Of Alliance and Rebellion (8 page)

It was almost as if the words, which Max completely understood, had no meaning. She couldn’t be saying what it sounded like she was saying. Max frowned. “You said you were going to kill us.”

Luke’s head snapped around so quickly, Max was sure it should’ve made a sound of some kind. He gave Max another black look, and Max had to resist the urge to throw up his hands in the air and say
What?
To him, it seemed like a perfectly good observation. Because she now claimed to be their salvation, they were supposed to forget she’d threatened them?

“Would you like to be freed or not?” the angel asked.

“Just going to ignore what I said, then?” Max crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the pleas to shut up that Luke was tossing at him with those puppy-dog eyes of his.

The angel cocked one eyebrow and said nothing.
That’s a yes, then
.

“We’d like to be freed, yes,” Luke said, turning adoring eyes upon Max’s angel.

“Very well,” she said softly. She stepped around Luke and walked toward Max.

More than anything, Max wanted to open his arms and invite her to step into his body. Instead, he held out his hands and barked a harsh, “Stop!”

It worked better than he could have hoped. She stopped so quickly, Max worried that she would fall forward. A brief look—eyebrows drawn together and lush lips pursed—flashed across her face before it was hidden behind a blank façade. And that quickly, Max knew he had hurt her, probably just as badly as he feared, with his callous treatment earlier. It devastated him to a level he would never have guessed. Something that felt like physical agony knifed through his gut.

This was
regret
. Max couldn’t remember a time he had felt regret—definitely not for how he had treated someone. Of course, he had never been felt up by an angel before, so perhaps his level of regret was merited.

Merited or not, Max had his men to protect, and the angel had threatened to harm them more than she’d threatened to help them. And he was
still
getting the impression from his eye that she was both evil and good. Unfortunately, life experience had taught him to err on the side of evil.

He focused on the angel in front of him. He had stopped her for a reason: she’d appeared as though she were about to touch him again. He could not have that. “Just … don’t come any closer, okay?” Max said quietly. “For the time being.” Now, why the
fuck
had he added that qualifier?

“Max,” Luke said in a warning tone from his place behind the angel. “She wants to rescue us, man.”

The hope in Luke’s voice made Max antsy, and more than anything, Max wanted to make sure that Luke’s weakness wasn’t exploited. “What’s the plan, angel?” he asked roughly.

She appeared to wince at Max’s words, but spoke in the same calm, husky voice as always. “I am Anahita.”

Max forced himself to frown when what he wanted to do was grin like a fool. He knew her name now.
Doesn’t matter
. “Yeah, not what I asked.”

Luke huffed, but Max ignored him.

The angel—Anahita—cocked her head to the side. “I had hoped that knowing my name would put you on more even footing with me,” she said. “Perhaps create a tiny measure of trust between us.”

“That will never happen.”
It helps a little, yes
. Max gritted his teeth. His damn mind had better get on board.

Anahita sighed. “The plan is simple,” she said wearily. “Your men Eli and Jericho await your arrival at the front gates of the prison. I am to transport you there.”

Eli and Jericho
? Optimism Max couldn’t afford to feel bloomed in his chest. She wouldn’t know their names unless they were really here, right?

“Oh, my God,” Luke breathed, stumbling forward and reaching for the angel’s arm until Max growled and stared him down. Luke’s outstretched fingers dropped to his side. “Eli and Jericho are alive?”

Anahita smiled at Luke. “Very, yes.”

“How?” Max gritted out between his teeth. She simply had to quit smiling at Luke. Or Max would—he closed his eyes. He’d do nothing. She could smile at whomever the hell she wanted.

“I’m sorry,” Anahita said, turning her eyes on Max again. “How—?”

“How will you
transport
us to them?”

“I can disappear and reappear wherever I wish,” the angel said with a small lift of one of her shoulders. “I wrap my arms around you, and you come with me.”

Max tamped down the part of himself that got excited at the idea of her wrapping her arms around him.
She’ll wrap her arms around Luke and Oliver, too, dumbass
. Rationally, Max decided that trying this was better than nothing. If she was a liar, and it didn’t work—or worse, was a trap—they would deal with it. Anything was preferable to a day’s more imprisonment in this hellhole.

