Rogue Angel - Archangel Series Book 3
By
Stephani Hecht
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Rogue Angel - Archangel Series Book 3
Copyright ã 2008 Stephani Hecht
ISBN: 978-1-55487-099-8
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Dedication
To my husband, Ken and my children, Joie and Cody. You guys make it all worth it.
Chapter One
Appolion could take the pain, it was the abject loneliness that slowly destroyed him. By all rights, since he was only thirteen years old, he shouldn’t be suffering from either. His biggest worries should be whether or not he would pass his next test in angel school or if some pretty female liked him for more than just a friend. That carefree life was torn from him the day his parents joined Satan in a failed revolt against Heaven. Now they were banished to Hell and dragged him there with them. Since then his life took a turn for the worse.
Loneliness was the worst part.
Maybe it was because he was born a twin and, without Rachael, it was as if a piece of himself were missing. It could also be that since the last time he saw his brother Abdiel, Appolion was only nine. Besides Rachael, Abdiel was the only family member to ever show him any love. The rest of them were masters of hate and abuse.
Abdiel was in Heaven, left for dead, while Rachael was ripped from him the minute their father dragged them down to Hell. Now he had no one and it was that way for almost as long as he could remember.
At first, he was given his own bedroom, but as he grew older and refused to turn demon like his parents, they threw him into a cell. Then dear old Dad turned him over to the demons that specialized in torture.
Appolion huddled in the corner of the cell, trying to heal himself after his last beating. Born a healer angel, he knew a healer couldn’t heal if injured so he was having little success in making himself whole. Indomitable, he still tried, mostly out of sheer desperation.
The door to the cell opened and his father stood there glaring. Appolion hardly recognized him anymore. As soon as an angel turned their back on Heaven and embraced evil, they started to morph into something else, a monster. His father’s skin turned black to match his hair. His eyes were still blue, but now glowed and were rimmed in gold. His mouth was now filled with razor sharp teeth surrounded with black lips.
“Come, it’s time for another lesson.”
Appolion looked at the proffered clawed hand. When he shook his head and shrank even further into his corner, his father smiled. No humor entered his cold, dead eyes.
“Come with me now, Appolion, or else we’ll take Rachael instead.”
That comment worked. It always did. He would do anything for his twin and his father knew it. Appolion got to his feet…
Appolion sat upright as he woke from the nightmare. Well actually, it wasn’t a dream, but real memories. But that’s not what woke him up. The flashbacks were a nightly occurrence and he was used to them so it had to be something else, but what?
He cocked his head to the side and tried to pick up both the physical and psychic scent of whatever it was. Bingo. It was an angel and they were close. It wasn’t Ana either. He would recognize her scent anywhere—strawberries and champagne.
Regardless of the dangerous situation he now faced, he smiled to himself at the thought of the female angel. She’d chased him around the world for a few years now and he always managed to stay just one step ahead of her. He knew it drove her crazy and so loved to get a rise from her.
Despite the fact he never even spoke directly to her, let alone saw her, he couldn’t help but feel a connection to her. It was ridiculous. Banished from Hell and hunted by Heaven, he was the last one a female like her would want. An outcast who was neither angel nor demon. An outcast who had a bounty on his head and a family tree full of demons. An outcast who had no business even thinking about a female angel, let alone desiring her.
He was brought back into focus when he picked up another scent—decay. That could only mean one thing—there was a demon nearby, too. Since when did demons hunt with angels? Ever since Appolion developed his special gifts every angel and demon were after him so maybe they just decided to team up.
He rolled silently to his feet and got ready for them.
* * * *
Ana cautiously approached the decrepit old house. The grass in the yard, nothing more than hard dried yellow blades, crunched under her feet. She wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods. The air was heavy with the scents of mildew, urine and diesel fuel. Since she was also a justice angel, her fine tuned empath nose picked up other smells no human could—fear, hate and the unmistakable scent of decay. A demon had passed through here not too long ago.
Well, technically she wasn’t a justice angel anymore. She had been sacked from that job because she knew too much. The council couldn’t risk keeping her around as she was a liability they couldn’t afford. Now she worked for the angel police force as an enforcer. Her assignment was to find Appolion, the Destroyer.
She’d searched for him for three years now and was always one step behind the bastard. He enjoyed rubbing her nose in it and made that blatantly obvious with the various notes he always left behind, mocking and taunting her.
The first one had been taped to the bathroom mirror at the house in Chicago. It read—Run home to your brothers, sweetheart. Leave the fighting to the males. If I need something cooked or cleaned, I’ll make sure to call you.
Then there was the one on the kitchen table in Utah—Sorry, I couldn’t go to the dance with you, but something suddenly came up.
