Angel Seduced by Jaime Rush

couldn’t comprehend what was at stake. Now he did, and he would give everything to see it through. Well, everything but his life.
    Kasabian’s jaw tightened, his mouth tight with his anger. He looked dangerously beautiful. Only inches away, Silva reached out, straining to touch him. He held back, unsure how to deal with this particular intruder.
    Kasabian headed toward the front of the property. Was he leaving? If he told the Crescent authorities some crazy tale about a former Concilium member holding children, he would be ushered away. Like the boy who’d recently escaped. Or he would be made insane, like the woman who had escaped many years ago.
    Kasabian ducked back into the hedges near the front of the property by the gate. No, he was waiting. He’d probably seen Treylon leave and was waiting for him to return. Silva wasn’t ready to reveal his presence yet, but he couldn’t let Kasabian ambush the man who was like a father to him. Could not let him destroy the program that would release all Caidos from their torment.
    He returned to the house and summoned Gren. The tall, lean Caido met him in the foyer, a coy smile on his face. “You have need of me, my master?” He was twenty, pretty, and a new recruit in the program. “You look tense. Need some tension release?” He ran his tongue over his full lower lip. “A suck, a f—”
    â€œA detainment,” Silva interrupted. “A discreet one. We have an intruder lying in wait near the front gate. You’ll have the element of surprise, but be careful. He’s like me.”
    â€œYou don’t want him killed?”
    â€œNo. I want him incapacitated and put in the white room.”
    Gren’s mouth curved into a smile. “Your will is my command.”
    That had been nice at first. Now Silva wanted more of a challenge. He wanted the one man he could not have. Kasabian.
    Gren pulled on his invisible cloak, and they made their way along the hedge line.
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    Kasabian heard the footsteps coming up behind him. He spun but saw nothing. No, not true. The air wavered. The cloak dropped, and a male Caido in full wing dove at him. Kasabian shifted, but the Caido got him in the side and sent them both to the ground. Kasabian used his Light to knock the other Caido on his ass. In seconds, the Caido was on him again, slapping his hand on his forehead. Kasabian felt the stun Light flash against his skin and pulse into his brain. He twisted before it penetrated, wrenching the guy’s wrist and making him scream in pain. But that didn’t stop him from smacking his head against Kasabian’s temple, knocking him senseless for a moment. The Caido shoved him backward, flat on the ground, then straddled him. His thighs tightened on Kasabian’s sides to pin him.
    Kasabian bucked him off, sending him rolling over his head. As soon as Kasabian got to his feet, he was tackled and pinned between the guy and a banyan tree. He shoved his knee into the guy’s solar plexus, right below the starburst.
    â€œThey’re using you,” Kasabian said as he landed another blow. “I don’t want to hurt you. Let me help you get away from this insanity.”
    The Caido laughed as he shot a beam of Light at Kasabian. “I’m here of my own volition. I don’t want to be rescued .”
    Kasabian felt the searing heat slice his neck even as he ducked to the side. “What do you get out of torturing children?” He threw the Caido, where he landed in a clump of bushes.
    â€œI get to be part of something that matters. I matter.”
    The guy came at him again, his patrician features distorted in rage. The Shadow grew inside him, fueled by the fight. Hungry for it. Kasabian met the Caido halfway, tossing him over his head with a strength that surpassed even his angel essence. He saw black, just for a second, as he grabbed the guy before he could stagger to his feet. The Caido tried to kick free,