“Where are we going?” Adalyn asked when he didn’t turn off to head to her house.

Tom looked up in the rearview mirror to look her dead in the eyes. “Lucca asked to see you.”

Her eyes grew wide before she quietly nodded. Oh shit.

The car ride was silent on the way to the casino hotel, and the walk to Lucca’s office was quieter. When they had gotten off the elevator, there was a moment when Angel looked at her, telling her that he knew what she planned to do. His eyes didn’t plead with her, however. No, there was something else in them. Disappointment.

Knocking on the door, she exhaled, not realizing until then that she had been holding her breath the whole way up.

“Come in.”

She walked into the smoke-filled room, taking a seat in front of the beautiful demon. His blue-green eyes practically glowed in the dark room.

Finally, it was his voice to break the silence. “You wanted to talk to me about Angel?”

“Um, yes …” She cleared her throat, trying to pull her thoughts together. She pictured him taking the ring off Lucca’s desk. “He …” She trailed off, looking down at her hand that had held Angel’s.

“He what?” Lucca asked.

It was time for her to make a decision. She only hoped she wouldn’t regret it.

Taking a long, deep breath, she made up her mind. “Angel’s a dick.”

A slow smile appeared. “A dick? How?”

“Yep. And sexist.”

“Sexist?” Now he looked a little confused.

Nodding, she continued, “You heard me; he’s sexist. He will only talk to the men.”

“Well …” He took a moment, seeming to process this. “He’s there to protect you, not talk to you.”

“He could at least say good freaking morning.”

“Yes, he could.” He smiled slightly before it disappeared. “Do you in any way think he’s not capable of protecting you?”

“No,” she admitted in defeat.

“And is there anything else he has done that could change my opinion of him?”

Her last chance was here. If she was ever going to tell him what Angel did, it would be now. Instead, she whispered the word that would seal her fate. “No.”

“Then this is an issue between you and Angel to solve.”

She gave a solemn nod as she stood up and headed for the door.

“You sure there’s nothing else you wanted to tell me?” His dark voice stopped her as he flicked his lighter, lighting the cigarette he held between his lips.

Does he know?

“Y-yes.”

“All right.”

Adalyn said a little prayer, thanking God that Lucca didn’t know about the ring.

She tried to leave once more, but again he stopped her.

“Room 22008.”

What? She looked back at him, confused.

Warm smoke escaped his mouth as he said, “Go talk to him.”

* * *

She stared at the number 22008 before her, wondering if she really should do it or if this was a test. Her mind was telling her this was a bad idea, whereas her body was already raising her hand to knock on the door.

Did Lucca really say this was okay? Her knuckles meeting the door answered for her.

The longest minute of her life passed before the door was finally swung open to reveal an angel dressed in jeans and a snug black T-shirt that revealed his full-arm tattoo sleeves to her for the first time. It took everything she was to stop looking at the inked skin and to look up at his face.

“H-hi. I was wondering if we could talk.”

Not moving from the doorway, Angel pointed up at a camera in the hallway that was focused on his door. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Lucca actually told me to come see you.”

He stared at her for a few seconds before he finally moved to the side to let her in.

Walking in, she saw the room was just a basic hotel room with a queen bed, a TV, and a little table and chairs. It wasn’t on the penthouse floor but the floor below the Caruso residence.

As he closed the door behind him, she grew nervous, never considering she would have gotten this far.

Angel was the one to break the ice as he crossed his tatted arms over his chest.

“So, I guess, since you’re here and not Lucca, you decided not to tell him about the ring.”

“I don’t know wha—”

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Adalyn. I’m not stupid,” he cut her off coldly.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a dick to me, I wouldn’t have wanted to tell him,” she said matter-of-factly.

As if she wasn’t nervous enough, Angel stalked toward her.

“Understand I’m not a nice person, and I treat you no differently than anyone else. Have you even seen me talk to the other Carusos, besides Tom?” He didn’t wait for her to respond, knowing the answer already. “I talk to Tom because I have to. So, don’t worry, sweetness; you’re not special. I don’t like anyone.”

“Then do yourself a favor and just leave, jerk,” she spat.

Having had enough of his attitude already, she headed for the door.

“You misunderstood.” Snatching her wrist as she passed, he pulled her back to look up into his dark eyes. “You think I want to fucking be here? I’m being forced to stay here.”

“W-what?”

“I’m collateral, sweetness. Lucca’s keeping me here to keep peace between the families, to keep the Lucianos in line.”

It was all making sense now. She had wondered why the hell he was there after Chloe had been kidnapped by his father. She couldn’t help asking the question that now filled the air between them … “What happens if your family doesn’t stay in line?”

“What do you think?” Releasing his tight grip on her wrist, he lifted his hand, making a gun with his fingers, then pointed it to the side of his temple.

Adalyn swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. The look behind his eyes showed her something wasn’t quite right about him. He was beginning to let her in; let her see what his eyes truly held.

She backed up slowly, fear settling in, though she didn’t know if it was hers or his at this point, but she could see it—see how he felt.

He was trapped. Trapped like an animal.

“You should have told him what I did.” He followed her until the back of her legs hit the nightstand and there wasn’t an inch of space between them. “Because sooner or later …”

She closed her eyes when he moved the mock-trigger of the finger gun he held to his skull. It was like the sound of a gun went off in her mind.

Feeling a tap on her head, she opened her eyes again to see his fingers were still in the shape of the gun, but now it was pointed at her. Breathing heavily, she tried to back up again, but the nightstand kept her in place. All she could do was hold on to it to keep her stable.

“Now, if he finds out you know”—he lightly pressed the tip of his inked finger deep into her skin—“there might be a bullet with your name on it, too.”

“You’re fucked up,” she whispered, realizing the depths of which he was.

He moved his cold fingertips down her face until they disappeared to his side. Shutting off his gray eyes to her, they became dead again. “Like father, like son.”

“I refuse to believe it.”

Angel’s jaw flexed. He didn’t realize that he had made a mistake. He had let her see the bad, yes. However, he didn’t realize she had found the paranoia and behind that, she had found the scars.

“You wouldn’t have pushed that guy out of the way today if you were like him. You would have just let him hit me.” That she truly believed.

Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, giving her a warning he never gave others until it was too late. “Don’t underestimate me, Adalyn. It’ll be the last thing you do.”

Did he just threaten me?

Watching him walk away, she started to move her hands off the nightstand when she felt something metal move against her skin.

“You should leave now.”

Adalyn walked to the door he held open, looking into his eyes one last time. She now understood the fallen angel better. She was going to have to be more careful.

Her eyes traveled down to his neck where the black wolf was inked. You could only keep an animal caged for so long before they broke; either giving up to die or going insane trying to become free again.

“Goodbye, Angel.”