Read Iniquity (The Premonition Series Book 5) for Free Online Page A

as she rubs her wrists where the rope has fallen away. She touches her hand to her white-blond hair smoothing it away from her face as her russet-colored, Monarch-like wings wave away the snow that collected on them.
    “You’re a Reaper,” Xavier frowns, “you should’ve followed my orders.”
    He moves on to untie Buns. “We don’t answer to you,” Buns says to him over her shoulder. Her golden butterfly wings give an uncharacteristic snap . “We pledged our loyalty to the Seraph over there.” She waves her hand in my direction. “You’re just static to us.” I think for a second that Buns is going to stick her tongue out at him, but instead, she waits for Xavier to turn his back before she flips him off.
    Xavier just misses catching her when he glances over his shoulder to give her a poisonous look. “That Seraph over there answers to me.”
    “Prove it,” Brownie says in a singsong voice.
    “In time,” Xavier frowns.
    “We need our—” Brownie says something in Angel as she glares at Xavier with hands on her hips. Xavier lifts the chrome handle of the passenger door. He extracts two golden field hockey-like sticks from his car, handing them to her. The sharp blades of their Reaper scythes gleam even in the gray, overcast light of winter.
    Xavier’s expression turns dark, like he has no more patience for them. “Go,” he orders.
    Buns locks arms with Brownie and they move Tweedledee and Tweedledum fashion toward us. Holding up my hand, I whisper words that softly blow from my lips to swirl around the energy that drizzles from my fingertips. The barrier glows, shimmering with a spectral light. Pieces of it break away, becoming iridescent, glass-like butterflies that float around in a haphazard flock while the girls slip through the opening it leaves in the wall.
    They hug me. “Oh, sweetie, you need to run from that one. He has a caveman complex,” Buns says when her eyes meet mine. Then she points at Reed, “You. We’re upping your training regimen. You’re not losing that challenge!” A smile flickers on Reed’s lips as he tries to hide it.
    “Evie,” Xavier says impatiently.
    Taking my time, I walk through the break in my magic. The magical butterflies mesh back into the wall when I’m through. I approach him warily, wondering what his reaction to me will be.
    Xavier’s eyes study my face, like he’s memorizing it. He frowns when I shiver as the frigid air stirs my hair. Shrugging off his coat he says, “Retract your wings.”
    “I’m fine,” I lie.
    “You’re not fine; you’re freezing. You never take care of yourself. Now retract your wings!”
    “I take care of myself.”
    The stubborn set of his jaw lets me know he’s not going to take no from me on this, so in the spirit of expediting this parley, I retract my wings and allow him to drape it over my shoulders. He pulls the lapels of his coat close, engulfing me in his residual warmth and scent. It’s almost Pavlovian, my physical reaction to it. A deep-seated yearning erupts in my core. I beat it down. He’s a liar. He broke your heart and left you here alone, my ruthless inner voice reminds me. And I love Reed .
    Xavier jerks open the passenger door for me. “We can talk in the car.” He waits until I get in before he slams the door shut with more force than necessary. In less than a moment, he’s seated next to me, having about crushed his own door. I pale at his anger. He’s breathing heavy, like he’s trying to contain the rage he feels. I’ve never seen him like this. He’s been mad at me before—frustrated—but this isn’t the same thing. He’s livid. He starts the car with his jaw tensing.
    “I’m taking you with me now,” he states, his hand curls around the stick shift to put it in gear.
    I wave my hand and the car engine dies. “No.”
    Tension shows in his profile. He crushes the knob of the stick shift in his hand, leaving finger indents in it when he lets go of it. “You’re exposed here,