by Cynthia Eden
“I wasn’t your guardian angel.” Time for more truth. No, this moment, he’d tell her everything because she deserved no less.
A door slammed. He glanced to the left. The trucker was heading inside the stop. Keenan waited for him to leave the lot.
Then ...
“There are a lot of angels. So many different kinds. More than even the theologians realize.” Thousands. All with different jobs and duties.
“Some guard,” he admitted. The stories had that part right. “Others punish.”
Her chin lifted a bit at that.
“Some kill.”
She blinked.
“That night, in that alley ...” He forced himself to take a step back. “You were supposed to die.”
“I did—”
“No.” A rough laugh broke from him. “You were supposed to die. Not to wake as a vampire. The vamp was supposed to drain you, to rip your throat out, and to leave your broken body in the alley.”
“Don’t worry about sugarcoating,” she muttered, and he saw her flinch. “I can get the visual on my own.”
His fingers slipped down her cheek. “I couldn’t let it happen. I ... hesitated.”
She stilled at his touch. “You were there to kill me.”
“I was there to take your soul to the next life.” He glanced down at his hand. “One touch. That’s all it would have taken. That’s all it ever took. One touch and death came.”
Now she reached for him and curled her fingers tight around his hand.
“Instead of touching you,” he said, voice hardening, “I touched him.”
“Keenan ...”
“I broke the rules. I took a life that wasn’t mine to claim. I disobeyed, and they tossed my ass into hell.”
“Hell?” Her nails bit into his skin. “Oh, Keenan ...”
“My wings were burned away when I fell. Fire blazed through my whole body, and when I hit, when I finally landed ...” he rasped out a breath and let his gaze scan the lot before coming back to her. “I didn’t even know who I was. What I was. I woke up, in the middle of an empty field, the earth scorched around me, and when a farmer ran to help me ... I just knew that I-I shouldn’t touch him.”
One touch had always meant death.
She didn’t speak. Nicole just watched him in the darkness, and he knew she saw too much with her vampire eyes. “After heaven, trust me, this ... it was hell to me.” The emotions. The pain. The hunger. The thirst. The need. He hadn’t understood any of them. He’d been lashed with agony, again and again, and hadn’t realized why.
Because when he’d first woken, he’d known nothing but pain and rage.
Until he’d slowly started to remember ... her.
Heaven.
Hell.
Falling.
“It took a little while, but I finally remembered.” Not everything. There was some time lost between his fall and the moment he’d woken up in that field. When he tried to recall those days, he heard the whispers of fire and the echoes of screams.
“I remembered,” he said quietly, “and then I came after you.”
A tear tracked down her cheek.
He caught the tear on his fingers. “Don’t cry for me.”
Another tear slipped down her cheek.
“Don’t cry for me, sweet.” I’m not worth it. Because he’d almost taken her that night. She’d been right, he’d just stood there, and watched.
Never again.
His lips took hers. He tasted the salt from her tears on his tongue. Pain. Angels didn’t know pain. They also didn’t know passion or lust.
Now he knew it all, and he didn’t think the emotions put him in hell anymore. The feelings didn’t rage inside of him and threaten to rip him apart.
Now ... they made him feel alive. Human.
Her lips opened beneath his. He kissed her deeper, harder, and let her feel the need that drove through him.
It was a need only she could satisfy.
His hands slid down her body, found her waist, curled tight and pulled her closer. Whenever he was around her, he was aroused, hungry for her. Desperate.
The lust beat through his blood. His cock ached, and he wanted her.
Naked. Open.
His.
But not against the side of a dirty building. Not with too many eyes that could see too much. When he had her—and he would—he wasn’t going to share.
His tongue tasted her as he let the kiss linger. He’d never be able to get enough of her taste. Sweet and wild—a combination that could be deadly.
Not that he was too worried about death.
Slowly, savoring her, he lifted his head.
“What happens next?” She whispered.
