by Cynthia Eden
“I told you that every Other in the city would be after your guardian.” Sweat trickled down Tanner’s temple. “Well, Heather here has a certain . . . reputation.”
“For selling out everyone she meets?” Az demanded. He hadn’t let the witch go yet, but he hadn’t killed her, either.
He thought he was showing pretty good restraint.
“Almost everyone,” the witch said.
“Heather . . .” A warning tone entered Tanner’s voice.
But Heather didn’t heed that warning. “I was trying to do the world a favor.” She held Az’s gaze. “Some Other are too dangerous to live.”
“Wait a minute!” Jade grabbed Az’s arm and hauled him away from the witch. Only because Az let her haul him. “You’re the one who found Az?” She asked the other woman.
Heather’s lips curved. “The world is smaller than we like to think.”
Jade nodded. “Right. Okay. I’ll take that as a yes.” Then she drove her fist right at the witch. Heather took the hit in the jaw and tumbled back. “You freaking sold out an angel, you crazy bitch!”
Heather blinked, then rubbed her jaw. “My, my, aren’t you the feisty human.”
Az rather thought she was. She’d just . . . fought for him. Or at least punched for him. No one had ever—
“We’re out of here, Az.” Now Jade was yanking his arm. “Whatever game this shifter is working, we don’t want to be a part of it.”
Not if the witch was involved.
But he wasn’t ready to walk just yet. Vengeance. Right there, so close.
“Will you be strong enough to kill him . . .” The witch’s voice was different now. Heavy with power and magic. Az looked at her and saw that the bright gold of her eyes had faded as she continued, “when the time comes?”
Her faded gaze wasn’t on him. It was on Jade.
“Will you sacrifice?” Heather continued, and a light breeze blew against Az’s flesh. “Will you make the choice to save the others and face death?”
The witch was pushing his self-control and seriously getting on his nerves.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Jade wanted to know. She didn’t sound shaken or worried, just pissed.
“Love has a price.” That same, weird rumble that wasn’t a human’s voice. Not quite. “Sacrifice is the payment. The choice of life or death. You have to kill what you love.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s be clear, here, alright, witchy woman? I don’t love Brandt. I hate him. He has taken everything away from me. My home. My family.” Her chin lifted. “So when the time comes, oh yeah, I’ll do what I have to do. If the choice is my life or his, then he’ll be the one dying.”
Heather’s eyes brightened once more as the fog seemed to fade from her gaze. She smiled at Jade. “You’re going to be tested soon.”
“Why are we still here?” Jade muttered, tugging on Az. “Let’s—”
But Tanner stepped forward. “The pack won’t welcome me back. Not unless I bring them . . .” His gaze fell on Az. “Something.”
“You mean someone,” Jade charged. “You want to take Az to them? Are you—”
“Actually, I want to take you to Brandt. If I bring back his lost mate, there’s no way he will turn me away.”
Mate. Why did that one word have Az tensing as a white-hot fury rose within him? “She’s not his mate.” Shifters and their mates. So possessive. So territorial.
Not. His.
Tanner held up his hands. “Easy there, big guy. This is just about what Brandt thinks, not about what actually is. Didn’t mean to step into any . . . uh, personal business there.”
“Tanner takes the human,” Heather came to stand by the shifter’s side. “And I take you in,” she told Az.
Because she was so good at selling people out.
“They’ll believe I’m there for the bounty on your head. They’ll let me in, and they’ll take us both right to Brandt,” Heather finished with a little smirk.
“No,” Jade said immediately, and that smirk slipped a bit. “This isn’t going to work, it—”
“Seems you pissed off the pack alpha.” Tanner rubbed his jaw as he studied Az. “And he wants you brought in alive.”
“Only so he can take his time cutting Az apart.” Jade shook her head. “No way. We’re done here. Your plan is crap. If we follow it, we’ll all die.”
Not all.
“Can’t you kill him?” Heather asked Az, crossing her arms. “I mean, you’re the Angel of Death. All you need to do is touch him, right?”
He saw Jade’s jaw drop. “Angel of Death? As in the—”
“Not anymore.” His growl. He would have told her that part, eventually.
“But you can do it,” Tanner snapped. “You’re the only one who can. Brandt is stronger than most paranormals. He’s got magic on his side, and he’s not afraid to use it. If we want him taken out, we need your help.”
Jade’s lips trembled as she stared into Az’s eyes. “I already told you, this isn’t your—”
“You want to use me as bait.” Az wanted to be clear on the rules. “The witch takes me in—”
“And collects the bounty,” Heather added quickly.
“Of course.” Figured she’d take her cut. Not like she’d do this out of the goodness of her heart. From what he’d seen, the witch didn’t have a heart. “Then I get my turn to eliminate Brandt.” And to save Jade. To start his journey back upstairs.
Jade’s body practically vibrated with fury. “This is stupid—”
“I’ll be there for backup.” Tanner rocked forward on the balls of his feet. “Together, we’ll take out that whole pack.”
Az didn’t really need his help. But if the shifter wanted some revenge of his own . . .
“You can’t do this.” Jade gripped both of his hands now and shook him. “This is crazy. You don’t want to just walk right up to Brandt.”
