by Cynthia Eden
“I’ll be right back,” Jade promised her. “I’ll get Az. He can help you.”
But Heather wasn’t letting go of her wrist. “You . . . kill him.”
The witch’s nails dug into her flesh.
“Have to . . .” More blood bubbled from Heather’s lips. “He’ll . . . destroy everything.”
“If you want me to stop Brandt, then you have to help me.” Jade tried to keep the fear out of her voice. The witch didn’t look like she had much life left in her. “We need those brimstone bullets that you made for Brandt. Az thinks they can take him out.”
She moved her head in the smallest of negative shakes. “No . . . more.”
Well, hell.
“You kill . . .”
A rush of air shoved back Jade’s hair. She blinked and found Az kneeling beside the bed.
When she saw him, Heather cried out and tried to back away. There was no place for her to go. “Don’t! Don’t touch—”
“Where are the bullets?” He demanded.
Heather started gasping.
Jade grabbed his shoulder. “She doesn’t have any more bullets. Just . . . shit, help her.”
He turned his head slowly to meet Jade’s stare. “She drove a knife into your chest. And she laughed while you bled.”
Um, she didn’t exactly remember that whole laughing part.
Then Heather started to laugh again and the trickle of an icy memory flowed through Jade’s mind.
“Knew . . . knew it would be you . . .” Heather whispered. “Always . . .” Her eyelids started to sag closed.
Az shook her. “You’re not dying yet.”
“I’m . . . already dead.” She didn’t open her eyes. “You know . . . how it works. Should have taken me before . . . can’t stop death.”
The chill just roughened Jade’s skin all the more. “Are there more brimstone bullets at your shop?”
“Go to . . . hell . . . to get them . . .” Heather’s breath seemed to choke out. Her chest barely rose. “Maybe . . . maybe I’ll find some when I get there.” Her pale, bloodstained lips curled.
“Do something, Az!” Just watching the witch die was tearing her apart.
But then the room seemed to grow very, very dark. As if something were sucking all the light away.
A thick shadow appeared near the bed. A shadow with the form of a man. He hovered over Heather. Reached for her.
Even as Az reached out at the same instant. Az’s hand pressed on top of that shadowy hand. Heather stiffened. Her mouth parted in a soundless cry. Her chest stopped rising.
Jade whirled away. Shoving open the door, she fled outside. Two shifters lay sprawled on the ground. Motionless. Were they dead, too?
She was so tired of death. Jade ran toward the woods. Maybe she should have felt relief that Heather was dead. One less crazy bitch out there who wanted her dead. But . . .
But she wasn’t relieved. Heather shouldn’t have ended up that way. No one should suffer that much.
Jade slammed into a strong chest. Powerful arms reached for her. Held her tight. Jade’s head whipped up. Her eyes were caught by a golden stare. One that seemed ice cold.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” the man said, and his hands tightened around her. “Time to come with me.”
Jade kicked him in the groin. Startled, he let her go. His hair blew in the breeze.
“Keep waiting, asshole,” she told him as she backed up a few precious steps. “I’m not going anyplace with you!”
A line of fire appeared, separating her from the grabby stranger. “Stay away from her, Bastion!” Az roared. “Don’t touch her!”
Too late. He’d touched. And the guy—Bastion—just leapt right through that wall of flame and grabbed her again. Grabbed her—and she finally saw the wings that sprouted from his back. Oh, damn.
He lifted her up, holding her effortlessly. His face—handsome, strong, too hard—came close to hers as he stared into her eyes.
Those wings of his seemed to block out the light. Not shadows like Az’s, but full, real, thick wings. Black wings.
Bastion’s eyes froze her. “You should be dead.”
Same song. “I’ve been getting that a lot,” she whispered.
“Bastion!” Az bellowed, and then he slammed into the other angel. At that shuddering collision, they all hit the ground. Jade grunted at the impact and rolled away. She sprang up and found Az and Bastion circling each other.
