Authors: Cynthia Eden

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal, #General

Angel Betrayed (13 page)

BOOK: Angel Betrayed

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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 cleanup 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.

C
HAPTER
S
EVEN

I
n 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.

Good luck with that. She knew Az was long gone. Again.

Shaking her head, Seline climbed into the silver SUV. Cole slammed the door shut behind her.

And as the vehicle pulled away from the curb, she wondered why her back still hurt—right beneath both of her shoulder blades. Her back burned and ached, and she felt like she’d lost . . . something in the fire.

A fire that had only been in her mind.

When Sam finally made it to Sunrise, two demons were guarding the door. Tension held his body tight, and rage continued to pump through him.

When he closed his eyes, he could still see Omayo. The messenger angel had never hurt anyone. He hadn’t deserved to go out like that.

Sam pushed past the guards and hurried inside the club. The place was deserted, of course, that’s why he’d ordered Cole to bring Seline there. No one ever actually came to Sunrise when the sun was up. And he didn’t worry about any uninvited guests following him inside then. The demons at the front would keep the place secure. They were a whole lot stronger than they looked.

His gaze drifted around the bar. No sign of Seline. Or Cole.

He remembered the pale flash of Seline’s face. Her hands had trembled as she’d talked about the fire.

Damn Az. Though he’d tried to show no reaction, Sam knew just what his brother had done. Az had given Seline a taste of hell.

Soon you’ll be the one tasting hell, brother.

The faintest murmur of voices reached him. He glanced upstairs. He had a small apartment up there. Just a bedroom and a bath, a place to crash when the nights rolled together.

He headed for the metal stairs. He needed to find out exactly what Az had said to Seline because he already had a dark suspicion, one that didn’t bode well for the Fallen in the area.

A few weeks back, Az had tried to kill another Fallen, but Keenan had been too strong for his brother’s attack. Well, Keenan and the vampire lover who’d fought so fiercely at her man’s side.

If Az had already tried to kill one Fallen, and Omayo’s blood had been on his hands . . .
still trying to play God, Az? Even after the Fall? You think you’re the one who should send souls to hell?

He threw open the door to his apartment, and it took the scene before him a bit too long to register.

Seline lounged on the bed, clad in an oversize white robe while Cole bent over her.

What. The. Fuck.

She’d been attacked, weak, so she would have needed power—

I didn’t give her enough.

So she’d turned to Cole? A snarl broke from Sam’s lips.

What. The. Fuck.

Sam lunged across the room and grabbed for Cole.

Seline saw him. She jumped up and knocked the demon back before Sam could touch him.

“Dammit, Seline, you didn’t have to—” Cole broke off when he got a look at Sam’s face. Then the demon’s eyes darted from Sam to Seline. “Guess you did.” A long sigh slipped from his lips. “I am so screwed,” he muttered.

Seline’s clothes were tossed onto the floor. “Yeah,” Sam said very definitely, “you are.”

But Seline stepped between them before Sam could make Cole wish for death. “Ease up, Sam. This isn’t what you think.”

Doubtful. “That so? I’m not staring at a succubus who decided to get a little power surge . . . and a horny-ass demon who is about to learn a whole new meaning to the word ‘hurt’?”

“Succubus?”
Cole repeated, and gave a low sigh. “Yep, that would explain some things.”

Seline’s cheeks flushed. Sam wasn’t sure if that was from anger or embarrassment, and, why would a succubus feel either right then?

He hesitated.

“My clothes were covered in blood,” she snapped. “
I
was covered in blood. I showered, and I didn’t have anything else to wear. I was
not
putting those back on again.” She pointed to the bloodstained pile of clothing.

That bit he could buy, but why had Cole been close enough to take a bite out of her? Sam slanted a hard glance the demon’s way.

Cole had his hands up. “Easy. There was some blood on her cheek. I was just wiping it away.” There was a cloth in his right hand. Cole’s chin lifted. “Though I won’t say that I wasn’t tempted.”

Bastard.

As they glared at each other, Cole’s eyes narrowed and bled to black. “If you knew she was a succubus, then you knew what she’d
need.
Next time, you’d better take care of her.”

Or I will.

Sam clenched his teeth. He could see the message in Cole’s gaze. One of the reasons he liked the demon—Cole wasn’t the type to scare easily.

He also loved the ladies, too much.

BOOK: Angel Betrayed

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