by Cynthia Eden
The vampire stared up at the angel. Since the moment of his final death was at hand, he’d be able to see those broad, dark wings now. And he’d see the hard, carved features of the angel that she knew as—
Bastion?
Her breath froze in her lungs. It was him. Tall, strong, one of the few angels gifted with golden eyes—eyes the same color as the burnished gold that adorned the home in heaven she’d never see again.
She hadn’t seen Bastion in weeks. After she’d lost her wings, he’d tried to help her at first.
Then vanished when he realized there wasn’t any help to give.
He bent his dark head and gazed down at the vampire. Bastion hadn’t said anything to her. Hadn’t even looked her way.
It hurt. He knew she was there. Because of what she was, he also knew she’d be able to see him.
And he didn’t look at her. In heaven, he’d been her closest confidant. Now he couldn’t stand the sight of her?
“How the hell did you do that?” Tanner demanded as he reached for her. His arms caught her shoulders and he spun her around to face him. He’d shifted back to human form, and her gaze darted down the muscled expanse of his chest to—
She yanked her eyes right back up. Clothes. The guy seriously needed clothes.
And with just that thought, they appeared. A black T-shirt. Jeans. Even boots. A complete outfit to cover him.
Tanner’s eyes widened. “Nice trick.”
Angels were always able to conjure clothes. Since they had wings sprouting from their backs, they had to be able to use their powers to make articles that would fit around them. Except she hadn’t been able to use that particular talent since she’d fallen.
Until now.
First the fire, now conjuring. It looked like her powers were flooding back. Finally. No more weakness.
Marna glanced over her shoulder. Bastion was still there. With both Azrael and Sammael walking the earth, he’d be the ruler of the death angels now, but once, he’d been her only friend. “Bastion.”
His head lifted.
There was no emotion in his eyes or on the face that appeared to have been carved from stone. He looked at her as if he didn’t even know her. Why? Didn’t he understand?
“I miss you,” she said.
Did he flinch?
“Who the hell are you talking to?” Tanner pulled her closer to him.
Bastion bent and placed his hand over the vampire’s chest. Just that simply, another soul was taken.
The air seemed to chill, and goose bumps rose on Marna’s flesh. Tanner swore, and then he scooped her into his arms. “Screw this.”
Holding her tightly, he rushed toward the alley entrance. Her arms wrapped around him, but she said, “Tanner, no, I can—”
Bastion was in front of them. Staring at her with eyes that seemed to blaze.
“Stop,” she told Tanner.
He froze.
He wouldn’t see the angel. Couldn’t. Fallen angels could always see their winged brethren, but most others couldn’t. Not unless he had the blood of celestial beings in him. Since demons were descended from the Fallen, some of them could see the angels who walked among the humans—as long as their bloodline was strong enough.
But vampires? Shifters? No, they wouldn’t see angels even though they sometimes strolled right beside them.
“I’m . . . sorry,” Bastion told her, voice stilted.
Her arms were around Tanner’s neck. She could feel the tension coursing through him. Tanner stared at the alley, glanced at her, stared again at the alley’s entrance. “All right, who the fuck is there?”
She licked her lips. “An angel.”
“I know that. Which winged ass am I dealing with?”
A muscle jerked in Bastion’s jaw. His gaze dropped, then hardened when he saw the way Tanner’s hands held her so tightly. “Be careful with him,” Bastion warned her. “He’s not someone you can trust.”
Her stare turned back to Tanner. Right then, he was the only one she could trust.
“Who is it?” Tanner gritted.
“Bastion.” She sighed the name. “He’s—”
Tanner ran right at the angel. In a flash, Bastion vanished.
“No!” Marna leapt from his arms and almost fell flat on her face. She managed to stumble and barely stay upright. “I need to ask him—”
“Baby, this alley is a bloodbath. That smell will have every predator in a ten-mile radius coming out.”
The predators were already out. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the eyes in the darkness. The flash of fangs.
Tanner’s hand wrapped around her wrist. “Come on.”
Bastion was gone.
Only the monsters remained.
And they were closing in.
Tanner pushed her behind his body. “Stay the hell back,” he ordered those who waited in the darkness. He lifted his claws. “Or I’ll start slicing you apart.”
Silence.
But maybe that silence wasn’t enough. Marna’s shoulders straightened. Time to send a message. She glanced down at her hands. “I’ve got this,” she whispered to Tanner.
He frowned over his shoulder at her.
Her chin rose. She could do this.
He stepped away.
Marna sent a ball of fire racing into the alley. The fire caught the vampire’s dead body. Incinerated him, and sent the others fleeing back—back to whatever hole they’d crawled from.
The rush of power was amazing. Using fire . . . when she’d been an angel, it had never felt this way. Like the energy was pouring from within her, surging inside her.
Not as good as the pleasure that Tanner had given her, but still good.
Marna smiled. “Now you know to stay away,” she said into the flames.
The warning wasn’t just for the monsters. It was for the angel who lurked nearby. She wasn’t the same woman she’d been. Every day, she was changing. Becoming more. It was time for the rest of the world to realize that fact.
And to stay out of my way.
