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Sentinel killing, I made sure Raguel knew that I didn’t want to be an archangel anymore. I figured he’d be only too happy to find a way to knock me down a rung or two and if Sabrael gets pissy, he can take it up with him.”
    He was playing a dangerous game, pitting angels against each other to achieve his aims. And he was doing it for her. So he could love her again. She’d been so determined to keep distance between them, while Alec had been trying to find a way to close it . . . even at the cost of his own dreams of promotion.
    She scrubbed at her tearing eyes, aware that she didn’t have time to be emotional if she was going to keep Alec alive. “So that’s your side of what’s going on – you wanted out of the advancement and your obligation to Sabrael, and you knew Gadara and Zaphiel would make it happen. But it’s looking like knocking you down isn’t enough for them. It makes sense now why Zaphiel made me drive him out to Adrian’s place. At the time, I figured he was just trying to mess with you or Reed by making me play chauffeur. Then this assignment came up and I reconsidered. Maybe he wanted me to know where Adrian lived or what he looked like. Maybe there was something he wanted me to see.”
    “Maybe he wanted to insult Adrian by sending a Mark to do a job an elite seraph couldn’t manage.”
    “I think it’s because I was supposed to be seen , by someone who’d follow me and find you stripped of the archangel gifts that help keep you safe.” She stopped moving and faced him dead-on. “Adrian Mitchell isn’t in hiding. I Googled him last night, because I knew that house he owns must have garnered some press. I found out he owns Mitchell Aviation, one of the largest aeronautical companies in the world. He’s been on the cover of Forbes and his home has been showcased in a dozen architectural magazines. The Fallen know exactly where he is and if they’re smart, they’re watching his place.”
    Alec crossed his arms. “So we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the meantime . . . Marry me, angel.”
    “Alec—” She groaned and starting pacing again. “Are you paying attention to me at all?”
    “Some things are still sacred. Marriage happens to be one of them. Whatever happens from this moment forward, no one could break vows we make before Jehovah.”
    “ ‘Let’s get hitched before I die and lose the opportunity’? Is that what you’re saying?”
    His smile was breathtaking. “You know I’m too valuable to kill, or I’d already be dead. They might want to see me knocked around a bit, just for shits and giggles, but it won’t go farther than that.”
    “I’m already a huge liability to you. Moving me up in status from ‘piece-of-ass’ to ‘wife’ is just going to make that worse.”
    “You’ve never been a piece of ass to me and everyone damn well knows that.” He caught her as she passed. “Right now, we can’t control whether or not Sabrael promotes me again. We can’t stop Raguel from yanking you around to piss me off. We can’t do a damn thing about Zaphiel hanging us out as bait. They’ve got all the power, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can make a commitment to each other that no one could break. If Sabrael promotes me again, he can’t take my love away. If Raguel wants to toy with you, he’d have to think twice about it, because interfering in a marriage is a damn sight trickier. And Zaphiel won’t let anything happen to you, knowing the censure he’d face from Jehovah.”
    “So wedding vows supersede or take precedence over everything?”
    “Always.” He let her go. “I was late getting here today, because I stopped by your parents’ place and talked to your dad. He gave me his blessing.”
    Eve moved towards the fire, noting the blue at the heart of the gas flame, the same flame-blue she saw in the irises of cherubim and seraphim. The hue seemed murkier now, everything around her did except for Alec. The loss of the Mark was