by Cynthia Eden
Sam didn’t let the surprise flicker on his face. That wasn’t the way the game worked. Seline wouldn’t know that, though, and the humans that Rogziel had on leashes sure wouldn’t understand how a punisher’s power worked.
“Finding Az was almost an accident.”
Sam cocked his head. “Some say there are no accidents. No coincidences. Everything happens the way it was meant to be.” If you subscribed to that philosophy, he’d been born to Fall, and to kill.
Seline shrugged, but the move didn’t look careless. “Rogziel had another Fallen in his sights, a guy named Omayo.”
Sam didn’t let his expression alter. “What happened to him?”
“Before we could move to capture Omayo, Az literally fell into our laps. You could say our focus of attack shifted then.”
Az’s Fall had been recent. He would have still been weak when Rogziel caught him. What a stroke of luck for the punisher. “You want me to help you, then you stay by my side and you give me every bit of information that I want on Rogziel and that group he’s got helping him.”
Now she slipped back. Fear didn’t flicker across her face, but hesitation sure did. “What will you do to them?”
Because she cared about some of the humans there?
“Alex was a jerk, don’t get me wrong.”
A jerk who’d tried to kill her.
“But the others . . . they’re just trying to do what’s right. They’ve lost people they love. They know that evil has to be punished and—”
And he was bored. She sounded like some pupil reciting a lesson she’d learned at school—a mantra that Rogziel had no doubt taught her. A nice way to brainwash his recruits into being good little killers.
“Don’t worry,” he said, lifting his hands and holding them, palm out, to her. “I won’t touch them.” Yet. “Just give me the information you know, help me to find Az, and I’ll make sure you get what you want most in this world.”
Her stare judged him. One moment. Two. Then she gave a small, grudging nod.
Good.
He didn’t let the satisfaction show on his face. Even if she hadn’t agreed, he hadn’t planned to let her go. The deal wasn’t truly about Az or Rogziel.
I just want her.
He turned away, knowing she would follow. He climbed onto the motorcycle and revved the engine. “We need to see Omayo.” He’d give the messenger angel a heads-up. After all, Omayo had never done anything to anger him.
Omayo had just lusted too much for humans. Not for their bodies, but for their emotions.
Then he’d fallen and gotten slapped with every feeling he could possibly want.
Giving Omayo a warning that he’d made Rogziel’s list only seemed fair. Besides, Sam also knew that Omayo still had an in with a few angels. Messages always had to be exchanged, and even the Fallen could still manage some jobs.
He’d warn Omayo, and in payment, Sam would see if he couldn’t get a message sent to someone who would lead him to Az.
Run, brother, run fast—because I’m coming for you.
Seline slid on the motorcycle behind him. Her hesitation was brief, barely a second, but he still felt it, and then her soft hands slowly slid around his waist.
He spun the motorcycle around, kicking up a cloud of dirt, and headed back for the city. As they drove, her hands tightened more around him and her body pressed closer.
He smiled.
The succubus wouldn’t realize how she truly fit into his plans, not until it was too late. By then, there’d be no hope of freedom for her.
You can’t make a deal with Death.
Seline eased off the bike. She could still feel the vibration in her thighs. Her steps were a bit unsteady as she hurried down the sidewalk.
Omayo’s apartment waited less than a block away. “How did you know he was here?” she asked Sam.
He glanced at her, raising a brow. “Omayo found me after he fell.” One shoulder rolled in a light shrug. “Let’s just say he came to my club looking for Temptation.”
Oh, right. She’d been on stakeout duty a few times at Omayo’s place. From what she’d seen of him and the ladies, he’d liked his Temptation a lot.
They walked in silence for a while, then they eased up on Omayo’s place.
With a wave of his hand, Sam sent the front door of Omayo’s building flying open. They stepped inside, and Seline’s gaze went to the staircase on the right. The bottom level was just an old garage, but she knew they’d find Omayo upstairs. Seline hurried forward.
