Anahita had to tread lightly. She knew how much he loved his immortals. She could only hope that that love did not extend to the three before her. I will teleport them through the walls to you and your men. That will prevent you from having to fight your way out, thus preserving human life. Though, the type of human who would imprison others in squalor might not be worth preserving.
Jayden grunted softly, an indication that she should continue. He knew there was a catch. In exchange, I would ask the use of your sword in my mission.
Jayden tsked. “Allow you to rescue them only so you can kill them?” he whispered.
Well, when he put it that way … Anahita squeezed her eyes shut. She needed that sword. She needed to complete this mission. She needed Max. She needed to kill him. I will … delay the Compulsion as long as I can. That will give your humans some much-needed reunion time. And if you’re near them, you know you can defeat me in a fight and prevent me from acting. You risk nothing by loaning me the sword. It was true. Jayden had been one of her instructors. He knew all of her moves because he had taught them to her. But since he knew all of her moves, she knew all of his as well. She hid that thought before he could discern it and hoped he would not think of it on his own.
There was tense silence before Jayden whispered again. “You will not attempt to harm my immortals?”
He sounded so proprietary when he spoke of them. She looked at Max before flicking her eyes away just as quickly. She could only hope she would not be the same with her own immortals. You have my word. I will attempt to carry out my mission to kill these three immortals. It will be enough to show the brethren that I can be trusted. I will then allow another angel to be assigned the rest of the task.
Anahita struggled with both relief that she would not have to kill more humans and regret that she would not be given the chance to prove herself further. But she loved Jayden enough to promise not to cause him pain in this area. She only hoped that he bore enough love for her to agree to this deal. Love among angels, though an emotion, had been allowed and even encouraged in the heavens. It was the only pure emotion in existence.
“I agree to your terms,” Jayden whispered.
Anahita squelched the relief that poured through her. This is good, she projected with as much nonchalance as she could muster. I can deliver them to you one at a time. Where shall I take them?
“You have been to the front gates of the prison?” Jayden asked.
Anahita could teleport anywhere in the world, whether she’d been there or not, but knowing an exact location was always helpful. I have. But will there not be guards to witness us?
“There will not,” Jayden whispered. “There are few here. I have rarely seen such a lackadaisical operation. I avoided them easily, and I am not what one would call stealthy these days.”
Anahita was unable to organize her thoughts quickly enough to reply before Jayden continued with, “The crew is waiting at the front gate in two vehicles.” He straightened and made to move away, the slightest hint of impatience to get started spiraling off him.
She nodded quickly. I will see you there momentarily.
Jayden walked away, peeking around the corner to check for humans before disappearing from sight. With a deep breath, she focused on the three men before her and prepared to make herself visible again.
Chapter Six
Max had had the irrational feeling that someone was staring at him since the angel disappeared from his life half an hour ago.
Great. She was gone and he was still going crazy.
Oliver was out, Luke had not glanced at him once since decking the fire out of him, and the angel was gone. There was no one left in the cell to stare at him, and yet, that tingling feeling at the base of the back of his neck would not go away. That same feeling had served him well on the field of battle many times, and he’d learned to never ignore it, but right now, he was tempted to start. He didn’t want to be any crazier than he guessed he already was due to nine years of imprisonment.
While Luke hadn’t been looking at Max, Max had been looking at him. Max had never seen Luke lose his temper like that, and certainly not at Max himself. It made him antsy to do something. Something like apologize for his actions. Which was crazy and something Max never did. But as he sneaked another look underneath his hair at Luke, he saw the other man roll his shoulders, just as Max himself had been doing to alleviate the damned tingle on the back of his neck.
“You feel it, too,” Max said softly, hoping whatever was staring at them would not hear.
Luke stiffened where he sat on the cot guarding Oliver’s body, and for a moment, Max thought he was still so angry that he wouldn’t answer. But then, Luke nodded imperceptibly.
