“Can you fix it?”
Man Bun tapped the tablet in his hand as he spoke. “We’re working on it.”
That wasn’t the answer Eidolon wanted to hear, but it was probably the best answer he’d get right now.
“Yo, E!” Wraith, Eidolon’s youngest brother, and the only blond in the family—if only thanks to bleach—sauntered through the sliding doors from the ambulance bay and parking lot, his ancient leather duster kicking up around a battle-worn pair of combat boots.
Those were his hunting clothes, the weapons evident on his harness nothing compared to those that weren’t visible. As a vampire and a Seminus demon, he had an impressive set of fangs and crazy vampire speed.
He cut through the crowd of patients in a dance of nimble steps and spins as if he were having fun. He probably was. Wraith had always been most comfortable in the middle of chaos. Often, he was the chaos.
Man Bun stared in awe before disappearing into the translucent, shimmering doorway of the Harrowgate. Wraith had earned his reputation as a legend, and he couldn’t go anywhere without someone wanting to either “kill me or fuck me,” at least, according to Wraith. Though from what Eidolon had seen, it was largely true.
Unfortunately for the ones who wanted to kill him, Wraith was protected by an invincibility charm, and those who wanted to fuck him found that he was one hundred percent fiercely devoted to his vampire mate, Serena.
“Not now, Wraith.” Eidolon sighed. “We’ve got problems.”
“No shit?” Wraith jerked his thumb toward the sliding doors. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Three fucking fallen angels just popped into the parking lot.”
Cursing, because…seriously, what else could go wrong today, Eidolon started toward the parking lot but pulled up short when he saw Lilliana and her two ever-present bodyguards heading toward the Harrowgate. Maddox and Journey, both dressed in jeans and dark tees, flanked Lilliana, Maddox with a duffel slung over his shoulder. Lilliana glowed in a turquoise and white dress and sandals, her long hair pulled back with jeweled gold combs. No one would have guessed that just hours ago, she’d been close to losing her child.
“This can’t be a coincidence,” he muttered. “The day we have a VIP getting ready to leave, the Harrowgate shuts down, and fallen angels pay a visit?”
He met Lilliana at the OUT OF ORDER sign in front of the gate. “As you can see, we have a bit of a—”
“Clusterfuck,” Wraith offered as he greeted Journey and Maddox with high-fives.
“Situation.” Eidolon shot Wraith a glare. “Although my brother isn’t wrong,” he admitted.
Lilliana’s ever-present smile faded. “What kind of situation?”
“Our exits are temporarily inaccessible.”
“So we’re stuck here?” A shadow of worry darkened her expression. “Does this kind of thing happen often?”
“Harrowgate malfunctions are rare,” he said. “But you’d be surprised how often jackasses hijack the parking lot.”
“Word.” Wraith swung back around to Eidolon. “Speaking of jackasses, I saw Revenant.”
Interesting. Revenant’s status as the King of Hell left him with no spare time, and no one saw him much anymore.
“Is he here?”
“Nah. He came by the house last night.” Wraith bared his fangs at a pink-skinned Oni demon that had dared to bump into him. “Brought a book I guess Serena wanted to borrow from Blaspheme.”
“Did he tell you why Blaspheme hasn’t shown up for work in three days?”
“Nope.” Wraith frowned. “I didn’t know she was missing. Come to think of it, he seemed more dickish than normal.”
An uneasy feeling settled over Eidolon. While the Harrowgate, parking lot angels, Blaspheme, and Revenant could all be unrelated, Eidolon had learned to trust his gut, and his intuition said that everything was tied together somehow.
Lilliana wobbled, and Eidolon grabbed her, keeping her steady as he eased her onto a seat.
“Sorry,” she said. “I just got a touch woozy. Guess I’m still a little tired.”
“That’s to be expected,” Eidolon assured her. “You’ve been through an ordeal, and there’s a lot going on. We’ll figure out a way to get you out of the hospital as soon as possible.”
“I’ll get a couple dozen Memitim over here,” Journey said as he dialed his phone. “They can distract the fallen angels while we flash Lilliana out from the parking lot.” He scowled down at his phone. “What the hell?”
“What is it?” Lilliana asked.
“My phone’s not working. No service on either the human or demon networks.”
“Ditto.” Maddox shook his phone as if it would help.
All around, people were suddenly complaining that they couldn’t send or receive calls or texts. Eidolon’s sense of unease became flat-out alarm as if every heart monitor in the hospital suddenly flat-lined.
They were trapped, and if the hospital’s landlines weren’t working, they had no way to call for help. At the very moment the Grim Reaper’s pregnant mate was supposed to be leaving.
“Gem!” he shouted at one of his best physicians—also his sister-in-law—as she jogged toward him. “I need you to check—”
“Cell and landline service is down,” she called out. Well, that took care of that. “And there are asshole fallen angels in the parking lot. They won’t let anyone leave.”
“I don’t like this.” Journey shifted closer to Lilliana, hovering protectively. “We need to get her out of here.”
Wraith jerked his chin at the sliding bay doors. “I’ll handle the angels.”
Lilliana put her hand out to grip Wraith’s sleeve. “Please, don’t. I don’t want anyone risking their lives on my account.”
“She’s right.” Maddox shifted the duffel. “I know you have superpowers or some shit, and I’ve seen you fight, but those are fallens out there. You think you can take on one, let alone three?”
Journey’s dark brows pulled together in confusion. “Yeah. I thought your invincibility mojo didn’t work on angels.”
Wraith grinned, his vampire fangs glistening. “Reaver tweaked it so I can battle the fallen. Pretty cool, huh?”
Eidolon had been furious about that. Wraith didn’t need more excuses to be reckless. Yeah, Wraith had settled down considerably, especially now that he had a mate and son to go home to, but a well-fed predator was still a predator.
“But we could still kick your ass, right?” Maddox asked.
Wraith snorted. “You could try.”
“Males.” Lilliana huffed, and Eidolon chuckled despite the dire situation.
He liked her, and she seemed to be exactly what a male like Azagoth needed in his life. A strong soul with a gentle spirit. Someone who could stand up to him but also make him laugh.
Eidolon needed to get her back to the Grim Reaper safely. “Why don’t we take you to my office to wait?” he said to her. “And, Wraith, I want you to sit this one out—” He broke off as Wraith sauntered out the doors to the parking lot. “Dammit.”