gavin.”
“No matter what happens, you take care of Nora,” he ordered.
Tears began to fall.
“Promise me,” he snapped.
“You can’t do this to me.”
“Promise me, Carmen.”
She grabbed a handful of his shirt and yanked. He obliged and took a step forward. He and Carmen had a long and complicated history. They loved with an abandonment one never recovered from, and they loved the same people, Vinny and Lyla. They’d both lost Vinny. He’d be fucking damned if he lost Lyla, and he saw the same fire in her eyes. If Carmen didn’t have Nora to care for, she would come with him. He had no doubt Carmen would spill blood if it meant getting her cousin back.
