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“Three months. Three attacks. One on the first of each month. All of them, angels.”
My laugh was cold. “I work for people, not organizations. Much less an angel-infested one like Hartfall. Find someone else.” Even still, tingles ran up my spine. This was the third time in two days I was hearing about the attacks at the university.
“I’ve noticed your business structure. Very under-the-table of you.”
“My answer is no.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. The wind ruffled his hair, sweeping it across his brow. For the first time, he didn’t mock or tease or smile. “Today is the first of the month, Gray. You’re a smart girl. You know what a pattern is. Tonight, something terrible will happen. I don’t know what or to whom. When it does, I’ll be expecting an answer.”
His wings rose from behind, stretching to their full, incredible width. The light refracting and filtering through them was enough to make me wish for a cloudy day. Or a pair of my own sunglasses.
“My answer is no!” I shouted.
“Until then.” He gave a cheery, overly confident, and completely unwelcome wave as he rose into the air, wings pumping.
I watched as he glided away in the open air. “Just fly me up and abandon my ass, why don’t you?”
But then, I realized I didn’t want him flying me anywhere, so I chose gratitude and took the stairwell.
The concrete steps blurred together as I skimmed down. My thoughts raced.
All of this is bad news.
I couldn’t get involved in anything official, otherwise Dad could get attention for it. The stalker hadn’t even introduced himself either. No way to confirm he wasn’t deranged and lying.
Even if he wasn’t, who the hell was I to solve something like this? Weren’t there proper investigators? Did our city not have an entire squad full of powerful shifters and fae? Even the human mages would be more useful than me.
I slipped on a worn-down step ledge and barely caught myself on the rail. Closing my eyes made the spinning stop a little.
Forcing my jaw to unclench, I whispered, “The worst part is that I want it. I want to say yes.”
There it was. The truth in all its glory.
Sure, I got bored with the usual jobs. They weren’t thrilling. But you know what? People worked boring jobs all the time.
It’s a part of life. Adrenaline rushes were not guaranteed. Danger wasn’t the goal. Exhilaration only lived inside theme parks. Raves. The occasional extra cup of coffee.
And yet, the unknown called to me. The unspoken challenge begged me to take it on and beat it into a pulp.
What would it be like to use the full extent of my powers? How would it feel to unleash everything and—
No.
That was not, under any circumstances, in the cards. I’d live a long, immortal life in the shadow of my father’s ridiculous archangel wings. I was tethered to the ground in every sense of the word. No wings to fly with. No identity to build.
I continued down the stairs.
My eternity would be a story of hiding. Playing it safe.
But what if I wasn’t? What if I could scrub Dad’s name from my records now that I was an adult and live my life how I wanted?
The idea bloomed for a moment before withering into bitterness.
It wasn’t worth risking Dad’s position. His safety. Much less mine.
My feet hit the very last steps, and I pushed the doors open, joining others on the sidewalk and heading back toward the cafe.
I would be okay. I had Azra. I had clients. My life was relatively safe and quiet.
