It made sense. Whatever they’d injected Ava with had given her the ability to flash. She’d seen some of Ryke’s little pets, like that Draven kid, do the same thing. With the first smile she’d managed in, possibly, months, she slid off Calix’s bed, feeling bad for how dirty she was, and looking down at herself only seemed to bring the stench closer to her nose.

One thing she’d come to appreciate about the demon mansion was its tight security, so no chance Oliver would find her there. Still, her instincts remained on guard as she moved toward the bathroom. The adjacent room had always been her favorite part of staying with Calix on nights she’d managed to sneak away from her brother. The elaborate and ornate fixtures, the marble floor and gold trim, were just a small part of the opulence she’d missed, while tied to a dirty mattress in a dingy cellar for weeks.

Ava caught her reflection in the mirror as she passed and dared to let her eyes roam the damage. Dirt and grime clung to her skin. The sharp protruding bones confessed she hadn’t eaten well in weeks. At the crook of her neck, tiny black fissures branched beneath her skin, marking the tortures she’d suffered with Demortis, the unearthly metal that her brother had used to end a number of lives. The gaunt shadows of her face nearly brought her to tears.

How could she ever face Calix looking like that?

Flipping on the shower, she allowed the water to get warm before stepping inside the glass enclosure, letting the warm steam swallow her. It’d felt like forever since she’d last taken a shower. Oliver had given her the occasional sponge bath, and washed her down with a hose of icy water, but nothing like the heat of the spray hitting her then.

As she oozed the soap onto her palm, the familiar scent of Calix filled her nose. Gods, she missed him.

Would he even want her back after the way she’d betrayed him and his brother, Logan?

Ava hadn’t wanted to hurt him that way, but doing so had earned her freedom from the soulbinder that Ryke had kept tied to her throat for years. Had she not betrayed him, she’d have perished alongside her wicked brother and burned eternally in hellsfire.

As she washed her hair, a million questions she hadn’t thought to ponder invaded her headspace. What if Calix had fallen in love in her absence? What if he’d bonded, and the soap she spread over her dirty, used body belonged to a female worthy of such opulence? What if he refused to forgive her?

Ava’s survival instincts urged her to push those thoughts aside. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it. In that moment, she didn’t have anywhere else to go—nowhere she felt as safe. Whether he wanted her, or not, didn’t matter.

She rinsed the last of the soap from her body and, flipping the water off, slid the door open. Memories of times with Calix, when he’d wash her down after they’d had sex and carried her in his arms to his bed, danced through her mind, as she grabbed a towel from the shelf just outside the shower. Even the soft cotton smelled good as she held the towel to her nose and inhaled the clean scent of bleach beneath a floral aroma.

After quickly drying, she wrapped the towel around her body and made her way to Calix’s armoire to borrow a T-shirt and sweatpants. To think there’d once been a time she’d scoffed at wearing such garments, and yet she couldn’t wait to slip into the cozy cotton.

She retrieved the clothes, knowing their exact location. As she closed the door, a gasp hitched in her throat.

Leaning against the armoire stood a tall, bulky male wearing a black Metallica T-shirt that clung to enormous biceps. He toyed with a toothpick that half-hung from his mouth and tipped his head. The silvery glow of his eyes told her he was pure Fallen, and Ava remembered him from before. The demons had hired him as their security. Xander. “Thought I’d wait for you to shower.”

Ava clamped her eyes shut to will herself somewhere else, but an ice-cold grip cinched her throat. Her hands flew to her neck at the same time her eyes opened to the angel, holding her effortlessly off the ground.

He lifted a hand covered in metal, twisting it in front of her. “Diablis steel gauntlets. Pretty fucking cool, right?”

“I’m … friend … Ca … lix.”

“What’s that, love? Can’t understand you with my hand around your throat.”

Fucker. She clawed at his arm in her completely futile struggle to get out of his unyielding grasp.

Tugging a phone from his hip, he kept his toothpick lodged in his mouth and one-handedly dialed a number. “Calix, I know Gavin’s MIA at the moment—said you’re his next in command. Got a chick here. Said she knows you.”

Ava could only make out the mumblings of Calix’s voice on the other line, and her heart leaped in her chest. Caught between fear and excitement, she could damn near piss herself. Perhaps she should. Maybe the asshole’d let her go. Not likely, though.

“Hang on. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“A … va,” she rasped, fighting against the tight squeeze of her windpipe.

He loosened his grip only slightly. “Try again.”

“Ava.”

“Says her name’s Ava, boss.”

Calix’s shouts rang through the receiver over the distinct sound of squealing tires.

“Got it. I’ll make sure she doesn’t go anywhere.” His wicked grin fell on her once more as the angel hung up the phone and tucked it back at his hip. “Says he’s been expecting you.” His gaze flicked down and back, before the towel fell away from her body, leaving her completely naked in front of him. “Perhaps you should make yourself decent before he gets here.”