Pulling the motel key from his pocket, Alec unlocked their ground-floor room and ushered her inside. The space was small, about the size of Eve’s guest bathroom. The two double beds barely fit inside, with the bed farthest from the door pushed up right against the bathroom wall and the nearest bed having scarcely enough room to fit in the window air-conditioning unit. The decor was motel classic—busy-printed coverlets that hid stains, nondescript wallpaper, and a three-paneled painting of the beach above the two headboards. A small fridge sat by the dresser and the sink waited beyond that, conveniently—though unattractively—built outside the shower and toilet area.

Alec set the keys and their purchases next to the television and pushed his shades onto his forehead. He leaned back against the dresser and crossed his arms.

Eve sank onto the edge of the bed nearest the door. “Can you pass me a Kit Kat?”

He reached for the bag. Digging inside, he laughed. “What the hell did you buy?”

She thought back to her time in the store. “I’m not sure. For a while there, I freaked out.”

Alec straightened and dumped the contents onto the other bed. Eve stood and surveyed the pile.

“Antibacterial dish soap?” He arched a brow at her. “Floral air freshener. Unscented baby wipes. Two packages of lime-flavored gelatin. Beef jerky. Facial tissue enhanced with lotion.”

She picked out the chocolate and the cell phone, arranged the pillows on her bed, and sprawled against the headboard. A moment later she was munching on what she considered to be manna from someone’s god. She plugged the AC adapter for the phone into the outlet in the base of the nightstand lamp. Then she dialed her parents’ house.

It rang three times before, “Hello?”

Eve breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Hey, Mom.”

“Where are you calling from?” Miyoko asked. “The Caller ID says ‘unknown caller’.”

“Long story. How are you?”

“I’m okay. Your dad isn’t. He’s mad.”

Darrel Hollis’s version of mad was a long-suffering look. He never raised his voice, never got physical. Eve suspected his blood pressure was on par with her new Mark stats. “Oh? About what?”

“The city turned off our water and started digging up the yard. They have to fix a leak. I told your dad it was time to resod anyway.”

Eve smiled, relieved that the mark system had moved so promptly. “Tell him to look on the bright side,” she suggested. “This might save you money on your utilities bill.”

“Your dad says I’ll spend the savings on the new yard, so he’s not getting ahead.”

Her mother’s love of horticulture and feng shui had led to a desire for a curving stone walkway flanked by lush flower beds. Her dad, on the other hand, thought their straight cement pathway was just fine.

“He’ll get over it,” her mother dismissed. “Want to come over for dinner?”

“I can’t to night.”

“You have a hot date?”

Eve laughed softly. “Not even close. I have to work.”

“That’s good. A woman should always be self-sufficient—” Eve’s father said something in the background. “Your dad says congratulations on the new job.”

“Tell him thanks for me. You’re not going anywhere today, are you?”

“No. Why?”

“No reason. I’ve got to go now, Mom. Did this phone number show up on your caller ID?”

“Yes, the number is here. Just no name.”

“Okay. Call me if you need me.”

“Evie-san . . .” Her mother’s voice took on a concerned tone. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s just a lot going on right now.”

“Take your vitamins,” Miyoko admonished, “or you’ll get sick. Stress weakens your immune system.”

“I will. Talk to you later.” Eve snapped the phone shut and stared at it for a long moment.

“Are they all right?” Alec asked.

She nodded and bit into a Twix bar.

“I want to stake out the masonry,” he said. “Are you up for that?”

She was up for anything that gave her something to do besides contemplate how screwed up her life was. “Why did we come back here, then?”

“Bathroom break.”

“Gotcha.” Eve chewed with gusto.

Alec’s arms crossed, causing his T-shirt to strain around his biceps in a way that melted the chocolate in her hand. As she licked her fingertips, he watched her with a guarded expression. “Are we fighting?”

Eve shrugged. “I’m just waiting for you to finish your explanation about your brother.”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Okay, then.”

He exhaled in a rush. “I don’t want to talk about him with you.”

“I got it.”