The one that really got to her was the one he left in Florida. It had been placed in the middle of the bed with a single rose and a bag of her favorite candy—Ana, really we have to stop not meeting like this. I’m beginning to think you like me a little too much. Sorry, I don’t do angels.
Those were just the few that stood out in her mind, but there were a lot more. She saved every single one so she could shove them down his arrogant throat once finally she caught his hide.
She pushed open the door of the house, her hand brushing against the cracked white paint. Her Glock was out and ready, loaded with bullets infused with holy water. She was pretty sure Appolion already dusted any demons, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.
The inside of the house was sparsely furnished yet immaculately clean, just like every other place he lived. In the living room was a black scorch mark on the wall and carpet and the smell of demon was strong. That was all that was left of the minion from Hell. Boy, Appolion sure must have been really pissed.
She let out a small chuckle when she saw the male angel slumped on the floor next to the burned carpet. It was Ephron, the best tracker the justic
e angels had. He was tied up tightly and duct tape was wrapped several times around his head, gagging him. On his wrist was an angel harness, a restraining device that prevented him from flashing. It was very crudely made and obviously black market.
He wore the white leather all justice angels wore. Ana much preferred the black leather, trimmed in blue, she now wore as an enforcer. Ever since she stopped being one of the justice angels, she decided white was for pansies. A sticky note was stuck to Ephron’s chest. She read it and burst out laughing.
Back the fuck off!
She knew the message wasn’t directed at her. When Appolion wrote to her, it was always taunting, but never angry or crass. He respected her brother Cam too much to talk to her that way and, in a small way, he seemed to respect her too much as well.
Ana went into the kitchen, leaving Ephron still tied up behind and started to process the house for clues. She found Appolion’s mail on the table and quickly shuffled through it, finding nothing. Everything was addressed either to a Joe Smith—real original alias there bud—or current occupant. It was all utility bills and junk mail.
Ana picked up an abandoned ID badge. Well, well, well, the Destroyer was working as a firefighter this time. She ran the pad of her thumb over the small picture and drank in the image of him. His dark hair was cut short, but the front was allowed to grow a little longer so he was able to brush it back. He had the same eyes as his twin sister Rachael—a bright, deep, piercing blue that seemed to look right into one’s soul.
Although this photo was only a headshot, she knew from other pictures the enforcers had of him that his body could put any of her brothers to shame. Appolion was six foot five and every inch of that was hard muscle. Intel had also reported he sported tattoos, but no one ever managed to get close enough to tell what they looked like.
Ana looked frantically around for several minutes before she realized what she really searched for. He hadn’t left any message for her. A hallow pit formed in her stomach and she could feel the corners of her mouth pull into a frown. Now why did the fact he didn’t leave behind one of those condescending letters bum her out so much?
Her cell phone rang. She answered it, still a little dazed by her realization. “If this is you, Barakiel, I don’t want to hear any more whining about Tiffany,” she snapped. “Complaints about your healer are getting old.”
“You just missed me again, sweetheart,” a deep male voice rumbled on the other side.
Oh, it definitely wasn’t her little brother. No, it was him, AKA Appolion, AKA The Destroyer, AKA Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome. Her heart galloped in her chest. Get a hold of yourself, Ana, he’s just a mission, nothing more. It’s not like a male like him would ever be interested in plain old you. “How did you get my number, Appolion?” Wow, was that her voice? It sounded so calm.
“I stole dum-dum’s phone. Is that the best those justice angels have?”
“I noticed you didn’t destroy him like you did the demon. Could it be you have a soft spot for angels?”
“Please.”
Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew his lip curled up in disgust.
“He just wasn’t worth the effort it would have taken to zap him.”
“Sure,” she said doubtfully. “I couldn’t help but notice you were working as a firefighter, yet another job that entails helping humans. But then you claim you’re no hero as I recall.”
“Consider it a little hobby, nothing more.”
“Why are you calling me on a phone, Appolion? We’re both telepaths, you could just as easily reach me that way.”
“After you have been mind fu—”
She smiled because he obviously did not want to use profanity around her.
“After you have had your mind messed with as many times as I have in the past, you tend to be picky about who you let in.”
“You let Cam in.” She was a little hurt her brother rated and she didn’t.
“You’re hunting me down, Cam’s not. By the way you have a little bit of dirt on your cheek.”
“Oh, thanks.” She started to rub it away, then stopped cold and spun around the room, her gaze scanning every corner. “How did you know that? Where are you?”
“I’m hundreds of miles away from you so don’t get your hopes up, sweetheart.”
“Then how can you see me?”
He made a little clucking sound over the phone. “I’m disappointed in you. With everything you have seen over the past three years, you still don’t look for the unconventional.”
