by Cynthia Eden
Seline . . . that would be the woman who was hurrying back to Sam’s side right then.
Hurrying, as Az backed away and turned toward those heavy doors. Jade rushed forward and blocked his path. “Bad plan. Okay? Bad. Let’s just think of something else. There’s got to be another way—”
“Another way to stop a shifter/angel hybrid?” Az demanded. “Then tell me what it is. Because his claws can slice right through me, but my Death Touch won’t do a thing to him.”
“Oh, man, you are screwed.” Sam’s voice was calm. “Guess it’s time for you to try a few rounds with Beelzebub. When you lose a little more flesh, I think we’ll finally call things even between us.”
Even? That guy was insane.
Az ignored him and didn’t look away from Jade. “We need these weapons,” he reminded her. A reminder she didn’t need. “If you want to be free, then you’ll let me face him.”
“He could kill you!” Seline cried out. “Don’t you get that? The longer he stays in this realm, the stronger Beelzebub gets. And—and he has a taste for sin.”
Jade’s heartbeat drummed in her ears.
“Have you been staying lily-white?” Sam mocked. “Or have you really fallen now, Az?”
He’d fallen. Killed. Fucked.
“Beelzebub judges.” Seline was trying to warn Az. Jade realized she was starting to like the blonde. “He can see what’s in your heart. If he sees evil, he will attack.”
Now Sam had come to Az’s side. “Do you even know what’s in your own heart?” He spared a glance for Jade. “Does she?”
Az gave a nod. He stepped forward and brushed a kiss over Jade’s lips. “Don’t worry.”
She caught his hands. “Don’t you die for this.” For me. “There’s another way. I know it.”
But he shook his head. “This is the best way. We can get a supply of bullets. I can use them. You can use them.”
“The hound won’t just give up those claws.” Sam tapped his chin. “You’re gonna have to fight hard for them.”
This plan sucked. “No,” Jade said adamantly. “Forget it. Not going to—”
Az kissed her again. A brush of his lips. A slide of his tongue. Then . . . “Keep her safe, and don’t let her follow me.”
He vanished. No, didn’t vanish. Just rushed by her because she felt the fast whip of wind as he passed. Jade turned to run after him, but Sam grabbed her hand.
“I can’t let you do that,” he murmured. “Sorry, demon, but . . .”
In a blink, he had her across the room. He’d tossed her up in that big, golden cage that dangled over the dance floor. A wave of his hand had the door locking, and a blast of fire from his fingertips melted the lock—effectively sealing the cage and trapping her inside. “But Az doesn’t need you distracting him right now.”
Growls reached her ears then. Snarls. Inhuman sounds. And the walls shook as the beast attacked.
She grabbed the golden bars. “Let me out of here!”
Sam was on the ground below her. He shook his head but didn’t look particularly regretful. “Trust me on this, he deserves to have a pound or two of flesh ripped away. Your angel isn’t exactly the prize you think.”
“He’s exactly what I think he is.” And she was tired of everyone saying differently. “Now let me out!”
But he just turned away. “If he wants Beelzebub’s claws, then Az will have to bleed for them.”
“No!” Jade screamed. The bars wouldn’t break. The cage swung back and forth from its heavy chain, and those growls just grew louder.
Az thundered down the old staircase in the back of Sunrise. He’d made short work of the metal doors and the padlocks upstairs. A wave of his hand and fire disintegrated the next set of padlocks that barred his path. A fast kick, and the reinforced steel door before him flew inward.
Az rushed inside, and the hound immediately attacked him.
The beast’s breath, hot and reeking of hell’s stench, blew into Az’s face. Giant, yellowed teeth came at his throat even as the hound’s claws swiped over Az’s chest. He bellowed at the white-hot pain and kicked the beast off him.
The hound flew through the air, but landed easily on its feet. Thick, matted black fur covered the hulking body. Long, bloodstained claws raked across the floor.
The beast stared at him.
He can see sin.
And Beelzebub attacked again.
