“Vyrm.”

The angel’s hatred dripped from his voice as he materialized in front of Blaspheme. She let out a scream, dropping her coffee cup as she scrambled out of her chair. Glass shattered and coffee splattered, but she barely noticed. The only thing she could see right now was the huge warrior standing on the roof in military combat gear, his body laden with weapons.

“H-how did you find me?”

An aurial, a blade specifically designed to kill angels and fallen angels, appeared in his hand.

“I don’t answer vyrmin questions.”

Cute, how he’d turned vyrm into vermin. She wished she was going to live to appreciate the wordplay.

“Blaspheme?”

Revenant’s voice broke into her not-so-fond memory. What had he asked her? Why the angel was hunting her?

She shrugged, hoping he’d buy her false indifference. “I have no idea. Maybe there’s extra incentive this week to slaughter False Angels. And you know, maybe you could explain how you found me? You’d better not be tracking me, or —”

He held up her Coach bag, which, apparently, he’d pulled out of his ass, because she swore he hadn’t been holding it a moment ago. “I saw you didn’t take your purse with you, so I guessed that you’d have to use a Harrowgate for transportation. I checked the Harrowgate closest to your apartment.” His black eyes glittered. “That was stupid. Anyone with half a brain would have known to waylay you at that Harrowgate.”

She gaped in indignation. “So now I’m stupid?”

He tossed the bag onto one of his rickety chairs. “Now you’re safe.”

Somehow she doubted that. Oh, she was certain no one was going to get past Revenant to get to her. But could someone get past him to save her?

“I would have been safe if I’d gotten to Underworld General.”

Revenant reached up to rub the back of his neck, causing his shirt to rise up on his hard-cut abs. “The hospital has been breached before.”

He had a point. Sort of. And man, that sliver of flesh between the hem of his shirt and the top of his leather pants was distracting. Leave it to False Angel instincts to make her horny in any inappropriate situation.

“Not by Heavenly forces,” she ground out, irritated by her reaction to him. “Angels can’t get in.”

“Reaver can.”

As a Radiant, Reaver was the exception, but she hadn’t worried about that, since Reaver rarely came to the hospital. But now that Eradicators knew what she was, how long would it be before Reaver found out and popped into the hospital to confront her?

Panic frayed the edges of her control, and she started to look around for an escape. It wasn’t logical, but her mother’s training had instilled in her a need to locate all exits wherever she went, especially if she felt trapped or afraid.

“Hey.” Revenant softened his voice and moved toward her. “I promise you’re safe.”

“Safe from the angel, maybe, but what about from you?”

“You think I’ll hurt you?” He cupped his hand around her nape, his touch surprisingly gentle. “I want you in my bed, not in a grave.”

Oh, gods… yes.

No!

She shrank away from him, even though the mention of his bed made her heart beat a little faster. “I don’t think so.” He only wanted her because he thought she was someone she wasn’t. She didn’t want to be within a thousand miles when and if he learned the truth. He’d already admitted that he thought death sentences were reasonable for people who associated with vyrm. How would he feel about actual vyrm?

“Why not?” he asked. “You haven’t fucked a male since Yuri.”

Her jaw dropped. “E-excuse me?”

His smirk managed to be both amused and mocking. “Yuri. I’m sure you remember his name. By all accounts, you were pretty into him.”

She gasped in outrage. First of all, she hadn’t been into the arrogant surgeon. At the time, she’d believed he was beginning to suspect the truth about her, so she’d gotten intimate with him. Pretended to love the thorny flails and shit.

Second of all… “You’ve been checking up on me? How dare you! I told you I go to clubs to fulfill my needs.”

“Really?” More amusement. More mocking. “Which ones?”

“Just last week I partied my ass off at Thirst.” In truth, she’d gone to the vampire club with some nurses from the clinic for the sole purpose of playing False Angel slut, and she’d done a lot of flirting, but she’d gone home alone. “And how do you know about Yuri anyway?”

“I’m resourceful, Blaspheme. I can find out anything I want. It’s just easier to ask. So why don’t you tell me what you’re hiding.”

“Why are you so certain I’m hiding something?”

He looked over at the massive sword on the wall, its magnificent, double-edged blade dulled by age and the smoky light in Revenant’s lair. The ebony hilt, its cross-guard decorated with sharp teeth, flowed fluidly to the skull-shaped pommel. The thing suited Revenant well, beautiful, wicked… and somehow tarnished.

“For thousands of years, my job was to hunt down anyone Satan or Lucifer deemed to be undesirable or an enemy. That included half-breeds, angels, vyrm, traitors.” He trailed his finger along the edge of the blade, and for a brief moment, she pictured him thrusting the sword through her vyrm heart. “I learned to recognize deception.”