He watched the action from his perch on the rooftop. The little lost Fallen enjoyed her fire. He could see the thrill on her face.
Angels didn’t enjoy the rush of power. Angels didn’t enjoy anything.
She wasn’t an angel anymore. She liked the crackle of the blaze. Liked the heat of the licking flames.
She’d used her fire on the vampires. Finally, that power had broken free for her.
He watched as the shifter took her from the alley. Bundled her into an SUV and shot down the street.
He would be a problem. The panther watched Marna too closely. Touched her too much.
Do you think she’ll be yours?
That wasn’t the fate that waited for Marna. She deserved to have her vengeance. Deserved all the power that would come her way.
The panther? He’d get what he deserved, too. Death.
Because Tanner Chance was the key that he needed. In order to unlock all the power and magic inside of Marna, she would have to break. Chance could be used to break her.
When she broke, it would be brutal, and it would be beautiful. Just like her.
He leapt off the rooftop.
There was still plenty of time in the night, and there were some vamps that needed killing. Did they truly think they were just going to get away after attacking her?
No. Not likely. He’d make them pay.
And he’d enjoy the sound of their screams.
But first he’d follow his little angel. Just in case the shifter planned to stash her someplace else.
He liked to know where she was—all the time. That way, she’d never escape him.
Never.
Tanner raced through the streets. A fast left. A hard right. His blood seemed to burn in his veins, and he clutched the steering wheel so tightly, he could feel it starting to bend beneath his fingers.
Control.
He was losing more of it by the second.
He spun the SUV to the l
eft. They were out of the Quarter and heading down a lonely, oak-lined street that would have to do for now. He slammed on the brakes and turned on her. “What the hell was that?”
Moonlight spilled through the windows. Onto her face. Made her look as if she were glowing. Beautiful. “I-I don’t know, the fire came back to me and—” Her voice was all but humming with excitement.
She’d saved his ass back in that alley. No getting around it. But she’d also scared a good ten years off his life when she sent that fire blazing out, missing his body by, oh, about two inches as she aimed it into the alley and at all the pricks who’d waited in the darkness.
“A little warning next time would be good,” he managed to snap. Enough of a warning that he could jump out of the way and not get singed.
Her head tilted back. More moonlight fell on her. Damn. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but don’t worry. There isn’t going to be a next time.” Then she shoved open the passenger side door and jumped outside.
What the hell?
He pushed open his own door and followed right after her. Tanner caught her almost instantly, and pushed her back against the side of the SUV. “You walked right into that vamp’s trap.” Yeah, he was pissed over that, and would be for the next year or so. The bastard could have drained her and tossed away her broken body.
“I could have handled him!”
With her fire? With her stake? Didn’t she get it? “Baby, when there are enough of them . . .” Six to one odds. It still had his stomach clenching. “They can take you out.” Especially if they sank their fangs into her and drained her until she was too weak to fight back.
But then Marna drew in a ragged breath and said, “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
He wouldn’t have been more shocked if she’d stripped right then. Tanner forced his back teeth to unlock as he said, “And I don’t want you dying when I can keep you safe.”
Their eyes held. The night seemed so still. And she . . . fuck, she was even prettier by moonlight. How the hell had he managed to walk away from her before? Had he really left her alone in bed? Some days, he could be such a damn idiot.
I knew playing the gentleman wasn’t my bit. But he’d still tried. For her.
“There are times”—Marna paused and her tongue swiped nervously over her lower lip—“when we have to fight our own battles.”
She wasn’t doing this alone. The angel needed to think again. “You forget, this isn’t just about you.” And if that tongue of hers swiped out again, he’d pounce. Simple fact.
A furrow appeared between her brows. “But I thought—”
The murders were being pinned on her, but this thing stretched far wider than that. “If there’s some rogue Fallen in the city, I need to know.” Because he had to be ready to deal with the bastard. Fallen weren’t easy to kill, but luckily he had the particular skill set—claws and fangs—to get the job done.
Marna shook her head. “A Fallen didn’t kill the demon in the alley.”
Maybe. Maybe not. The knife attack sure hadn’t fit a Fallen’s usual MO, but maybe their killer was just trying to throw them off the scent.
It wouldn’t work. If there was one being who could track a scent better than any other, it was a shifter.
He caught her hand, lifted it up. Her palm was soft, small, and her eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight. “You been holding out on me?” he asked as his fingers rubbed lightly over her palm.
She swallowed and seemed to shiver. The night wasn’t cold. “N-no. It just happened. Wh-when I saw them go after you . . .” Her breath whispered out. “I wasn’t going to let them hurt you.”
He could take down six vamps, any day of the week. Sure, they’d gotten their claws into him, but he’d been well on his way to kicking ass by the time her flames erupted.
Still, she’d saved him. Other than his brother, Cody, he’d never had someone try to look out for him before.
Back when he’d been a kid, he’d had to learn early how to take care of himself. In those days, everyone had tried to pound the shit out of him.
So he’d started beating back.
He bought her hand to his lips. Pressed a kiss to her palm. “Thank you.” Because he couldn’t help it, he tasted her skin with a slow lick of his tongue.
