by JL Weil
My stomach lurched.
Angel was lying on the mattress, curled on her side with her back to the door. I expected her to jolt out of bed and start cussing at me, demanding I let her out. So the fact she didn’t even acknowledge I was here was unnerving, especially since my body was having a sensory seizure. Tingles of every emotion, and some I didn’t even know I was capable of, rocketed around my organs.
My heart rate picked up as I reached into my pocket, pulling out a set of keys. Maybe she was sleeping, probably a darn good thing. “Angel?”
Not a muscle twitched.
With an objective eye, I looked at her. Too skinny. Too pale. Too still.
Something was wrong.
My hand shook as I turned the key, the lock clicking open, followed by the second and then the third. Slipping inside, I quickly closed and locked the door behind me. I called her name again, returning the keys to my pocket. The jingling sound vibrated through the soundless room.
There was no answer, and by now, the Angel I’d come to expect would’ve been jumping down my throat.
Please God, tell me I’m not too late.
I refused to believe it.
Zapping to her side, I sat on the edge of the mattress. Her face was partially hidden by a curtain of dark hair. I brushed back the strands, my pulse throbbing at being this close to her. The days I’d been gone had done a number on me physically and mentally. I could only imagine what it had been like for her. Guilt started to weasel into my belly. “Angel, I’m—”
The air whooshed out of my lungs on a grunt as her feet slammed into the center of my gut. It knocked me off the bed, but I caught myself and crouched on the tip of my toes, hand touching the ground for support. Dirty little sneak. I knew better to let my guard down.
She took her split-second of surprise and jumped to her feet. With a feral cry, she lunged off the bed, coming down on me. I could have darted to the side, but I was afraid she would hurt herself, which was not what I wanted. Landing on my back, her legs locked around my waist, squeezing like a pair vice grips.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed, reaching up as her arms wrapped around my neck.
“Shut up.” She pulled back, putting her full weight into the movement, and down we went, tumbling to the floor.
I rolled, making sure I took the brunt of the impact and groaned as her body hit mine. The damn wiggle worm twisted, throwing her legs over mine and weaving them between my legs. “If you wanted to snuggle, all you had to do was ask. No need to get aggressive, unless of course you like it.”
Her answer was to press her lips to my ear lobe and take a nip. It wasn’t hard, but a warning. She wasn’t playing around.
“I always thought you had a kinky side,” I said.
Anger made her cheeks flush. Straddling me, her hand snaked down over my hips, going for my pocket. “Of course you would turn this into something perverted.” Her mouth grazed the side of my jaw.
I snatched her wrist. “If you bite me again, so help me, Angel...”
She smiled tightly as she tried to yank her arm free. “You’ll what?”
If she only knew what I was planning to do to her... But I said nothing. I let her go and she scrambled to her feet, hands curled at her side. “That’s what I thought. You don’t have the balls to hurt me. Now let me out of here.”
Standing, I met her gaze. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Give me the key,” she demanded, shooting forward.
I took a step back, out of her reach. I didn’t care if the devil himself was knocking on the door. Hell wouldn’t be cackling much longer. “I have something else in mind.”
Her chest rose quickly, and I could sense her panic. “You don’t understand. They’re waiting for me.”
“I don’t care.”
I recognized the wild look that sprang into her eyes, like a crazed hyena. She was about to lose control. Dammit. This was not how I’d envisioned things going. Granted, I didn’t think she would cooperate, but actually fighting her had not crossed my mind. We would have to do this the hard way.
She exercised a whirlwind kick, knee bent at a ninety-degree angle. The power pack whooshed into my gut and momentarily stunned me. Hot pain jarred me to the bones. “Where the hell did you learn to do that?”
Her chest rose quickly from exertion. “I learned from the best. You. And there is a whole lot more where that came from.”
My brows shot up.
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve watched you fight countless times.”
“Watching is a whole lot different than being able to execute moves like that, sweetheart.”
She shrugged. “I’m a natural.”
