The plan was to contact Pharzuph that afternoon, and that evening we’d be on a plane to wherever he demanded. I had to conceal the Sword of Righteousness when I flew. Hiding it in a bag of candies had worked for all my trips so far, since X-ray machines couldn’t detect its celestial material. I parked in the back of a tiny church’s lot under shade trees and set to work disguising the hilt, stuffing a piece of banana taffy into my mouth as I went.

After lunch I got a text from James Bond that said, Done.

My stomach constricted and I started the car to meet him at the car rental place as we’d discussed. I made it there in forty-five minutes and waited in the parking lot while he turned in the car. When he came out, I moved to the backseat and scrunched down while he took the driver’s seat, setting a white box and some paperwork in the passenger seat, then adjusting the leg room and driving us away.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Back to my old home so you can shower and get ready.”

My heart thumped. “Do you think it’s safe?”

“My father’s gone. The house is under contract, but it’s still mine until the sale is final. If a whisperer shows, I’ll let it know I’m in charge of you. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” I hated the idea of setting foot in that lair, but we didn’t have many options.

When we got there, Kaidan held my arm as if escorting me inside, in case any whisperers decided to show. Kaidan keyed in a code for the alarm and let me go when the door closed. The house was eerily quiet, and the sheets draped over the furniture made the place feel even spookier.

Kai led me down to the basement so I could use his shower. I glanced once at his giant king-size bed with its gray silky sheets, and I wanted to vomit remembering Pharzuph’s comment about the smell of lust. I couldn’t smell anything, but still. The thought of how many girls had been in here made my stomach hurt with a vile intensity.

“Here.” Kaidan handed me a fluffy black towel from the linen closet. I wasn’t sure if his sudden gruffness was part of his captor act, or if being back in his old space felt as uncomfortable to him as it did to me.

I went into the bathroom and heard Kaidan’s music turn on the moment I closed the door. Everything in the large rest-room was black and shiny. Very masculine. I showered, using all his boy products, and kind of liking the idea of smelling like him all day. Though these products had nothing on the scent of his natural pheromones.

After brushing my hair and teeth, I dressed in a pair of shorts since I couldn’t wear the hilt now that it was snug in its candy bed. I wouldn’t have been able to wear it at the airport. My knife either. I’d have to change clothes and secure the hilt around my ankle again when we got to our destination—wherever that might be. When I opened the door, Kaidan was sitting on the edge of the bed with something silver in his hands and a grave expression on his face.

“It’s not too late to run,” he said. He turned the object in his hands and I recognized it as a pair of handcuffs. My tummy fluttered with trepidation.

“Yes, it is,” I whispered.

I made no move when he stood and closed the distance between us. The dimmed lighting in his room, and the way he took his time moving toward me, made him seem almost sinister. My heart was beating harder than it should, given the fact that I wasn’t in immediate danger. Without taking his eyes from me, he took the book bag from my hand and let it drop to the floor. I felt the cold metal as he clinked the cuffs over one of my wrists, then the other.

Heart rate. Too. High.

Breathing. Too. Fast.

Kaidan’s eyes trailed down my body and he whispered, “Damn.”

“What?” I breathed.

“You look amazing in handcuffs.” Stormy eyes. Spinning, pulsing badge. “And you’re officially my prisoner.”

The true scent of Kaidan that drove me so crazy wafted around me now, urging my senses into a frenzy. He grasped the short chain between the cuffs and dragged me closer.

“We can’t,” I whispered, but there was no conviction behind my words, especially when he looked at me that way, all smoking-hot intensity. I forced myself to keep talking, to remind us both of the stakes and the fact that our current feeling of safety was only an illusion. “Remember, you told your father you don’t like me. You’re not supposed to want me, and the whisperers could find us any second. We can’t lose our advantage.”

My speech did nothing to calm his cloudy eyes.

“It’s time to call him, Kai. Tell him you’ve found me. And then we’ll call the others to let them know it’s starting.”

That cleared his head. “Not yet—”

“Yes. Now. Let’s get it over with before we lose control and ruin everything.”

His eyes dropped to the floor and I watched the thoughts and emotions warring inside him. With my bound hands I reached into his front pocket and pulled out his phone, holding it out.

“That was brave,” he said.

“It’s time,” I whispered.

It hurt me to push him, knowing the horrors our futures forced him to face, but I couldn’t let this drag out. The longer we took, the more opportunity we’d have to mess up. He took the phone with reluctance, and it was the first time I’d ever seen his hand unsteady.

“I love you, Kai.” I pushed up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. I kept my mouth close to his skin, closing my eyes and hoping he would feel my words as deeply as I did. “Let’s bring them down. You and me and the others, together. We’ll use our element of surprise while we have it. It’s our time.”

He rocked his jaw back and forth, mulling it over. I stayed silent, leaning against him. After what felt like an eternity, Kaidan finally nodded, clenching his jaw as he stared down at his phone, and then dialed.

His face was hardened when he brought the cell to his ear. I concentrated my Nephilim hearing on the phone to listen to their conversation. Pharzuph answered right away.

“Father.” Kai clutched the phone tighter and his eyes hit mine, filled with more torment than I’d ever seen. “I’ve got her.”

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

JET RIDE

“You’re kidding me.” Pharzuph hooted with evil glee. He sounded young and euphoric—hyper even.

Kaidan looked like he might throw up.

“She’s cuffed.”

“Did you find the sword?”

“No, sir. I searched her and her belongings, but found nothing.”

Pharzuph swore. “She must have hidden it somewhere. Doesn’t matter. We’ll get her to tell us.” His confidence rubbed at me like sandpaper, and I couldn’t help but feel ill at the thought of their methods of torture. “Nice job, Kaidan. You accomplished what over five hundred prowling Legionnaires couldn’t do last night. They searched damn near every bar, club, and hotel on the East Coast. Where the hell’d you find her?”

Kaidan wouldn’t look at me. Everything about him screamed regret.

“She had a group of mates in her old town who always partied at a lake house. I thought perhaps she’d fall back on them, and I was right.”

Pharzuph experienced another bout of creepy, proud laughter before getting ahold of himself. “Where are you now?”

“Our old house.”

“Excellent. I’ll call an immediate emergency summit in Vegas. It’s our most secure location, and we’re always looking for an excuse to visit Sin City, right?”

Kaidan let out a dry laugh and rolled his eyes. Weren’t they just in Vegas? What could be so great about one city?

“All right,” Pharzuph said. “Meet me at the airport in two hours.”