Angel of Darkness (The Fallen 1)

“The last time I saw your lady, she was on the ground. Jerking. Her eyes were rolling back into her head.”

“What did you do to her?” He’d rip Sammael apart and send the Fallen back to hell for keeps this time.

“Not me.” Sam shook his head. “The good guys have her, and since your girl ain’t exactly good … don’t expect her to survive until sunset.”

What?

But Sam was gone. Vanished. Only his scent remained. Not the light, flowery scent of an angel.

Brimstone. The scent of hell.

She woke up in a cage. Nicole opened her eyes, jumped up, and found herself trapped in a ten-by-twelve-foot jail cell.

Just freaking perfect.

She ran forward and grabbed the bars. “Hello!”

The place seemed deserted. It looked like some kind of holding cell, and she was the only one being held.

Uh oh.

“Hey!” She shouted. A cop had to be around someplace. “You can’t do this! You can’t just taze a woman on the street and—”

Metal groaned as a door opened. She sucked in a breath and stopped talking. A cop was coming toward her. Not the one who’d Tased her. A woman this time. She looked to be in her early thirties. The cop had short black hair and glaring brown eyes.

“You’re not just any woman, Ms. St. James,” she said, Texas drawling beneath her words. “You’re a wanted felon. A criminal who nearly killed a police officer.”

Nicole’s fingers tightened around the bars. “That was … I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

The door clanged shut behind the cop. “Of course. You were just hungry, right?”

Nicole stepped away from the bars.

“Hungry, and Officer Greg Hatten looked like the perfect snack.”

“You … know what I am.”

A slow nod. The woman—her ID read Jennifer Connelly—pulled out her service weapon. “I know what you are, and I know how to kill you.”

She couldn’t break through the bars, not while the sun was still up. The lethargy coursing through her body told her that the sun was most definitely up. “Then why am I still alive? If you want me dead—”

A black brow rose. “You already are dead.”

People just had to throw that up to her. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want to be a vamp, I didn’t mean to hurt that cop—”

“Save the sob story.”

Nicole blinked.

“Let me guess …” the cop continued with a smirk. “If you had it to do all over again, you’d go back to being human, right?”

Not exactly. Being human meant being dead.

But Connelly didn’t give her a chance to answer. She said, “Whatever. Here’s the deal. I’m gonna open your cage. You’re gonna try to get out.”

Yes, that was a good plan. Because staying trapped in there wasn’t an option.

Connelly lifted her gun. “You’re gonna come at me, and I’m gonna shoot you.”

Nicole’s breath whispered out. Not such a good plan.

“And because I’m such a fine shot, you’re gonna bleed to death, right here, where I can watch.” Connelly’s weapon was aimed at Nicole’s heart. “You see, I don’t much care for vamps. The dead should be in the ground, not on the streets, feeding.”

“You don’t think someone else is going to notice when you shoot me? They’ll wonder what the hell happened in here!”

“You attacked a cop.” Connelly gave a careless shrug of her shoulders. “No one here will give a shit what happens to you.” She approached the bars. Her eyes narrowed on Nicole. “I thought you’d be out a little longer.”

“And I thought cops were supposed to help people.” This sucked. Seriously sucked. Her fangs were burning, pushing out thanks to the adrenaline rush that pumped through her. Her claws were growing and if that cop came closer, she’d give Connelly a scratch the cop wouldn’t soon forget.

“We do help people.” The cop glanced over her shoulder. Probably to make sure no one else was seeing or hearing any of this. “I kill monsters.”

“I’m not a monster! Six months ago, I was as human as you! I’m not—”

“Vampires lie. They trick. Deceive. One promised my sister she’d live forever.”

Oh, crap. This wasn’t going to end well.

“You know what he did?”

She could guess.

“He ripped her throat open, and I had to find what was left of her body.” Connelly opened the cage and came inside. The gun barrel never wavered. “I know about you,” the cop said. “You play innocent now, but you attacked that sheriff just over the county line.”

That punch would’ve come back to bite her. “I didn’t kill him.” Pointing that out seemed rather useless.

“Probably because you didn’t get the chance.” Connelly’s eyes narrowed. “Tom called me and gave me a heads-up that you might be in the area. He was there when they found my sister’s body. He knew I’d understand just how to deal with someone like you.”

She could not win with this cop. “Listen, I—”

“But what about Jeff Quint?”

A fist squeezed her heart.

“Sam Bentley?”

Dammit. “I didn’t want to kill them.” They haunted her now. She’d never forget their faces. Never.

“Right.” The cop’s voice easily called bullshit. “You just got thirsty and you had to rip out their throats.” Her voice thickened with fury. “Just like that bastard did to my sister. He tore her open from one ear to the other.”

Nicole kept her hands loose at her sides. “I don’t want to hurt you.” She understood the other woman’s pain and fury.

“Really? Too bad. I can’t wait to hurt you.”

Crap. “The cop who Tased me—he knows I’m in here.” He had to. “He could come and check and—”

“No one’s checking on you. No one gives a damn if you live or die. As far as they’re concerned, you’re a cop killer—”

Connelly was just steps away. Kill or be killed.

Nicole lunged forward. Connelly didn’t have time to shoot. Nicole caught her wrist, twisted it, and heard the snap of bones. When the cop cried out, Nicole plowed back with her elbow, driving it right into the cop’s nose. Cartilage crunched, and blood spurted as the woman went down.

Nicole kicked the gun out of the way. Her breath heaved out as she stared at the unconscious woman. “Lucky for you, I’m not a cop killer.” Though that blood was tempting. Good thing Connor had taught her a few tricks out of the bedroom. Maybe she did owe that SOB a bit after all. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the cop. “And lucky for me …” She knelt next to the other woman. “I think we’re about the same size.”