"Jeanie London - Retrieval" - читать интересную книгу автора (London Jeanie)

When Gray and Damian reappeared as suddenly as they'd disappeared, Roman admitted, "I'm surprised. I thought you would have tried to get Ms. de Lacy to leave with you." Damian's smile didn't reach his eyes. "We did."
"And failed," Gray added.
Both men kept looking at Nina's living host, who still sat on the bench with documents spread around her. Roman recognized the longing in their glances.
He wondered if their lost companion felt the same.
"I suggest we form an alliance, gentlemen," he said, confident that these men would accept that they had no other choice but to trust him. "We need to work together for the mutual goal of retrieving Ms. de Lacy."
"Your price?" Gray asked.
"The chance to present my case to her alone. It's not a high price, but it is non-negotiable."
"You haven't been dead four weeks, Barrymore," Damian shot back. "What do you think you can do that we can't?" He motioned toward Katie McGuire. "Besides providing Ms. de Lacy's location, I have other intel that might prove useful. Not to mention, I'm a strategist."
"In the living world," Gray pointed out.
"My skills will translate." "I want to know who told you where to find her," Damian said.
Roman decided to part with some information now,

RETRIEVAL

to weight his side of the scale and help convince these men to trust him. "An angel."
"Now you're asking us to make a leap of faith, Mr. Barrymore," Gray said.
''Then return the favor." Roman exhaled hard, a habit that had no place in this realm. but somehow dispelled his tension.
Damian wasn't buying. "How do you know this was a good angel, Barrymore? Ever hear of the Fallen?"
"Good overcame evil at my death, Mr. Hart. The Burning Ones overtook the shadows." There was no arguing that point. Had evil won, Roman would have been dragged into the abyss.
"You looked at this angel?" Gray asked. "You could actually see it?"
"Not exactly," he answered honestly. ''The light blinded me. But it was a messenger from the Angelic Warriors, gentlemen. It told me where to find Ms. de Lacy."
The men appeared to consider his words, and seemed willing to accept when Gray said, "Why is an angel interested in Nina?"
The only thing stopping Roman from explaining the whole situation was his gut instinct. He hadn't been sure how these men would react to learning about the battle for dominion of the passage. He suspected these men wouldn't want to see Nina at risk.
After meeting them, Roman knew he'd been right.
By definition battle was risky. Especially here in the afterlife, where a loss could mean a fate that lasted far longer than life. The simple fact was that neither Gray Talbot, Damian Hart, nor Nina had to fight unless they wanted to. They could move on to the threshold at any

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24 JEANIE LONDON

time, and Roman had been told that the only thing keeping the men in the passage was their companion's desire to use her special ability.
Roman hadn't wanted to risk a change of heart at this late date. He needed Nina on his team. If he could convince her to sign on then her companions would likely follow suit.
And he would have the start of a strong team.
Roman changed tactics. "I heard that Ms. de Lacy is in an interesting line of work."
"She helps souls make peace with their deaths so they move on to the threshold," Damian said. "Nothing wrong with that."
"You don't think angels would be interested?"
"She's been at this a long time," Gray said. "Why now?" Roman spread his hands in entreaty. "Gentlemen, I'll tell you everything I know--after I've spoken with Ms. de Lacy. Right now she needs our help. That needs to be priority."
Damian glanced at Gray who, after a long moment, nodded.
"You've got your deal, Barrymore," Damian said. "When we get Nina back."
"Good," Roman said. "Then let's start with what just happened. You tried to retrieve Ms. de Lacy, but failed. Why?"
"She didn't recognize us," Gray admitted. "We whispered to her, but she didn't seem to have a clue who we were."
That seemed to answer Roman's earlier question about whether or not Nina knew she was crowding a living soul, but he didn't understand why she would

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have developed what amounted to a case of amnesia. He did understand what Damian meant by whispering.
Roman had been told that a soul could whisper to another whether they were living or dead. He knew Nina and her companions had become quite adept at the skill in their efforts to help lingering souls move on.
"You're sure she could hear you?" he asked. "I was told she's been crowding that woman longer than I've been dead."