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"Will I need them?" Lindsay fell into step beside hi I will"

"The sin isher down the hallway to the room set aside especially for her He always made room for her in his homes, as a reminder to himself of both his fallibility and his capacity for humanity For him, the tere joined He couldn’t have one without the other, and he had neither without Shadoe

They reached Lindsay’s bedroom door He opened it for her but didn’t ression was, it was resistible--for now It wouldn’t be for long Not after going without her for as long as he had And Shadoe’s innately assertive sexuality only upped the stakes Whether she reincarnated during bawdy, adventuresome epochs or in eras of inhibition and repression, she was always quick to seduce him And he was always quick to fall

Lindsay stepped into her room, but hesitated just beyond the threshold She spoke over her shoulder "It probably wouldn’t"

Adrian arched a brow in silent query

"Deterwhen she closed the door

CHAPTER 7

"You’re going to teach her how to hunt her own fa Adrian into his office

"She’s already doing that" Adrian rounded the desk "And she’d continue with or without us This way, I’ her a chance to survive"

Jason whistled "After all these years, you’re still an angel"

"Did you doubt it?"

"No But there are sohter makes youhuman"

Not Shadoe herself, but his love for her Mortal love was not for angels, whose objectivity must be absolute "Those who have doubts should take them to the Creator I need the trust of everyone in this unit If I’ve lost it, I’ve lost my usefulness"

"You’re well loved, Captain I can’t think of one Sentinel ouldn’t consider it an honor to die for you"

Adrian settled into his chair "As I consider it an honor to lead you all It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly"

"It’s just hard not to feel restless" Jason scrubbed a careless hand through his blond hair "Our job is to babysit the Fallen forever ‘They shall never obtain peace and remission of sin They shall petition forever, but shall not obtain mercy’ Sometimes the punishment seems as much ours as theirs"

"So be it We have our orders"

"And that’s everything to you"

"As it should be for you What are we, if not Sentinels?"

Jason hesitated a ht" Adrian returned the conversation to his i rotation as soon as possible"

"How? She’s as fragile as an eggshell She may hold her oith other mortals--maybe even a vampire or lycan with the element of surprise--but hand-to-hand with a Sentinel? Very few beings can survive that"

"We all know our own strength It’ll be good for us to pay more attention to hoe use it"

"At what cost?"

"She’ll be an asset" Adrian swiveled his chair around, absently noting the lightening of the sky that signaled the co That stealth can be useful to us in a variety of ways"

"Use her as bait?"

"As a distraction"

"She’ll definitely be that"

Adrian addressed the slightlynote he heard in his lieutenant’s tone "Do you have a problem with your orders?"

The smile left Jason’s face "No, Captain"

"In the last forty-eight hours, the two highest-ranking Sentinels were attacked You saw the minion on the helicopter--she was diseased--and Damien mentioned possible illness in his report on Phineas’s attack I’ve ordered updates froh them as they come in and see if there are si?"