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Barrows is a dangerous place for me, Michael.”
    He still spoke softly, but I caught an edge of caution. Was I actually beginning to know him that well? Well enough to hear nuances in his voice? I drew the pictures of Selene and Richard out of my jacket pocket and offered them to him. “I have a thread leading to the Den.”
    “You will not find these children at the Den. I will, however, inquire for you. I’ll keep the photos and pass them around.”
    It was as much as I expected. “I don’t have that much time. I have to go. The Den is my only lead.”
    “Then I’ll take you there.”
    I stood silent, surprised, a rare thing for me.
    Michael picked up the phone and ordered someone to bring his car to the front. He suddenly turned to me and, in a single swift motion, snatched me off my feet, removed my gun, and tossed it aside. Then he had me on the floor, on the soft carpet, my body pinned tight.
    I stared into his face. His eyes burned with bright, savage intensity and he drew deep breaths like a man going into a life-or-death struggle. He crushed his mouth to mine and sent shock waves of desire racing through my body. My fingers locked in his silky hair. Great Mother, what would it feel like brushed across my bare skin? He released my mouth, but his hands caressed my breasts and I trembled under his touch. I spread my legs and felt him hard against me. Great Mother. I wanted . . . but I would not. I twisted under Michael. “Let me go!”
    Michael instantly released me.
    He rolled over and lay beside me, with one arm draped across my waist. “Why not?”
    “You’re addictive.” The words came out harder than I’d intended. “You’re like a drug. Smooth as silk. If I get a taste, I’ll only want more . . . and more. I won’t let anything, or anyone, own me like that.”
    I truly feared that kind of relationship. My deepest fear and the thing of nightmares: I refused to be overwhelmed by anyone. I’d seen men and women give up their souls to keep another with them. I’d seen men and women use love as a weapon to bend their partners to their selfish will. Surely Michael would tire of me eventually. Then what would I do?
    Michael rolled away from me. He was on his feet in a single graceful movement. He offered me his hand. I refused to touch him. I hoisted myself to my feet with the grace and elegance of a giraffe. He watched silently as I straightened my clothes, then found and holstered my gun.
    Michael came close, but the sexual tension was missing. No, not missing. Only buried deep inside him, along with other desires I didn’t want to know. He grasped my shoulders in gentle fingers. “What can I do to make you want me?” His voice brushed me like fine fur and I swallowed hard, desperate not to give in.
    “Why do you want me?”
    “Because you are brave and beautiful. I have watched you. You defy evil with courage and—”
    “Stop it.” That was too much. It was not an answer. “You are desirable. I am not totally immune. If you’ve watched me, you know I do things in my own way at my own time.”
    His hands slid down my arms, caught my wrists, and lifted my hands to his lips. I balled them into fists. He brushed a soft kiss on each one. “No, you are not one to give in to the shallow commitment of physical desire, Huntress. I’ll be patient.”
    I pulled my hands from his. He could be as patient as he wanted. Michael, the Archangel, had something wild in him. He had secrets. Instinct told me his secrets could kill me. Once I finished this assignment, I’d never place myself in such a precarious position with him again.

chapter 6
    A line had formed at the front door while I was upstairs wrestling with Michael. His admirers exhaled a few gasps and a collective sigh when he appeared. He recognized them with a regal, impersonal smile. After that, he ignored them. They paid lots of money, hoping to get a glimpse of the man. Exercise was the consolation prize if he didn’t bless them with his