Wrath breathed deep through the jealousy burning his soul. Rosabella would hardly look at him, said he frightened her, but she’d gone off with Daniel—a stranger—without a second’s thought. “Why does she do it?”
“Oh, Wrath.” Dee put a hand on his arm. “I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve asked that question.” She shrugged. “To piss me off. To piss you off. Because she can. Pick one. Pick them all.”
Yeah well, Wrath wasn’t about to stand around and watch Rosabella make a slave of Daniel Lee. He had better things to do, like find his fucking brother and exact some payback. Then he needed to find his daughter. And he was going to do all of that without the pretty little shadow Ramiel had assigned him getting in his way.
Chapter Six
Wrath waited until the theatre was busy for the evening. He couldn’t sense her nearby, but he didn’t want Haziel popping up when he didn’t need her. Auditions taking place on stage covered his exit as he slipped down into the basement and opened the door to the room with the hell gate.
“Wrath.” Daniel appeared out of the murky basement and startled him. He hadn’t even sensed the fucker near him.
He didn’t have time for guardian bullshit, and he wasn’t about to let some puny human stop him. “I’m going through,” he told Daniel. He might not have his power back yet, but he could still take out one human.
Daniel studied him with careful brown eyes. “You’re going to find Lucifer.”
“And beat out of him what he’s done with my daughter.”
“Fair enough.” Daniel nodded.
The silence stretched between them, and Wrath moved to edge past him.
Rubbing his nape, Daniel intercepted him. “The thing is, Wrath, what if Lucifer is not behind her disappearance?”
Of course Lucifer was behind Eddie’s disappearance, and this human was in danger of losing a vital body part if he didn’t move. “He is.”
“He might be, or he might not be.” Daniel held up one hand. “Just hear me out.”
This was not the direction Wrath had thought a conversation with the new hell gate guardian would take—actually, he’d been looking for no conversation—but he’d listen. “What?”
“Something doesn’t add up.” Daniel grimaced. “All signs point to Lucifer, but according to Chris’s briefing, Lucifer helped Eddie and Shade escape you. Why would he do that if he wanted to kidnap Eddie?”
It echoed what Dee had said to him. “Then who else?”
“I don’t know.” Daniel shrugged. “Lucifer just seems such an obvious culprit.”
Wrath was so tired of explaining his brother to others. It felt like he’d come into being with excuses and explanations for Lucifer on his lips. “It was his second that kidnapped Eddie. A second he trusts implicitly. He’s been missing since she has. And he would do anything to piss me off. Kidnapping my daughter would be an epic move on his part.” He stepped into Daniel. “He seems like an obvious culprit for all those reasons and because he’s a dick wart of epic proportions. He thinks he’s the king of hell.”
“Yeah.” Daniel chuckled. “It does make you not like him.” His laughter died. “But he’s not stupid, and this is such an obvious finger being pointed at him. I would have thought if Lucifer had taken Eddie, he would have been a lot smarter about covering his tracks.”
Wrath was really trying his best not to like this guy, but Daniel Lee was so fucking reasonable and clear thinking. Lucifer was smart and cunning and never showed his hand until it was too late to do anything about it. He didn’t want to give what Daniel said credence, but being this clumsy about abducting Eddie wasn’t his brother’s usual MO. Then again, he was as arrogant as he was smart, and he could be using the rebel demon hordes as cover. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I totally understand why you’re going to find him, it makes all kinds of sense. And I get why you are trying to rescue your daughter, but if you could keep a halfway open mind while you’re down there, it would be useful.” He jerked his head toward the portal. “See what else you notice. The one thing we’re really missing is accurate information. From what Chris told me, there’s a whole lot of maybes and what ifs floating around, and we need proper intelligence if we’re going to combat what’s going on.”
“Okay.” That wasn’t too much to ask, and it was exactly what he would have done if he was planning a battle. “Anything specific you want me to look for?”
“Yeah.” Daniel frowned. “These demons that are disappearing and the hordes that attacked you and Shade. It speaks to some kind of organization. Ashe is Lucifer’s second for a reason. He’s as clever as the hell prince he serves. He wouldn’t do something impulsive or stupid, and one could argue that kidnapping the daughter of Wrath is both of those things.”
Wrath wanted to get going, but Daniel had him intrigued. “So far nothing you’ve said doesn’t point to Lucifer.”
“But it does point to some kind of large-scale organization.” Daniel shrugged. “I know Lucifer has called himself the king of hell for centuries, but have you ever noticed him care enough to actually make that come true?”
Wrath let that sink into his brainbox. “Yeah, he’s a lazy turd.”
“Right.” Daniel clicked his fingers. “And whoever engineered the attacks on you and Shade and made them look like you were attacking each other is organized and strategic. Even kidnapping Eddie is the kind of thing that would destabilize hell. And I’m suggesting you consider that perhaps getting you to take out Lucifer could be part of that plan.” He shrugged. “After all, if they can get one hell prince to end another, they can end us all.”
That made Wrath’s head hurt. “Why would anyone do that?”
“And that, Wrath”—Daniel snapped his fingers—“is the million-dollar question. The only party who would do that is one who either had an elaborate death wish, or one who had a contingency plan.”
“What contingency plan?” Daniel was hinting at something so much bigger than warring hell princes and rebel demon hordes. “There is no contingency plan to the end of creation.”
“That we know of,” Daniel said with a weighted look. He held up his hands. “Look, the more I think about this, the more questions come up. All I’m asking you to do is consider the possibility that someone wants you to think Lucifer did this.”
Universe alone knew Wrath wasn’t looking for any reasons not to end Lucifer, but Daniel was making an annoying kind of sense. “You think he’s being set up, and by extension, me as well.”
“It’s a possibility.” Daniel shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “I think it’s worth bearing in mind.”
Wrath didn’t want to believe this wasn’t Lucifer, and that, in itself, was a problem. “Anything else?”
“Yeah.” Daniel cleared his throat and flushed. “Any idea how to avoid Rosabella?”
Not that he had ever tried, but Wrath answered honestly. “Not a clue.”
Having limited power made it easier for Wrath to avoid detection as he made his way across Shade’s demesne heading for Lucifer’s on the other side. His inability to use his wings made walking his only option. Slapping on a reasonable glamour as one of Shade’s lot, he trudged toward Lucifer’s demesne. Word picked up in taverns and from traveling demons was that Lucifer was missing, along with him and Shade. He’d also heard more than a few times that the news that he had lost his power was out. It would still take a brave or a foolish demon to take him on, but you could never underestimate the might of stupid.