She turned her head to look out the window. The sounds of the nearby highway blended with the sound of blood rushing through her veins. She inhaled and smelled the familiar scent of Alec the instant before he climbed over her and caged her to the bed.

“Hey,” he murmured, tossing his sunglasses onto the nightstand tucked between the two beds.

“Hmm?” She stared up at him, admiring the fall of dark hair over his brow. Every part of her tingled with awareness. Determined not to act as devastated by his nearness as she felt, Eve stuck the other Twix in her mouth.

Alec lowered his head and bit off the protruding end of the candy bar. A low sound of pleasure rumbled up from his chest. She watched him turn the act of chewing into foreplay, the steady clenching of his jaw a surprisingly erotic sight.

They swallowed in unison. Their lips parted in tandem. Then his tongue was stroking across hers. She shivered beneath him. Sexual tension and chocolate, could anything be more divine? Alec’s hand moved to her waist and anchored her, his hips sinking between her thighs as she opened them.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him closer. His body mantled hers, his warmth and strength became hers.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Eve didn’t know what he was apologizing for. His curtness earlier? Or maybe everything?

She pushed her fingers into his thick, silky hair. It felt so good to be held. A tear slipped down from the corner of her eye, then another. Tears that had been lying in wait since she’d found Mrs. Basso that morning.

Alec rolled to his back, taking her with him. He draped her over his body, whispering soothing words of comfort. In her mind, another soul touched her. She didn’t know Reed at all, but that didn’t matter. She found solace in the evanescent feel of him.

Together the two brothers gave her the brief respite she needed.

CHAPTER 18

Reed flinched away from the nails that scraped down his back. He stood with his forehead resting against a granite shower stall, one arm hanging at his side, the other pressed against the wall above his head. Steam swirled around him and scorching hot water sluiced down his spine.

“Leave me in peace,” he growled, his lower lip throbbing from the sting of Sara’s bite.

“The team is ready to go,” she said. “They’re waiting in Ontario, California.”

She was docile now, appeased and somewhat contrite. It didn’t matter. He hated her in that moment, hated how she made him feel about himself, hated that she’d seen motives he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. But most of all, he hated that Eve was in pain and he’d had to feel it while buried deep inside another woman.

He shouldn’t give a shit about Eve. What did he know about her?

Sadly, the excuse had no validity. Cain didn’t know any more about Eve than Reed did, but Cain loved her.

Reed shut off the water and accepted the towel Sara offered him. She wore a short white silk robe and her silver-blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders. She couldn’t look more angelic. “You are truly worried about her,” she said.

“You should focus less on her and more on the reason why there’s cause for concern.”

“I am focused,” she retorted. “That is why I am accompanying you.”

“Like hell.” He scrubbed his head with the towel.

“You forget your place.”

Dropping the towel on the floor, Reed brushed past her and moved into her office. He retrieved his clothes and dressed with deliberation. There was no point in arguing. He was in full control of his gifts. The archangels, however, paid a price for using their powers. Reed could be in California in a blink of an eye. Sara had a long flight ahead of her.

“I want you to fly with me,” she said.

He glanced at her and smiled.

Her gaze hardened. “We were good together.”

“Occasionally.”

“Then why are you so distant?”

“You manipulate me, Sara.” He crossed over to the wet bar and used the mirror there to adjust his tie. “I’m just an object to you.”

“You used me, too.”

“You’re right, I did.” He had once been foolish enough to hope that she might help him achieve his own firm. They could work together, he’d thought, and thereby be twice as strong. Then he realized that not only would she never allow her “boy toy” to achieve similar stature, she also didn’t want to add to her competition. Perhaps more so than her six counterparts, Sara saw the other archangels as impediments in her relationship with God. “We both got something out of it.”

“Then, why her and not me?”

His gaze met hers in the mirror’s reflection. “You don’t love me,” he scoffed.

“I am not talking about my feelings. I am talking about yours.”

A bark of laughter escaped him. He returned to her. “I don’t love her.”

She studied him with narrowed eyes. “But you want her.”

“And you’ve hit on Cain in the past.” His hands gripped her forearms through the silk, his thumbs stroking rhythmically. “Do I hold that against you?”