The hound drove Az back into the wall. Sheetrock fell around him, and Az was pretty sure that crunch was his ribs breaking. The hound’s teeth sank into his shoulder.
Pain tore through him. A hellhound’s teeth didn’t just cut and tear, they burned an angel. Clenching his teeth, Az grabbed the beast’s head and yanked those razor-sharp teeth from his shoulder. He held the beast’s head in his hands and gazed into the eyes lit by hellfire.
“You’re not killing me today,” he snarled. Sam had to find a better place to keep the beast. Sooner or later, it would start eating the Sunrise patrons.
The beast leapt back.
Az swiped his tongue over his lower lip and tasted blood. “And as much as I want to . . .” The beast circled around him, tossing back its ferocious head and howling loud enough to wake the dead. “I’m not going to kill you.” He knew Sam and Seline were a little too fond of their monster pet.
The beast charged again. Az leapt out of the way. The hound’s head slammed into the steel door.
“Won’t kill you,” Az said again as the hound rose, shaking its head, “but I will be taking those claws.”
He could have sworn the hound smiled at him then. So many teeth. Then the beast lunged for him, and those claws sank into Az’s stomach.
Sammael—Sam—was just going to stand there while Az died. And Seline sure didn’t look like she was about to rush to Az’s aid. “Why are you doing this?” Jade demanded. She’d yanked on every bar in the cage. No freaking give, not even near the lock since the guy had used his fire to solder the door shut.
Sam glanced up at her. “Az is the one who wanted to tangle with the beast. I just gave him what he wanted.”
“Why do you hate him so much?” She couldn’t get her heart to slow down. Her hands shook as fury filled her body. “I mean, I get it—he’s your brother, so there’s probably some sibling rivalry bullshit going on.”
Sam’s gaze iced.
“But he could die in there. Brandt almost killed him before. Az isn’t as strong as you seem to think he is.”
Laughter spilled from the Fallen. “And he’s not as weak as you seem to think.”
When his laughter faded away, silence filled the room. No more growls. The snarls had stopped.
The cage swung back and forth.
Her hands knotted around the bars.
“He’d better not have hurt my hound.” Seline’s mutter reached Jade’s ears. “I owe your brother, so I let him in the ring with Beelzebub, but if Az hurt—”
Az shuffled into the room. A trail of blood followed him.
“Az!” Jade cried out.
His hands were on his stomach. Deep gashes covered his chest and arms. When he lifted his hands, Jade gasped at the sight of the deep wound that cut into his gut.
His gaze rose at the sound of her shocked breath. Blood trickled from his busted lip. “Don’t worry.” Despite his injuries, his voice was cool, even calm. “I got what we needed.”
Then he put his hand in the mess that was his stomach. He pulled out one thick claw. Another. Another.
Her knees wanted to buckle so Jade just held tighter to the bars in order to stay upright.
“Your pet broke a few nails,” Az told Seline as he dropped five heavy claws onto the floor.
Seline crept forward. “Did you—”
But she didn’t get to finish. Because a great, hulking black beast burst from those metal doors and headed right for Az’s back.
Jade yelled out a warning, but she knew it would come too late. The hellhound was a nightmare. Teeth barred, eyes burning like the f
ires of hell.
And there was nothing she could do. She was trapped. Az would die.
“No!” The scream seemed to break from her soul as her fury erupted. It burned hard and bright and washed right through her. As she fell to the floor of the cage, a ball of fire ripped out of her body and hurtled toward the beast. The fire slammed into the hound and stopped the monster just before it could reach Az.
Her breath heaved out. Oh, shit, had she just done that?
Demon.
Jade pushed up onto her knees. A wild smile lifted her lips. The hound was down. Az was safe. She’d used magic and—
And the beast was getting bigger. Right before her eyes, he doubled in size.
Sam’s brows lifted as he stared up at her. “Hellhounds like the fire, demon. You just made him stronger.”
The hound rose to its feet and rushed toward Az.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jade was screaming his name. Fear tightened her beautiful face. She grabbed the cage’s bars as tears slid down her cheeks.