Sam grabbed her hand. “No.”
She froze. The place was as quiet as a tomb, and it kinda smelled like one, too. Her nose wrinkled.
His nostrils flared at the same time, and his gaze darkened to midnight black. “Omayo. ”
Then he was gone. No, he hadn’t vanished—he’d just run insanely fast, and when she saw him again, he was already at the top of the stairs. Seline rushed after him. “Sam?”
Wood splintered and crashed upstairs, and she heard a bellow from Sam that sent a shiver through her.
Then she was at the top of the landing. Seline ran into the apartment, but after only a few steps, she froze at the sight before her.
Blood—so much blood. Everywhere. On the walls. The floor. Even the ceiling.
Sam had bent over the broken body that lay sprawled on the floor. He shifted a bit, and she saw Omayo’s face. She wanted to close her eyes and look away because there was so much terror and pain carved onto his frozen features.
Sam’s hands fisted and his head turned, very slowly, to meet hers. “Is this what you’ve been doing for your whole life?”
She barely heard the words. Her gaze was on Omayo’s throat. No, what was left of it. His throat had been ripped open. Her own hand rose to cover her mouth as the stench of death and blood nearly choked her. So much worse than a tomb.
Sam surged to his feet and stalked toward her. “He didn’t deserve this! Omayo never hurt anyone or anything. He fucking delivered messages! He delivered his messages, did his job for five thousand years, and the bastard just wanted the chance to feel. He got to Fall, and he wasn’t hurting anyone.”
No, no, Omayo hadn’t been hurting anyone. When word had come through that he was a possible Fallen, she’d been sent in for surveillance. Though she’d watched, she’d never gotten very close to him. Everything had been from a careful distance. Hell, she’d never even noticed his wings, or rather, the shadowy image that followed Sam.
After just a few days, it had quickly become clear that— whatever he was—Omayo wasn’t in town to hurt or destroy anyone. He’d kept to himself, barely communicated with anyone except the human ladies he seemed to like, and he sure hadn’t been looking for trouble.
“Your team did this!” Sam stood right in front of her now. His power seemed to surround her, trapping her in place. “Is this—is this the kind of twisted shit that you’ve done to the Other?”
She shook her head as his words finally sank in. “No!” She grabbed his arms. “You can’t think—”
But his face could have been carved from stone. “It’s your job to take out the guilty, right? By any means necessary.” He glanced back at Omayo. “Fallen aren’t easy to kill. So I guess, sometimes, things get a little . . . messy.”
Her nails dug into his skin. “This isn’t the way we operate.” The kill was fresh. That smell . . . She tried really hard not to inhale. Her gaze flew around the room. Blood had dripped in rivulets down the walls. “This was—”
“A slaughter?”
Yes. She nodded. “The kills are clean and quick, and only for those that Rogziel has—”
“But Omayo was on his list, right? Another Fallen to take down.”
“He was only to be watched, not killed! Dammit, not killed!”
“I guess someone didn’t get that message.”
Sam pulled away from her and yanked out his phone. He punched the screen and lifted the phone to his ear. A pause, then he barked, “Cole, dammit, I need a cle
anup crew at Omayo’s, and I need the crew now.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We aren’t leaving him like this.”
She turned away, not wanting to look at the body. But the blood was all over the place. So much and—
Her heart slammed into her chest. The blood on the left wall . . . Someone had written in that blood.
The letters had dripped, become slanted and twisted, but she could still make out the one word.
Fallen.
“Sam.” She said his name too softly. He was still growling into the phone. She spun around. “Sam!”
He turned to face her. She lifted her hand and pointed to the wall. “I think we’ve got a problem.”
Sam marched to her side. He stared at the letters on the wall. After a moment, he asked, voice lethally soft, “Did Rogziel have other Fallen Angels that were being watched?”
She swallowed to ease the desert dryness in her throat. “Other than you?” she asked, wanting desperately to be out of that apartment. “Not like he even told me you were Fallen.” No, he’d just let her walk blindly into that one. “The guy wasn’t exactly sharing confidences with me.”