“Fine,” Max said. Anahita’s brows rose, but then she reached for him. Max took a quick step back. “My men first.”

“Max—” Luke began.

“No,” Max cut him off. “You first, then Oliver, so you can watch over him until I arrive.” Then, if it
was
a trap, at least Oliver wasn’t alone and helpless in his current state. Luke was more than capable of defending himself and Oliver, and then once Max arrived, hopefully two would be greater than whatever force awaited them.

“Very well,” the angel said softly. With no more hesitation, she turned to face Luke fully. Max watched with a clenched jaw as she wrapped her arms around Luke’s broad shoulders. Before the rage that bubbled inside him at the sight could take hold, they both disappeared. That was the moment Max discovered he’d truly doubted she could do what she’d said she could do. With the realization that she could teleport and take people with her, intense worry rushed in. Luke had been gone for a handful of seconds, but a handful of seconds was all it took to carve someone up. Max rubbed a hand over his raised scar.

His chest grew tight, and his fists longed to lash out at something—anything. Before he could do anything rash, she was back, sparkling in beauty amid the dank cell. Her arms were empty.

“Tell me he’s okay.” The words left Max’s mouth before he knew he was going to say them, and he cringed at their desperate twinge.

The angel’s face softened. “He is with his friends and in perfect health. You have my word, and angels cannot lie.”

Max could only hope that was true.

“Do you still wish me to take Oliver before you?” she asked softly.

Max hesitated. His longing to see Luke well for himself warred with his desire to make sure Oliver was kept safe. Finally, Max nodded curtly.

Anahita acknowledged his wishes with a quick dip of her chin, and then she spun around toward Oliver’s prone form. With more strength than Max had guessed she possessed, the angel scooped Oliver’s considerable bulk into her arms, cradling him against her body before they both disappeared as well.

In her absence, Max closed his eyes and counted his heartbeats, trying—in vain—to time his erratic breathing to the increasing rhythm of his heart.

This time—because she knew Max would be worried?—the angel returned more quickly. Max felt her arrive in the cell, and his eyes snapped open.

He almost jumped out of his skin. She was a hair’s-breadth away from him, her nose nearly touching his, the warmth of her body flowing over his chest and stomach. He should move away. He
would
move away. Any time now.

“Sorry,” Anahita mumbled, her eyes dipping to his lips. “I miscalculated.”

And, yet, she did not step back. Max felt as though gravity had shifted, and he worried that he was going to sway toward her any moment. There was no room for swaying. Max felt his throat work around a convulsive swallow, and he tried to formulate words that would get her to move away from him before he did something stupid, like appease the curiosity in the gorgeous, golden-blue eyes that were
still
focused on his lips.

Just when the insistent knowledge from his eye that she was both good and evil made a dent through his lust, and he was preparing to step away—albeit reluctantly—the angel spoke. “Are you ready to join your friends?”

Her husky voice acted the same upon him as a hand stroking down his chest, and he felt his eyes widen as he realized she was close enough to get an up-close, uninhibited view of his scar. He shook his hair into his eyes and tilted his chin downward to try to hide himself as well as he could, given her close proximity. Best to end this as soon as possible. “Yes,” he said gruffly.

Though he’d seen her transport someone twice, he was unprepared for her to step even closer to him. Her arms came around him, her breasts pressing into his chest. Max closed his eyes and forced his arms to remain at his sides.
Lilies
. The same scent that came from those flowers that always decorated grocery stores around Easter—that scent wafted up from Max’s angel and surrounded him.

So many desires flooded him, he knew he was doomed if he didn’t allow a slight alleviation of the pressure. With a sigh, Max allowed his arms to rise and wrap around Anahita, the fingers of his right hand tangling in the soft silk of her hair.

She gasped, her breasts pressing into him rapidly. “Keep your eyes closed,” she whispered breathlessly.

Max felt the firm stone beneath his feet disappear. His arms tightened around her even more, and he closed his mouth to prevent a huff of breath from escaping. Before terror could take over, his feet landed upon firm ground again.

Max felt himself shaking, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. And in a move that only made him feel worse about his masculinity, the angel squeezed him and made a shushing sound in his ear. “You are here.”

