Wicked Kiss
Something I hadn’t thought about since last night came back to me in a rush. After everything that had happened since, I’d all but forgotten it.
It was something Connor said while we were trying to deal with the bodiless angel.
“All a damn distraction. What’s his game? Where the hell is he hiding?”
Only I’d heard him, but there was something in his tone...
Connor knew something the rest of us didn’t.
Since he was an angel, I wasn’t terribly surprised he was keeping important secrets from us. But this secret couldn’t remain that way. Whatever he knew, I needed to know, too.
I looked at Jordan. “Mind giving me a drive somewhere?”
I half expected her to say no, roll her eyes and take off without another word—unless that word was an insult. But I’d come to learn that if there was anybody full of surprises, it was Jordan Fitzpatrick.
“Sure,” she said, nodding firmly. “Just tell me where.”
* * *
Hard to believe it had only been a day since the last time I was at St. Andrew’s. Felt more like forever.
I swiftly checked the sanctuary and the rooms along the hall at the back. Jordan trailed after me as I explored.
“Notice that I’m not grilling you right now,” she said. “But I would love to know what we’re doing here again. I don’t like this place.”
“I’m looking for somebody.” Distracted, I moved through the church trying to sense something, feel something.
Ten minutes later, the door squeaked and I spun around to see the angel in question had returned to his perch.
“Hey, Samantha,” Connor said when he spotted me. “Good to see you. Bishop’s not here, he’s out patrolling. Roth’s still missing. We also got information that there are next to no grays left in the city and he’s trying to confirm it. Most dropped dead after stasis.”
My mouth went dry. “Next to no grays left? Seriously?”
“As far as we know, it’s just your pal, Stephen, for sure. The guys tell me you’re all cured.” He eyed me with curiosity. “You’re no longer hungry for souls, right?”
No, I was hungry for something, but it wasn’t for souls. “That’s right.”
“Well, good. I mean, I’m not promising anything, but if Stephen’s the only one still breathing, that means we’re close to finishing this mission.” He glanced to my left. “Jordan, you’re back.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Too bad that memory wipe didn’t work last night. Everything would be a lot easier then, huh?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, maybe. For you.”Jordan was making friends all over the place with that charming personality of hers.
I was busy reeling from the possibility that Stephen might be the last gray in the city. The team had been patrolling for more than two weeks trying to take care of the gray problem. But to think that it was close to being over...
Of course, Carly would still be a gray, too.
Carly...
I shoved her image away and focused on the angel standing directly in front of me.
“I came here to talk to you, Connor.”
“Me?” He pointed at himself. “That’s sweet, Sam. I know we haven’t had much time to get to know each other very well.”
“No, we haven’t. You were the last to arrive, not counting Cassandra.”
His expression shadowed at her name. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Connor, what did you mean last night about that angel being a distraction?”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “What?”
“I heard you. You mumbled it to yourself. You said that she was a distraction and that you didn’t know what his game was or where he’s hiding. Who’s he? Who were you talking about?”
Connor’s jaw tightened. “I think you must have been hearing things.”
“Nope. I’m completely positive about what I heard.”
He shot a glance at Jordan, then back at me. “Okay, ladies, lovely chatting with the two of you, but I really need to get back out there and do my job.”
When he turned toward the door I ran toward him and grabbed his arm. “Connor, please. You need to talk to me. You know something and you need to tell me what it is.”
He turned to face me. “What’s your deal, anyway? Why are you even a part of this? How are you not a gray anymore—just like that? Bishop won’t tell us anything he knows, but there’s something weird about you.”
“Tell me about it,” Jordan murmured.
“You know way too much about everything,” Connor continued, his gaze narrowing. “And how do you see the searchlights? How did you get a message to Bishop about where you were locked up? How do you read our minds?”
“Want me to do it right now?” I asked. “Because I will if you don’t start talking.”
“You can try. I’m way older than I look so I’m pretty good at blocking that sort of thing, especially if I know to expect it.”
He was right. Even staring him right in his eyes I couldn’t break through the wall he had up. There had to be another way. I didn’t have time for this.
I hissed out a breath of frustration. “If I tell you why I can do stuff, then you have to tell me something about what you know. Can we make that deal?”
Connor cocked his head, considering. “Maybe. If what you’ve got to say is good enough.”