“Because it drives you ape-shit.” He grinned.
Raphael’s eyes turned cold. He grabbed Lash by the neck and threw him against the wall. He leaned in close, his face less than an inch from Lash’s. “It is exactly this attitude that got you banished from Heaven.”
“Like hell, it was.” Lash struggled against him. “That bitch Gabrielle got me here. She didn’t have to rat me out.”
“No, Lahash. It was you. It was all you.” Raphael’s face reddened as he pressed Lash into the wall, causing it to crack. “You interfered with her role and challenged her authority as archangel. All missions are given for a purpose and should be followed accordingly. The girl was not meant to survive the accident.”
“Gabrielle”—he spat her name as if it were something bitter—“was waiting for an opportunity to get me kicked out. She hates me.”
“That is not true.”
He scowled. “She does. You’re just too blind to see it.”
Raphael closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His anger was not helping Lash to see reason; it was doing the opposite.
“I know you two are not on the best terms.”
“That’s an understatement,” Lash muttered.
Raphael ignored him and continued. “She has everyone’s best interest at heart, including yours. I’m sure of it.” He released his hold and stepped away. “You were reckless, disregarding those around you. I do not understand this kind of behavior from you.”
Lash sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I don’t see the point. Why do we bother with what we do? People will do whatever they want to, anyway. Like Megan. She’ll probably be high again within the hour.”
“That’s the problem with you, Lahash. You have lost faith.”
“Faith?” Lash snatched a remote control from the nightstand and turned on the television, flipping through the various channels, pausing a moment between each tap of the button. His jaw clenched as he scowled at each image that flashed across the screen: men covered in blood, bodies lying on a dirt road, and women shrouded in black, crying out in anguish; a destroyed building with smoke and ash whirling in the air, and women and children spilling out of it, covered in ash; a dark-skinned little boy, no more than four years old, dressed in a pair of muddied shorts, his stomach swollen from hunger and face blank as he stood alone on the side of a road.
He stopped at a channel that displayed a group of women primping and dressing toddlers to look like high-class hookers with the intent of winning a beauty pageant.
Lash threw the remote, shattering the screen. “Is that what you want me to have faith in? How can I put faith in them?”
Raphael looked to the cracked television, his eyes glistening. “Lash, do you not think that I have felt the same way you do? I, too, have struggled with placing my faith in people, especially when it seems as though no one cares for anyone else but themselves.” Raphael placed a hand on his shoulder. “Michael has agreed to give you one more chance. He will allow your return if you prove your devotion and faith.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Lash asked, feigning disinterest. The wall he had built around himself, to protect him from getting hurt, was in full force.
“You can’t fool me. I know you want to return.”
Shit. He should have known that Raphael would see right through him.
“Fine. What do I need to do?”
Relief flashed in Raphael’s eyes, and he let out a breath. He took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket. “This is the location and the photo of your next assignment.”
Lash sighed as he ripped the envelope open and took out a card. “Naomi Duran,” he read. “Duran. Wait, is she related to Javier Duran?”
Raphael opened his mouth then closed it. Lash could tell there was something important he wanted to tell him, but it looked as though there was also something holding him back.
“All I can tell you is that it is of vital importance that you keep her safe,” Raphael said.
Lash cursed under his breath. They weren’t going to make it easy for him. He flipped over the card; on the reverse, a pretty young woman with wide, pale blue eyes looked back at him. The room became still as he studied the photo. He glanced up and found Raphael leaning toward him expectantly.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Raphael diverted his eyes. He walked to the sole window in the room and pulled the curtain back. “Take another look. If you need a better quality photo, I can acquire one for you.”