“And I have more experience,” I countered, keeping a steady eye on her.
Angel was fast—I’d give her that—but I was faster. And a good thing. Spinning around, she jabbed her elbow into my side and used the heel of her palm to hit me in the chest. I darted behind her before she could sweep a kick to my legs. She pivoted around, swinging her arm in an arch that just barely missed my chin. Ducking, air rushed over my jaw and I wrapped my arms around her waist, drawing her back against my chest. I pinned her arms with mine.
She went wild underneath me, wiggling like crazy. “Let me go!” she screeched, as if I was hurting her, another one of her manipulation tactics.
“Are you going to be reasonable?” I asked, although the probability of reasoning with her was up there with lunacy. “It’s your choice. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you fight me, I promise you’re not going to like what happens.”
Rocking forward and then backward, she used the momentum to her advantage, slamming my back into the wall. “I think you got it backward, douchebag.”
I held her easily, but hearing her call me douche brought back so many fond memories, I couldn’t help the tiny grin tugging at my lips.
Her elbow thrust into my stomach and she sprang free. “Because I’m seriously going to kick your ass.”
When had she become so slippery…and scrappy?
I sprang forward to grab her just as her knee flew straight up. Thanking my quick reflexes and knowing this was one of her all-time favorite moves, I managed to avoid getting my manhood literally crushed. “Will you just stop and listen to me for one second before you hurt yourself?”
“Hurt myself?” she echoed in a way that said I was going to regret it. Laughing, her voice became high-pitched. “The ones who are going to get hurt are you, Lexi, Travis, Devin, Emma... Do you need me to go on?”
I’d had enough of the games and the fighting. This time when her hands flew at my face, I snatched her wrists, backing her against the wall. I used my body to trap her and restrain her hands above her head. “Now you’re going to listen to me whether you want to or not.” Leaning down, I brought our faces so they were only a few inches apart.
She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut.
“You don’t have to look at me, but you are going to hear me out.” I pressed my forehead to hers, letting the warmth of her skin calm me. She was still alive, and somewhere behind the magenta eyes and the bad attitude was the girl I loved with all my soul. Taking a deep breath, I had to try one last time to get through to her. Just in case… “This isn’t you, Angel Eyes. You might lash out at me now and again, but you would never hurt me. Hurt anyone.”
Her body arched, agony stinging her voice. “I said, get your grubs off me.”
My eyes traced the contours of her face. “You’re letting Hell control you, and the Angel I know doesn’t bow to anyone, especially not to a demon. She wouldn’t dream of it.”
Beads of sweat dotted her brow. Tendrils of dark hair clung to her neck.
“I swore to protect to you and somehow I’ve failed, but I’ll be damn if I’m going to give up on you. Never,” I vowed with more passion than I’d ever felt.
Besides the ragged rise and fall of her breathing, she didn’t move a muscle.
“I know how strong you ar
e. You proved that tonight, but I’m not just talking physically. Only you can control your destiny. Hell doesn’t get to decide for you.” I wanted to shake the shit out of her, rattle her brain cells until she started thinking clearly again. “Show me you’re not weak.”
Her eyes flew open, the circle of red luminous and powerful. “There is nothing weak about me.” There was a gravelly texture to her voice. It was sort of robotic.
As beautiful as her unearthly eyes were, I despised them. Hated what they stood for. Detested what they meant. The only light I saw in what Hell had done to her was they hadn’t been able to sever our connection. And that made us fiercer. Chase and Angel. We were epic, and our story wasn’t going to end here—end like this. “Prove it. Prove me wrong.” I knew it was a long shot, goading her, but I was betting on her taking the bait.
Her lips thinned and a shudder rolled through her, racking against my body.
My chest tightened. “Please come back to me, Angel. Please. You have to. I can’t live in this world without you. I love you too much. I won’t let them take you from me, but you have to fight. I need you to fight to live.” I framed her face with my fingers as words I never thought possible spilled out of my mouth.
