“I don’t understand this.” Gabe’s growl of frustration sliced through the living section of his studio apartment as his eyes trailed over the list before him. “Seventeen items that ensure Cassandra is worthy of removing cancer from her, and yet you still insist they aren’t the right ones. It’s been three days since her second chemo session, we need to figure this out.” They’d spent the past week and a half together nearly every day, and he had thought he’d made a marked improvement, uncovering different layers of her personality.

He knew time slipped away each day he didn’t discover the correct way to save her. Holding her when she called after her treatment session nearly destroyed him. She’d been so frail, trembling from the cold and trying to insist she was fine—even as she fell asleep in his arms. He was tired of waiting for someone to give him permission, and furious Carlyle was being such a roadblock.

Carlyle arched a blond brow but didn’t so much as smirk. “I have been doing this longer than you, Gabriel. Also, I don’t need to do anything. I’m here as your mentor, not your partner.”

“Gabe.” He nearly snarled and snatched up the list, shaking it in Carlyle’s direction. “How is it possible none of these are what matters?” His voice rose with each word. “My father even blatantly told me he was glad I learned what mattered, her soul.” He jammed a finger at the page as if it were the villain. “Her soul is on here.”

Carlyle swung his legs off the arm of the couch they were draped over and walked over, his hand extended. “Give me,” he motioned with his fingers when Gabe moved too slowly.

“Let’s go over this.” Carlyle tapped his finger on the page. “Reason one, her soul is pure of intent. Congratulations. That is literally the reason a person is granted a Guardian Angel in the first place. Thanks for confirming that for us.”

Gabe’s hands clenched as he strained not to throw Carlyle at the window. “I get that, but it is the truest reason there is. Her intentions are what define her, and her intentions are to save children.”

“Number two. She can look at a person and know how to help them.” His eyes rolled. “Is this legit or because she’s helping you adapt to being human?”

“I’ve seen her with kids. She has experience no one else will share. It is how she is uniquely qualified.”

“Except for every other person who’s passed through a foster system that has grown up swearing to fix it. The only thing Cassandra Marks has on most of them is the dedication and intelligence to actually put a plan into motion.”

“Watch yourself. You’re dangerously close to being reminded that even as a human, I still know more about battle than you ever will.”

“Skipping down to six. Her laughter inspires others to laugh and will come in handy when children have given up hope.” He sputtered. “You have to know these sound like shit.”

Again, tension rocked through Gabe’s body. Instead of acting on it, he allowed himself the pleasure of picturing the cracking sound that Carlyle would make if thrown head first into a wall. It wasn’t mildly calming, but the idea of protecting Cassandra made him feel much better.

“Let’s move on.” Carlyle looked back at the notebook page paper. “Number thirteen, because of the joy she brings to kids. Again, many people can do this. The point is to find reasons why she alone can do her work and needs to be saved to succeed.”

“Enough with the damn list!” Roaring, he snatched the paper away and tore it into tiny strips, furious that it wouldn’t help. “Cassandra Marks has a soul unlike any I’ve ever met—human or angel. Her smile is enough to light up an entire room when she is not too tired to give one. Her heart continually seeks to help others—just the other day we went to a soup kitchen even though being so close to anyone of the homeless that carried any sort of sickness could have killed her.” He took a step closer to Carlyle, fury boiling in his blood. “Her kindness knows no limits. Yes, she has moments of insecurity and even infantile whining, but she has used plenty of days this week to volunteer in the children’s ward at the hospital. She stayed so long she nearly collapsed from fatigue.”

Carlyle’s lips pulled up into a mischievous smirk. “Are you certain you haven’t spent the past month finding reasons why you love her and want her saved?”

“Fuck you. Her life matters more than my insignificant feelings for her.”

His mentor shrugged. “Your list is good—but it sounds to me like you’ve found all the reasons you love her. Not the reasons she deserves to live and continue her work.”

Gabe opened his mouth and paused. His mind reeled as it went through countless memories from the past weeks. Over and over he heard conversations between them where he asked about her work, but he’d never asked if she thought anyone else could do it.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For telling me the one thing I need to ask to save her life.” He grabbed his phone off the coffee table a few inches away and punched her name on recent contacts—even though she was actually his only contact. “Cassandra?” He barked her name when she answered.

“Everything okay? I know we had a bit of fight, but you sound angry.”

“I’m sorry.” He swallowed, trying to force off some of his frustration. “I was speaking with a colleague just now, and the subject of life came up. Do you mind if I ask you something that might be a little sensitive?”

“Just the other day you were barking orders at me, and now you’re asking—this must be difficult.” She was quiet, but he heard shifting sounds as if she were throwing off a blanket and sitting up. “Go ahead.”

“If you were to die,” saying the words caused a burn in his throat. “If you were to die, would your work be able to continue?”

“Of course.”

The phone dropped from his hand, crashing onto his foot. He spiraled, dropped into a black hole, even though he stood perfectly still as her short sentence echoing in her mind. She believed her work could continue if she passed away.

“There’s no shot -” The word scratched out as if his mouth had been deprived of liquid.

Carlyle scooped up his phone. “Hello, I’m a friend. Gabe’s going to want to see you tonight. He’ll pick you up in his car around eight thirty if that’s all right.”

Gabe couldn’t hear her response. He’d scarcely heard Carlyle’s words.

“Do you see why you’ve set yourself up for a difficult task?” Carlyle passed him the phone and patted him on the shoulder. “The council doesn’t make decisions lightly. They saw what she was and what she could become.”

“They knew even before I requested to come.” Disbelief still left his words barely above a whisper. “I don’t care.” His teeth ground together and his attention on Carlyle. “Do you hear me? I choose when I go before the council, and I’m not going anywhere until I find out what sets her apart because I know it’s there.”

Carlyle’s shoulders slumped as he shook his head. “I wish you the best in that. I had hoped you’d get your battle wings back and leave me alone, but I’m sorry to see you’ll choose to fall for a mortal with a shortened life.”

His foot collided with the underside of the other angel’s chin, knocking him up and back. Carlyle crashed into the couch and shifted it slightly across the floor. Gabe knew the burn in his meant they glowed. Human or not, power coursed through him. He stalked over to his mentor and gripped him by the shirt collar.

“Get out of here,” he spat, enjoying the slight hint of unease in Carlyle’s eyes. “Don’t ever come back. When it is my turn to go before the council, make certain another angel comes for me. I promise you, when I have my wings back for long enough to plea for her life, if I see you again, I will end you.”

His chest heaved as the fury washed through him like an angry volcanic explosion. He didn’t loosen his grip, but Carlyle vanished anyway. All that remained of their encounter were the skid marks now in the wooden floor from when Gabe had sucker punched him into the couch.

The room spun again, Cassandra’s sentence threating to be his only thought.

“I will save her.” Closing his eyes he sucked in a breath, trying to focus on the warmth of her smile to calm him.