Sam’s eyes were still on the bloody wall.
She had to get out of there. Seline rushed for the door, nearly running because she couldn’t stay in the apartment with the body another moment. She’d done plenty of things that she regretted in her thirty years, but she’d never seen anything like that. Sam was right. It was a slaughter.
Had Rogziel really gone that far past reason?
She nearly flew back down the stairs. Seline was desperate to get some air that didn’t taste like death. She shoved open the building’s front door. The light hit her, too bright, but the air was clean. She sucked in deep, gulping breaths and stumbled away.
Oh, crap, had Rogziel done that? She’d tried to put on a front with Sam, but she’d seen what Rogziel had done on his last hunt. His attack hadn’t been quick and easy, and she wasn’t even certain that his prey had been marked for punishment.
That’s when I knew I had to get away from him.
She’d wanted her freedom for years, but it hadn’t been until that moment that she’d truly realized . . . if I don’t get away, I’m dead. Her fingers yanked through her hair as she sucked in another desperate gulp of fresh air.
Had he done this . . . and, oh, God, did I help him?
Because she’d been the one to first find Omayo. She’d been the one to keep tabs on him and give those ridiculous punctual reports to Rogziel.
I might as well have just tied him up with a big, red bow for Rogziel.
If . . . if Rogziel had been the one to kill him.
Another deep breath. Maybe one more gulp and her hands would stop shaking.
Seline didn’t get that breath. A hand slapped over her mouth, blocking the air and choking back the scream that built in her throat.
CHAPTER SEVEN
In the next instant, Seline was shoved back against the side of the building. The bricks bruised her flesh as she stared up at the man who’d attacked her.
Not like she’d ever forget those icy blue eyes.
Azrael stared back at her, and, oh, damn, oh, no—he was covered in blood.
Now she was covered in blood. His body smashed into hers, and she could feel the wet stain of blood on her chest. And, please, don’t let that be blood on his hand, not on the hand covering her mouth. Don’t let it be . . .
“Angels . . . fall . . .” he whispered. His voice came out sounding a bit distorted and hollow. She tried to wrench her head back and get away from that hand, but there was nowhere for her to go. “They burn,” he muttered. “They . . . fall.”
The guy wasn’t saying anything she didn’t already know.
His blue eyes slowly faded to black, and Azrael glanced down at the hand that covered her mouth. “They . . . bleed.”
She rammed her knee into his crotch. As hard as she could.
He didn’t release her, but his face hardened even more. “I . . . know you.” Now that sounded like an accusation.
Her stomach knotted. She couldn’t throw her power at him because she was bone dry. Where the hell was Sam?
Hello, come and get your big, bad psycho brother—he’s right here! She punched Azrael. The punch bruised her knuckles but didn’t do anything to him. Az frowned, and he caught her fingers in a grip that hurt with his left hand.
Hurt but didn’t kill. If he could kill with a touch, why was she still breathing? What was he waiting for?
And why had Omayo been savaged? If Az had gone after him, there would have been no need for torture, not when a light touch would do the job.
“Know you,” he said again, but the words were stronger now. “Erina.”
Seline stopped struggling as her blood turned to ice. Erina had been her mother’s name, well, at least that was what Rogziel had told her.
“You’ll die,” Az said, his voice rough and a little sad. “The Fallen . . . they’ll all die.”
But she wasn’t Fallen. She tried to shake her head as she muttered desperately behind his hand. Sam! Get your ass down here!
Az’s gaze rose to the building behind her. No, to the balcony above her. “One down,” he whispered, “but hell wants more.” His stare was so dark now. Too dark. “See,” he whispered, and leaned forward so that his forehead touched hers.
Pain ripped through her, an agony that tore and twisted and burned because flames were suddenly around her. White, red, and dark orange flames that crackled as they burned the skin from her body. The flames were everywhere, and the fire was so hot it blistered her lungs.
