“Why am I here?” Redemption snarled as Titus entered the interrogation room. “And where the hell is my lawyer!”

I stood on the other side of a one-way mirror and stared at a complete stranger.

Gone was the unseelie fae that’d been both lover and colleague, and in his place was someone savage, someone unhinged.

Titus moved slowly, reaching for the handcuffs that bound his wrists, unlocked the cuffs and glanced at the plainclothes sergeant behind him. “Your lawyer has been delayed.”

“Delayed how?” Redemption snarled, and took a step closer.

Titus straightened as the unseelie hunter moved close. “Apparently, The Circle is denying you access to their lawyers’ services, any reason they’d do that?”

Redemption’s lips curled with the answer. Hate rolled in waves I felt through the thick glass. He was unshaven, his clothes crumpled. But there was something else wearing at him, something more than a night in the Harbor Metropolitan’s lockup.

Redemption glanced from Titus to the sergeant and then slowly shook his head. “I get it. I get what you’re trying to do. Three fucking words…my lawyer…now.”

“Veronica Falls…” Titus started…and then stopped.

Redemption’s eyes blazed with rage. “That fucking bitch! I’m going to kill her. I’m going to bury her so deep under the ground no one will ever find her.”

“Now that’s something I can act on,” Titus answered. “Threats against The Circle’s employees are something the Harbor Metropolitan Police take extremely seriously.”

Redemption flinched with the words. He shifted his gaze from Titus to the sergeant again, then remained silent.

“Now, Sergeant Huskings here, is going to see about getting you a state-appointed lawyer for the moment, and you and I are going to have a little chat.”

“About what? The drugs? You’re wasting your breath.” Redemption folded his arms across his chest and leaned backwards.

“Yeah? Well, you let me worry about that,” Titus turned and gave the sergeant a nod, and in that moment he’d never looked so fucking gorgeous.

I knew the man, knew the feel of his body…and I saw him…through flesh and bone, right into his soul. And I saw all of him, saw he was powerful in his own way—that he was loyal, and kind. Heat raced through my body with the thought. He carried my mark, but this was more than that.

Two damn days and I wanted more…I wanted so much more. I wanted every day…I turned my head to the hellhound beside me, and Gabriel shifted his wings. My heart lunged, slamming against the confines of my chest.

A hellhound.

An archangel…

And a human.

“You okay?” Gabriel murmured behind me.

And for a second, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t answer. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and nodded.

I didn’t get like this. Didn’t well with tears. Didn’t feel loved, wanted…until now. I dropped my hands, one went to my side, the other slipped behind me, caressing the slick feel of feathers until I found the hard muscle of his thigh and lifted my gaze to the room behind the glass.

I saw myself in Redemption…saw the omen I once was, alone…cornered…and left out to dry.

How quickly the wheel turned.

How quickly the gold was cast into the mud. Pain cut across my chest at the thought. I hated to see him that way, hated that he was hurting, but I hated them more.

The door opened and closed inside the room as the sergeant left, and Titus was alone with Redemption, who turned his head, and, even though he saw nothing more than his own reflection, he looked straight into my eyes. “You want to stop playing your games now?”

Titus swung his gaze back to the fae against the wall. “It’s just you and me now. No need to lie, no need to bluff. You’re not getting access to The Circle’s lawyers, and we both know the reason why.”

One brow shot high as Redemption lifted his gaze and turned fully toward the mirror. “By all means, Inspector, please enlighten me.”

“They’re hanging you out to dry. Don’t want to taint their perfect name with your crimes. Now, I don’t know about supe’ law, but there’s been how many deaths associated with this drug?”

There was no answer. Redemption had closed down, and the man had slipped behind the mask.

“Nine witches, at least twenty demons, not to mention the humans caught up in this goddamn mess…that poor girl…that poor human girl who’ll change on the next full moon, all thanks to you. Now, you can make it easy on yourself. I’ll write in my report, that’ll most certainly find it’s way to the Director of The Circle’s desk, that you were more than co-operative. You were the primary reason why this case was solved. All I want to know is who are you working with? Who’s the supplier, and where is the main distribution site?”

