Page 133 of The Defiant Curse

Yes, they were all worried about Elizabeth, but Ivan trusted her out in the wild. She was sneaky, tricky, and could hold her own.

One shot to Ethan’s back, and he was paralyzed, but this time without a chance of walking again.

That was a risk they shouldn’t be taking.

PERIOD.

The Blackhawks were still in danger, and this gave him one big headache.

So now, he had to return the favor.

This was his circus, and these were his clowns, so he was going to ride their asses.

HARD.

As they tore the house apart, trying to find any sign of where he was, Ivan was freaking out.

Standing in the massive foyer of the mansion, he read Raphael the riot act because the man wasn’t giving up any information.

And that annoyed Ivan.

“This is your job. Your responsibility. What do you mean you let him disappear on your watch?” he asked the Archangel. “How the hell, Raph?”

The dressing down wasn’t done alone.

They were all there.

The full security staff, and the remaining Blackhawks were called there to be privy to this clusterfuck—in case they tried to pull the same stunt.

And Ivan didn’t care.

If his employees were going to help people disappear, they needed to be held accountable—because there was no way Raphael lost a Blackhawk.

After Michael, he was the most reliable at the job. He was, after all, an Archangel.

They were held at a higher standard for a reason.

As soon as he finished reading him to filth, Ivan was going to have a stroke over all of this.

First, Gene helped Elizabeth dump trackers and head out, and now, Raphael was doing it.

What the fuck?

This usurped his control and negated his job as their boss. Plus, it put lives in danger.

That, to him, was unacceptable.

As he was being raged at, Raphael kept it short, sweet, and to the point. He knew this was going to happen, but still, he had to help Ethan. Their family was on shaky ground, and this superseded rules.

Sue him.

He was helping his bestie and family over listening to Ivan bitch about rules and regulations.

They weren’t in the military anymore. There was gray area all around them, and this was one of those situations.

“He was in his office working, and then, he wasn’t,” Raphael stated. “When I went to get him to transport home, he was gone.”

That was his story and he was sticking to it.