“No?” Now Tanner’s anger had broken past his control. “What’s your big plan then? You want to keep running from him? Hiding? While others die?”
She flinched. “I’ll go to him. I’ll end this myself.”
“You don’t have that power.” Tanner was certain.
So was Az.
Her gaze held his.
“Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
And the choice was made. A life for a life. Sacrifice. He pointed at the witch. “Betray me again, and I’ll make certain you feel the full fury of hell.”
“Been there,” she muttered.
“And you will be again.” A promise.
She swallowed and glanced away from him, and he knew she understood the consequences. Fair enough.
Angels never lied.
The deal had been set.
Angels were idiots. They had to be. As Jade followed Az through the winding hallway located at the back of a voodoo shop, she wondered what the hell she was doing.
Trusting her life to a shifter cop and a witch? Oh, no, not a good idea.
They were the two she should probably trust the least except. . .
Except Tanner had helped her get out of that swamp. He could have turned her in to the authorities or handed her over to Brandt then.
“Trust me,” Az’s words. Az’s hand around hers. And she did trust him. How could you not trust an angel? That was probably some kind of rule someplace. Must trust angels.
Everything she’d ever heard about them said they were the good guys, if anyone was ever really good. They protected humans, just as Az was trying to protect her.
Now the deep scars on his shoulders made sense. Wings. His wings must have burned away when he fell.
But why had Az fallen?
“I’ll arrange the meeting,” Heather said as she opened another door. The thick scent of incense filled the air. This room was filled with old books, glass vials, and some stuff that Jade didn’t want to stare at for too long. A heavy mirror sat on the table to the left. And, yes,
it looked like blood stained its surface.
She guessed that answered the question of good witch/ bad witch.
Jade didn’t have tons of experience with witches, but she’d heard whispered stories. Some witches could scry with mirrors to see the future. But whenever they looked into that future, they had to use the darker magic.
Jade didn’t want any part of that kind of magic. As it was, she had more than enough darkness to deal with on her own.
“So here’s the deal.” Tanner pulled out a chair, flipped it around and straddled it. “We’ll make the exchange at dawn.”
She still wasn’t loving this plan. But Jade could admit it was better than nothing. “So Az and I just stroll in as your big, fat bait? What guarantee do we have that you won’t just leave us there for them?”
Before Tanner could answer, Az spoke. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Once I get close enough to Brandt, I can take out him and his men.” He stood next to that bloody mirror. She saw his gaze drop to the glass.
Right. Big, tough, immortal badass angel. She could count on him.
Tanner cleared his throat. “And you don’t know me from Adam . . .”
Az snorted at that.
“But believe me, I want to stop Brandt. I want to stop them all.”
Her gaze dropped to his chest. His shirt covered the scars, but she wouldn’t be forgetting them anytime soon. So much pain.
Enough to fill a man with fury.
Her breath exhaled on a rough sigh. It looked like whether she wanted to or not, she was in as bait.
But it was time for Jade to issue a warning. “If you screw us, I’ll make sure that you pay.” Tanner and the witch probably thought she was just making some tough threat without any substance. They were wrong.
Brandt had just thought she was bullshitting, too. Until he walked into his home and found the trail of blood that she’d left for him.
Don’t think about that now. Don’t.
It had taken hours to wash the blood away from her hands and body.
“Don’t worry,” Tanner said, rolling his broad shoulders. “If this plan goes to shit, Brandt will be the one who takes his pound of flesh from me.”
He’d take more than a pound of flesh. Brandt would kill him. Slowly.
She glanced back at Az. His gaze was still on the mirror. And the witch had sidled closer to him.
Jade’s back teeth clenched. That skinny chick was just pissing her off. She might have to trust Tanner, but that woman—no way, Jade wouldn’t trust her for half a minute.
“Want to know what the future holds for you?” Heather asked Az softly. “All you have to do is bleed for me.”
Oh, seriously, hell no, the woman hadn’t just said that.
Az kept staring at that glass as if he were hypnotized. Not good. “You can’t see my future,” he finally said, voice rumbling.
“Because of what you are?” Heather asked, and then she laughed.
Jade hated that grating sound. The woman laughed like a hyena.
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re the only angel I’ve met.” Her hand brushed down his arm.
He was the only angel that Jade had ever met. And the witch was standing too close to him. The witch also needed to stop that touching bit. Now.
“I told you why I turned you over to those men before.”
Being in the dark sucked. Jade wished she knew more about what had happened between Az and Heather. Hello, jealousy. She recognized the feeling for exactly what it was.
“Poor Azrael. You think your job is to save the world.” Heather’s lips twisted as she turned her focus on Jade. “When you’re really just here to destroy it. Bit by slow bit.”
Bull. Az had done nothing but help since—
“Isn’t that what the legend says about you?” Heather taunted. “You and your brother Sammael—the two who fell from grace so they could wreck the world.”
Az lifted his brows. “That’s not exactly the way the story goes.”
“Close enough,” she murmured.
Eyes narrowed, Jade began to stalk toward the witch.
