He sighed with relief as he held her hair back for her and rubbed her back, soothing her. After a few minutes passed, and he was sure that the worst was over, he helped her back to the car. Moving aside the mess in the backseat, he had her sit down and gave her a bottle of water. “Sip this slowly.”
She took a sip, swished it in her mouth, and spat it to the ground. She leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes.
He sat next to her and wiped damp hair that was plastered to her sweaty forehead away from her face. He pulled a paper towel from the glove compartment, wet it, and placed it against her forehead, attempting to cool her off. “Better?”
“I’ll never eat tuna again.”
Lash chuckled. “I told you so.”
She opened her eyes. “Alright, I’ll give you that one,” she said, and she started to laugh with him.
After a moment, her eyes trailed to his lips and lingered for a moment. He could feel that she wanted to tell him something, and he leaned in closer, felling that pull again, the urge to hold her and kiss again. Her eyes drifted downward to look at the floor of the car. “I meant what I said. You don’t have to stay with me. I can take care of myself.”
He let out a puff of air and sat back. The moment between them was gone. It was better that way. What was he thinking? It didn’t matter how much he cared about her. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. Staying with her meant turning away from his family. The only way it would work would be to join Lucifer, and she deserved more than that. She deserved to be loved by someone other than one of the fallen.
“I know you can,” he said. “But I’m getting you to that safe house if I have to carry you all the way there.”
“So you can go back home,” Naomi pointed out.
He gazed into her eyes. “It’s more than that.”
Bear started to bark and scratch the inside of her carrier frantically. A flash of light splashed in the corner of Lash’s vision. “Somebody’s coming.” He listened for a moment and heard the loud roar of a motor. A sense of trepidation filled him. He looked around the car, wishing he’d had the foresight to bring some type of weapon with him. If it was a human, there was no need for him to worry. If it was Sal—well, at least a weapon would slow him down for a moment. “Wait here.”
“I’m going with you.” She leaned forward, ready to get out of the car.
Lash placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back. She opened her mouth to protest and he grazed his finger over her lips. “Please.”
His heart pounded, and he couldn’t tell if it was because of the motor that grew louder by the second or if it was the way her eyes grew darker the longer she stared at him. He shook his head. Get your head in gear!
Bear’s barking grew more frantic.
“I’ll be right back.” He jogged to where Naomi had left Bear and her backpack. Unzipping the carrier, he took Bear out. She yapped at him and licked his face. “I know. I’m worried too.”
He handed Bear and the backpack to Naomi. “If something happens, don’t come after me. Run.”
Chapter 19
A motorcycle came to a stop a few yards ahead of him. Lash couldn’t tell who the rider was with the helmet still on. He turned around to make sure that Naomi was still in the car and wished there was more distance between them. Without his full powers, he didn’t know how long he could hold the attacker off.
The rider sat on the bike, arms folded over his chest, waiting for Lash. As he grew closer, the black helmet tilted to the side.
What’s he doing?
The rider pulled off his helmet, and a familiar face beamed. “Doing a little sightseeing?”
“Jeremy.” He let out a sigh of relief. “What are you doing here—and in your human form?”
“I come bearing gifts.” He jumped off and took out a red gas can from a saddlebag hanging on the bike. “I figure you’ll be needing this.”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, I have my ways.”
“Have you been spying on us?” From time to time, archangels checked in on the seraphim and guardian angels to make sure they were on track with their work. However, it was unusual for an archangel of death to do it.
Jeremy laughed. “You know me—always looking for some entertainment. Watching you is as exciting as watching an action movie. You dodged a close one back there at the airport.”
“I almost lost her. I can’t let that happen again.” Lash gazed at Jeremy for a moment. Gabrielle and Michael loved Jeremy. Maybe they’d given him some information. “Do you know anything about this safe house? I don’t know if Naomi will be safe there. Maybe I should take her out of the country.”
Jeremy frowned. “Stick to the plan.”
“What plan?” Lash asked, exasperated. “All I have is a location that I have to find with this.” He showed him the GPS.
“You were okay with limited information before. What’s the problem now?”
“Oh, nothing. I just wish I had a little bit more to go on. I was hoping maybe you knew something.”
He could feel Jeremy’s eyes on him as he fiddled with the gas canister. No matter how hard he tried to hide his thoughts, Jeremy could always read him like an open book.