Page 16 of Grave Revelations (Prophecies of Angels and Demons #3)

Chapter 15

Rebecca

Rebecca leaned back into the wall for support. “His business… partner?”

“And you must be Rebecca.” The words dripped off her tongue with such disdain that she could not doubt this woman knew who she was.

Rebecca swallowed. This glamorous woman couldn’t be Simon’s business partner. He’d mentioned that he worked with other attorneys at his firm, but they were stuffy old men—estate planners and financial advisors.

He’d mentioned a partner who worked in criminal law once… Her gaze dropped to the woman’s hand. No ring. Hadn’t he said it was a middle-aged married woman?

“I’m sorry. What are you doing here?”

“I’m Simon’s emergency contact. I was notified when he arrived, and I came to make arrangements for his transport to New York. Who called you?”

The bite in her voice made Rebecca’s back prickle. Who the hell did this lady think she was?

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t believe you. Simon would never make some business partner his emergency contact.”

“Oh no? And if someone called you, would you even remember who he was? ”

Rebecca’s stomach twisted. She’d never expected Simon to share her secrets. “You can’t take him to New York. He’s going to North Carolina with me.”

A sputter of laughter from the woman made heat lick up her arms.

“You want to take him to your backwoods town to let the local vet care for him?” She said something in Spanish that Rebecca didn’t understand, and the nurses and staff filed out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

Rebecca’s arms fell to her sides as she widened her stance. The woman crossed the room, getting in her face.

“You broke his heart. Not once, several times, and each time, he ran back, accepting whatever scrap of attention you offered. He wasted his life on you, and you threw him away the first chance you got. He deserves to be happy. He deserves someone who appreciates him for who he is, not what he can do for her.”

“And I suppose that’s you?”

“It was once, and it can be again.”

Rebecca stumbled back as if the words had physically struck her, glancing between his still form and the woman blocking her path to him. “You were together?”

Her lips hitched up at the corners, but her eyes held no warmth. “We were happy for ten years.” Her mouth fell into a thin line. “Until you came back into his life. What was your name this time? Alex?”

Rebecca couldn’t breathe. Air rushed in and out of her lungs, but it was coming too fast. She couldn’t catch it, couldn’t hang on to it. The room was spinning. She leaned into the wall, steadying herself.

Someone was talking, a hand resting on her shoulder. It was a blur; everything was.

Suddenly, she was being lifted, wrapped in someone’s embrace, and then they were moving.

The world faded. All she knew was her pain, the flood of emotions crashing over her again and again.

“Breathe, Rebecca.”

Arms tightened around her, their cool caress a balm.

“Slowly. ”

She fought to control it, to stuff the feelings back down into their box. The world was coming into focus, and it was… blue. She blinked.

“Where… Where are we?”

Azazel looked down at her as he landed on a rooftop. “You were having a panic attack.”

Rebecca’s feet settled firmly on the roof as he released her.

“Why did you take me away? She must have seen you!”

“Valentina is no stranger to my kind,” Azazel grumbled.

Valentina. The name was foreign to her. She’d never heard it on Simon’s lips. “I have to go back. She’s going to take Simon to New York. She’ll take him away.”

“You wanted him to go back to the US for treatment.”

“Do you listen to my thoughts all the time? Even when we’re not together?”

“I can only hear them when I’m near.”

“But… When did you come back?”

“I never left.”

Rebecca’s skin was clammy, her heart still beating too fast in her chest. “What do you mean?”

Azazel leaned into the railing beside him. “Did I not tell you I wouldn’t leave you again, Light?”

She bit her lip, tucking his words away to examine later, when her thoughts were private. “She can’t take him. I don’t know who she is, but she’s not Simon’s business partner. She’s probably one of Elizabeth’s minions. We have to help him.”

The grumbling rumble in Azazel’s chest was akin to a car engine revving to life. “She wasn’t lying. She is Simon’s business partner.”

Rebecca’s throat went dry. “And…”

“Yes, and his lover.”

The pain she’d been working to control flared in her chest, piercing something vital. Like a fool, she’d been worried about his behavior with Allie but never once considered there were others.

