We met a trio of vampires on our way out the door. They saw him—that he was free and unharmed—and fear flashed in their eyes. They stepped back. They didn’t make it far. In a surge of fury, Nero charged at them, tearing them apart before they could even lift a hand against him. As the last one dropped dead to the floor, he turned and headed for the exit.

More vampire guards flooded inside, but Nero’s rage knew no bounds. He strode down the hall, blasting them away with a hurricane of magic. It slammed into their bodies with the force of a high-speed train. Stone and plaster exploded all around us as bodies rained down from the ceiling. We ran all the way to the motorcycle.

“Don’t think you can carry me and fly us back?” I teased him as he straddled the motorcycle.

“With that mouth, it’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

I smirked at him. “You seemed to like my mouth just fine earlier.”

He gave me a hard look. “Get on, Pandora.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the seat right beside him. “And try not to let go.”

He sped off through the trees. The sound of the motorcycle’s engine hummed over the rush of falling water, but it wasn’t as loud as the engines roaring behind us. I glanced back to find three motorcycles hot on our tail.

“We’ve got company,” I told Nero, turning to shoot one of them in the shoulder. “A werewolf. Hired help?”

“Just shoot them.”

The tranquilizers were meant for vampires, but it took out that shifter just fine. His head dropped, and he fell off his motorcycle.

“How much damage can a werewolf take?” I asked Nero.

“The man turns into a five-hundred-pound wolf. I think he can survive a little tumble from his bike. Now stop worrying about the people trying to kill us and start shooting them.”

I fired twice, knocking both vampires off their motorcycles too. “It’s just that I don’t really want to kill anyone.”

“Then you’re in the wrong line of work,” he said sternly. His tone softened slightly as he glanced down at the gun holstered to my thigh. “You’re a decent shot.”

“Try not to sound so surprised.”

“After all that’s happened, I don’t think you could possibly surprise me anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sure I still can,” I said with a smirk, holding onto him tightly as he accelerated across the Plains.

Everyone stopped and stared at us as our motorcycle roared into Purgatory. I’d like to think they were staring in awe of my spectacular rescue, but I was pretty sure they were just ogling the half-naked angel with me.

We’d only just parked the motorcycle when Harker exited the Legion office. He walked up to Nero and gave him a thorough once-over, his mouth quirking up in amusement at his friend’s missing clothes.

“You lost something,” he said.

“They lost more,” Nero told him. “What are you doing here?”

“Babysitting nineteen vampires. Our girl here kept the team busy while she raced across the Black Plains to rescue you in a blaze of glory.” Harker winked at me. “Your team called headquarters. Since my team was done with their mission, I brought them here to help you transport the vampires back to the city.”

“Good,” Nero said. “We need to get answers out of those vampires right away.”

Harker set his hand on my shoulder. “You did the gods a service today by saving Nero. The Legion can’t afford to lose any more angels.”

“Any more?” I asked.

Nero shook his head at Harker.

“Thank you, anyway. You did a great job tonight,” Harker said, grinning at me. “You might even get a medal.”

“Not for disobeying orders, she won’t.”

Chuckling, Harker slapped him on the back. “I’m glad you made it, Nero. The Legion wouldn’t be the same without your cheerful disposition,” he declared as a truck with our two teams and the vampires passed by, presumably on the way to the train station.

“The vampires are building an army,” Nero said. “This small group is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“We need to go back to that castle,” I told them.

“The Legion is sending a veteran team there,” Harker said.

“This mission wasn’t supposed to be so big. My team wasn’t prepared to handle it.”

“They did all right,” Harker told him, looking at me.

I slowed my steps when I saw Calli standing outside of the Legion office, watching us. But I didn’t stop. I was on a mission, and I wasn’t supposed to stop until I was done. Even I knew that. So close and yet we might as well have been on opposite ends of the Earth. It sucked, but this was what I’d signed up for.

Nero’s gaze slid from her to me. “Go.”

“Really?” I asked, my expression brightening.

“Five minutes.”

“Thank you,” I said, touching his arm briefly before I turned and ran toward Calli.

“Going soft, Colonel,” Harker said with a low chuckle as he and Nero walked off.

“Oh, shut up.”

I kept running for Calli, sweeping her up into a hug. She laughed. I’d forgotten how much I loved that laugh.

“You’re looking good, Leda. Strong,” she added as I set her back down on the ground.

“For the longest time, I thought I might die, but I made it, Calli. I am stronger. I still can’t fight with a ‘proper’ weapon according to the Legion, but I’m getting there, slowly but surely.”