The sound of a pebble being kicked across the floor echoed through the cell like a shot, and Luke sprang to his feet and cocked his fists at the same time that Max spun around and prepared to launch himself at their attacker.
He drew up short and heard Luke do the same right behind him. It was his angel. She was back.
Feelings Max did not know he’d been feeling since she’d left so suddenly—despair, loneliness, longing—vanished in the most astounding rush of relief Max had ever felt. “You’re back.”
It was said in the same deep, rough tone of voice that Max always used, but the next thing he knew, Luke was pushing him out of the way and placing himself in front of the angel. Luke assumed a defensive position, sinking into a slight crouch and holding his hands fisted out in front of him. He pinned Max with eyes that were now dark with censure. “Don’t come near her,” Luke commanded.
For several precious seconds, Max was stunned into silence. But then, just as quickly, the reality of what Luke had just done rushed in. He was defending the angel against him. She was his! “The fuck do you think you’re doing?” Max said slowly, hoping to delay the inevitable attack on his friend if he didn’t move out from his position between Max and his woman.
Before Luke could answer, the angel placed her hand on Luke’s shoulder. The other man jumped at the contact and turned his head to the left to look up at her. The angel smiled. At Luke. She fucking smiled at Luke.
With a rumbling in his chest, Max took two steps forward without realizing it. Just when he was preparing to snatch Luke by the fabric of his shirt, the angel flicked her eyes from Luke’s and looked straight into Max’s. Her cool blue eyes sparked a hot fire in his chest. He froze to catch his breath, but it evaded him while he again got the impression that the angel was both good and evil. The shock of her eyes and her duality distracted him before he remembered to shake his hair more securely across his scar.
She did not seem to notice the effect she had on him or the raised flesh that slashed across his face. “Max.” She paused and glanced at Luke again. “And Luke. I am here to liberate you.”
It was almost as if the words, which Max completely understood, had no meaning. She couldn’t be saying what it sounded like she was saying. Max frowned. “You said you were going to kill us.”
Luke’s head snapped around so quickly, Max was sure it should’ve made a sound of some kind. He gave Max another black look, and Max had to resist the urge to throw up his hands in the air and say What? To him, it seemed like a perfectly good observation. Because she now claimed to be their salvation, they were supposed to forget she’d threatened them?
“Would you like to be freed or not?” the angel asked.
“Just going to ignore what I said, then?” Max crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the pleas to shut up that Luke was tossing at him with those puppy-dog eyes of his.
The angel cocked one eyebrow and said nothing. That’s a yes, then.
“We’d like to be freed, yes,” Luke said, turning adoring eyes upon Max’s angel.
“Very well,” she said softly. She stepped around Luke and walked toward Max.
More than anything, Max wanted to open his arms and invite her to step into his body. Instead, he held out his hands and barked a harsh, “Stop!�
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It worked better than he could have hoped. She stopped so quickly, Max worried that she would fall forward. A brief look—eyebrows drawn together and lush lips pursed—flashed across her face before it was hidden behind a blank façade. And that quickly, Max knew he had hurt her, probably just as badly as he feared, with his callous treatment earlier. It devastated him to a level he would never have guessed. Something that felt like physical agony knifed through his gut.
This was regret. Max couldn’t remember a time he had felt regret—definitely not for how he had treated someone. Of course, he had never been felt up by an angel before, so perhaps his level of regret was merited.
Merited or not, Max had his men to protect, and the angel had threatened to harm them more than she’d threatened to help them. And he was still getting the impression from his eye that she was both evil and good. Unfortunately, life experience had taught him to err on the side of evil.
He focused on the angel in front of him. He had stopped her for a reason: she’d appeared as though she were about to touch him again. He could not have that. “Just … don’t come any closer, okay?” Max said quietly. “For the time being.” Now, why the fuck had he added that qualifier?
“Max,” Luke said in a warning tone from his place behind the angel. “She wants to rescue us, man.”
