Finale

intent. “You’re going to sit on my sofa and make sure they’re
still there when we get there.”
    More frantic squawking.
    “Stop blubbering. I’ll hunt Dante down now, if that’s what you want, then come get the dagger, which you’re going to sit on until I meet you at the studio. Go to Delphic
and do exactly as I told you. One more thing. Stop crying. You’re giving archangels everywhere a bad name.”
    Patch hung up and handed the phone back to me. “Keep your fingers crossed that this works.”
    “Do you think Pepper will stay with the feathers?”
    He dragged his hands down his face, a sound escaping his throat that sounded half harsh laugh, half groan. “We’re going to have to split up, Angel. If we hunt down Dante together, we
risk leaving the feathers unguarded.”
    “Go find Dante. I’ll take care of Pepper and the feathers.”
    Patch studied me. “I know you will. But I still don’t like the idea of leaving you alone.”
    “I’ll be fine. I’ll guard the feathers, and I’ll call Lisa Martin right away. I tell her what I have, and she’ll help me execute our plan. We’re going to end
the war and free Nephilim.” I squeezed Patch’s hand reassuringly. “This is it. The end’s in sight.”
    Patch rubbed his jaw, clearly unhappy, thinking deeply. “For my own peace of mind, take Scott with you.”
    An ironic smile crept to my mouth. “You trust Scott?”
    “I trust you,” he answered in a husky voice that made me feel warm and slippery inside.
    Patch backed me into a tree and kissed me, hard.
    I regained my breath. “Boys everywhere take note:
That
was a kiss.”
    Patch didn’t smile. His eyes darkened with something I couldn’t name, but it put a weight in my stomach. His jaw locked, the muscles along his arms tensing just as visibly.
“We’re going to be together at the end of this.” A cloud of uneasiness passed over his expression.
    “If I have anything to say about it, yes.”
    “Whatever happens tonight, I love you.”
    “Don’t talk that way, Patch,” I whispered, emotion catching my voice. “You’re scaring me. We are going to be together. You’ll find Dante, then meet me at the
studio, where we’ll end this war together. Doesn’t get any more straightforward.”
    He kissed me again, delicately on each eyelid, then each cheek, and at last, a soft seal across my lips. “I’ll never be the same,” he said in a gravelly tone.
“You’ve transformed me.”
    I folded my arms around his neck and pressed my body hard to his. I clung to him, trying to cast out the chill that tapped in my bones. “Kiss me in a way I’ll never forget.” I
drew his eyes toward mine. “Kiss me in a way that will stay with me until I see you again.”
Because we will see each other soon.
    Patch’s eyes grazed me with silent heat. My reflection swirled in them, red hair and lips aflame. I was connected to him by a force I couldn’t control, a tiny thread that tethered my
soul to his. With the moon at his back, shadows painted the faint hollows beneath his eyes and cheekbones, making him look breathtakingly handsome and equally diabolical.
    His hands steadied my face, holding me still before him. The wind tangled my hair around his wrists, twining us together. His thumbs moved across my cheekbones in a slow, intimate caress.
Despite the cold, a steady burn coiled up inside me, vulnerable to his touch. His fingers traced lower, lower, leaving behind a hot, delicious ache. I closed my eyes, my joints melting. He lit me
up like a flame, light and heat burning at a depth I’d never fathomed.
    His thumb stroked my lip, a soft, seductive tease. I gave a sharp sigh of pleasure.
    Kiss you now?
he asked.
    I couldn’t speak; a wilted nod was my reply.
    His mouth, hot and daring, met mine. All play had left him, and he kissed me with his own black fire, deep and possessive, consuming my body, my soul, and laying waste to all past notions of
what it meant to be kissed.

C HAPTER

37
    I HEARD SCOTT’S BARRACUDA RUMBLE DOWN THE road toward me long before the headlights flashed through the murky
darkness. I flagged him down and swung into the passenger seat.
    “Thanks for coming.”
    He shoved the car in reverse and floored it the same way he’d approached. “You kept your call short. Tell me what I need to know.”
    I explained the situation as quickly, yet comprehensively, as possible. When I finished, Scott let out a low whistle of astonishment. “Pepper’s got every