“The legend says that one day, a brother will be slain by another. When that day arrives, hell will come to claim the earth.”
Wasn’t that just a lovely tale to share? “Most legends are no more than lies,” Jade said, shrugging. “Good to scare kids and fun to entertain bored bitches—I mean, witches. Witches who don’t have enough power to see what will really be coming in the days ahead.”
“I already know his future.” Now Heather was talking to her, not Az, and her cheeks flushed red. “I saw it when he fell. I took his blood, and I saw what could be.”
Jade noted the phrasing. “There’s a big difference between what will be and what could be.” She could yank that clawlike hand off Az. Or she could be a lady for a few more minutes.
The witch inclined her head. “Angels are harder to read, they take a whole lot of power, but humans, ah, humans I get right every time.” And her hand fell away from Az.
Good move, but . . . “I’m not bleeding for you.” They were wasting time with this talk. She’d come to the voodoo shop for one reason—weapons. Tanner had promised Jade that he could give her what she needed.
No way am I going into an ambush without power.
But Tanner wasn’t speaking, and Az—well, at least he’d managed to look away from the mirror.
“Sooner or later, you will bleed.” Heather seemed absolutely confident. The red had begun to fade from her cheeks so the woman must have been getting her control back.
The crazy witch could be as confident as she wanted to be. But Jade was getting out of there. The incense in the place was driving her crazy and making her temples pound.
“Give us the weapons,” Jade said, “and then we’ll get out of here.”
“You don’t need to leave.” Tanner frowned at her. “This place is safe. You can stay here until our meeting at dawn.”
Jade didn’t want to stay there, but Az was nodding. What? Since when was he game-on for trusting these two?
“There’s a room you can use upstairs,” Heather said with an airy wave of her hand. “Get some rest, and we’ll make sure that you stay safe.”
She’d make sure, huh? “Why doesn’t that reassure me?” Jade muttered.
“Because you expect everyone to betray you.” Heather’s instant answer. “Most of the time, you’re right. This time, you’re wrong.”
Doubtful. “You already betrayed Az.”
“To save others.”
So she said. Because he was the evil angel.
“This is personal.” The witch’s voice had softened. “Brandt took away something very precious to me.” Her hands fisted. “Now I want to take everything away from him.”
Join the club. “I’m not here to trade sob stories with you, lady.”
Heather stiffened.
“I want weapons.” That had been the deal. Az might be able to kill with a touch—still scary—but she didn’t have that super skill, and regular bullets just weren’t going to cut it for her.
“Of course.” Heather strolled toward a heavy, wooden cabinet. She swung open the doors.
Wow.
Dozens of weapons gleamed back at Jade. Knives. Guns. Bullets. Even what looked like an old broadsword.
“Will you feel better if you’re armed with silver?” Heather’s voice held only mild curiosity.
“Yeah, I will.” Lots better.
“But we’d feel even better,” Az said, finally speaking, “if we have more of these.” Then Az pulled out a bullet from his pocket. Because of its color, she recognized it instantly. It was the same bullet that Jade had dug out of his back.
She hadn’t even realized he’d retrieved it from the nightstand back at the cabin. Tricky angel.
The witch glanced at the bullet, and Jade saw the slight widening of her eyes. Such a faint movement, and Heather recovered quickly.
The witch reached for the bullet.
She lifted it toward the light. Tested its weight. “This isn’t like any bullet I’ve seen before.” She brought it close to her nose and inhaled. “Brimstone.”
Now Jade was the one to stare in surprise. “As in hell and brimstone?”
A nod. Heather’s fingers curled around the bullet. “Let me keep it. I’ll see what I can find and—”
In an instant, Az had the bullet back in his own hand. Sometimes, Jade loved that super speed of his.
“Or not,” Heather finished softly. She smiled. “I’d imagine a bullet like that would be very handy. It could probably take down just about anything.”
Even an angel? If the bullet had hit Az in the heart, would it have killed him?
Enough of this. Jade pushed by the witch and reached for the silver bullets that were calling to her. She loaded them into her gun. Then decided to grab an extra weapon, just in case.
A girl could never be too careful.
“Now go rest,” Tanner said. “Take the room at the top of the stairs. We’ll set up the meeting.”
Her gaze met Az’s.
Trust.
Hell, no, she didn’t have it to give. But Jade nodded and followed Az from the room.
Someone would be dying come dawn. That someone just wouldn’t be her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Az shoved the old wooden door closed, then twisted the lock. The thing was so flimsy that he doubted it would keep anyone out. But then, if anyone came in, he’d be ready for them.
“We can’t trust those two.” Jade paced back and forth near the lone window in the room. “After what she did to you—no way can we trust them.”
He’d barely managed to chain back his rage as he talked to the witch. “We can use them.” That was the plan. No trust. He didn’t trust anyone.
Except—
“They’re using us. That witch will get a big payout when she turns us over to Brandt.” She rubbed her arms. “But I guess when you’re stuck between hell and a hard place, you don’t really get to choose your allies, do you?”
No.
She dropped her hands. Stared at him. “You can take Brandt out.” Not a question. “I’ve seen what you can do with my own eyes. I know how strong you are.”