The scent came then, teasing his nose. Flowers. Faint. Fresh.
“We get the hell out of here.” He glanced at the lot. There. A pickup truck sat parked near the left. Big wheels. Shiny coat of paint. Probably with a motor that knew how to howl. “And we get out of here now.” The instant they were safe, he’d take her because he couldn’t wait much longer.
His control wasn’t that strong.
But finding a place to keep them away from the prying eyes of an angel ... that wasn’t going to be easy.
The pickup’s driver-side door was locked, so he just shoved his elbow through the window and broke the glass. A quick flick of his fingers on the lock had the door opening.
“You know how to hot-wire this thing?” Nicole asked.
“What the hell are you doin’, you fuckin’ asshole?”
Keenan turned at the snarl and saw a tall human male with blond hair racing toward him.
“That’s my fuckin’ truck!”
“Yes.” Unfortunate but ... “Sorry. We’re going to need it.”
“The hell you are!” The guy swung at Keenan with a hard roundhouse punch.
The punch missed.
The floral scent in the air deepened. The last thing I need now.
Keenan’s right hand clenched into a fist. “You should have stayed in the bar.”
“I’ll fuck you up, asshole.” Spittle flew from the blond’s mouth, and the human pulled out a knife from his boot. “No one messes with Betty.”
Betty?
“I think he means the truck,” Nicole murmured.
The human screamed and came at him, that knife up.
He waited, waited ... then Keenan just punched the guy in the face. Down he went. Keenan shook his head. Would it have killed the guy to stay inside and get just one more drink?
Nicole walked around and crouched next to the man. Her hands went to his chest.
“What are you doing?” Keenan asked, voice hard. If she was planning on grabbing a drink ...
She can drink from me.
Her hand lifted. She tossed him a set of keys. “No hot-wiring required.”
His fingers closed around the keys. Nice.
The doors of the truckstop banged open. Ah ... more company was heading their way. “Get in,” he said as his eyes narrowed.
She jumped into the truck. Nicole slid right over the broken glass and settled in the passenger seat. He shot in behind her. Keenan revved the engine, and even before the approaching truckers called out, obviously catching sight of the blond’s slumped form, he and Nicole were racing out of the lot.
Nicole glanced behind them. “We can’t keep doing this. I want to stop and find a place to rest.”
Because it had been a hell of a day for both of them. He still didn’t know what had happened to her at that police station. She’d mentioned a Taser ...
Her fingers slipped down his arm as she shifted closer to him. “Where can we go? Tell me you know a safe house around here.”
Safe from angels? And demons?
Was there such a place?
His gaze slipped to her. He’d find a place like that. She’d be safe. He’d make sure of it.
“I’m just ... spooked.” Her admission was soft. “That Sam ... he said I’d suffer.”
; No, she wouldn’t. Not while he was there.
But I wasn’t there when the cops took her.
He yanked his gaze from her and looked ahead at the road—just in time to see an angel fall from the sky. No, not fall, fly.
Strong black wings flapped in the night, coming closer, closer to the ground. And when the man—angel—landed in front of the truck, the highway seemed to buckle beneath his weight.
Keenan slammed on the brakes. The brakes squealed, and the truck fishtailed.
The angel’s knees had bent just a bit when he landed, and his head was bowed. As the truck flew toward him, he slowly lifted his head.
Bright blue eyes stared back at Keenan. Eyes that had seen everything the world had to offer—and found it lacking. Azrael had never been impressed with the humans and their lives.
Azrael. Az. Heaven’s big gun was down on earth—not good.
Az’s face was cold and hard. No emotion appeared on that stony visage. There was never any emotion from their kind.
The truck finally stopped less than two feet from Az. His wings stretched behind him as he straightened fully.
“Keenan!” Nicole grabbed his arm. “What’s happening? Why are we stopping?”
