Finale

archangels could command objects. I didn’t
like the surprise, and I wondered how much this would complicate my attempt at escape.
    “Didn’t you hear? He’s not my boyfriend anymore,” I told Pepper. “I’m dating Dante Matterazzi. Surely you’ve heard of him? Everyone has. Patch is one
hundred percent in my past.”
    “Guess we’ll find out, won’t we? If I have to ask you to start walking again, I’ll put a hole in your foot.”
    I raised my arms level with my shoulders and walked to the boat ramp. A little late, I wished I’d worn my jean jacket with the tracking device. If Patch knew where I was, he’d come
for me. Maybe he’d sewn a device into my puffer vest too, but I couldn’t count on it. And since I didn’t know where Patch was, or if he was even okay, I couldn’t count on
him, either.
    “Climb into the boat,” Pepper ordered me. “Take the rope on the seat and tie your hands to the guardrails.”
    “You’re serious about this,” I said, stalling. I glanced at the trees framing the river. If I could get to them, I could hide. Pepper’s bullets would have more success
hitting trees than me.
    “Thirty miles from here, I have a nice roomy storage room with your name on it. Once we get there, I’ll give your boyfriend a ring.” He made a fist, extending his thumb and
pinkie finger, and placed the hand-phone near his ear. “We’ll see if we can’t come to an agreement. If he swears an oath to handle a personal matter for me, you just might get to
see him, and your friends and family, again.”
    “How are you going to call him? You have his cell phone.”
    Pepper frowned. He hadn’t thought this through. Maybe I could use his disorganization to my advantage. “Then we’ll just have to wait for him to call us. For your sake, I hope
he doesn’t dawdle.”
    Reluctantly, I climbed inside the boat. I picked up the rope and started looping it into a knot. I couldn’t believe Pepper was this stupid. Did he honestly think a run-of-the-mill rope
would contain me?
    Pepper answered my question. “In case you’re having any escape-type thoughts, you should know that rope has been enchanted. It looks harmless, but it’s stronger than structural
steel. Oh, and once you’ve secured your wrists, I’ll enchant it again. If you so much as tug against the rope to break free, it will pump two hundred volts of electricity into your
body.”
    I tried to keep my composure. “Special trick of archangels?”
    “Let’s just say I’m more powerful than you think.”
    Pepper swung one short leg over the boat, balancing his foot on the driver’s seat. Before he could bring his other leg over, I slammed my body against the side of the boat, rocking it
forcefully away from the ramp. Pepper stood one foot in, one foot out, with the gap of air between his legs widening.
    He reacted instantly. He shot into the air, hovering several feet above the boat.
Flying.
In my split-second decision to unbalance him, I’d forgotten he had wings. And not only
that, but now he was clearly furious.
    I dove overboard, swimming hard for the center of the river, hearing shots being fired into the water from above.
    A splash sounded behind me, and I knew Pepper had dived in after me. In a matter of seconds he would catch me and fulfill that promise to put a hole in my foot—and probably a lot worse. I
wasn’t as strong as an archangel, but I was Nephilim now, and I’d trained with Dante . . . twice. I decided to do something either incredibly stupid, or incredibly brave.
    Planting my feet firmly on the sandy riverbed, I pushed up with all my strength, vaulting straight out of the water. To my surprise I overshot, soaring above the treetops crowding the
riverbanks. I could see for miles and miles, past the factories and fields, to the highway strung out with tiny cars and tractor-trailers. Beyond that, I saw Coldwater itself, a cluster of homes,
shops, and green-lawned parks.
    Just as quickly, I lost velocity. My stomach flip-flopped, air skidding over my body as my direction reversed. The river rushed up at me. I had the urge to pinwheel my arms frantically, but it
was as if my body wouldn’t stand for it. It refused to be anything less than graceful and efficient, tucking into a tight missile. My feet crashed into the boat ramp, smashing through the
planks of wood, plunging me back into the water.
    More bullets whizzed past my ears. I scrabbled out of the debris, lunged up the riverbank, and