They pushed through the throng of people. He kept a wary eye on Lily. She hadn’t spoken since Baal had touched her. A fine sheen of sweat covered her drawn face, and her lips were pressed together tightly.
Luke guided them to where Remy waited across the street in a Cayenne. Michael climbed in the front seat without arguing, turning to where Luke had forced Lily into the backseat.
“Let me see your arm,” Luke demanded.
She pulled away from him. “It’s not…not that bad.”
“Bullshit.” He reached out, prying her arm from her body. He stared down at the blistered skin shaped like a handprint. Luke exhaled slowly. “Get us back to the Sanctuary. Now, Remy.”
“What happened in there?” Remy asked as he pulled away before the squad of police cars and fire trucks arrived. “What the hell, guys?”
Michael ignored him. “Are you okay?”
“Does it look like she’s okay?” demanded Luke, eyes burning.
“The next time I tell you to run”—a shudder racked her body—“please listen to me.”
Michael stared at her face contorted with pain. His gaze dropped to her arm, and he swallowed thickly. Her skin literally bubbled. “I’m sorry. I was…” He was what? Transfixed? He’d never seen an angel before, but that wasn’t a good excuse.
She shifted in the seat, her brow creasing. “Just listen to us. Okay? When we tell you to run, we aren’t kidding around. There’s a very good reason for it.” She paused, prying one eye open. “What happened to William and his goons?”
Luke pulled his stare from her. “I killed him and the deadheads.”
Her other eye snapped open. “Really?” she asked in a tiny voice. “No shit?”
He nodded.
Lily giggled halfheartedly. “Ah damn, that’s good news. Wish I could’ve…seen the jerk’s face when you pinned him. Good job, Luke.”
Remy rolled his eyes. “Is anyone going to tell me what happened?”
“We will,” Luke spoke up. “Just get us to the Sanctuary first.”
Lily turned her face to Luke, who leaned over and whispered something Michael couldn’t hear. She pulled away from the seat, scowling as Luke slid an arm around her back, carefully pulling her to him. He held her arm immobile, and eventually her eyes closed.
Part of him wanted to climb back in the seat and apologize again. It had been his fault she’d gotten hurt. If he hadn’t stopped, they would’ve made it outside.
He faced forward, staring blindly at the crowded streets. She could’ve died in there, and for what? He rested the side of his head against the window, closing his eyes. Shit. He couldn’t deny that those things had been after him. They’d even been willing to kill Lily to get to him. Acid burned through his stomach.
He was definitely one of them…or something.
As soon as they arrived at the Sanctuary, Lily was handed off to an extraordinarily tall man that Luke had called Nathaniel. He had met them in a large and surprisingly normal reception area. Michael sensed this Nathaniel seemed to be the leader around here. With one glimpse at her arm, he had sworn furiously and then disappeared with her down a corridor. He had wanted to follow them, but Luke steered him in the opposite direction.
Seated at a desk in the middle of the large oval room was a pretty blonde. She smiled as they made their way past her. Scrawled in large letters across the back wall and in what suspiciously looked like pure gold was the word Sanctuary.
Luke leaned over, tweaking the sleeve of the receptionist’s blouse. “Working late, Sandy?”
She smiled. “It’s always a late night around here.”
They left her behind as they went through a set of double doors. Just inside, two armed guards were posted. All of this was new to him. When he left the night before, they had done so through an intricate tunnel system under the Sanctuary.
“Damn, you guys have more security than Fort Knox,” he muttered.
Remy snorted. “There’s a reason for that.”
The guards tipped their heads at the men. The one on the left with a name tag that read Number 1 stepped forward, entering a code into the small computer interface. The steel doors shuddered before swinging open. They stepped into a room that held two elevators. He looked at Luke, who grinned.
“Want to get something to eat?” Luke offered.
He glanced back, but the doors had closed. “Sure.”
Luke herded them into the elevator that Michael quickly realized led to the floors aboveground. They stopped on the second floor. Remy rubbed his stomach. “I hope the cafeteria is still open.”
“There’s a cafeteria in here?” Michael asked.
Remy nodded as he followed behind Luke. “The second floor has a fully operational kitchen and cafeteria.” He gestured at a set of glass doors. “There’s the gym, and if you go back down to the main level, you’ll find a pool and a daycare center for the employees who have children. Upstairs is the security firm.”
Michael’s brows furrowed. “There really is a security firm?”
Luke chuckled as he nudged open the cafeteria doors. “Yes. Several of the floors are a dedicated call center. Above that are the cubicle farms that house analysts, and then our executive offices take up the top two floors. All human-operated and supervised by Nephilim.”
“Do they know what you are?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed on Luke. “You can trust them with that?”