“Going to shoot me again?” Bastion taunted. “Going to keep turning on your own kind in order to protect the human?”
What? “Az . . .” He’d shot this guy?
Az immediately leapt toward her, half-positioning his body in front of hers.
Bastion laughed at the move, but the sound held no humor. Just more ice. “Trying to play the hero? What? Does your little mortal mistakenly think that you’re the good guy in this story?”
Then the wind rustled around her. No, not the wind. Bastion. He’d moved in a flash, coming to stand right beside Jade. “You’re a fool,” he told her. “Azrael was cast out for a reason.”
Her hand reached for Az’s. Her fingers locked with his.
Bastion’s gaze dropped to their entwined hands. He blinked, as if confused, then his eyes slowly lifted once more. This time, his stare met Az’s. “You’ll destroy her. You know that. We destroy everything that we touch.”
“Not this time.” Az’s words sounded like a vow.
But Bastion shook his head. “She should be dead. One touch, and she should be dead. Don’t you realize what you’ve done?”
Az wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to his chest.
“You’ve already destroyed her,” Bastion said, voice softer. “You just don’t even realize it.” Then he lifted his hands. He stirred fire, just as she’d seen Az do many times. Bright, red and gold flames. Dancing. Spinning in a circle. Spinning—and flying right at her.
Jade screamed as the fire swelled even higher. She felt the scorch of the heat on her skin. But then Az was there. Wrapping her in his arms. Shielding her and taking the blistering fire right into his flesh.
Taking it, then sending it back at the other angel. Bastion screamed. The scent of burning flesh filled the air.
Bastion vanished.
At first, Jade didn’t breathe. Her gaze swept the clearing. Left to right. The ground around them had blackened with the blaze. “Is he . . .” She sucked in a deep breath, cleared her throat, and asked, “gone?”
Az didn’t let her go. “No.”
Great.
“But he won’t attack again, not yet. Not until he’s sure he can take me out.”
That wasn’t the reassuring news she’d been hoping to hear. Az needed to work on that whole building team morality bit. “Then let’s get the hell out of here, okay? Do that superfast move of yours and get us someplace safe.” Even if it made her feel nauseous. Being sick was better than being dead.
She had no doubt that Bastion wanted her dead.
“There is no safe place from Bastion. He will be able to follow us, anyplace we go.”
Again with the whole not-what-she-wanted-to-hear response. But before she could speak, Az lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her hands around his neck. Held onto him as tightly as she could.
When the world spun around her, she wasn’t even afraid.
Okay, maybe she was. Because as she glanced back over Az’s shoulder and saw the twisting trees begin to fade as he raced away, she glimpsed the hulking shadow of powerful black wings.
Bastion. Chasing right after them.
You’ve already destroyed her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Jade.” Az held her easily against his chest. She felt right Jin his arms. Her body soft, curved.
Mine.
No, no, a human couldn’t belong to an angel. That path had been tried before, by others. Those angels had fallen for their lust. They’d suffered.
I’ve already fallen.
Her eyes we
re closed, casting dark shadows onto her cheeks. She seemed too pale in the waning light. She’d wanted protection. Instead, she now had a vengeful angel after her.
He bent his head. His lips brushed over her hair even as he inhaled her scent. After the hell she’d been through, how did she still smell of strawberries?
Her arm hung limply around his neck. Halfway through the journey, she’d fallen unconscious. A human’s body, even one fueled by angel blood, simply couldn’t withstand the speed he’d used.
He strode forward into the cabin. A bed waited just a few feet away. For now, this place would be their temporary shelter.
Their time together would come to an end all too soon.
I don’t want to let her go.
Why couldn’t he keep something of his own, just this once? Would it be so wrong?
Her lashes began to flutter. Clenching his teeth, he lowered her onto the bed. His hands wanted to linger, but he forced himself to step back.