Hell. Somehow, this was—
“Seline !”
She screamed and her eyes flew open. She was on the cement, and Sam was crouched over her. His hands were on her arms, and he was shaking her.
“A-Az . . .” Her throat hurt, and she could actually taste ash on her tongue.
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“H-here . . .” Her eyes wanted to fall shut again, so she let them. Screw it. Sam was there. He could more than handle Az. Don’t want hell.
“No, sweetheart, no one else is here.”
She couldn’t open her eyes. In that moment, everything hurt too much. “He . . . said I’d—die. All Fallen . . . gonna die.”
His lips pressed to hers. The kiss was hot, hard, and his tongue pushed right inside her mouth. The ash vanished, the memory of flames receded, and Seline just tasted him. Her hands lifted and curled around Sam’s shoulders. Her body shuddered against him.
Thank you. She took his power, drinking it in greedily as the fear faded. He kept kissing her, slow, long kisses.
Sam.
After a time, Sam’s head lifted. “Okay?”
No, but she was getting there.
“Az was with you,” he said. No question.
She nodded anyway and, yeah, she hunched a little closer to him. When a Fallen tried to kill you—twice—it made sense to buddy up to the toughest guy in town.
“Is the blood yours?” he demanded as his gaze swept over her.
She looked down. “I don’t . . . think so.” Seline wanted to strip those bloody clothes off right then.
Sam’s eyes narrowed.
“Omayo’s,” she told him, her voice still hoarse. “I think it’s Omayo’s.”
“Fuck.”
Yeah. “Az said . . . Fallen die.” And he’d meant it.
The last thing she remembered before the fire was Az touching her forehead. She’d been sure that he just sent her to hell. That fire had been unmistakable. So . . . “Why am I still breathing?” she asked softly, aware that her fingers were trembling.
Sam rose and turned away from her. His gaze swept the street.
Her movements much slower, Seline stood as well. Despite the power infusion he’d give her, Seline’s knees wanted to do a little jiggle. She looked to the left, then the right. She didn’t see anyone. “There was so much fire.”
His head whipped back
toward her. “Where?”
She rubbed her forehead. She could almost feel Az’s touch still on her skin. “I-I think I was in hell. I couldn’t stop burning.”
A silver SUV barreled down the street. She tensed. “Sam . . .” Her hands reached for him and clamped around his arm. Keep him close.
“Easy.” His breath blew against her hair. “It’s just Cole.”
Another SUV—blue this time—followed. The vehicles slammed to a stop, and the doors flew open.
Cole rushed toward them. You never would’ve thought he’d been shot earlier that day. The demon was sure a fast healer.
“Get her out of here,” Sam ordered.
Cole blinked. The guys behind him—they were all demons; she could see right through their glamour—hesitated.
“But what about—” Cole began.
“Take her to Sunrise and make sure guards stay with her. No one gets in or out of that place without my permission.”
Cole reached for her. Wait, this wasn’t the way this scene was supposed to go down. “No, Az is here, he wants—”
“He wants me,” Sam said, and a muscle flexed in his jaw. “I’m Fallen, and he thinks he’s gonna make me burn. You were my message.”
So a little bit of torture for her was a way of jerking around Sam? Az was a sadistic asshole.
Cole had his fingers locked around her arm. She glanced back at Sam. Her knees were still shaking, and, this was awkward because that little trip to hell sure had done a number on her. Her energy had plummeted and though Sam had given her a little boost, the kisses hadn’t been enough to fully strengthen her.
She needed so much more, but admitting that fact in front of this group of demons wasn’t exactly her plan. “Sam . . .” Never look weak. Demons fed on weakness.
She did it often enough.
But Sam had turned away. He and a few of the demons were fanning out on the street. Searching for Az.
Others were heading into the building to take care of Omayo. Or what was left of him.
“Sam . . .” She cleared her throat and tried again. “I need . . .”
He still wasn’t looking at her. His whole focus was on searching the scene.