Az didn’t look away from her. Couldn’t. He put his hand up behind him.
Beelzebub whined, then licked him. The beast’s hot breath blew over Az’s skin.
“What the hell?” Sam muttered even as Seline said—
“You tamed the beast.” Her voice was dazed, but admiring.
“Not exactly a taming.” He pushed his hand into that thick fur. “I guess he decided he didn’t like the way I tasted, so he let me go.” Now he seemed to have a four-legged friend that he couldn’t shake.
And why was Jade up in a golden cage? Was she actually crying for him?
As he stared up at her, her hands slowly released the bars. She swiped at the tears on her face, and he saw the tremble in her fingertips.
“Beelzebub must have liked what he saw in your soul,” Seline said as she walked around him. Az glanced back in time to watch her fingers sink into the hound’s fur. “So no matter what you think about yourself, you really aren’t a heartless bastard.”
The hound pressed against her side. She bent and inspected the jagged remains of his claws. “Come with me, Beelzie,” she told him, voice crooning, “I’ll file those back into shape for you in no time.”
The hellhound followed her like a doting pup.
Az winced as the torn muscles and ligaments in his body began to mend. The blood had finally stopped gushing out of him. A good sign.
“I told you that your woman was a demon.” Sam sauntered toward him with his hands crossed over his chest. “And she’s got more than a bit of power in her.”
The cage swayed drunkenly above him. Az narrowed his eyes. “I don’t remember telling you to lock her up.”
“It was my way of keeping her safe.” A pause. “You’re welcome,” Sam said grandly.
Az grunted. He shouldered by Sam, but his brother reached out in a deceptively slow move and clasped his shoulder. “Is there a hybrid angel on the hunt you need to warn me about?”
Az glanced back toward Jade. There were no more tears from her. No emotion at all showed on her face. But the fear and desperation had been there before, and they’d seared him.
“I’ll take care of that guy.” Az’s words were a promise. “You don’t have to worry about him.”
“I worry any time there’s a being out there that can kill me.” Sam’s hold tightened on his shoulder. “You sure you’ve got him?”
Az turned his head and met Sam’s stare. “Get me a witch who can craft bullets out of those claws, and the shifter is as good as dead.”
One brow lifted. “Oh. Is that all you need?”
He nodded.
“Then consider it done, but, you should know, Mateo doesn’t work for free. There’ll be a cost.”
Ah, yes, Mateo. The magic man who had fought with Sam months before in Mexico. “There always is,” Az said.
With a nod of his head, Sam sauntered away. The guy was even whistling as he dodged the bloody trail Az had left behind.
“Uh, yeah, this is a great family moment and all,” Jade’s tight voice snapped out, “but how about we get me out of this cage?”
He waved his hand. The cage door flew open.
Jade jumped down. He caught her and held her easily in his arms. Her gaze searched his face. The remnants of fear lit her gaze. “If you ever do that again . . .” She swallowed. “I’ll find a way to kill you myself.”
Frowning, Az put Jade on her feet. He hadn’t expected that response.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she said, “We’re supposed to be partners here. When you have a partner, you don’t run off facing the big, bad hellhound on your own.”
“One swipe of his claws would have killed you.” His own anger began to spike even as he felt the continued ache from his healing flesh. “You really wanted me to risk your life?”
“No, jerk, I didn’t want you to risk yours!” Then she marched over to retrieve the bloody claws. “These!” She lifted them into the air. “They aren’t worth your life.”
“They’re a weapon we need.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to ever be trapped again when I can’t do anything but wait for the screams to come as you die.” Heat flushed her cheeks. “I’ve been there before. When Brandt came after . . .” She broke off and lifted her chin. “I won’t be helpless while someone dies again!”
He crossed slowly to her. His steps seemed to echo in the cavernous bar. “I won’t be dying.”
Her lip trembled. “You’d damn well better not.”
She cared. He could see that. She was the only woman who ever had.
