“Roslyn, if she’s hurt, I know someone who can help her, but you have to tell me which cabin you’re at. Trust me; I love her. I’m not going to hurt her. Do you see cherubs, roses, or palm trees carved over the fireplace?”
I swallow down the lump in my throat, and involuntarily, my eyes dart over to the mantle above the fireplace to see several creepy cherub carvings. Even though she knows that, I still don’t trust her.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on. I didn’t know Sadie had a daughter. But I can promise you that I love your mother very much, and I have to help her if she’s hurting.”
My eyes move back to stare at my mother’s room. She’s still out, but so much blood is seeping through my makeshift bandages. They tried to tear her apart.
“Cherubs,” I whisper, deciding I’m too desperate to be safe. In a stronger voice, I add, “If you’re coming to hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
A breath leaves the woman’s lips, and I hear her saying something to someone in a muffled tone, before she comes back on the line with me. “We’ll be right there. I know a dark angel. He’ll save her, and they won’t know about it. He owes me a few.”
***
THAD
“You hit me with a motherfucking sleeper spell?!” I hear Dice yelling as I shift back to human form and barge through the front door, not giving a damn if any human just saw me.
“We had to,” Gage says without any fire in his tone.
He knows we fucked up, just like I know Roslyn will never speak to me again.
“What the hell were you thinking going after her without speaking with Alyssa or Kane?” Drackus growls.
So the incubus ratted us out to Drackus. Great. As if this day couldn’t get any worse.
“Bigger problem,” Gage points out. “Sadie has nothing to do with the rings or the current big bad operation.”
“Fucking told you that,” Dice snaps.
I can’t believe I’m wishing I had listened to Dice.
I drop to the couch, burying my head in my hands as I sift through the fucking mess I’ve made. I wouldn’t even know where to look for her.
“How do you know?” Drackus asks.
I can feel everyone’s eyes shift to me without even looking up, and it takes all my strength not to shift and just disappear for a few days.
“Sadie is Rose. Roslyn’s mother. Reese lied about her dying,” Gage tells them quietly.
A couple of sharp breaths sound out as Drackus and Dice meet the same surprise we did. Apparently Dice’s mother didn’t fill him in on that.
“Did you know?” I hear Gage ask.
“Fuck no, I didn’t know. I would have recruited her to help me talk some sense into you idiots.”
I look up, steepling my hands over my mouth, just as Dice swings his gaze to me.
“Well isn’t this fucked up? Now you’ve tried killing your girlfriend’s mother. I’m guessing that’s why Roslyn didn’t come back with you.”
My fingers crack, and his eyes widen as he steps in behind Drackus, hiding like a fucking coward.
“The point is,” Gage goes on, blowing out a harsh breath, “that now Sadie’s unexplainable help has been explained. It’s not her. We need to focus on the leads we have, and go back—”
“Where is she?” I ask Dice, cutting my eyes toward him as he steps out from behind Drackus.
“Oh. Right. Like I’m going to tell you,” he scoffs.
In a flash, I’m out of my seat, and shoving Dice against the wall with my arm pressed firmly against his throat.