Chapter thirty-five

“W e’re going where?” Gwen’s tone was incredulous as

she drove. She had just picked up Maddy in her mom’s blue

Volvo, greeting Maddy with a crushing BFF hug. She was

wearing a Team Maddy shirt that she had perfectly distressed

to match her denim skirt and high-heel sandals.

“Relax,” Maddy said, “I know how to get there.”

“Oh, really? And how’s that?”

Maddy produced the crinkled, dusty Angel map from

her back pocket, the one Gwen had bought last summer that

had almost gotten them both grounded.

“This thing really works, right?” They took the turn

onto Outpost Road from Franklin and wound their way up

into the Angel City Hills.

“And how did you even know about those shirts anyway?”

Maddy asked, looking again at Gwen’s outfit.

“Duh!” Gwen chirped. “You tweeted about it.”

“That’s not me, Gwen.” Maddy groaned. “It’s someone

pretending to be me.”

“Really? OMG, you have, like, impersonators? That is

so cool!”

As Gwen navigated with the map, Maddy took out the

envelope and placed the note in it. She unclasped her mom’s

necklace from around her neck and slid the heavy ring off it.

“Is that a Divine Ring?” Gwen gasped in disbelief.

“I’m returning it,” Maddy said, dropping the ring in

the envelope. “I’m just going to leave it at the front gate.”

Gwen looked like she might hyperventilate, but seeing

Maddy’s expression, she did her best to stifle her excitement

and nodded solemnly. Maddy turned the envelope over and

wrote JACKS on it.

They had nearly reached the top of the hill when a tall,

ivy-covered fence came into view. Beyond it, Maddy could

just see the spires of a breathtaking mansion. The fence ran

almost a full block before a gated drive appeared. Gwen

looked at the map, then squinted out the windshield.

“I think we’re here.”

They parked, and Gwen cut the engine. Being so close

to Jacks again, Maddy was surprised she didn’t feel the

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painful emotions she was expecting. She still sensed the

despair and the regret, the pain of what had happened, but

these were crowded out by an altogether different, new

emotion. She was uneasy. She had expected to find the

street full of people by now, swarms of paparazzi and live

television reports, a grand homecoming for the prodigal

son. Instead, the street was empty, almost eerily so. Had

Darcy forgotten to tip off the media that Jacks was coming

home? It was possible, but still, it bothered Maddy.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Gwen asked.

Maddy shook off her anxiety.

“That would be great, thanks.”

Getting out of the car, they walked toward the looming

gate. It was quiet. Maddy reached the mailbox and discovered

it was locked. She should have figured that. What

now? She looked at the gate, not really expecting to find any

solution there, and paused. She stared. The gate had been

left open. Maddy’s intuition flickered again. Why would the

gate be open? Someone could have forgotten to close it, but

that was silly. She was sure Jacks’s family had a staff that

monitored the grounds.

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Maddy walked toward the gap between the ironwork

doors and peered through it. It must have been left open on

purpose, she thought. But why would you leave a security

gate open? The answer came quickly: so someone could get

in.

“Just leave it inside the gate, Maddy, and let’s go.”

Maddy looked at the envelope in her hands.

“I’m sorry, Jacks,” she whispered. “Goodbye.”

That’s when she heard the scream.

It echoed down the long drive and seemed to die just

inside the gate. Had she not been standing so close, she was

sure she wouldn’t have heard it at all. It was a woman’s

scream, one of sorrow, not of pain. A wretched sound that

sent a shiver down Maddy’s spine.

“Did you hear that?” Gwen asked, startled.

Maddy hesitated only a moment before squeezing

through the gate and motioning to Gwen.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Follow me, and stay

quiet.”

They stayed low against the wall of the driveway and

crept noiselessly up the curving drive.

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“Wait,” Maddy whispered, and pulled Jacks’s Divine

Ring out of the envelope and threaded it back around her

neck for safekeeping. They moved forward, and the spectacular

estate came into view, nestled in immaculately manicured

gardens.

“OMG, his house is amazing, right?” Gwen whispered

behind her.

“Shhh!” Maddy hissed. She stopped where the wall

was just high enough to conceal them and looked at the

house. Jacks’s Ferrari was in the driveway, but there were

also three black Escalades with tinted windows parked in

front of the house. They stood, ominous. The front door to

the house had been left open. She could hear an argument

coming from somewhere inside.

“I need to get closer,” Maddy whispered. Scrambling

forward, she ducked down behind a circular fountain next

to the SUVs that sat directly in front of the house. Maddy

could make out the words of the argument now. She

flinched at their hostility, their agony.

“It was the only way to bring him in quietly,” a deep,

authoritative voice barked.

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“He’s your son! You promised! Do something!” It was

the woman again, her voice jagged like broken glass.

“I’m just doing my duty, Kris,” the deep voice

retorted.

Maddy felt her heart twist. Kris. Jacks’s mother. Then

someone was coming out of the house, or being led out of

the house. Maddy froze.

It was Jacks. Four broad-shouldered men in black

suits led him. They had chiseled, flawless faces. Not men.