Marna sucked in a sharp breath. “You . . . you said . . .”
Take.
The panther clawed inside of him. Tanner growled out, “I said I wouldn’t fuck you.” No, he hadn’t said that. He’d said if he did, there’d be no escape for her.
Already, he needed her too much. He could smell her scent, sweet, but rich . . . with arousal.
She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. That didn’t make things easier. It made him just want to fuck her all the more.
Tanner grabbed the reins of his control and pulled back. Turned away. “We need to get the hell out of here.” Before some dumbass came driving up, offering to help because he thought they were broken down or—
Marna grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around with surprising strength.
“Marna, look—”
She rose onto her toes and yanked his head down toward her. Her lips pressed against his, and the lady sure didn’t kiss like an angel.
More like a woman too used to sin. The sensual press of her lips and the silken glide of her tongue had his whole body burning with lust.
Her taste . . .
He pulled her closer. Two steps, and he had her pinned against the vehicle. She’d been warned. She knew the risk.
He kissed her harder. Deeper. Took in her sweet taste. And realized he was starving for more.
Her breasts—nipples tight—pressed into his chest. He wanted them in his mouth again. More, he wanted his mouth on the heat between her legs. Nothing had ever tasted so good to him.
Marna.
He began to kiss his way down her neck. Her head tipped back, and he scored the flesh with his teeth in a light bite. Mine.
“You’re . . .” Her voice was husky, heavy with desire that made his cock swell bigger. “You’re better . . . than the fire.”
He wasn’t sure what that meant, but Tanner wasn’t gonna argue. His hands went to the snap of her jeans. The zipper eased down with a hiss. Then he slid his hand inside, pushing his fingers under her panties.
“Tanner!”
The snarl of an approaching engine grated in his ears.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
He stared down at Marna. The smooth curve of her stomach. The silken edge of her panties.
The snarling engine grew louder.
His hands were shaking when he snapped her jeans. As he hurriedly pulled her clothing back into place, they didn’t speak. Right then, he wasn’t sure he could speak. The panther roared too loudly inside of him.
Marna’s cheeks were flushed, but her head had jerked toward the approaching car so she knew what was happening.
Wrong place.
He opened the passenger side door. Pushed her inside. He’d just slammed the door when the car slowed beside them.
Not just some friendly dumbass looking to help them out.
A patrol car.
This was so not his night. Hadn’t the vamps been bad enough?
The patrol car, of course, pulled to a full stop and its blue lights flashed on. The cop climbed out, shining his flashlight. “There a problem here?”
“No problem.” Tanner exhaled, cleared his throat and tried to sound less like a snarling animal. “I’m a cop.”
“Are you now.” Not a question, just a statement of doubt. The cop tried to shine his lights toward the passenger seat.
Tanner moved his body and blocked that light before it could fall on Marna. “My badge is in the vehicle, but you can go ahead and call my ID number in on your radio. 5-2-7. Detective Tanner Chance.”
The cop, a fresh-faced newbie if Tanner had ever seen one, immediately pulled out his radio and called in the badge number. Tanner began to head toward the driver’s side
.
“Hold on there!” The flashlight hit him right in the face when he glanced back. “You move nice and slow, got me?”
Smothering a sigh, Tanner tried to play it cool. The last thing he wanted was for this kid to get a look at Marna. If he’d heard the talk at the station . . .
But Marna hunched into the shadows when Tanner opened the door. He grabbed his badge from the glove box and held it up for the kid. “Are we good now?”
The guy swiped the badge. Brought his light up real close to it as he peered down at the badge. Hell. This uniform was so green. If he’d wanted, Tanner could have jumped the kid five times by now.
Amateur hour.
“You need to be more careful,” he snapped to the kid, not able to hold back. “Never get within striking distance of a suspect, no matter what shit he says.”
The guy gulped and jumped back. “S-sorry.” The flashlight bobbed.
“Keep your weapon ready, and don’t ever give any perp an advantage.” The kid needed backup. He shouldn’t be out riding alone.
The boy’s fingers were shaking when he gave Tanner back the badge. “Why—” The word cracked so the kid cleared his throat and tried again. “Why did you stop here, Detective Chance?”
Because I had to taste her. “Lust.” Tanner turned away and climbed into the car. “It’ll get you every time, kid.”
When he drove away, the patrolman was still standing in the middle of the road, staring after him.
Officer Paul Hodges exhaled on a long sigh as he watched the SUV’s tail-lights vanish. He’d screwed up. And in front of a detective no less. How was he supposed to live this down? When word spread at the precinct . . .
Shouldn’t have let down my guard. Rookie mistake. He’d been patrolling for five months now. He knew better.
But . . . when the guy had said he was a cop . . .
“People freakin’ lie.” He headed back to his car. He grabbed his radio and spoke into the mike, “Affirmative on the ID. Verified it was Detective Tanner—”
Headlights flashed on the dark street. Bright lights that pinned him in their glare. “What the hell?”
A vehicle was coming toward him. Too fast. Paul waved his arms. His cruiser was right there. The guy had to see it. Him.