Ana scanned the room again, this time following his advice, looking for anything not normal. As soon as she saw the justice angel’s face, she knew she found it. Ephron’s face was slack, but his eyes were wide and unfocused. The pupils were so wide they obscured any other color except for black. When she moved closer and peered down to look deep into the male angel’s eyes, she knew she was really looking into Appolion’s gaze. He was channeling the justice angel, using his mind, his eyes. Freaky. “How in Sam’s hell are you doing this?” she breathed into the phone.
“A boy’s gotta have some secrets.”
She shivered. His laughter was deep and rich, warming her from the inside out.
”Cam didn’t tell me you were so beautiful. Well, I have to take that back, he did say that you were beautiful, but he didn’t say you were so gorgeous.”
“If you think I am going to fall for some cheesy line, you’re wrong.”
“Why do you find it so hard to believe I find you attractive?”
“Well because…” she hedged, then finally admitted, embarrassed, “because no one ever has before.”
“That’s because they don’t know you like I do.”
“We’ve never even been in the same room before, how can you know anything about me?”
“I know you love hockey and your favorite food is Mexican. You love to lie around the house in nothing but an old tee shirt and a pair of stupid bunny slippers. You say you miss being a justice angel and the council, but that’s crap, you love the thrill of the hunt you get as an enforcer. You’ve always put your brother’s needs before your own, especially Cam and Barakiel because they’re your favorites.”
“That’s nothing.” Her hands started to shake. “Cam probably told you all that.”
“How about this then? You smell like strawberries and champagne. I know because I trailed you once and snagged one of your hair scrunchies. I was right behind you and you didn’t even know it. It was a fine behind, too.”
“If this is some joke, I’m not amused,” she squeaked. Then, for the first time, he allowed their minds to touch. All of his desire slammed into her and she knew he told the truth. Appolion actually was attracted to her and, for the first time, she admitted to herself, she was attracted to him. Her knees suddenly felt weak and she had to clutch the wall for support.
“Damn, Cam should have warned me you were so hot,” he groaned.
A little smile tugged at her lips. No male ever said anything like that to her before. Her heart galloped loudly in her chest as she thought back to how good he looked in the picture. “Cam’s my brother, it would be just a little gross if he went around saying I’m hot.” She was mortified when a girlish giggle slipped from her mouth. Since when was she a flirt?
He laughed with her. “I guess that would be a Springer moment. Do me a favor, Ana, turn around.”
She paused for a full ten seconds, not quite believing what she was hearing. “What?”
“Turn around. I want to see all of you.”
She shot a worried glance at Ephron.
He added in a strained voice, “Don’t worry, dum-dum won’t remember a thing. This moment is for you and me only. Please, Ana, let me memorize every inch of you so I will have at least that when I go to sleep at night.”
Suddenly Ana didn’t feel like the dowdy old spinster. She felt like a desirable sexy female for the first time in her immortal life. This whole situation seemed so forbidden and naughty, she loved it. Sh
e slowly turned in a circle for him, even stuck her hip out in a sexy little pose.
“Take your hair down for me.”
His voice was like velvet in her ear. She pulled at the pins until her long golden tresses were free. She dimly wondered what her brothers would say if they knew their normally uptight older sister was having phone sex with a wanted fugitive. “Is this better?” she asked in a husky voice. My God, she’d never been turned on like this. If he had actually been in the room, she knew she would have probably stripped her clothes off if he asked her to.
“Oh yeah, much better. I’ve always thought male angels were stupid and now I know I was right. I can’t believe they would let a female as beautiful as you walk around unclaimed.”
She didn’t say anything back because the whole situation was leaving her so breathless and aroused she couldn’t speak. Desire pooled in her stomach and an ache built between her thighs.
“You know what, Ana? Maybe I’ll let you catch me after all.”
She stood there, the cell phone to her ear for at least five minutes after he hung up. She tried calling him back, but of course, he wasn’t polite enough to answer it. Little weenie.
She marched over to Ephron, now fully conscious and himself again, and ripped off the duct tape. She took great satisfaction when he yelled loudly in pain. Good, she hoped it hurt like a mother scratcher. “I have some questions for you,” she snapped.
“Why don’t you kiss my ass, I’m not telling you anything,” he snarled.
Lucky for her, she was one of the very few angels with telepathy. She reached into his mind in order to read it, only to find a brick wall blocking her. Crud in a bucket, someone had taught him how to shield his thoughts.
“Nice try, Ana,” he sneered. “But, Jehel made sure we were ready for your little tricks.”
“Too bad. That just means I’m going to have to call for the big guns.” The justice angel grew pale with fear. She gave a small chuckle before she closed her eyes and contacted Cam.
Rogue Angel Page 1