He knew she wouldn’t see the angel. Couldn’t. Not unless she was close to death. “We have company.” He didn’t take his gaze off the road. “Angel.”
“Those guys sure seem to drop in a lot.” The words were light, but her nails dug into him, and the hard rasp of her breath filled the car.
“More than they should,” he agreed darkly as his hand grabbed the door handle.
But she didn’t let go of him. Her hold tightened. “What kind of angel?” Fear had trickled into her words. Smart woman. Angels weren’t always the good guys, not even close. No matter what the stories said, they could spill just as much blood as demons any day of the week.
He didn’t want to tell her this but ... “He’s a death angel.” It was the wings that always gave them away. Guardians had white wings. Only death angels and Punish-ers had wings of black because they dealt in despair.
He killed the engine and glanced at Nicole. Her narrowed eyes were on the road as she fought to see what she couldn’t. His stare followed hers. Az stared straight at the truck. No, he straight at Nicole, and there was no mistaking the intent in the angel’s eyes.
No.
Keenan jumped out of the truck. He raced for his old mentor. “Stay away from her!” He yelled.
Az didn’t move. Not much had ever moved Azrael. Not pity. Not fear.
No emotion. Ever. He was the perfect death angel.
While Keenan knew he’d been ... lacking.
“I didn’t think you’d find your charge so quickly,” Az said, cocking his head slowly to the side. His voice was a strong rumble that filled the night.
Keenan tossed a fast glance over his shoulder. Nicole had started to edge out of the truck. “Stay back there!” He barked. “Don’t let him touch you!”
One touch was all that death needed. Since Nicole couldn’t see Az coming, she’d be helpless against that simple touch.
Keenan put his body between Az and Nicole. He didn’t want the guy so much as looking at her. “What are you doing here?”
Az blinked. “You know why I’m here.” He shrugged. “You know why I’m always here.”
“Death.” It’s what they were. All they knew.
“Relax. Just because I’m here, it doesn’t mean she’s dying tonight.”
“No, she’s not.”
Az gazed at him with those glittering eyes. “But a soul will pass soon.”
Nicole’s soul. Fury had him stepping closer to Az. “Why?”
“The job was never finished.” Said simply. Az wore clothes any mortal would possess—jeans, a white shirt. He could have passed for a human ... if those giant black wings hadn’t been bursting right through the back of his conjured shirt. An angel could always conjure any clothing to fit over his wings.
“The job is over,” Keenan told him as he braced his body for attack.
Az didn’t move. “You know she’s marked for death.”
Keenan shook his head. “No. She lived that night. Fate changed.” He’d made it change.
“It’s not that easy, and you know it. You can’t just switch one soul for another. That’s not the way it works.”
“I didn’t fall ...” Just to lose her.
Az watched him in silence. Then, after a moment, Az told him, “Her name’s in the book.”
Az’s famous book. Once a scroll, now a Who’s Who List of the To-Be-Dead. The book included the names of both those deemed blessed and those deemed damned.
Once the name was in the book, there was no going back. So the stories said.
“How long does she have?” Keenan asked, voice rough. If her name had just come up, she’d have forty days. After forty days, the soul had to be taken from the charge’s body.
Only he hadn’t taken her soul before.
And it won’t be taken now.
“Ten days.”
What?
“Maybe less.” Az shrugged. “I truly thought it would take you longer to find her.”
“You mean you wanted her to already be dead before I found her.”
“She is dead.” Az raised his hand and pointed behind Keenan. “She’s already marked. Her fate was sealed. There’s no changing it.”
“Bullshit.”
Az’s brows rose at that. No, he wouldn’t be used to one of his soldiers cursing.
Bullshit. One of Nicole’s favorite words. Nicole. She’d hear everything he said, but no word that Az spoke. “Fate changed before, it can change again.”
“Why?” Az showed the barest hint of an emotion. Curiosity. “Let her go. What does it matter if she lives or dies?”
