Heart of a Demon (The Dark Angel Wars 1)

I winced. Fighting over a guy was not on my to-do list.

“His parents lived in South Africa for a long while. There’s another gate there. They recently retired to South America, I think.”

“You can retire?”

That was something I’d never considered. A retired Nephilim. It sounded strange.

“Yeah, you can. But retirement for a Nephilim is more like a long break. Most of them return to defend a gate at some point. It’s in our blood, after all.”

I had a yellow blouse pulled halfway over my head when I paused.

“Do you think Luke would ever retire?”

“Nope. He’s a lifer. He says he wants to get off the board and let new blood take over, but he’s not going to leave. Especially not after his wife died so tragically.”

I heard Raquel inhale sharply and stomp her foot.

“I’m sorry, Lizzy. I forget that’s your mom, too. I shouldn’t talk about her like that.”

“It’s okay.” I opened the door so that she could inspect the yellow blouse and a pair of tight leather pants that were a bit too sexy for my taste

. “I never knew her.”

Raquel’s eyes grew wide when I spun in front of the big mirror.

“Yes, yes, and yes. God, I love your tiny little figure. Everything I buy has to come in extra-long. Do you know how hard it is to find clothes long enough?”

I’d never had anyone call my figure tiny and little. But, I suppose, next to Raquel’s tall frame, the description fit. I wasn’t as enthused about the outfit as she was, but then again, she had better taste than me. They’d join the yes pile and then we were done here.

I was about to go back in the dressing room to change into my clothes, when a flash of blonde hair caught my eye. We saw each other at the same time. Kate was standing ten feet away from me, her face a complete mask of shock.

“Lizzy?” Her chin trembled. “Is that really you?”

I wanted so badly to run to her and wrap my arms around her tiny little shoulders, but I held back. She was the reason I’d been nearly murdered. Things like that didn’t just blow over.

“Hi, Kate.” My voice sounded hollow. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“That’s Kate?” Raquel dropped the jacket she’d been trying on and crossed her arms over her chest. “The one that turned you in?”

Big crocodile tears fell from the corners of Kate’s eyes. It was a talent she had – looking beautiful even when she cried. I’d never mastered the art.

“I’m so sorry, Lizzy.” She took a step forward and clasped her hands together as if she didn’t know what to do with them. “You don’t know how sorry I am. I never thought it would come to that. You have to know, I just thought they’d kill the demon and yell at you. I swear.”

I closed my eyes. As much as I wanted to hate Kate for the rest of my life, I couldn’t. She’d only done what she thought was right. It was a fault that I loved.

“It’s okay, Kate.” I looked down at her and shrugged. “I’m alive. It’s all over. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

Her eyes flicked to Raquel and then back to me.

“But it’s not over. People are still dying because of what I did.”

My mouth fell open. That was news to me.

“What are you talking about?”

“The goddess – or whatever she is – she’s angry that she didn’t get her sacrifice. She’s been coming back to Hanna and picking people off. The elders say that she won’t stop until she has you in her claws again.”

I blew a slow breath through my lips, trying to comprehend what Kate was saying. Not only was the goddess still looking for me, she was killing people until she got what she wanted. No one at the manor had thought to share that bit of information with me.