These were Angels. One of them had his hand on Jacks’s

shoulder. Another turned to say something over his

shoulder, and Maddy saw a split tailored into the back of his

jacket. For wings. Angel Police, Maddy thought. Her heart

sank.

It had all been a lie. Kevin couldn’t have known, or

Jacks’s mom, but they all three had been fooled by it. The

“deal” must have been nothing more than a trick to get

Jacks to turn himself in so he could be quietly dealt with. No

big Angel battle with the whole world watching. No black

mark against the Immortals. No scandal. Sylvester had been

right, Maddy thought. The Archangels were willing to do

whatever it took to protect themselves.

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And she had helped them. She had delivered Jacks.

They were walking in her direction now, headed toward

the waiting SUVs. Jacks’s face was expressionless. His

eyes had turned colorless and gray. His arms hung limply at

his side.

“Fight,” Maddy whispered furiously. “Dammit, Jacks,

fight.”

But he didn’t. He let them take him. His face was the

same blank mask she had seen at the station. Maddy fought

back a paralyzing despair. She had taken the fight out of

him. Once again, everything was her fault.

Maddy focused all her energy on overcoming the

paralysis. She had to think. Because she had to do

something. She watched carefully as they loaded Jacks into

the middle vehicle, and made a note of which seat, which

side. All three Escalades started up and began to move.

Already leaving.

A new commotion erupted from the house. Maddy’s

eyes darted over. A middle-aged woman was struggling

against her husband and another Angel in a suit. She was

trying to leave the house. If she hadn’t been screaming with

her hair tangled in her face, she would be strikingly

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beautiful. Regal, even. It had to be Kris Godspeed. Behind

her, in the hall, Chloe stood helpless and crying, her face

wrought with grief.

Suddenly, as Maddy watched, Kris’s wild eyes darted

in her direction.

Maddy froze. She watched recognition dawn on Kris’s

face. She knew Maddy was there, crouching behind the

fountain, and she knew who she was. Maddy fought the urge

to turn and run. Would Kris give her away? Sic the Angels

on her? Instead, something flickered in Kris’s eyes. An unspoken

message. Some understanding had just passed

between them, but in the adrenaline-fueled rush of the moment,

Maddy wasn’t sure just what.

Kris pulled hard against the two Angels holding her

and, with a small cry, sent all three of them slamming into

the wall just inside the foyer. Maddy heard the unmistakable

sound of keys dropping to the floor as the three Angels

collapsed to the ground in a chaotic tumble. Kris’s eyes narrowed

in concentration. Her free leg kicked. The keys, which

she had knocked off the wall next to her, jingled across the

tile and came to rest in the open doorway.

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Maddy didn’t think. She didn’t have time. She leapt to

her feet and ran toward the front of the house. She heard

Gwen yell behind her, but the rushing wind and pounding of

her heart drowned out the words. She hit the doorway at a

full sprint, more running into it than stopping, and flattened

her body against the outside wall. Kris had done enough

flailing to keep her captors occupied. Maddy slid down onto

her knees, reached her arm out into the doorway, and

grabbed the keys. The ignition key with a prancing horse on

the yellow shield looked right at her.

Kris’s eyes shot over and fixed Maddy with a meaningful

gaze.

Go.

In an instant Maddy was on her feet again and sprinting

toward the Ferrari. She fumbled with the smart key

while she ran, finding the unlock button. The Ferrari

chirped to life. She hazarded a quick look down the driveway.

The SUVs were already turning out the gate. In another

moment, they would be gone. She saw Gwen running out

from behind the wall. She must have seen Maddy’s frantic

dash for the keys. Gwen reached the car first, jumping into

the driver’s seat just as Maddy arrived.

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“What do you think you’re doing?” Maddy gasped.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Gwen said.

Maddy opened the door. “No way. I don’t want you

getting involved.”

“You need all the help you can get,” Gwen hissed.

“Seriously, get in.” Then she put both hands on the wheel.

“God, this car is so sexy.”

“Move over, then,” Maddy said as she got in, pushing

Gwen into the passenger seat. “I’m driving.” She might not

have a car of her own, but she’d never gotten less than an A

in any class she’d ever taken, and that included driver’s ed.

She fed the key into the ignition and adjusted the

rearview mirror. In the reflection, she could see Kris’s husband

looking in her direction. She might only have seconds.

She punched the start button on the Ferrari and six hundred

horses roared to life. The machine crouched like a wild

animal, ready. Maddy depressed the clutch and moved the

manual transmission into first. The Ferrari purred with anticipation.

Gwen lifted an instructorly finger.

“Always adjust your side mirrors before putting the

car in drive—”

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Maddy released the clutch and shoved her foot down

on the gas. The Ferrari lurched forward much faster than

Maddy thought possible, throwing both girls violently into

their seats. Maddy heard a voice behind her but didn’t dare

look back.

“Put your seat belt on,” Maddy commanded. Gwen

immediately obeyed. Maddy pushed the clutch in again,

shifted to second, and smashed the accelerator. The Ferrari

shot down the driveway like a whip and cleared the gate like

a red marble out of a slingshot. She threw the wheel over,

pivoting the screaming race car on its front right tire, and

stomped on the gas again. In an instant they were rocketing

down the street in pursuit of the caravan.

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