Angel of Darkness (The Fallen 1)

Connor. He’d always been willing to trade almost anything—even a life—for money.

“Tell me, Fallen,” Sam continued, “If your powers are gone, then how’d you make the room shake just a moment ago? And how …” His voice dropped, became taunting, “did you see your sweet vamp’s death … if your powers weren’t coming back?”

Her teeth were burning, her claws pushing out. Sam was a threat to her, and her body responded instinctively. He was playing some kind of game with them; she felt like everything was a game, and she wanted it to stop.

Keenan’s gaze flew to her. “You mean all the powers will be coming back?”

Sam laughed. “Bit of a bitch, isn’t it? You can save her, but the cost will be hell.”

“What are you talking about?” Nicole demanded, sick of being in the dark. “If we can stop this Az, tell me how.”

“Fury’s the key.” Sam flashed his teeth in a grin that chilled. “You got to let the rage take you, and then you can take him.”

“Why don’t you just take him out?” Nicole snapped as she grabbed Sam’s arm and jerked him toward her.

An electric shot flew through her fingertips. Not pain, not yet. But …

“Interesting,” Sam said as he looked down at her hand. “Very, very interesting.”

Keenan swore and pulled her away from Sam.

But Sam’s stare had locked on her now. “Maybe you’re not so insignificant after all.”

Well, wasn’t that grand.

Sam’s tongue swiped over his bottom lip. “I’ll help you, for a price.”

“I thought you just said I could take him out—” Keenan snarled.

“I said you could, not that you would.” Sam rocked back on his heels. “There’s a difference you know.”

“And just what’s your price?” Nicole asked him.

His eyes glinted. “For fighting an angel bent on vengeance? Because it is vengeance. Your name’s not on any list. Az just wants to take you out to prove that no one screws with his guard.”

“You’re sure?” Keenan’s fingers squeezed hers, the grip just shy of actual pain. “He said—”

“He can twist the truth as well as any of our kind.” Sam crossed his arms over his chest. “Az isn’t the lily-white angel he wants to be. He’s been tempted, he’s broken the rules, and now, he thinks he is the power when it comes to death.”

“You want to take him out.” Keenan dropped the words easily, but his body was tight against hers. “You’ve been fighting with him—”

“Since before you took your first soul. Right.” Now Sam looked bored. “Az owes me. Payback can be a bitch.” His eyes narrowed. “Or in this case, a vampire.”

The guy was weird.

A faint odor began to fill the room. Metallic, harsh—gasoline.

A soft whoosh hit her ears and she spun back toward the door. Fire.

“Huh. I didn’t expect that,” Sam muttered. “Pity. I was so looking forward to tomorrow night’s dance.”

What?

The smoke seeped through the doorway.

“You got enemies, other than Az?” Sam asked as he headed for the nearest wall. He punched it with his fist and the bricks crumbled. “Cause it sure looks like someone is gunning for you—or your vamp.”

Then he was pushing through the loose bricks and heading into the dark.

“Dammit, Sam!” Keenan yelled. “Wait!”

But waiting in a burning building wasn’t a good idea. Especially when you knew you were living on borrowed time anyway. Nicole locked her fingers with Keenan’s. “Come on!”

They’d just reached that broken wall when she heard—

“Help me!”

The smoke was already filling her lungs and trying to choke her. The smoke wouldn’t kill her, it couldn’t. But the fire sure could.

Keenan hesitated. His gaze met hers.

“Keenan …”

Another desperate scream rose above that crackling fire. A woman’s scream.

Nicole turned back to the doorway. She wouldn’t leave—

Keenan grabbed her and threw her out of the building. As she flew through that rough opening, the bricks scraped over her arms and legs. She hit the cement outside hard enough to make her whole body shudder. When she looked up, Keenan wasn’t there.

Because he’d gone back into the flames.

“Some angels …” Sam’s voice floated to her, rising easily above the fire and the shouts from those fleeing the building. “They just never learn.”

She pushed to her feet.

“Can’t save everyone.” Sam wasn’t moving. He was just standing there and staring at the fire. “Sometimes, you can’t even save yourself.”

Screw him. Sometimes, you could save someone.

Her hands slapped against the brick wall.

“You’ll burn if you go in there.” His quiet warning.

“I’m not leaving Keenan on his own.” He hadn’t left her. And that woman in there—screaming—been there, done that. She knew too well what it was like to be screaming for help that didn’t come.

Help’s coming.

“Nice sentiment.” And somehow, he was right beside her now. No, behind her. His hand stroked down her arm and sent goose bumps over her flesh as that weird little electric shock vibrated through her. “But I can’t let you save him.”

The electric shock became a painful burn … one that fired right to her heart.

She opened her mouth to scream.

“Don’t worry, this won’t kill you.”

The scream never passed her lips because her voice was gone. Nicole fell and hit the ground. She stared up at the fallen angel who looked—

Sad?

“It won’t kill you, and maybe … maybe it won’t kill him either.”

Darkness coated her vision. No, not darkness. Smoke.

Keenan.

“He needs to learn … he can’t save everyone.”

The fire raged.

“Let’s see just how far we can push him …” Sam’s dark voice drifted with the smoke. “Until he breaks.”

That bastard was supposed to help them!

She didn’t want Keenan to break. She wanted him out of the fire.

Keenan!

She couldn’t scream his name. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.

She could only lie there as Sam slipped away and the fire burned higher.