Claiming Rosa (Book 2) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 17

Rosa

I get halfway down the hall when I remember the bits and pieces of the story Jacob told Wrath. If I heard right, this whole thing is Raph’s fault. A dangerous, idiotic need takes hold. I don’t know if I’m set to self-destruct mode or if I actually have a brilliant idea, but I jump to it. Any plan is better than nothing…
The club is booming, and it’s only nine p.m. I don’t need to be escorted. This time, I’m welcomed. It’s only when I try to enter his office I’m stopped by the Rhino guy. He must remember me because I don’t have to say a thing. He’s already knocking on Raphs door. I silently wait. Upon entering, I’m thankful to find Raph fully clothed, looking sharp in Armani. 
“Please, come in.”
When he doesn’t move away from the small gap, he leaves me. I elbow the door. I don’t want any part of me making contact with him. Last time, it took hours to shake the chills he left me with.
I watch him pour two drinks; he offers me one, and this time, I accept. I take it, careful not to bump his hand. I shoot back the fiery liquid and instantly choke. Damn, that’s strong. He chuckles smoothly, filling my glass back up. I cut straight to the point.
“It’s your fault this is happening, and you need to make it right.”
“Sorry, toots, I don’t follow.”
He’s completely unfazed. I’m not even sure if he listened. I slam my glass down and move toward him, his eyes light with laughter.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about!”
His lips curl into a cruel smile. It happens too fast for me to move. Raphael is behind me. I’m frozen in fear of what he’s going to do.
His fingertips brush against my neck as he gathers my hair, pushing it to the side. I watch him in the wall of mirrors as he bends toward me. I try to move and can’t. An imperceptible force has me held in place. When his lips brush my ear, I shiver at the bitter touch.
“I distinctly remember telling you not to disrespect me on my turf… What is it about you that grates on my last nerve, Hm?”
His tongue slides up the column of my throat, and he lifts his gaze to stare back at me in the mirror.
“Should I peek inside you and see?… Would you like that, Rosa? To feel me inside you?”
His hand drags slowly between my breasts as he maintains my gaze in the mirror. Damn it all, why did I ditch my bra. It’s not like I came here to go dancing. My eyes are glued to his, and my breathing is shallow. I don’t know if it’s magic or fear that does it. When his hand dips inside my jeans, I renew my struggle to no avail. I’m not even able to speak. His long fingers cup between my legs atop my underwear. It’s beyond intimate. He’s making me helpless in the worst possible way. Demonstrating his complete control.
“Now, do you understand the boundaries you cross, Rosa? When you come to my club demanding me and making accusations, I lose control. I may not hit you, but I can make you feel what it’s like to have no control. Do you like the feeling? Maybe you do. I could take this further. Do you want that?... Oh, silly me, I forgot, you can’t speak.”
I can feel the release of power as every muscle relaxes. They’re tired and sore from straining, even my throat. He stops me with a hand on my shoulder when I go to move away. He demands an apology that I manage to grunt out. The satisfied smile he gives makes me want to punch him in the dick.
“Good, I think we’ve finally come to an understanding. Now, what can I do for you?”
I sit in the chair he points at on the opposite side of his desk.
“Robert has Jacob and a warehouse full of other species. He’s going to dissect them to make a super species so he can kill you.”
He looks back at me with his chin resting on his folded hands, completely unfazed.
“Who’s Robert?”
My jaw drops in complete disbelief.
“I’m kidding. You should have seen your face. Of course, I know what he’s planning. Though I’m flattered, you care enough to come all the way down here to warn me.”
He waves it off like it's nothing, infuriating me further.
“Well, aren’t you going to do anything?”
He gets up and pours another drink.
“No, I don’t think he’ll succeed.”
I wait as he pours two more, shooting them back.
“What about Jacob? He’s your friend… are you just going to let Robert chop him into pieces?”
Raphael turns to me and leans against the bar, crossing his legs.
“Our friendship is more of a truce than anything of significance. I don’t owe him my loyalty. The same can be said for him.”
I push out of my chair and leave before I do something I regret. When I open the door, I came face to face with Wrath…
His complete confusion quickly turns to anger as he looks between us.
“What’s going on? Why are you here?”
The last questions directed at me. When I’m able to take my focus from his devastatingly handsome face, I notice a strange man beside him and? What the hell!
“What are you all doing here?”
The new guy enters Raphael’s office like a madman.
“I heard about you. You're everything we loath. You’re the heaven’s example of what happens when you don’t follow the rules.”
Raphael tenses standing straight. I can feel the anger in him like a current. I know it’s a warning.
