Page 91 of Shadow of Death
“Oh, my beauty, don’t be afraid! I would never hurt you. No, you’re not going to be hurt. Tomorrow, they’ll cut your heart out and save you from your sins, but you needn’t fear me! I will guard you with my life through the night!”
“You’ll guard her?” the other asked.
“We’ll guard her. But you fall asleep all the time. I am the Archangel’s true warrior!”
“No. I will be as great a warrior!”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see. Ah, my dark-haired beauty! You are luscious! If only! But I am a man who will have immortality. If only the Apocalypse was not upon us! I could have shown you such a good time!”
Stay the course, Hunter reminded himself. Amy knew what she was doing. Tomorrow was the time when they would need to be close.
When, if nothing else, they would discover the Archangel.
Now, it was just a waiting game.
Wherever the place of sacrifice was to be at the full rise of the sun, he would be there. The law would be there, in force.
He might not know the area as Amy did, but he had learned enough to hide himself in a makeshift shelter through the night and not be seen—while still being able to see.
He would not be far from Amy. He would not be far at all.
Amy had no problem feigning terror of her captors. But she also knew that they were just as frightened as she was.
Well, they had their answers about Don Blake.
But he had just been a player! Even when she was the one who pulled the trigger—or more especially when she was the one who pulled the trigger—it was horrible to watch a man die. And maybe Don had been as much a victim as many others, believing a lie that had been told to him over and over.
Equally, she was certain her captor who had shot Don was afraid. It was clear they must follow the directive to a T—or wind up half eaten by an alligator or killing oneself with a hospital needle intended to save lives, not take them.
Eventually, her captor tired of taunting her. He moved away from Amy, almost as if he was afraid he might be burned by her. Of course, he was human. He was intrigued. He held a female victim captive, and that power alone probably stirred something in him.
Something he dared not follow.
“Hey, we have beer in that cooler around the side, right?” he asked his companion.
“Yeah. I didn’t ask, but I wasn’t told we weren’t allowed to bring any. Maybe I was afraid to ask!” he added. “But, heck, you know, Don was right about one thing. It’s hot out here, sticky—and the mosquitoes want to make blood sacrifices out of all of us!”
He wanted it to be a joke. His companion didn’t laugh.
“I’m going for a beer.”
He walked out, followed by the second man.
As soon as they were gone, Amy spoke softly. “Aidan?”
“I’m right down here. Can’t go anywhere,” he said dryly.
“Well, you can, and you must, if they drink enough beer.”
“What?” Aidan demanded in a terse whisper. “Amy, I’m not a trained agent, but I have taken dozens of classes, worked at the range... I’m okay! I’m here with you. We’ll get these people, I swear it. We know nothing is going to happen until tomorrow—”
“Aidan, we need to make sure the others know, and they’re prepared. And here’s the thing. Our best techs—FDLE, FBI, all the rest—need to find out where the hell theArchangelis based. He’s not out here—not out here sweating and getting mosquito-bitten! Aidan, I’m barely tied. They seem to think a girl is no threat. I can get out of these ropes binding my wrists and ankles. And when I do, you disappear!”
“Amy, I can’t leave you here alone—”
“You must. They want a female sacrifice. Getting to kill you, too, is just like icing on the cake. But, Aidan, I must be here—I am the cake. And please remember, I am a trained agent. You have to get out there and make sure when they take me out in the morning, our people are there following every step of the way.”
“They are out there.”