Keenan wouldn’t take his gaze off the angel to look back at her. “It matters to me.” That was all Az needed to know.
Az sighed. “You’re wrong, you know.” His wings brushed against the pavement. “I didn’t want you to arrive and find her dead. That would have served no purpose for me.”
His gut clenched. “What is it that you want, Az?”
“She doesn’t matter to me. She’s just another charge. There are thousands, millions more just like her. They’ll die, just like her.”
Nicole’s soft gasp filled his ears.
Why would she gasp? Why would—
“Angels shouldn’t fall,” Az continued, his voice coming faster. “Angels shouldn’t burn. Angels shouldn’t suffer.” Now he was the one to step closer. “We’re better than the humans. Stronger. So much more powerful.”
But the angels weren’t the favorites. No, the humans were the ones who’d been given the gifts. Hope. Love.
“Angels shouldn’t fall,” Az said again.
“I did.” And thanks for the heads-up, Az. That whole “I’ve heard it’s the fire that makes you scream the loudest” line really hadn’t helped.
“You fell ... and you can rise.”
Those words seemed to cut through him. He’d never heard of an angel going back, not after—
“It’s simple, Keenan. I know she’s your temptation. We all have our trials. Prove you are stronger. Finish your job. Do what you were meant to do ...”
Kill her. No, he wouldn’t say it. Not with Nicole close enough to hear his words.
“Kill her and come home.” Az didn’t have a problem saying the words.
Keenan straightened his shoulders. “No.”
“If you don’t, someone else will.”
He knew it wasn’t an idle threat. “Who?” Keenan demanded. “Is it you? Are you the one coming after her?”
Az just stared back at him.
“I don’t want to die.” Nicole’s clear words had Keenan whirling to face her.
She stood in front of the truck, silhouetted against the headlights. Her gaze wasn’t on him, but on Az.
Could she see him?
Then Az moved, shifting sligh
tly to the left. Nicole’s gaze didn’t follow him. Can’t see him.
“No one ever wants to die,” Az said.
Now her gaze tracked to the left—to the angel who wanted her death.
“That’s the problem,” Az continued. “But it doesn’t matter what you want, vampire. You will die within ten days. The only question is ... by whose touch?”
Not mine. Keenan lunged for Az.
But with a flap of wings, the angel was gone. The headlights shone on the road, the light stabbing into the empty darkness.
“Keenan?”
He whirled to face her once more, terrified that Az had tricked him and circled in for the kill. Can’t be so unguarded. Not ever again.
But she stood, alone, in front of the truck. Nicole appeared so small and vulnerable in that moment.
Then he caught a glimpse of fang.
Perhaps not so vulnerable.
He hurried to her side. Her eyes watched him—deep and dark and big.
“Are you going to kill me?” She asked him the same way another woman might have asked if he were going to kiss her. Quiet, husky.
He caught her arms and pulled her closer.
“Are you?” She whispered.
He crushed his mouth to hers, and he kissed her hard and deep and he didn’t care that Az’s scent lingered in the air. Let the angel watch. Let him see where Keenan’s true loyalties were.
She wouldn’t die by his hands.
And any angel who came close would find out that his fury was ten times hotter than hell’s.
He hadn’t fallen to lose her.
He’d fallen to fight for her.
Ten days.
No.
He knew it was time to make a deal with the devil.
The voices were louder. The whispers in Elijah’s mind were seductive calls now, tempting him.
Stop them from seeing.
Elijah knew the humans could see right through his mask. They saw the monster inside, and they were mocking him.
He pushed through the crowd at the bar, snarling.
They can see.
His head throbbed, his heart raced, and still that voice in his mind taunted.
He needed the drugs. Needed them to quiet the voice so that he could breathe again—and hunt like he wanted. Hunt and kill without the eyes on him.
See.
He shoved open the door and the hot night air hit him in the face. He sucked in a breath, another, and stumbled away. His body shook and every step was pain.