Becca Fitzpatrick: Hush, Hush (Bonus)

“Consider it done.”

I hung up and went over what I knew. If Dabria was telling the truth, the archangels would have to build a case against me to send me to hell—I hoped. If they intended to do it quietly, they could use underground channels and erase their steps. Years ago I would have put the archangels above foul play, but I’d seen enough to change my mind. I’d seen enough firsthand to change my mind.

Inside Enzo’s, I couldn't find Nora. Our table had been taken over by Marcie Millar, the only person I’d ever known Nora to hate. I walked over.

“Lose your girlfriend?” Marcie asked me when I took the chair beside her.

“You wouldn’t know anything about that?” I returned calmly, but I fixed her with a dark, measured look.

“How much is it worth to you?” She crossed her legs, bumping my knee as she did. It was no accident.

I said nothing. As the silence thickened, it was clear that Marcie grew more unnerved. To her credit, she hid it well.

She shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be found. If you get tired of looking for her, I could use a drink.”

I bent forward in my seat, locking her in an unbreakable gaze. For all intents and purposes, the method—a simple mind-trick—worked as well as hypnosis. Did you take this table from Nora? I asked her thoughts directly.

Marcie didn't blink. “I told her you were looking for her. She left without being asked,” she confessed freely.

Make it up to her by showing yourself out. I commanded her thoughts. The party’s over.

Obediently, Marcie rose to her feet, gathered her belongings, and marched out the exit. If the archangels hadn’t been weighing on my thoughts, I might have taken satisfaction in getting rid of her.

I stood abruptly when I saw Nora across the room, talking to a guy I didn’t know. Her expression was polite and friendly, but she had her arms folded protectively across her chest. Every time he took a step closer, she backed away. She caught me looking and waved me over.

“Patch, this is Anthony Amowitz. He was in my PE class this year. Anthony, this is Patch.”

“Her boyfriend,” I said, snagging two glasses of punch from the refreshments table and handing one to Nora.

“Cool, man,” he said, but I could tell he didn’t find it one bit cool. “So. How’d you two meet?”

“Biology,” I offered.

He nodded. “Nice, nice. How long have you been together?”

I took a sip of punch. “Long enough.”

Nora kicked my shoe discreetly. “About a month,” she told the guy brightly.

“I haven’t seen you around school,” he said, frowning slightly as he examined me head to toe. “Are you new?”

A casual nod.

He laughed, and it was an obnoxious, husky sound. “You got yourself a talker,” he told Nora, as if he could share a private joke with her.

“A pleasure talking to you, Andy.” I handed him my empty punch glass. “If you’ll excuse us, I’d like to dance with my girl.”

I led Nora to the open floor at the center of the bistro. Tables and chairs had been pushed along the walls, and couples were already dancing to the music blaring over the speakers.

“Anthony,” she giggled into my ear. “His name is Anthony.”

I smiled down at her. “I don’t like finding you flirting with other men, Angel.”

She pulled on a face of mock nuisance. “ That? So not my idea of flirting.”

“What is?”

Her exasperation melted into a slow, provocative curve of her lips. She was beautiful with her face lit up that way. Swaying to the music, I fanned my fingers through her soft curls, watching them spill onto her shoulders. An eyelash had fallen just below her left eye, and I licked my thumb, pressing it to her cheek to catch the eyelash.

“Make a wish,” I instructed her.

“Can I say it out loud?”

I shook my head. “It won’t come true.”

She scrunched her eyes closed and wrinkled her nose. Concentration tightened her face. She peeked, caught me watching, and quickly shut her eyes again. I grinned at her stem, serious expression. I wanted to kiss her, but I didn’t want to break her focus.

“Okay,” she said at last. She drew a deep breath and blew the eyelash off my thumb. I followed it for one brief moment before it sailed out of sight, into the crowd. “What did you wish for?” I asked, knowing she wouldn’t tell.

“I think you know.” She looked up at me then, out from under her eyelashes, gazing at me in a way that dared me to pretend I didn’t know.

“I would have wished for the same thing,” I told her honestly.

“If we both wish for it, maybe it will come true.”

She made it sound possible. She made everything feel within reach. But doubt edged into my mind. I’d faced down many opponents over the years, but none had the strength, influence, and power of the archangels. For the first time, I worried I was out of my league. I would do whatever it took to stay here with Nora, to keep her safe and begin making amends for a lifetime of wrongs, but the challenge felt ominous.

The archangels didn’t lose.