Angelic Avenger by Kaye Chambers

riled.
    “Fine, Ben can go home with him and everything’s good as long as he’s gone.”
    I looked between the three men and realized I’d missed something in translation. Gray and Gavreel looked at each other over my head and I knew I wasn’t going to like it. Ben didn’t say anything, but he wouldn’t look at me, either. Apparently, he had been treated to the full briefing while I was still picking up the details on the run. I’d debate the fairness of
that
later.
    “I am home.” Was that his courtroom voice? It brooked absolute certainty that he was right when in fact, he couldn’t have been more wrong.
    I looked at Gray like he had lost his mind. He certainly was not going to stay at my apartment. Duty was duty and that was fine, but I so wasn’t going to let the man stay here after all the lies he’d told. Okay, lies by omission are still lies. I can’t abide liars.
    “I don’t think so.” It popped out of my mouth before I could censor it. “You can take Ben home and do whatever you need to do to clear this up. I’ve got guard duty on the mini-person. There’s no reason for you to bother with me, anymore. You guys can call me when Turel is dealt with and we’ll get little Elizabeth situated with her next of kin. Then I never have to look at you again.”
    I could hear the bitterness in my voice and couldn’t understand it. It wasn’t like I was that into him. Sure, he was sexy and powerful, but we’d only had dinner. It wasn’t like I’d jumped into bed with him, after all. There was no crime in thinking about it, though. Was it the fact he was the first man who’d registered on my fantasy radar only to turn around and betray me that had my back up? That had to be it.
    Reflexively, I caught the missile Gray threw to me. Blinking, I stared at the small black box. Surely it wasn’t…
    “Put that on.”
    Flipping it open, I stared at the solitaire. Snapping it shut with hurt fury, I threw it back at him.
    “No. We’re not playing this game. Absolutely not. As soon as this is dealt with, you can go do your own thing. I want nothing to do with you. In fact, get out. I don’t need or want you here. Ben can be your guard dog until this is finished.”
    Biting my tongue before I could say something really cruel, I turned to stalk away, feeling the tears threaten to flow. Sometimes life isn’t fair. How exactly had I found myself in this position? Oh yeah, favors for angels. No more of that business.
    “Bella, this isn’t the time for female sentiment. Gray told the police you were engaged. It’s the only way we could secure Elizabeth and keep her safe. She’s the only witness in a murder investigation, after all. They wanted to put her into foster care, but he persuaded them to leave her with the two of you so she’d remain off the radar of the killer as they see it.”
    The anger in Gavreel’s voice rocked me to the core. After all of this, he had the gall to be angry with me? I had a right to feel the way I felt. I was entitled to a little female sentiment, all things considered.
    “I am not going to pretend to be engaged to him.” The stubborn tilt of my chin must have told him not to argue. But the ring box popped back into my hand magically. Okay, fine, apparently I was going to have to play the besotted fiancée. With a glower, I reached in and snatched it out, hoping beyond hope it wouldn’t fit so I’d have a reasonable excuse not to wear it.
    It was too much to hope for.
    Dropping the empty box to the ground, I refused to look at any of them as I stalked across the living room. My words were for Ben, who had done his best to be inconspicuous in the dining room.
    “You get to sleep with him. I’m going to curl up with Elizabeth so she doesn’t wake up afraid of the dark.”
    “Bella.”
    The quiet tone stopped me, mainly because it was so different than the fury of only moments before. I turned to face Gavreel, but kept my face as neutral as I could manage. It was harder