“Lay a finger on her, mate, and you’re dead.” Kaidan’s knife gleamed, large and sharp in comparison to the small, tainted blade in the gang member’s hand. The guy’s eyes glinted with fear, but before he could react, a beam of severely bright light broke through the already sunny sky, shining straight down on the scarred leader, who still pointed his gun at Kai. None of the humans noticed, but I sensed Kaidan’s attention shift.

In a split second the leader’s guardian angel, still bathed in that brilliant light, touched a shimmering finger to the gun barrel just before the leader squeezed the trigger and the deafening sound of a gunshot rang out, followed by cries of pain. Someone shrieked in my ear, which I’d later realize was my own scream paired with those of the two other girls.

A strong hand yanked my arm.

“Come on!” Kaidan’s voice.

My feet obeyed before my mind could comprehend what had happened. Kaidan pulled me until we were both sprinting against hordes of people running to see what was going on. I glanced back to the gang leader on the ground next to his friend, holding his bloody face while the girls crouched above him, screaming. The other guys were gone. And then the scene was swallowed up by mass chaos.

We ran out of the carnival, shoving past people until we came to the exit to the beach. I searched the area, frantic, certain the other guys would be right behind us.

“What happened?” I panted.

“The gun backfired.” Kaidan bent and rested his hands on his knees for a quick breather. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

A high-pitched revving noise sped toward our backs, and I spun, prepared to fight. I reached to my pocket out of habit, and berated myself for not bringing a knife. The squeal of tires pierced the air as Blake slid sideways to stop mere feet from us on his bike.

“Get on.” His command was directed at me, and Kaidan gave the small of my back a shove. I didn’t want to leave him, but there was no time to argue. I threw a leg over the back of the seat, wrapping my arms around Blake. I shot a glance at the carnival and my heart pounded. The four unharmed gang members were running from a side exit, looking around.

“They’re coming!” I hissed.

“Go!” Kaidan shouted at us before he took off toward the crowded beach.

I pressed the side of my face to Blake’s back and he peeled out, popping an unnecessary wheelie that was met with cheers from all around and a scream from me. Somehow he managed to keep breathing the whole mile back to his house despite the death grip I had around his rib cage.

I closed my eyes, once again, and begged for Kaidan’s safety.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

BREAKDOWN

Blake parked in his garage and wrenched my stiff arms from around his waist.

“A gang?” he asked.

“Yeah.” My voice was as shaky as my limbs as I climbed off the bike after him.

He tweaked my chin, but his voice was tight. “No worries, girl. It’s all good now.”

I followed as Blake jogged to the back deck to watch for Kai. We stood along the railing. The sick knot in my stomach would not settle, along with the too-fast beats of my heart. I was too shaken to concentrate on pushing out my sight.

“Do you see him?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine. He’ll be here soon.”

I exhaled. “Are they following him?”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

During those few minutes heavy thoughts battered my mind. I would never again pressure Kai to be with me or tell me how he felt. His actions showed he cared, and that would have to be enough. I don’t think I’d fully understood what a danger we were to each other until today. We’d been careless, and that must never happen again.

Reality was harsh. I could not stay here with them. I felt like I’d been slapped and my senses were finally clear.

I would leave Kaidan and Blake today as allies, adding the moment on the Ferris wheel to the few other precious memories I had of Kai. But it would be the last addition to my Kaidan collection. My heart seized and faltered in my chest as the dream I’d held on to for two years crumbled.

I hugged myself around the ribs as I paced. Adrenaline still lingered in my system.

I thought about Dad. He’d need to know what happened. I texted him A411, our code that I had information. He responded right away with Later. Busy. I dropped the phone into a chair and thought about what happened at the carnival.

“One of the angels intervened today,” I told Blake. “He made the gun backfire when the guy tried to shoot us. I didn’t think they were allowed to do that.”

He kept his face toward the beach, twisting his eyebrow bar when he answered. “They only intervene when they’re told to. The angel must’ve got a message.”

The light. Someone above had been communicating. We’d been saved. Again. I shivered in the warm breeze and gripped myself tighter.

“Here he comes,” Blake said.

When Kaidan climbed the steps to the deck he came straight for me, his hair slicked back with sweat from running. He took my face in his hands, breathing hard, lips tight, eyes like blue blazes.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he ground out.

It took a second to process his words and remember what exactly I wasn’t supposed to do again. Then I recalled interfering.

“I know it was dangerous,” I admitted, “but there were five of them—”

“I can bloody well handle myself, Anna!” His hands flung away from my face.