The hope in Luke’s voice made Max antsy, and more than anything, Max wanted to make sure that Luke’s weakness wasn’t exploited. “What’s the plan, angel?” he asked roughly.
She appeared to wince at Max’s words, but spoke in the same calm, husky voice as always. “I am Anahita.”
Max forced himself to frown when what he wanted to do was grin like a fool. He knew her name now. Doesn’t matter. “Yeah, not what I asked.”
Luke huffed, but Max ignored him.
The angel—Anahita—cocked her head to the side. “I had hoped that knowing my name would put you on more even footing with me,” she said. “Perhaps create a tiny measure of trust between us.”
“That will never happen.” It helps a little, yes. Max gritted his teeth. His damn mind had better get on board.
Anahita sighed. “The plan is simple,” she said wearily. “Your men Eli and Jericho await your arrival at the front gates of the prison. I am to transport you there.”
Eli and Jericho? Optimism Max couldn’t afford to feel bloomed in his chest. She wouldn’t know their names unless they were really here, right?
“Oh, my God,” Luke breathed, stumbling forward and reaching for the angel’s arm until Max growled and stared him down. Luke’s outstretched fingers dropped to his side. “Eli and Jericho are alive?”
Anahita smiled at Luke. “Very, yes.”
“How?” Max gritted out between his teeth. She simply had to quit smiling at Luke. Or Max would—he closed his eyes. He’d do nothing. She could smile at whomever the hell she wanted.
“I’m sorry,” Anahita said, turning her eyes on Max again. “How—?”
“How will you transport us to them?”
“I can disappear and reappear wherever I wish,” the angel said with a small lift of one of her shoulders. “I wrap my arms around you, and you come with me.”
Max tamped down the part of himself that got excited at the idea of her wrapping her arms around him. She’ll wrap her arms around Luke and Oliver, too, dumbass. Rationally, Max decided that trying this was better than nothing. If she was a liar, and it didn’t work—or worse, was a trap—they would deal with it. Anything was preferable to a day’s more imprisonment in this hellhole.
“Fine,” Max said. Anahita’s brows rose, but then she reached for him. Max took a quick step back. “My men first.”
“Max—” Luke began.
“No,” Max cut him off. “You first, then Oliver, so you can watch over him until I arrive.” Then, if it was a trap, at least Oliver wasn’t alone and helpless in his current state. Luke was more than capable of defending himself and Oliver, and then once Max arrived, hopefully two would be greater than whatever force awaited them.
“Very well,” the angel said softly. With no more hesitation, she turned to face Luke fully. Max watched with a clenched jaw as she wrapped her arms around Luke’s broad shoulders. Before the rage that bubbled inside him at the sight could take hold, they both disappeared. That was the moment Max discovered he’d truly doubted she could do what she’d said she could do. With the realization that she could teleport and take people with her, intense worry rushed in. Luke had been gone for a handful of seconds, but a handful of seconds was all it took to carve someone up. Max rubbed a hand over his raised scar.
His chest grew tight, and his fists longed to lash out at something—anything. Before he could do anything rash, she was back, sparkling in beauty amid the dank cell. Her arms were empty.
“Tell me he’s okay.” The words left Max’s mouth before he knew he was going to say them, and he cringed at their desperate twinge.
The angel’s face softened. “He is with his friends and in perfect health. You have my word, and angels cannot lie.”
Max could only hope that was true.
“Do you still wish me to take Oliver before you?” she asked softly.
Max hesitated. His longing to see Luke well for himself warred with his desire to make sure Oliver was kept safe. Finally, Max nodded curtly.
Anahita acknowledged his wishes with a quick dip of her chin, and then she spun around toward Oliver’s prone form. With more strength than Max had guessed she possessed, the angel scooped Oliver’s considerable bulk into her arms, cradling him against her body before they both disappeared as well.