There was no answer, no noise. The room fell silent…my pulse ticked like a damn bomb. I glanced from Redemption to Titus as both men held each other’s gaze.

Answer him. Answer him, you sonofabitch. My fists clenched, falling away from Gabriel’s thigh and Rival’s hold.

Second by second of silence followed…every tiny sound, every little scrape, was like nails on a damn chalkboard. He wasn’t going to answer. He wasn’t going to give Titus a damn thing.

What the hell happened to him? Where was the man I once knew? The one who would’ve done anything to save a life…who would’ve never given up.

I hated him in that moment. Hated the man he’d become. Hated the secrets he’d held onto that resulted in this goddamn mess.

“You think you’re helping by being silent?” Titus growled. “There’s others out there hurting right now because of your actions. Others who cared about you, who still care…”

“Save your breath, Inspector. There’s no one left.”

His words were a fucking slap. My breath caught, my cheeks burned, searing and aching.

“If you believe that, then I’m even more sorry for you than before.”

The hard bark of laughter tore through the room. “Save it, save it and shove it up your ass.”

“She’s listening, you know.”

I flinched with the words, as did Redemption. He swallowed, eyes widening slightly. “Who?”

“Lorn, she’s right behind there, listening. I wonder if you’d be man enough to look her in the eyes and tell her that?”

“You’re lying,” Redemption snarled, and took a slow step forward. “She’s not here. She’s gone.”

Titus gave a shake of his head. “No, she isn’t.”

Panic raced across Redemption’s face. “I told her to leave. I told her to get out of the city.” He wrenched his gaze to the mirror. Agony and terror shook his voice. “She didn’t leave…did she? She stayed…she stayed.”

He closed his eyes and swayed on his feet. “It’s all my fault. All my damn fault. It’s too late now. He’s coming.”

“Oh, you mean good ol’ Dad? Yeah, she knows about that.”

“Then she knows nothing,” Redemption growled and glanced at the mirror once more. “They’re coming. All of them…all the alpha’s, all the queens and the kings of all the lines. Why do you think I’ve been escorting them all these years? I’ve been trying to stop an all-out war. They’re coming to stop him. And it’s all happening tomorrow night.”

I glanced to the door and took a step. None of this made sense, not the war…not the damn timing. “I need to get in there. I need to see him face to face.”

Titus lifted his gaze to the mirror as though he could hear me.

“She should’ve left. I told her…I warned her,” Redemption moaned and took a step, terror now finding a new path. “Get me out of here…get me out now. I can protect her…I can save her.”

A savage growl filled the room, echoing from my right and behind, as Titus braced his arms on the table and leaned forward. “And you think you’re the only one who cares about her? You think you’re the only one who’ll lay his life on the line to keep her safe?”

Redemption froze, lips parted. He looked at Titus, really looked at him, as though he was seeing him for the very first time. “You…”

“Me…” Titus answered. “So, you can just stop with the macho bullshit. Give us the information we need to protect her…or go back to the cells. You can rot in there for all I care.”

Redemption flinched. It was a killing blow delivered with nothing more than words. “The bar, Wicked. Tomorrow night. There’s a witch-storm brewing, Inspector, and Lorn is caught in the middle of it. She’ll need all the help she can get. And if you’ve spent more than a second with her, you’ll understand how special she is. So if there’s any way you can get me out of here…man to man, I swear I’ll do everything in my power to protect her.”

Protect me?

That dark need whispered across my skin. I didn’t need protecting. I needed honesty. I needed loyalty. I stepped closer to the glass and lifted a hand. Fingers touched the surface and the cold raced through my palm.

“I’ll see what I can do, but you have to tell me everything. I can’t walk in there not knowing what to expect.”

“And the Angel…Gabriel, will he be there?” Redemption asked.

“Yes, and Rival…a hellhound.”

“It’s not enough,” Redemption growled and shook his head. His eyes were alight with desperation. “It’s not anywhere near enough.”