Her eyes opened and seemed to find his instantly. “Az?” She breathed his name, her voice the same husky purr that it was during sex.
His hands clenched. “You’re safe, Jade.”
She glanced around the cabin. “Where are we?”
“Where angels fear to tread.” The smart ones, anyway. Sam had been the one to tell him about this place. “Unhallowed ground.” At least that’s what his brother had called it. More like cursed ground. Ground that had once been soaked by the blood of vampires and demons in an epic battle. Sam had actually witnessed that battle as he’d gone to collect the dead.
The power had been great here. The whispers of magic still floated in the air. Magic . . . and evil.
Witches had used many spells here over the centuries. Spells to hurt. To kill. The taint of dark magic was in the air, and it pressed down on him like hands shoving upon his back.
As long as he could keep the darkness at bay, they’d be safe there.
As long . . .
He’s not the good guy. Bastion had taunted him, but . . . angels couldn’t lie.
“He was . . . following us.” A faint line appeared between her brows. “I saw him. Flying after us with those great, black wings.” She pushed up onto her elbows. Studied him. “Is that what your wings were like?”
“Yes.”
“That Bastion . . .” She licked her lips. “He’s an Angel of Death.”
Tell her. Az paced to the window. He wasn’t even sure who’d built this cabin, but Sam had used it when he needed to lick his wounds after battles. His brother had been through plenty of battles.
“Az?”
He forced himself to turn back to her. Jade was sitting up, and her hair was a wild tangle around her face. She looked tired. Pale.
Still beautiful.
Why were mortals so weak? So breakable?
He saw her gaze dart over his shoulder. Curious, he asked, “Can you still see my wings?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Then his blood was still fueling her. Perhaps she wasn’t as weak as he feared.
A lone howl echoed in the distance. Jade shivered. “This place kind of creeps me out.”
It was supposed to. Humans could feel the vestiges of magic in the air—magic that had been used to keep them away. Without his blood, she probably wouldn’t have been able to set foot on the land.
“You can’t leave my sight,” he told her, deliberately keeping his distance. Going to her then wasn’t a good idea. The magical power was pressing on him. Pushing against the darkness he’d kept chained inside for so long. “It’s far too dangerous now.”
“Because of Brandt?” She exhaled and rose. The jeans he’d conjured hung low on her hips and he caught a flash of her smooth belly. “So we’re out of bullets. We can come up with a backup plan.”
He was working on one. He could try ripping off the panther’s claws and using them to slice the bastard’s head from his shoulders. That would work. No, it should work. But he suspected that the hybrid had been using magic to amp up his power.
No wonder Brandt had taken the witch as a lover . . . what better way to get up-close access to magic?
In order to take Brandt down, to be certain that he’d have the strength to defeat that bastard, Az knew he would have to increase his own power.
Though a magnification of that sort brought risks.
“What is it?” The old hardwood creaked beneath Jade’s feet. “Something’s wrong.”
Everything was. He could kiss heaven good-bye now. There’d be no going back upstairs. No forgiving and forgetting for the things he’d done. Or for what he’d do.
The darkness shoved from inside his chest. He’d tried so hard to do the right thing. He’d chained the whispers inside, and done his best to defeat the dangerous needs that called to him. He’d fought them every moment that he’d been on earth.
Until her.
“Az?” The floor creaked again as she took a step toward him.
He held up his hand. “Stop.” She couldn’t touch him. Not now. “Bastion was right.”
She stilled.
Time for his confession. “You haven’t even asked why I fell.”
“And you haven’t asked how I wound up with a jerk like Brandt.”
Surprised, his gaze flew to her face. She was watching him with an intent stare. Focused, but not afraid. When would she learn that she needed to fear him?
“I’m not perfect,” Jade said quietly even as her chin notched up. “So I don’t expect you to be.”
But she also didn’t expect him to be a monster. To bring hell to earth. The witch, she’d expected that of him. Promised him that he’d destroy everything and everyone. She’d warned that one day he’d break through the binds that contained the monster inside—and no man would be able to stop him.