In her absence, Max closed his eyes and counted his heartbeats, trying—in vain—to time his erratic breathing to the increasing rhythm of his heart.
This time—because she knew Max would be worried?—the angel returned more quickly. Max felt her arrive in the cell, and his eyes snapped open.
He almost jumped out of his skin. She was a hair’s-breadth away from him, her nose nearly touching his, the warmth of her body flowing over his chest and stomach. He should move away. He would move away. Any time now.
“Sorry,” Anahita mumbled, her eyes dipping to his lips. “I miscalculated.”
And, yet, she did not step back. Max felt as though gravity had shifted, and he worried that he was going to sway toward her any moment. There was no room for swaying. Max felt his throat work around a convulsive swallow, and he tried to formulate words that would get her to move away from him before he did something stupid, like appease the curiosity in the gorgeous, golden-blue eyes that were still focused on his lips.
Just when the insistent knowledge from his eye that she was both good and evil made a dent through his lust, and he was preparing to step away—albeit reluctantly—the angel spoke. “Are you ready to join your friends?”
Her husky voice acted the same upon him as a hand stroking down his chest, and he felt his eyes widen as he realized she was close enough to get an up-close, uninhibited view of his scar. He shook his hair into his eyes and tilted his chin downward to try to hide himself as well as he could, given her close proximity. Best to end this as soon as possible. “Yes,” he said gruffly.
Though he’d seen her transport someone twice, he was unprepared for her to step even closer to him. Her arms came around him, her breasts pressing into his chest. Max closed his eyes and forced his arms to remain at his sides. Lilies. The same scent that came from those flowers that always decorated grocery stores around Easter—that scent wafted up from Max’s angel and surrounded him.
So many desires flooded him, he knew he was doomed if he didn’t allow a slight alleviation of the pressure. With a sigh, Max allowed his arms to rise and wrap around Anahita, the fingers of his right hand tangling in the soft silk of her hair.
She gasped, her breasts pressing into him rapidly. “Keep your eyes closed,” she whispered breathlessly.
Max felt the firm stone beneath his feet disappear. His arms tightened around her even
more, and he closed his mouth to prevent a huff of breath from escaping. Before terror could take over, his feet landed upon firm ground again.
Max felt himself shaking, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. And in a move that only made him feel worse about his masculinity, the angel squeezed him and made a shushing sound in his ear. “You are here.”
Max jerked away from her, his arms falling to his sides. The angel moved away from him without meeting his eyes, and for the first time, Max was able to see where he was.
They were inside a massive military blind that shielded them from any onlookers. The dappled shade cast dark shadows over his skin and provided a bit of relief from the heat of the desert. A Humvee made up one of the sides of the blind, and the back door was open. Inside, Max could see the prone form of Oliver laid out on the vehicle’s floor, Luke kneeling beside him. Max’s shakes vanished. The angel had told the truth.
Holy shit. The angel had told the truth. They were rescued. They were actually free!
“Max.”
Max turned toward the deep, bass voice. It belonged to a blond giant with blue eyes. “Jericho?” Max noticed the dark-haired man beside him. “Eli?”
“Good to see ya, man,” Eli drawled in his Southern accent.
“‘Good to see ya, man,’” Jericho mimicked. “It’s damned great to see you!” The blond man stepped forward, his arms outstretched.
Max launched backward, shaking his hair into his face. “No hugs,” he grumbled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jericho stop in his tracks, but Max refused to look at his face again. “I don’t … do that,” Max finished lamely. He closed his eyes and mentally counted down. And they’ll notice my face in three, two…
“Holy God, what did they do to you?” Eli stepped forward and gripped Max’s chin, forcing him to raise his face. “Shit,” Eli breathed at the same time Jericho whistled low.
Max jerked his chin out of Eli’s hold and growled, the sound echoing throughout the blind in the now uncomfortable silence. “I’m fine,” Max said.
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Jericho said softly.
Of Alliance and Rebellion Page 6
