Free Death's Angel: A Novel of the Lost Angels by Heather Killough-Walden Page A

established a connection. The first thing she did was open her e-mail account and look to see who was logged in. When she saw who she was looking for, she opened a chat box and began typing.
    S: Angel! I’m so glad you’re on. You won’t believe where I just got back from! Scotland!
    There was a brief pause as Angel, a long-distance friend whom both she and Juliette chatted with a lot online, was no doubt noticing the message and getting ready to write back.
    A: Hey girl! What’s up? Do tell! What the heck were you doing in Scotland?
    S: Okay, drumroll . . . Juliette got married!
    There was another brief pause.
    A: *shaking head* You’ve got to be kidding me! Everyone I know is getting married! And you’re saying she got married in Scotland? To who? Connor MacLeod?
    Sophie’s brows rose and her lips pursed. As a matter of fact, Angel wasn’t all that far off. Gabriel was, after all, immortal. He just didn’t have to go around taking people’s heads off in order to stay that way.
    S: The wedding was a few days ago. His name is Gabriel Black and he’s gorgeous. What’s more is that he has the most beautiful brothers. One of them—
    She broke off, suddenly not certain what she’d been going to say about Azrael. She was covering for Gabriel well enough, using the name he went by among humans. But she needed to be just as careful on Az’s behalf. Surely she hadn’t been about to give away any of his secrets. He had so many of them. He was the Masked One. He was an archangel. He had been on Earth for two thousand years, searching for his destined mate—his archess.
    But she desperately wanted to talk about him. Even now, thousands of miles away from him, his gold eyes haunted her and her fingers tingled with the need to shove them through the sable silk of his hair.
    A: Yeah? His brother?
    S: Sorry. LOL.
    S: His brother is drop-dead perfect, girl. You have no idea. I want him bad.
    She decided to be honest at least as far as that much was concerned. There was a pause before Angel replied this time. It seemed longer than normal. But then her words at last appeared on the screen and captured Sophie’s attention.
    A: So, go for him, Soph. You’re an incredible catch—smart as a whip, imaginative, talented. And don’t forget that I’ve seen your picture. You could have any man you wanted, and you deserve the best.
    Not this one
, Sophie thought.
He’s out of my league.
    S: He’s back in Scotland and I’m here in Pitt again. But speaking of travel—guess what?
    A: You’re getting married?
    S: LOL, no.
    She chuckled softly and shook her head.
    S: I’m starting classes at Berkeley in September. I applied and got a scholarship. I can’t believe I’m headed to San Francisco!
    She stopped typing and slowly sat back in her chair. Her fingers and toes tingled and her chest grew tight at the same time. It was happening again. She was happy-scared. It was hitting her that she would be packing up the few things she owned and traveling across the country within the week.
    She’d met Juliette here in Pittsburgh. But now Jules was in Scotland, and Berkeley was thousands of miles away. There was nothing left for her here in Pittsburgh. She needed to get her feet under her in San Fran—get the lay of the land, get an apartment, and get a job. She might have a scholarship that paid for classes, books, and housing, but she would still need money to live on.
    A: Holy shit. I bet you’re freaking out right about now, aren’t you, College?
    Sophie smiled, breathing a laugh despite herself. Angel always knew what was really going down. The woman must be psychic. She seemed to be able to read Soph and Jules from the inside out, and they’d never even met in person. They’d come across each other when Sophie and Juliette were commenting on a romance author’s blog a few years ago. Angel had commented on the same blog and the three began meeting in chat rooms. Angel was a wonderful friend—never demanding, yet always