His fingers, still bloody, brushed over her cheek. “You . . . you make me feel things that I shouldn’t.” The emotions seemed to rip him apart. The lust. The need.
But there was more.
He wanted to be by her side in the darkness. Wanted to hear her laugh. Jade didn’t laugh enough. Didn’t flash her real smile often enough to please him. How long had it been since he’d seen that wink of her dimple? Too long.
What would she look like when she was truly happy? Would her green eyes shine?
Would he ever find out?
“It’s your lucky day, Az.” Sam’s mocking voice jerked his gaze off Jade.
He saw his brother stride toward him from the direction of the back offices. Sam held a thin piece of paper between his thumb and forefinger. “Mateo’s in town.”
Tension tightened his body. Mateo wasn’t just a witch. He was a caller, the hybrid son of a crossroads spirit and a witch who’d wanted too much power. You had to be careful when you dealt with Mateo, because sometimes, the payment for his services was your life.
Az’s gaze slid to Jade. The last thing he wanted was for her to get too close to Mateo. If Sam had been curious about her powers, then Mateo would sure as hell be fascinated. And having Mateo fascinated wasn’t a good thing.
“Oh, no,” Jade said as she pointed at him with a bloody claw. “Just stop thinking it. You aren’t going to ditch me while you chase after this Mateo guy.”
“You don’t want to be on his radar,” Az told her. “Stay here. Sam can keep you safe.”
“So I’m baby demon sitting now?” Sam murmured. “How fun for me.”
He didn’t glance at his brother. He’d burned and bled for the guy back in Mexico, so he figured Sam still owed him.
“You aren’t leaving me behind.” Jade’s eyes narrowed. “We’re in this together, remember?”
But it was Sam who told her. “If you go with him, you’ll pay a price.”
“Fine.” She barely spared Sam a glance. “Then I’m ready to pay. Az is in this mess because of me. Because he was trying to save my life.”
One side of Sam’s mouth hitched into a smile. “Isn’t he the hero.”
“Yeah, he is—to me.”
Az blinked.
“And I’m staying by your side,” Jade continued, voice and face determined. “So deal with it. If either one of you tries to toss me in
that stripper cage again . . .”
“Don’t knock it,” Sam advised.
“We’ll see just how much more fire I can throw.”
Sam scratched his nose. “You sound so fierce.”
Right. Like Sam would ever be afraid of a little fire. Or even a lot of fire. The guy had been willing to walk into hell in order to save his Seline. He’d actually begged to get into hell . . .
All for love.
Even Fallen Angels could be weakened.
“Go wash the blood away,” Sam advised him. “You can use the apartment upstairs. Then you and your . . . ah . . . lady friend . . . can meet Mateo. But you’d better hurry. When the sun sets, he’ll be gone, and the only way you’ll find him then is to call him at the crossroads.”
Not an option. Crossroads deals never worked out well for the fool who did the calling. Sure, the summoned spirit was duty-bound to grant the idiot’s wish, but after that wish was granted, then the spirit started twisting. You wish for wealth, you get it—but only because your wife dies in an explosion and you get insurance money. You wish to live forever . . . you do, but only because you’re lying comatose and can’t move as machines keep you alive indefinitely.
Making a deal with a crossroads spirit was as bad as making a deal with the devil.
But it wasn’t like they had a lot of options right then.
Az inclined his head. “Thank you.”
Sam’s eyes widened a bit.
Had he ever thanked his brother before? Thrown him out of heaven, yes, tried to kill him . . . yes.
But thanked him? No.
Az cleared his throat. “I owe you.” Az wanted to make sure Sam understood this. “I will find a way to pay my debt.”
A muscle flexed in Sam’s jaw. “You fought to save my Seline. As far as I’m concerned, we’re even.”
No, they weren’t.
Perhaps one day they would be.
Az took Jade’s arm. They’d clean up and get back to hunting.
“Be careful.” Sam’s warning. Stilted.
Az looked over his shoulder to find that Sam’s stare wasn’t on him. It was on Jade.
