Rebel Angel: A Sainted Sinners Novel Read Online Free PDF

is out of the question.”
    “You do understand the purpose of a safe house, don’t you? It can’t be traced to us.”
    Aurora’s phone gave a soft chime, and she blew out a breath.
    “No deal,” she said. “I know how to take care of myself. I don’t need you for that.”
    A blue sedan pulled up, windows rolled down. Aurora leaned in. “Are you my ride?”
    “Yep,” the driver said. “Hop in.”
    Aurora turned and gave Ezra a shrug. “I’d say it’s been nice knowing you, but…”
    When she opened the back door and climbed inside, Ezra knew he couldn’t just let her drive away. So he trotted around to the other side of the car and got in beside her.
    “Hey!” Aurora said. “What are you doing?”
    “We’re going to the safe house. Together,” Ezra said in a firm tone.
    “Really? Are you going to make me?” Aurora snapped, her eyes blazing with anger.
    “Is there a problem here?” the driver asked, turning to look at them.
    “No!” they both said at the same time.
    Ezra and Aurora glared at each other for several long seconds.
    “I’m not asking for a lot of trust. I will give you a safe place to hide for one night. Well-warded, completely secure.:
    “That won’t protect me from you, will it?”
    “I give you my word that I will keep you safe tonight,” he swore.
    They stared each other down for several more moments, and finally Aurora shrugged.
    “Fine. One night,” she said, her cheeks coloring.
    Ezra wondered at that, but there was no time to ask.
    “2100 St Charles Avenue,” Ezra told the driver. Turning to Aurora, he said, “And you probably need to lay low for at least a few days, until the search is over.”
    Aurora turned toward her window, silent.
    Ezra wanted to say more, explain that he wanted to help her, but he didn’t like the idea of the driver overhearing too much.
    The rode to the address in silence. Ezra pulled out his wallet, but Aurora stopped him.
    “It’s Uber. You don’t pay in cash,” she said quietly.
    They thanked the driver and climbed out.
    “You should’ve just let me go to the train station,” Aurora said.
    “You think no one’s going to look there?” Ezra asked. “Especially if running is your pattern.”
    “A successful pattern, I would like to point out.” She ran a hand over her braid, tamping down the flame red wisps that had come loose during the fight.
    “If it was that successful, you wouldn’t be here right now. There’s nothing you can do tonight but take cover and wait it out.”
    Aurora ignored his comment, looking around with a frown.
    “This is a block of commercial buildings,” she said, giving him a skeptical look.
    “Evasive maneuver. Having a driver drop us off at our safe house is a bad practice,” Ezra said.
    “Oh,” she said, wrinkling her nose. If the circumstances were a little different, Ezra would find her grumpiness almost amusing.
    “The house is about six blocks away. We should take the SIM cards out of our phones on the way,” he said. “Once I get you settled, I can grab some necessities. The house won’t have much more than the staples.”
    “Fine,” she said.
    Ezra led her away from St. Charles, north toward Central City. The neighborhood went from multi-million dollar houses to tiny creole cottages, some still abandoned and crumbling from the damage during Hurricane Katrina.
    “Interesting neighborhood for a safe house,” Aurora muttered.
    “It’s innocuous. Besides, we’re going to a spot right behind O.C. Haley Boulevard. It’s perfectly safe,” he said.
    Aurora shot him a look. “I’m sorry, did you see me back in the alley? I’m not worried about getting mugged .”
    They turned a corner, and came up to a three story monster of a house. The house was a hundred years if it was a day, leaning distinctly to the left, and covered in crisp lavender pain. Split into half a dozen freshly renovated apartments, the building took up two lots with barely a speck of yard to speak of.
    “This is