Max jerked away from her, his arms falling to his sides. The angel moved away from him without meeting his eyes, and for the first time, Max was able to see where he was.

They were inside a massive military blind that shielded them from any onlookers. The dappled shade cast dark shadows over his skin and provided a bit of relief from the heat of the desert. A Humvee made up one of the sides of the blind, and the back door was open. Inside, Max could see the prone form of Oliver laid out on the vehicle’s floor, Luke kneeling beside him. Max’s shakes vanished. The angel had told the truth.

Holy shit
. The angel had told the truth. They were rescued. They were actually free!

“Max.”

Max turned toward the deep, bass voice. It belonged to a blond giant with blue eyes. “Jericho?” Max noticed the dark-haired man beside him. “Eli?”

“Good to see ya, man,” Eli drawled in his Southern accent.

“‘Good to see ya, man,’” Jericho mimicked. “It’s damned great to see you!” The blond man stepped forward, his arms outstretched.

Max launched backward, shaking his hair into his face. “No hugs,” he grumbled. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jericho stop in his tracks, but Max refused to look at his face again. “I don’t … do that,” Max finished lamely. He closed his eyes and mentally counted down.
And they’ll notice my face in three, two…

“Holy God, what did they
do
to you?” Eli stepped forward and gripped Max’s chin, forcing him to raise his face. “Shit,” Eli breathed at the same time Jericho whistled low.

Max jerked his chin out of Eli’s hold and growled, the sound echoing throughout the blind in the now uncomfortable silence. “I’m fine,” Max said.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Jericho said softly.

Max glared at him through his shaggy hair. Jericho looked as though he wanted to say something more but after a few moments held out placating hands. “Okay, you’re fine.”

A derisive sound escaped the Humvee, and Max jerked around to find Luke staring at him, not even trying to hide the fact that he’d made the noise. Max frowned at him and spoke to Eli and Jericho without looking. “Get us out of here,” Max commanded. “The guards could stumble upon us at any moment.”

“Actually,” Jericho said, “there’s really no rush.”

Max froze. “No rush?” Had he somehow mistaken the definition of those words? “They’ll capture us again!”

“There are, maybe, five guards left,” Eli said. “I think that’s what our intel said. We don’t know for sure why you three were separated from us, but we think you were hidden here in case shit hit the fan back in the States. If the military didn’t know you existed, they couldn’t take you away. But now Taylor’s dead, and they won’t have the manpower to locate us and come after us. Funding got cut; everyone left. Operation: Middle of the Garden, as we knew it, is done.”

Max’s mouth went dry. “Taylor’s dead?” After the five of them—Eli, Jericho, Oliver, Luke, and Max—had found the Garden of Eden while on tour in Afghanistan, Major Taylor had coerced them into testing the fruit from the Tree of Eternal Life for the army so their families would be told they were dead and then be compensated rather than
just
told they were dead.

Eli nodded. “Killed him myself.”

Max tilted his head to the side, dreading the understanding that was beginning to dawn. “Taylor’s dead and no one’s left?” His revenge. God, what would his purpose be now?

The smile on Eli’s face slipped. “Uh—”

“Forget it,” Max said quickly, wiping all emotion away before he could collapse under the pressure behind his heart. “I don’t want to be here a second more.” Without another word, Max crawled into the back of the Humvee with his men and slammed the door behind him. Jericho and Eli hopped into the front along with a male angel Max had never seen before. Max did a double take, viewing the new angel’s long, dark hair, broad shoulders, and vicious countenance before forcing himself to act as though this new angel were no big deal. As though Max saw fucking
angels
every day. As they drove away, abandoning the blind, Max knew he did not need to look back for
his
angel.

Though he couldn’t see her because she sat on the side of his good eye, he could feel her right beside him.

Operation: Middle of the Garden Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

She could not leave him. She couldn’t leave him right after he’d squeezed her tight for comfort upon gaining his freedom. She couldn’t leave him when he saw his friends for the first time in nine years and his attention was directed away from her. She couldn’t leave him when they drove off, and he did not even look back to see if she was still there. She couldn’t leave him when they boarded a plane and flew to the States. And she could not leave him now that he was safe and sound inside the Operation: Middle of the Garden military compound that housed the Trees that had been supplanted from the Garden of Eden.