Angel Thief Read Free Page B

she was pressed against him and could feel his tension, Sara would have thought him relaxed.
    No problem. Australians used the phrase all the time. No worries. They used it to deflect thanks, taking the place of a formal “you’re welcome.” But now, uttered in Filip’s deep voice, Sara heard the other reason behind “no worries.” The phrase acknowledged an order without recognising the other person’s right to command. For all that Vince held Filip’s djinni bottle, Filip would not recognise him as master.
    But if Filip played tricks with Vince’s second wish—as he’d planned with her and her angelic rescuers—what would happen to the terrified girl, Jay? She had to have heard the threat to kill her slowly.
    Sara frowned. Filip, Vince and Baz Khan. Three powerful men and a terrified girl. Which of them— would any of them—put the girl first?
    Vince snatched up the landline phone and snarled orders, preparing for what sounded like all-out war against Baz Khan. First a plane to take him to Melbourne, then arrangements for hired men, armed.
    “You still here?” Vince paused to glare at Filip, who smiled.
    “No.” He dematerialised, taking Sara with him.
    She blinked and they were back in the library. In her dizziness, she leaned a tad against Filip and he took advantage of her weakness to wrap his arms around her. The world steadied and she breathed in the scent of clean male skin.
    She had to remember he was a snake. She tried to wriggle away and his arms tightened. Her breasts were crushed against his chest.
    “You have two choices, angel.” His breath stirred her hair. “I’m bound to guard Vince’s library, so before I leave to rescue Jay either you swear not to take anything from here nor to trespass again, or I contact this Michael you were talking about and report your transgressions. Heaven will know how to deal with you. Though I expect they’ll lack my imagination. When I thought the library trespasser was a demon, I prepared a trap you wouldn’t enjoy at all. Camel dung.”
    “I don’t like either choice.” She flattened her hands against his chest and tried to lever some space between them. “And you’ve forgotten one.”
    He looked wary.
    She felt a momentary satisfaction. Wariness meant respect. She wanted him to respect her.
    “I’m coming with you, Filip. I’m going to make sure you rescue Jay.” She gave up trying to push him away and settled for tapping him minatorily. She hoped she looked tough, resolute and competent.
    Filip flicked her cheek. “Don’t you trust me, angel?”
    “Not as far as I can throw you.”
    ***
    Filip smiled. Sara was pure delight. She was ridiculously cute in her black clothes, clearly her romantic conception of the dress code for midnight thefts. Her beret had slid tipsily over one ear, and her green eyes sparked, daring him to refuse her company. Or was that stewardship?
    She wanted him to save Jay, and in fact, he would. Although he hadn’t seen the girl in years, he remembered her skinny tomboy limbs, the rare smile and her care for the horses and dogs at Vince’s country property. Jay would be eighteen now, fancying herself a woman. Still she didn’t deserve to suffer the cost of her father’s crimes.
    He’d follow the cell phone signal back to where Jay was being held, pull her out, then see if he could steal some time with Sara.
    For an angel, the red-haired darling was dynamite. The trick was to keep her off balance. He didn’t think she’d have tumbled with him on the chesterfield if he’d allowed her time to think. In fact, she had the serious expression of someone who thought too much.
    So he grinned at her. “Sure. You can tag along.”
    She simmered. “You are—”
    “Sexy? Handsome? Amusing?” He heard her snort as he clasped her hand and whisked them both out of the house and down to the billabong.
    He felt better outside the house with the freedom of the stars above him. Centuries stuck in a glass bottle would do that