The Protect Her Box Set: Parts 7-9 Read Online Free Page A

it can’t be located.”
    “How are we supposed to find it again?” I felt like stomping my feet and wailing into the air. It seemed as if every time I took a step forward in this quest, I was taking two steps back.
    “I left myself clues,” Benjamin said. “Clues in my memories tied to the happiest points in my life. Now, they are clues that only one person could interpret.”
    My mouth fell open as I felt a sinking in my stomach. “And who is this person?”
    Benjamin stared into my eyes. “You, Paige. It has always been you.”
     
     
     

CHAPTER THREE – RILEY
     
    I sat on the steps of the tomb and stared up at the sun in the sky. It was going to be a warm day on Calamata Island. Too bad I wasn’t in the mood to work on my tan. I had been doing my best so far not to give away how anxious I was about the fact Paige was gone. She was with Benjamin, and I knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He loved her, and that was the only reason that I hadn’t gone hog-wild on his brothers.
    Benjamin’s brothers, on the other hand, were doing a lot of teeth gnashing and hand wringing as they moved between small groups of two and three apparently to discuss the situation. As soon as Benjamin and Paige went missing, and the shield between us disappeared, I thought for a minute that I was about to finally find out what it meant to be smited by an archangel.
    But then they retreated into their group. By the looks they shot in my direction, I was feeling pretty lucky that, at least, in theory, looks couldn’t kill. Then I had to remind myself I was dealing with archangels, and there was that whole Sodom and Gomorrah story where a look did kill. Since I wasn’t planning to leave the cemetery until Paige returned, I decided to take a seat and wait it out.
    It wasn’t that much later that I felt a strange sensation wash through my body that made me lightheaded and dizzy, and I was glad that I was sitting down. I saw the archangels look over at me, and if possible, their expressions turned even darker than before.
    Ezekiel cocked his head toward me, and another one of the archangels pulled away from the group and approached me. I sat up a bit straighter, but that was the only indication I gave that I even knew that he was there.
    “I am Samuel,” the archangel said with a small bow of his head. “It is nice to meet you, Riley Stone.”
    “Just Riley is fine,” I said. I hoped that Samuel didn’t expect me to genuflect or any of that shit. I didn’t care who he was. “You sound like a caveman when you say my whole name like that, and I’m getting a bit tired of the formality of people calling me ‘Mr. Stone’ all of a sudden. It makes me sound like I’m a hundred years old.”
    Samuel smiled. “You make it sound like age is a terrible thing. To be a hundred years old in angel years is like being a human infant.”
    I hated the fact I was dealing with a being that wasn’t human. I decided to quit beating around the bush. “Is there something that you want, Samuel? I’m assuming you didn’t wander over here for small talk.”
    “I’ve never met a necromancer before,” Samuel said, clearly intending to ignore the sarcasm in my words. “It is a rare talent. One that I’ve only heard about a handful of times in my lifetime.”
    “Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m one of a kind.” I knew that I was being a prick, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t up for making a bunch of new angel buddies. I just wanted Paige back in my sight.
    “You don’t like angels,” Samuel stated. He pointed at the concrete steps next to me. “May I?”
    “I have a feeling it doesn’t really matter what I want,” I said as I spun one of my knives around in my hand. “I’m just waiting for them to come back like the rest of you.”
    “Yes. My brothers and I would like to know if you know where Benjamin went.” Samuel proceeded to sit down on the step next to me, just as I expected he would.
    “How would I know? In