Page 39 of Serendipity

“Hope,” the woman said softly. “Anything with white wings is fair game too. They are on the other side.”

“Of course her name is fucking Hope,” I muttered, glaring at the rest of my Brothers in this room who were taking too long to move. Finally, the only people left in the room were the woman, Cain and me.

Cain was pacing, his body tense. This was war. His bread and butter, and he was caging the Horseman who was desperate to make someone bleed to be with the girl. Maybe he did love her. My Horseman had no problem being up here, but not because I wanted to protect the woman. Nah, I was Conquest. Someone wanted to take what was mine? No fucking way. I’d guard her until they were all

dead at my feet. I would take what was theirs, because she was fucking mine now.

“Go, Cain. Spill some blood. I’ll watch the woman,” I said softly at Cain. He shook his head, but he was torn. His blood was up, and he’d tear this whole room apart soon. Or have an accident. You didn’t want the power of the Horsemen slipping out without control. That’s how good guys died by friendly fire.

I don’t know what the woman saw, but she grabbed his arm as he paced past her. “Go. Help Judas and Sol,” she urged softly.

Cain growled, pointing his gun at my face. “She lives or you die. I love you, man, but…”

I waved a hand at him. Yeah, I got it. Something about the woman had sent him mushy in the head.

“I’ve got it. Go.”

I all but pushed him out the door, but I saw a flash of the Horseman behind his eyes. I could hear him barking orders at the Club as the door shut. I walked away from the doors to melt into the darkness in the corner of the room where I had a clear shot. I noted the gun on the table in front of her, and I wondered if she knew how to use it.

“What’s going on down there?”

Great, she wanted to make fucking small talk. “The angels rocked up. They seem to have shit under control.”

She made a frustrated noise, and I briefly wondered if she would pick up that gun and shoot me with it. I found the idea oddly fucking hot. I kinda liked her more now she’d brought some bloodshed to the party, rather than all the emotional angst.

I went back to ignoring her, though the building shook. Guess they’d finally rammed the doors.

“What the fuck was that?” the woman asked, and I rolled my eyes.

“They rammed the doors with a truck, I guess.” Now I was kind of envious of my Brothers. I was stuck in here with the fucking knitting circle when I could be painting the walls red. At least I got a little time to spread some gore with the big golden angel. If I hadn’t seen Lucifer and the one that was all onyx colored, I’d think that all angels are this golden color. After all, the woman was half angel and she was cast from the same golden hues, even if it wasn’t quite as potent. And no damn wings.

“Why do you hate me so much?” she asked, and I instantly regretted letting Cain leave. Now was not the time for touchy-feely conversations.

“I feel nothing for you,” I answered, not even turning to look at her.

She scoffed. “That’s a fucking lie. Even if it isn’t hate, you definitely feel something for me.

Disgust, dislike, apathy. Something.” Oh, now she decided to grow some balls. Fucking fantastic.

I turned my head, looking over my shoulder at her. “I don’t feel. Don’t take it personally.”

She stared back, her eyes holding mine, despite how dead they felt. Her eyes called me a liar.

“You make them weak. Women make us weak. I’ll never be weak again.”

She gave a little nod. “Someone broke your heart. The woman you shared with Cain and Solomon? And Judas?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Who told you about Laura?”

She shook her head. “No one. Not really. But I feel the ghost of her clinging to you all,” she said sadly.

I turned back and stared at the door. I didn’t want to talk about Laura. About women. I didn’t want to talk to one woman in particular. I wanted to break bones and spill organs. Hell, I’d rather spill my own organs then continue with this conversation one second longer.

A soft brush of magic and the sound of feminine gasp had me spinning, raising my weapon toward the corner of the room.

A huge angel stood in the corner, blond, but not quite the same golden as the other guy, Gus. And his wings were all white. The kind of white that is unattainable in the real world because the world is inherently grey and dirty.

He gave me a smile that I guessed was supposed to be beatific, but was just fucking creepy. “I am Livinius, an Angel of Heaven’s Legion. The girl is ours. She must come with me. She belongs to Uriel,” he said, his voice so evenly modulated he sounded almost like a robot. I moved towards Serendipity, who was sitting still, trembling so hard I thought she was going to fall out of her chair.

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