A heartbeat passed. Her lashes fluttered down. Then they opened. Blue eyes churned, clear and brilliant, shimmering like starlight. A tear trickled down her pale cheek, lips quaking. “I-I’m so sorry, Chase.” Her brows knitted, eyes I thought I might never see again swam with a thousand unsaid emotions. “I can’t stop it. I don’t know what to do.”
Before she could utter another word, I pulled her against me, burying my face into her hair. “Don’t think about that now.” An erratic blend of feelings channeled between us, making it hard to do what came next.
I admired her, loved her, needed her. And if we ever made it through this, I would tell her every day of our lives.
“Angel…”
“There is a war coming, Chase,” she whispered.
I weaved my fingers through her hair. “Let them bring it. I will destroy them.”
She slumped in my arms, hope sucking right out of her. “We can’t win.” Her lip trembled. “You’re issuing our death.”
“We will win. And if I die, you’re coming with me,” I breathed into her ear and closed my eyes. My hand slipped behind me, twisting around and gripping the cool handle tucked under my shirt. I pressed a soft kiss to her temple, lingering. “I love you.”
The blade felt like barbwire in my grasp, and the demon inside me screamed in protest, thrashing and kicking, attempting to surface and overthrow what I was going to do, I wanted to rage. With my heart in my throat, I positioned myself. There was a very good chance I was going to vomit.
Her body stiffened, sensing the sudden and abrupt change. She pulled back and I let her, eyes searching my face. “Chase?”
“It’s I who am. Sorry. This is entirely my fault. If I had just stayed away from you…” I let my voice trail off, unable to stop staring at her. Then I plunged the knife into her side, right into the heart of our identical demon mark, the one that started it all when I saved her life for a servitude to Hell.
Energy hummed through me, shocking me every couple seconds. I hadn’t been prepared for the sharp pain that hissed at my hip, but it was nothing compared to what Angel was feeling.
Please God don’t take her from me. Not my Angel.
Chapter 10
{Angel}
Golden eyes stared back into mine, tortured with agony. Hope crashed into razor sharp disappointment and disbelief. He stabbed me. I gasped, unable to believe Chase had stabbed me. He would never hurt me. Ever.
But I had bigger problems. Much bigger. Pain. It sizzled through my veins, starting at the entry point where the blade had pierced my skin and spreading like wildfire. Burning. It was a pain I remembered well and never thought I’d feel again. The night Chase brought me back from the dead.
A scream tore from my throat, cold sweat gathering above my lip. My body bucked from the trembles of misery draining me of energy. I shook my head back and forth, hair whipping me in the face. “I-I can’t… It’s everywhere. It…hurts. So much, Chase. Please…you have…to make it stop.”
Sweeping me off my feet, Chase laid me down on the mattress as I whimpered and thrashed. “It’s going to be okay. Try to relax. It will be over in seconds.”
How could he possibly think it was going to be okay? I was going to bleed out if he didn’t get me to a doctor. Glancing down at my hands gripping the wound, I expected to see gobs and gobs of sticky blood covering my fingers. So imagine my shock when there was none. Not a damn drop.
WTH.
What was going on?
“No! No!” I repeated over and over, punctuating each no with increased panic. I tried to sit up, but it only made things ten times worse, so I slumped back down onto the mattress. Grabbing his hand, I squeezed. “Chase, it’s killing me.”
His luminous amber eyes lit the entire room, brighter than I ever remembered seeing them, and I understood that whatever I was going through, it was affecting him too. Nowhere near the same level, but our unique link made the impossible possible. “Don’t fight it,” he whispered.
Wetness gathered on my cheeks, and I clenched my jaw, tasting the tartness of blood. It felt like the fire would never end. Licking and lapping at my skin, burning away my organs. “What have…you done?” I asked, curling up and clutching my side.
With a pained expression, Chase crouched in front of me, eyes pleading with mine to understand. “It was the only way to get you back.”
He hadn’t answered my question. Typical Chase fashion. Evasive.