His panic felt wrong somehow. More than just a fear of me meeting my father. There was something he wasn’t saying.

“Not anywhere near enough for what…what aren’t you saying, Redemption? What are you holding back?”

Feathers tickled my arms as Gabriel moved close, and Redemption answered. “He’s not coming to meet her…he’s coming to kill her.”

The floor fell away from under me. My knees buckled, the air rushed. Hands found me…arms and feathers wrapped me in a cocoon.

“He’s lying,” Gabriel growled in my ear. “Lucifer would never do that. You’re his flesh and blood. He’d never hurt you…never.”

“He’s the Lord of Hell,” my words sounded hollow and dull. “He can do whatever he wants.”

“Do you really believe that?” Rival broke in. “You’ve tasted his power, you’ve felt his strength. Did the energy feel predatory to you? Were you afraid?”

“Afraid? No, not for me…” I whispered. “Only for everyone else.”

But Redemption wouldn’t say that without reason. He wouldn’t hurt me…not like that.

“Get me out, Inspector,” Redemption demanded. “You’ll need me.”

There was a tiny shake of Titus’ head before he found Redemption’s gaze. “Then give me something! I can’t bargain with a bunch of could be’s and maybe’s. Give me something concrete and I’ll do my best.”

“The wolf…the one who bit the young woman. The witches are using him.”

“Using him? How?”

“He’s damaged…the drug, it changed him somehow, made him a conduit, and they’re using him to syphon Lucifer’s power.”

“They’re draining him?”

There was no flinch, not even a breath, before Redemption answered. “Yes. And then we might have a chance at stopping him.”

They were wrong…so damn wrong.

I turned my hand, fingers brushing the glass as I stared at the sigil burned into my palm. I’d had a taste at what lay under the surface. There was no draining a bottomless well. No end to the tsunami of power that flowed in these veins.

The only thing they’d do was piss him off. “We have to stop them,” I murmured, and then turned to Rival and Gabriel. “Before it’s too late.”

Gabriel stared into my gaze and nodded. I knew now, knew why he’d stayed away, knew why he’d shut me down time after time, and it had nothing to do with loyalty.

Deep down, he was scared. The Lord of Hell was coming, the only question was…how much blood would he spill on his way?

“Where is he? That wolf…those witches?”

I flinched with the question and stared through the glass.

“Hurricane,” Redemption murmured. “If what you’re saying is true, then Lorn will know what I’m talking about. It was the place we first fell in love. The first place I…the first place I told her that I loved her.”

“Just not enough to make sure she had enough food to eat, or enough money to pay bills. That’s some kind of hard fucking love, buddy,” Titus snarled and picked up the folder. “You’re no better than a goddamn wife-beater, you make me fucking sick.”

He gave Redemption his back, missing the agony that settled in his eyes. He didn’t understand…not a complex thing like love. He never had…never wanted to.

“I tried,” he whispered. “I tried.”

“Like you said…save it. Don’t waste your breath.” Titus threw those words into Redemption’s face as he made for the door.

I took a step from the glass as the lock echoed and Titus left the room.

“I tried! Goddamn you! I looked out for her…I did my best!” Redemption strode across the room and lashed out with a fist, hitting the door.

The boom shook the wall. He curled his fist and bowed his head. “I tried my best.”

My heart ached with those words. I neared the glass, drawn by the remnants of good times in our past. The door next to me opened and then closed. Still I couldn’t turn away from the sight. I couldn’t abandon him.

“Do you know the place he mentioned?” Titus murmured.

I nodded. I knew the place. I loved him in that place. “I know it.”

The touch on my arm was soft and careful. “We have to go, Lorn.”

Redemption turned his head, and tears filled his eyes. It was the first time I’d ever seen him cry, not in all the years we were together…not in all the cases we’d worked.

“I’m sorry,” Redemption murmured, and stared into the glass. “I failed you…please forgive me.”

My voice trembled as I turned away. “Twenty-eight Obsidian Drive. That’s where the Hurricane is.”