Free BROKEN ANGELS (Angels and Demons Book 1) by Brenda L. Harper Page B

shook his head. “This is insane. All of this crap was supposed to be over when you made your choice.”
    “I know.”
    Dylan tried to take Wyatt’s hand, but he pulled away. He walked to the end of the porch and braced his hands on the railing as a groan slipped from between his lips. She wanted to go to him, but she knew him well enough to know he needed to reconcile all of this in his head before he could accept her consolation.
    “Mom?”
    Dylan turned and a weight descended on her shoulders as she found herself looking at her daughter.
    “Hey, Jo,” she said softly.
    “What’s going on?”
    Dylan went to her and took her hands. She could hear Josephine’s thoughts and could feel her fear. She wanted to take it away, but she knew that no matter how much healing power she infused in her child, that the fear would never truly disappear. She also knew that this fear was good, and that Josephine could use it as a tool to help her get through this unfolding crisis. So she resisted her instincts.
    “Stiles and I are going to search for the source of this disease.”
    “What? What do you mean?”
    Dylan inclined her head slightly. “We think this is manmade.”
    Josephine shook her head. “That’s not possible. That’s something from the old world, not this one.”
    “There are a lot of relics from the old world still lying around,” Stiles said, “just sitting there, waiting for people to pick up and use.”
    “And you think someone intentionally created an illness to kill people?” Josephine’s eyes widened with horror. “Why would they do that?”
    “I don’t know, baby,” Dylan said, stroking her thumbs over Josephine’s hands. “But we’re going to do everything we can to figure this out and to find some sort of treatment.”
    “But you have to keep this to yourself, Josephine,” Stiles said. “We don’t want to panic people more than they already are.”
    She nodded. “There’s a doctor in one of the northern cities who has developed an antibiotic that Harry thinks he can duplicate here. He should be able to try it in a few days. And we’ve made sure that doctors in other cities are aware of it.”
    “Good,” Stiles said.
    “When do you leave?”
    “Immediately,” Wyatt said, moving up behind Dylan. “We just need to talk to your grandfather first.”
    “You’re going too?” Josephine asked, concern dripping from her words.
    “We’re a team,” Wyatt said, taking Dylan’s hand. “Where she goes, I go.”

Chapter 13
     
    Stiles watched Dylan. He could see the pain in her face. The thoughts of the people gathered in her house was overwhelming her—their fear, anger, and grief filling her with darkness despite the fact that she wasn’t actively trying to make them feel better. It was just her nature to draw darkness from people despite the fact that it took a toll on her health, both physically and emotionally.
    Wyatt didn’t seem to be aware of it. He was too busy interrogating his father, demanding to know where all the labs were located, apparently convinced the old man was holding out on them for some reason.
    “Are you sure there are only four locations?” Wyatt asked for the third time.
    “Of course,” Jimmy said. “New York, Chicago, Houston, and Midland. That was it.”
    “This is really important,” Wyatt said.
    “I realize that. I was the leader of the resistance once, Jonathon; I remember what it was like to need to protect my people.”
    Wyatt’s face tightened a little at the use of his Christian name. After all these years, Jimmy still refused to call Wyatt by his chosen name. Stiles suspected it had more to do with Jimmy’s connection to Joanna than with his relationship with Wyatt, but Wyatt would never see that.
    The things parents and children did to one another without realizing it fascinated him sometimes.
    “We need to go,” Stiles said, reaching for Dylan’s hand. He wanted to take some of the building darkness from her, but Wyatt stood