“I killed Brandt’s father.” Jade tossed the words out so casually that Az blinked. “He was the big, bad alpha leader. The man who’d tortured his son for years. The man who thought he was going to torture me . . . but I killed him.” Her laugh was bitter. “He didn’t sense a threat from me. ’Cause I’m just human, right? Weak. Helpless. No danger to a tough guy like him.”
She was dangerous. The ache in his chest grew. This place . . . it was pressing too deeply into him. Bastion would never venture here. He was too good to survive this place. As for Brandt, he wouldn’t expect Az to ever bring Jade to such a dwelling.
Evil.
It was growing thicker in the air, as if enjoying her confession.
“I met Brandt when I was seventeen years old.”
He didn’t want to hear about her time with the panther. The drumming of Az’s heartbeat began to pound louder in his ears.
You ever need to recharge, go to Devil’s Lake. Consider it a safe house, of sorts. The magic there will fire you up, but be careful, brother . . . it comes with a high price.
Sam’s warning. Az hadn’t been afraid of paying, but . . . but now as the fury in his body built, he wondered just what he’d be sacrificing in exchange for the power coming his way.
Why hunt out a witch when you can steal the power they left behind? It had seemed faster, smarter, to come here and soak up the remnants of magic.
Sometimes, you had to fight the dark with—
“He seemed perfect when we met,” Jade said. “Strong. Handsome.”
I don’t want to hear this story.
“I left my family to be with him. They told me to be careful, that I was too young, that I didn’t really know him.” She shook her head and stood there with her shoulders slumping a bit. “But I loved him, he loved me, and I knew we were supposed to be together.”
Loved him.
He could almost feel the stretch of his phantom wings. “He wasn’t for you to love.” The fury inside roughened his voice, but he held onto his control. This place wouldn’t break him. He’d take the power. Keep Jade safe. Destroy anyone who tried to take her away from him.
“At first, everything was perfect.” She took another s
tep toward him.
Az tensed. His cock was hard and swollen. His body tight with need. Whenever she was close, he craved her. But he didn’t want to take her here. Not in this place.
Not her.
“Brandt can be charming. He can be seductive.”
He could be a dead man with his head severed from his body.
“But I started to find . . . more in him.” Jade’s eyes held memories he didn’t want to see. “My mom had always told me that the devil was a good-looking man, so perfect that you wouldn’t see past his beauty until it was too late.” Her lashes lowered and shielded those memories. “I saw too late.”
Brandt raced back to his makeshift base. In the form of the panther, his powerful legs flew over the earth. A snarl broke from him even as the scent of blood filled his nose.
Two of the men he’d left behind turned at his approach. Still in human form. Their eyes were wide. Their hands up as if they’d calm him.
Jade’s scent.
She’d been there. While he’d been out, searching so desperately for her, she’d been there . . . with him. The fucking Fallen.
Brandt launched into the air and took the throat of the first fool who should have captured Jade. Blood burst into his mouth, and he drank the guy’s last breath.
The other shifter tried to run.
There was no place to run.
Brandt tackled him. Let his claws rip into the shifter’s flesh. Severed his spine.
And more blood flowed. The beast always wanted more.
“I didn’t even realize what he was, not at first.”
She was coming too close to him. Az wanted to back away, but needed to be near her. Needed it more than humans needed their breath.
“Guess I couldn’t see the monster hiding right there behind the man’s smile. I didn’t see it until it was too late.”
Everyone had a monster inside. Other. Humans. A dark side that some fought. Some embraced.
Some kept imprisoned.
“It had been a month since I ran away with him. Love . . . it seems like the only thing that matters when you’re seventeen.” She blinked quickly, and he wondered if she realized he could see the tears on her lashes. “But I missed my mom. My dad. I missed them, and no matter how many times I called, I couldn’t ever get them to answer the phone.”