“Careful pup, don’t talk about things you do not understand.”
Wrath is still watching me
“What are you doing here, Rosa?”
I want to ignore him, give him a snide remark, and kiss him all at once. It drives me bug-fuck insane.
“I’m doing what I can to get Jacob back. What are you doing here? All of you.”
Elliot is the first to answer
“Same as you. Why didn’t you tell us? We were worried. Well, not me personally, but most of us. Possibly even Estevan.”
So he’s still miserable, I see. At least he’s sober at the moment. Amanda even looks a touch disappointed. I look away guiltily.
“Sorry, I just wanted some time.”
“Okay! now that you're all here at my nightclub during business hours, I might add. Do you mind letting me in on why you're all here. If it’s to share your heartfelt moments, I’ll save us both some time, I don’t care!”
Wrath brushes past me. I watch with interest as Raphael backs up. What is it with these two?
“Your coming with us. You don’t have a choice.”
Raphael’s smile is cold
“Oh, really? You’ve finally lost it, old man.”
Wrath continues like he didn’t hear him.
“We’re going to kill Robert, and you’re the distraction.”
Raphael bursts into laughter. I can see Wrath’s eye begins to twitch. It’s a telltale sign he’s about to lose control.
“Your fucking certifiable man. I don’t know if you heard, but Lucifer is filling him full of devil juice. There’s no way even I have a shot at him.”
“That’s where I come in. I am Sphear, a warrior angel.”
Raphael slams his glass on the table, pointing at Sphear.
“Your trusting this child to strip a very dark, extremely potent power from a lunatic?”
Wrath cuts everyone off.
“No, we, all of us, including you. If you don’t do this, he will find a way to end you. Will that be your legacy? Taken out by a human.”
That hit a nerve. Raphael snaps his mouth shut and picks his glass back up. He pours a quick two finger shooting it back. If that doesn’t convince him, I don’t know what will. I look over at Wrath, who’s scrutinizing me intensely. What the hell? I’d give anything to know what he’s thinking. Of course, that’s ridiculous because I’m done with him, all men. I won’t have a say soon. I’ll be stuck in the underworld… Why couldn’t he just give me one month of bliss? A memory I can take with me. I have a feeling he needs to say something, but I turn away. Anything now, good or bad, will just cause me pain. My life has never really been my own. I was always cleaning up everyone’s mistakes. Maybe one day my existence will all make sense.
“Let’s get this over with.”
Holy shit, he agreed…
We go over the plan as a group. It takes all of twenty minutes answering questions and thinking up different scenarios. We leave Tally behind and Raphael makes a couple of calls. He refuses to not have a Plan B. Though this pisses Tally off, she accepts, wishing us luck.
We materialize in the warehouse. There’s twice as many species, but I don’t see Jacob anywhere. the only one I recognize is Easle, and I push through the crowd toward him. I hear a scuffle behind me. Glancing back, I see Wrath on my tail. I don’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed. Easle sees me doing a double take.
“Rosa, what are you doing here?”
I half grin, half frown. I’m sure it looks like I have gas. 
“I’m here to save all of you. There was a man here, his name is Jacob-”
I don’t get the rest out before he interrupts.
“I know who Jacob is. Humes made a big show of taking him. He’s been gone a couple of hours, he took a handful of us.”
Shit! I can only imagine what he’s doing. I hope we’re not too late.
“Did he leave this plane?”
I jump at Wrath’s deep voice directly above me. He places a hand on my shoulder. It takes all my control to not press my cheek against it. I stiffen and shrug him off of me. The action makes my stomach churn.
“Its hard to tell. My senses have dulled since I got on this plane. I’m fairly certain he’s still here.”
I look between the two, observing the conversation.
“I think I have a pretty good idea where they are. Sit tight. Rosa?”
I look in the area of his face, avoiding his eyes.
“Stay here and keep watch. If anything odd goes down. Stick with Easle. He’ll take care of you.”
He takes off before I can object and Easle pulls me aside, relaying the events I missed. Only hearing bits and pieces, because I’m distracted by wraths dismissal. I watch him leave with Raphael and Sphear. Everyone else stays back. I don’t like us splitting. Before I can ask Easel how they’re going to manage leaving, Sphear opens the door with ease and uses a glowing finger to cut through the wards like he’s cutting through plastic wrap. I blink a few times to make sure I’m seeing things clearly.
Amanda finds me in the crowd. She cuts through, making her way toward me. Austin, Estevan, Jace and eventually Elliot follow until we’re all clustered together like cattle.