The black magic whip. I’d almost forgotten.
“Sera” was all I said. It felt like I’d just watched a cherished friend or family member fall into that pit.
Lincoln frowned. “Yeah… we’ll figure that out. I’ll ask Raph.”
He was stroking my wrists, but I pulled them back and met his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about that.” I indicated my hands.
“It was pretty incredible,” Lincoln hedged.
My emotions were raw from the loss of Sera, and now I had yet another dark gift I couldn’t deal with it.
“Lincoln,” I warned.
He nodded. “Let’s get the girls in the van and head back to Angel City.”
I frowned. “We’re not leaving them?”
Lincoln’s face hardened. “No way. More Succubi might come back. I’ll sneak them in if I have to.”
I nodded, taking a look over his shoulder. “Maybe if I could just have Shea open it, for one minute…”
Lincoln looked at me agonizingly. “Something else could crawl through. We need to get these girls to their mother.”
I swallowed my selfishness and nodded. Now wasn’t the right time, but I would get her back. That was for sure.
I didn’t have kids yet, obviously, but I knew what it was like to lose someone. The day my father died changed me forever. It had completely ripped me open, and in trying to put myself back together, the pieces never fit right.
When the mother on the bus saw both of her daughters were indeed alive, she fell apart, and we all fell apart right along with her. The relief and joy she felt was tangible. Even Lincoln looked a bit misty-eyed, but he quickly brushed it off, and ordered us in the bus.
As we were making our way out of Inferno, Lincoln got on his cell phone and called Archangel Michael.
He had his cell number.
No big deal.
“Hello, sir, can you talk for a minute?” Lincoln asked.
I leaned forward in my seat so when he lowered his voice, I could still eavesdrop.
“I’ve got three civilians, a mother and two little girls. We just saved them from a Succubus demon, and I need to get them into Angel City tonight,” Lincoln explained.
Something Michael said must have pissed him off, because his face turned menacing. “I don’t care if the shelters are full.”
More listening. More anger. “She’s a free soul. What about a transfer to San Diego?”
Free soul. That term still made me angry inside. I hadn’t even noticed her forehead was free of the demon mark. Lincoln was always looking for things like that.
My poor mother. Will he ever trust her?
“What if I can find them housing?” Lincoln asked.
There was a pause. He was scowling.
“Yes, sir. I know.” Lincoln sounded dejected. A shadow crossed his face, and then his scowl morphed into a look of determination. “I’ve secured them housing, sir.”
I frowned. Huh?
That fast, without making a call? Michael must have been as confused as I was.
“Yes, sir, you have my word. Long-term housing for all three of them.” Now Lincoln was smiling, looking pleased with himself.
He finally ended the call, and I met his gaze. “What housing did you secure?” I whispered.
He raised one eyebrow. “You were listening?”
I rolled my eyes. “Linc, where are they gonna go?”
Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. “I had a two-bedroom apartment through the army when my parents died. Part of my compensation package. I’ll ask to be reassigned a place, and they can stay in my trailer.”
My heart burst into tiny emoji hearts that floated around his head. Or at least it felt like that’s what it would do if this were a cartoon. “Where will you sleep in the meantime?”
“I’ll crash on Noah’s couch.” His dark lashes framed his crystalline blue eyes, making them pop and look arresting.
“You’re amazing,” I told him. “Seriously.”
He gave me a weak smile. “We saved three tonight, but there are millions more, and with the shelters full and Angel City against seeing homeless tent cities… it’s not enough. But I helped a little.”
I could see now that he tortured himself over this. Lincoln Grey would not rest until every free soul was saved.
I didn’t want to be the one to break it to him, but that just wasn’t possible.
Chapter Nine
The next three weeks were hard emotionally. Sera was gone, and Mikey still hadn’t shifted back to human. He was missing out in school, and my mom and I were going stir-crazy not being able to see him. I had a phone meeting with Clark, his alpha, after my history class, which I was barely paying attention to, focusing more on making the call.