Finale

mercilessly attacking while they were down. But I was too stunned by what
I’d done to do more than hunch in a defensive position, waiting to see what their response would be.
    Cowboy Hat charged at me, thrusting me backward into the post. The impact knocked all air from my lungs and I doubled over, trying but failing to draw oxygen.
    “I’m not done with you, princess. This was your warning. If I find out you’re still running with fallen angels, it won’t be pretty.” He patted my cheek. “Use
this time to reconsider your loyalties. Next time we meet, for your sake, I hope they’ve shifted.”
    He signaled the others with a jerk of his chin, and they all filed out the door.
    I gulped air, taking a few minutes to recover, then staggered to the door. They were already gone. Road dust sifted through the air, and dusk crept across the skyline, a smattering of stars
glittering like tiny shards of broken glass.

C HAPTER

4
    I STEPPED OUT ON THE CABIN’S SMALL STOOP, WONDERING how I’d navigate my way home, when the sound of an
engine roared up the long gravel driveway ahead. I braced myself for the return of Cowboy Hat and friends, but it was a Harley Sportster motorcycle that tore into view, carrying a single rider.
    Patch.
    He swung off and crossed to me in three quick strides. “Are you hurt?” he asked, taking my face between his hands and looking me over for any sign of injury. A mix of relief, worry,
and rage blazed in his eyes. “Where are they?” he asked, his tone as hardened as I’d ever heard it.
    “There were three of them, all Nephilim,” I said, my voice still shaky from fright and the whiplash of having my breath knocked out of me. “They left about five minutes ago.
How did you find me?”
    “I activated your tracking device.”
    “You put a tracking device on me?”
    “Sewn into the pocket of your jean jacket. Cheshvan starts with Tuesday’s new moon, and you’re an unsworn Nephil. You’re also the Black Hand’s daughter.
You’ve got a premium on your head, and that makes you pretty damn appealing to just about every fallen angel out there. You’re not swearing fealty, Angel, end of story. If that means I
have to cut into your privacy, deal with it.”
    “Deal with it? Excuse me?” I wasn’t sure if I should hug him or shove him.
    Patch ignored my indignation. “Tell me everything you can about them. Physical descriptions, make and model of the car, anything that will help me track them down.” His eyes sizzled
with vengeance. “And make them pay.”
    “Did you also bug my phone?” I wanted to know, still not over the idea that Patch had invaded my privacy without telling me.
    He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
    “In other words, I have no secrets.”
    His expression softened and he looked as though, had the mood not been so tense, he might have considered smiling. “There are still a few things you’ve managed to keep secret from
me, Angel.”
    Okay, I walked right into that.
    I said, “The ringleader hid behind sunglasses and a cowboy hat, but I’m positive I’ve never seen him before. The other two—a male and a female—wore nondescript
clothing.”
    “Car?”
    “I had a bag over my head, but I’m positive it was a van. Two of them sat in the back with me, and the door sounded like it slid open sideways when they forced me out.”
    “Anything else stand out?”
    I told Patch the ringleader had threatened to uncover our secret relationship.
    Patch said, “If word of us gets out, things could get ugly fast.” His brows pulled together, and his eyes darkened with uncertainty. “Are you sure you want to continue trying
to keep our relationship off the radar? I don’t want to lose you, but I’d rather do it on our terms than theirs.”
    I slipped my hand in his, noting how cold his skin felt. He’d grown still, too, as if bracing for the worst. “I’m either in this with you, or I’m out,” I told him,
and I meant every word. I’d lost Patch once before, and not to be melodramatic, but death was preferable. Patch was in my life for a reason. I needed him. We were two halves of the same
whole.
    Patch gathered me against him, holding me with a certain possessive ferocity. “I know you’re not going to like this, but we might want to think about staging a public fight to send a
clear message that our relationship is over. If these guys are serious about digging up secrets, we can’t control what they find. This is starting to feel like