“He ended things with her when he learned Allie was still alive. It was some time ago. ”

“Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not. I’m telling you the truth whether you like it or not. When someone makes a deal to become a reash, their memories are scoured to ensure they aren’t working against the Seraphim. That they have no ties to Samael. His memories were revealed to us the day he was saved.”

Rebecca tasted the truth in his words, and her stomach dropped, leaving her feeling hollow and empty. “What else? Tell me everything.”

“His secrets are too numerous to count.”

She glared up at him. “You’re hiding something. What?”

Azazel rose from where he’d been leaning against the railing and strode toward her. “If you want me to stop Valentina from taking him to New York, I will. Is it what you want, Light?”

She squirmed as he crowded in too close, but she didn’t back up. “Will he be safe with her while he recovers?”

“They belong with each other.”

“What?” Rebecca’s eyes widened as Azazel towered over her, pressing closer.

“Do you want me to stop her?”

Rebecca blew out a breath. Did she want to stop him? Before the woman—Valentina—had arrived, she’d struggled to form a plan for moving him. There were still so many others who needed saving. If Azazel trusted her not to harm him, should she trust he’d be okay for now? It was one less person to worry about, especially with Rhea, Sophia, and the others still in danger.

“No.”

She didn’t say the rest, knew she didn’t need to. He would have heard thoughts through whatever strange bond they shared.

“You need a shower and something to eat.”

Rebecca glanced down at her dirty, tattered clothes and grimaced. “I guess you saw those thoughts, too.”

He said nothing, scooping her up. They launched into the air, and he swooped low, making her stomach flip. In moments, they landed in a dark alley beside a posh hotel.

“I don’t have any money or ID or anything with me. ”

Azazel grinned down at her. “Stay here.”

He disappeared, phasing through a wall, and was gone. In less than a minute, he was back. “Go to room three-eighteen.” He disappeared again, not waiting for her reply.

She stepped nervously into a grand entryway and moved past well-dressed patrons lounging beside a fire or standing around a breakfast buffet. Her stomach grumbled as she passed it, and she looked back longingly before going to the elevator bank.

When she reached room three-eighteen, she raised an arm to knock, but the door swung open, and Azazel stood on the other side, holding out a towel.

Bath drawn, steam tickling her nose, Rebecca dropped into the water and sighed deeply. She dipped her head beneath the surface, and her magic hummed to life. It buzzed under her skin, begging to meld with the surrounding water. Rebecca hadn’t felt her magic so strongly since before Elizabeth kidnapped her.

She shot above the surface as she gasped, feeling the overwhelming urge recede slowly. It was still there, bubbling below the surface of her skin; she could reach it if needed.

Tentatively, she reached for the ember at the center of her chest. It pulsed in response. Whatever emotional outburst she’d had before must have unlocked the box she’d kept it in.

Hairs along her neck rose as Azazel stepped into the room. She wrapped her arms over her breasts.

“Hey. Get out!”

“You called me.”

“No I didn’t.”

“I felt you.”

She arched a brow. “I’m naked. Get out.”

He grinned. “You’ve seen me naked plenty of times. ”

Rebecca’s cheeks flamed. “Not on purpose. You parade around with nothing on.” She glanced down at the pink, too-thin fabric stretched over his muscled thighs as if to make her point.

“Does my nudity offend you?” His question sounded genuine.

“I’m not offended, but it’s not normal.”

He gave her a skeptical look. “Finish your bath.” He disappeared, leaving her alone in the bathtub.

When she’d scrubbed every bit of dirt from her nails and scalp and washed her hair twice, she reached for her towel, stepped out, and wrapped the soft, fluffy fabric around her frame. She was growing thinner. All the weight she’d gained was gone.

She grabbed a hand towel, wiped the fog from the mirror, and stared at the dark circles under her eyes, the lines along her gaunt cheeks. She’d aged this week. Her normally bright, sparkling eyes were dull, the turquoise starburst pattern at the center dim.

The door to the room swung open, and she spun, afraid it would be housekeeping coming to prepare the room for its next guests. Her eyes fell on a nearly seven-foot-tall man dressed head to toe in white, and her mouth dropped open.

“Gabriel?”