I pushed up my shirt, needing to be free of the scratchy material against the extremely sensitive spot. Gazing down, I saw the marks. Well, that’s not normal either. Good flippin-grief. What now?
The intricate designs still bled into my skin, but it was the ink that morphed. Swirling from just under my armpit down to my hip, the marks were awash in a stunning, bold sapphire. “Chase?” My voice shook as his name choked at the back of my throat.
Stilled, his eyes were fastened to the undeniable “Breathe,” he said.
Easier said than done. My head fell back and I forced my muscles to relax, no longer fighting against the pain that rocked my body. I took a long deep breath that sounded close to a sigh. Within moments, the blaze slowly began to subside and I couldn’t have been more relieved. For a time there, I had been positive I was going to kick the bucket. I should have known Chase would never let that happen. I should have trusted him.
Like the floodgates had been opened, an overwhelming current of memories flashed back. All the horrible things I’d said. Every threat I’d made. It was like watching myself in a movie—a horror flick.
For a shattering moment, I wasn’t sure who I was. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, not knowing if I was really me or that other ugly part.
You’re Angel Morgan. You grew up in Arizona. Your mom is your best friend. And this mind-bending gorgeous male hovering over you is your boyfriend.
I blinked, anticipating the darkness rising up and taking over. “Well, that just happened.”
A corner of his mouth lifted as Chase leaned down, placing a kiss on my damp forehead. The utter relief ricocheting off him was a viable thing in the small space. I, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what I was feeling other than intense exhaustion. My limbs were so weak, as if I’d been stranded on an island without food or drink. I was dehydrated, and I ached in places you wouldn’t imagine. It sucked. The inside of my thighs. The back of my neck. I swore even the tip of my nose throbbed.
My lashes fluttered up, locking eyes with the guy who never gave up on me. I lifted my hand, wanting to feel the side of his cheek, but it never made it. Chase sucked in a sharp breath, and I was almost afraid to ask. “What is it?” Please tell me it was only an enormous pimple. In a knee-jerk reaction, I quickly cast my eyes downward.
Chase wasn’t having it. He placed his thumb
and index finger on my chin, tipping my face upward. His gaze captured mine. “Your eyes. They’re purple.”
Say what? I had mentally psyched myself up to hear him tell me my eyes were demon red, but purple…that was new. Unfortunately, I was going to have to dwell on my newfound eye color later, because I was having trouble keeping them open. “Chase, something’s wrong.”
“I’m sure it’s just temporary,” he said, downplaying his concern.
I shook my head, my vision starting to blur. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Angel…Angel,” he called, his voice going distant as the room spun. It was hard to hear over the buzzing that vibrated between my ears.
I felt myself falling, a black hole sucking me into oblivion, and I swayed. Chase caught me, soothing me with the sound of my name on his lips.
“I’ve got you, and I’m never letting go.” At least that was what I thought he said.
{Chase}
Clamping down the emotions jackhammering in my chest, I kicked the door open, never happier to leave behind this burrow and to see sunlight. Wood splintered under impact. The hunters were going to need a new front door, but I didn’t care about the mosquitos getting in or the hunter’s secrecy.
What I hadn’t expected to see was Lexi climbing out of an SUV and Emma pointing one of her arrows at my head.
Shit.
“Doesn’t anyone follow orders?” I grumbled.
Lexi came flying around the car as soon as she saw who I had in my arms and stopped abruptly, eyes bouncing from Angel to me and back to Angel. “Chase?” She hesitated, confusion circling in her eyes.
I drew in a shallow breath. “It’s okay. She’s okay.” Or so I kept telling myself, but I wasn’t sure anything would ever be the same again. And I wasn’t okay with that. Someone was going to pay for the hell she’d gone through. There would come a time when my desire for revenge wouldn’t be silenced.
Angel’s body shuddered against mine as it had in intervals for the last forty-five minutes. I just wanted to get her somewhere safe. Realistically, the connection between her and Alastair might have been severed, but I wasn’t stupid enough to believe they would stop looking for her.
