Free For Love of an Angel (The Fallen Warriors Series) by Rosalie Lario Page B

some soup—"
    Gasping, she whirled to face Travis at the very instant he looked up and noticed Michael. The brown paper bag in his hand fell to the ground, splattering liquid all over the floor. He didn't notice. He was too busy gawking at the long, magnificent wings that Michael, so focused on her, hadn't managed to hide in time. Letting out a sharp scream, he shot out of the apartment with a speed that would have made an Olympic runner green with envy.
    "Damnation." Michael reabsorbed his wings and tensed, stalking toward the doorway. He was gone from the living room before she even made it three steps across.
    Eva raced toward the front door where Michael had frozen halfway outside. She peeked around him and saw what had made him stop. Travis still ran down the hall screaming, and several neighbors had opened their apartment doors. Crime and raucous behavior were so uncommon now that they were all eager to see what the heck was going on.
    "Fallen!" Travis shrieked, turning long enough to point a shaky finger at Michael. One by one, the neighbors turned their incredulous gazes on him.
    "Oh shit." Stepping back, she yanked him inside before slamming and bolting the door. "Dammit, Michael, one of them is bound to call the Consortium now. What are we going to do?"
    "Hell." He ran a hand through his hair in what looked like an unconscious gesture of weariness. "Angels will descend here in minutes. Depending on how many there are, I might be able to fight back. But I don't want to take that chance. Not with you."
    Which meant he was leaving.
    Eva blinked back sudden tears. She knew he wouldn't stay forever. He'd told her so himself. But it still sucked. She'd gotten used to having him around even though she'd only known him a few days.
    "Go," she choked out, throwing her arms around him for a teary-eyed hug. "Be safe."
    He grabbed her by the shoulders and set her back, shooting her an earnest look. "No, Eva, you don't understand. I had hoped to give you a choice but it's too late now. We must both flee this place."
    She blinked as his words penetrated her mind. "You mean you were serious when you said they would kill me just for being around a Fallen? That's...that's crazy."
    "No, beloved, it's not that."
    She furrowed her brow at him. "What then?"
    "They’ll kill you, but not because of your association with me. No, they'll kill you because of who you are."
    His ominous words sparked a sharp twinge of foreboding in her gut. "What do you mean?"
    "They'll kill you because you’re an abomination in their eyes. Because you aren't entirely human."
    " What? " What the hell was he talking about?
    Michael took a deep breath. "They'll kill you because, Eva...you’re nephilim."
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    M ichael flew the night sky for hours without them spotting a single angel. It seemed they'd fled right on time. The initial fear and shock of being cradled in his arms while soaring high in the sky had faded after Eva learned to hide her face in his chest. At least that eliminated the stifling sensation she got from the stiff wind slapping her in the face.
    Nephilim. He claimed she was a nephilim. A byproduct of a union between human and angel. It was unconceivable. Outrageous. And her truth compass told her he wasn't lying.
    Could it be right, what he believed about her? Something inside her acknowledged the possibility.
    How could this have happened?
    Strike that, she knew how. The dark stranger her mother couldn't resist might not have been human, and she would never have guessed it. But why? Would he have imagined that a child might result from their union?
    There was so much she didn't know. So many questions.
    Life as she knew it was over. She could never go back for fear she'd be branded a traitor, or at the very least a Fallen sympathizer. Her life was now one of a fugitive. "Oh God."
    Michael tightened his arms around her but didn't say anything. She snuggled in to him, borrowing his heat. The breeze