Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3) by Devin O'Branagan Page A

get-go.”
    “Oh, and you know this because of your superior education?”
    “I know this from being immortal and observing countless humans over the years.”
    “So, you think you know it all, do you?”
    “I know enough.”
    A cold smile crossed her face. “I’d guess you don’t know Glory’s Dominic isn’t an angel anymore. He became human months ago.”
    That bit of news knocked Zane right off his horse. And then that horse kicked him in the gut.
    Erica’s smile widened. “Oh, so you didn’t know? Sorry I had to be the one to tell you.” She didn’t sound in the least bit sorry.
    Dominic was human? Zane’s mind struggled with the implications.
    Erica looked inordinately pleased with herself. “My sources tell me that he became human so he could try to win Glory’s heart. Sound familiar? Oh, and he bought the farm next door to hers. They sure are cozy.”
    Zane pushed back the pain, and his mind cleared. “Who are your sources?”
    She leaned across the table toward him. “We have informants.”
    They were spying on Glory? To what end? “Why?”
    “She is the only person to have successfully gone back that far in time. We want to keep an eye on her to make sure there isn’t any fallout from the experience.”
    “Has she been debriefed here like I have?”
    Erica’s smug look disappeared, and his senses registered her sudden fear. “Not officially.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “It’s none of your business.”
    His gut told him that she was hiding something big and that it didn’t bode well for Glory. “I remember Glory telling me that when you were kids you were her hero. She worshiped you. She loved you best. I can’t imagine why anyone would love you.”
    The shock on Erica’s face was what he had been going for. The slap across his face was a surprise, but it did give him an exit. He grinned. “Interview’s over, princess.”
    He stood and walked out.
     
    †          †          †
     
    Zane rang the bell at Kate’s, and she buzzed him in. The door popped open, and he stepped inside a small, efficiency apartment. There was a daybed in one corner, a desk in another, and a kitchenette in the third. The fourth corner held a door that led to a bathroom. Although stark in design, the walls displayed a dazzling array of landscape and nature paintings. Kate sat at a round bistro table in the middle of the room plopping small objects into a large jar of water. She raised a finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet, dropped in the last one, and greeted him with a smile.
    Zane joined her at the table.
    Kate held the jar up. “Listening devices. One of my geek friends clued me in to their existence here. I’ve never had reason to disable them until now.”
    He shrugged out of his leather jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. “Won’t the matrix figure out something’s wrong?”
    “Eventually. I’ll deal with it then. So—” She looked at his grim expression and did a double take. “What’s wrong?”
    His jaw clenched. “Erica told me that they’re spying on Glory.”
    “Why?”
    “That’s what I wanted to know. Didn’t get a good answer.”
    She leaned back in her chair. “Erica told you this?”
    “That and more.”
    Kate raised an eyebrow.
    “Dominic’s not an angel anymore. He went human. To be with Glory because he’s in love with her, too.”
    Kate sucked in her breath. After a moment, she said, “That doesn’t mean Glory’s chosen him over you.”
    “Doesn’t mean she hasn’t.”
    Kate studied him for a moment. “Let’s get drunk.”
    Her unexpected words and deadpan delivery made him laugh. “It takes bucketfuls of liquor to get me drunk, ma’am. My liver processes it real fast.”
    “I have bucketfuls.” She stood and opened a pantry door. The shelves were stocked full of liquor bottles.
    That didn’t bode well. He gave her a look of concern.
    She smiled. “I’m not an alcoholic. Around here, it’s black market