Angel of Darkness (The Fallen 1)

“Don’t worry about her.” Willing bait.

Az was almost right over Carlos then. Only a few more moments.

“Choose,” Az said.

Keenan blinked. What? There was no choice. Never had been. What was he—

But Nicole was moving, spinning around and screaming as she shoved Keenan to the side.

The woman—the bait—she’d followed them. When Keenan flew back, the bait’s right hand lifted and she plunged a thick, wooden stake right into Nicole’s chest.

Keenan grabbed the woman. Touched her—and she was dead in the same second. He ripped the stake out of Nicole’s chest. Not her heart. Not her heart, not—

“It’s too late,” Az said. “It’s time for the vampire to pass.”

Then everything got very quiet as time seemed to slow. Keenan could hear the harsh gasp of Nicole’s breaths. He could feel the warm weight of her body against his.

He looked up and Az was right there, standing over him and reaching down. Az wasn’t there to take the shifter because that ass**le was still alive. Carlos was still alive when he should have been dead.

And now Carlos was rising to his feet. He’d dug all the bullets out of his chest. A walking dead man. Death hadn’t taken his prey, because Az had broken the rules.

Bastard!

“No,” Az said, shaking his head, and Keenan realized he’d yelled his accusations at the angel. “You’re the one who broke the rules.” Az shrugged and his wings flared behind him. “I’m just cleaning up the mess you made.”

Carlos shifted then, transforming with a crunch and crack of bones into the thick, furry beast that was the coyote.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Az didn’t glance at the coyote. His eyes stayed on Keenan. “I know you lust for her, but Keenan, she’s isn’t worth what you—”

“You’re not touching her.” He pulled Nicole closer and edged away from Az. Keenan pushed Nicole’s lips against his throat. “Drink, sweet. Drink.”

Az sighed and shook his head. “I’ve done this for you, Keenan. I risked wrath because I know you’re better than this mortal world.”

“Better, huh?” She wasn’t biting him. He could feel the edge of her teeth, but she wasn’t biting. Nicole barely seemed to be breathing. “Fuck you, Az,” he yelled. “She’s the only thing I want!”

“A vampire.” Az’s lips tightened. “A killer.”

“You think we’re so different from her?” Why wouldn’t she drink? “How many souls have we taken, Az? How many?” He held her so tight, but her body was limp in his arms.

“We carry souls. Humans and Other kill themselves. We are just—”

Carlos howled behind him. The shifter was fully an animal now, and that shift would have helped him to heal. He should have died from that last gunshot. Az was changing the game.

“You’re stepping over the line,” Keenan grabbed Nicole’s hand. Her claws were still out, barely. He used them to slice his neck and then he forced her mouth back to his throat. Drink. Even if the blonde had missed Nicole’s heart, his vamp could die from blood loss. There was so much blood.

Her lips began to move on his throat. Lightly, but, she was drinking. Yes. “Stay with me, sweet,” he whispered. “Just stay with me.”

Az’s eyes narrowed. “Why does she matter? You were an angel—and you can be again. This world, the hell here, you don’t need it.”

The coyote began to shift once more as he transformed back into the form of a man. Every shift would bring him strength. That was the way of the beast.

Keenan said, “I might not need the world.” The pain. The hate. The wars. “But I need her.”

Az’s wings stretched. “Why?”

The angel seemed lost. Probably because he was. “Because I love her.” Simple.

“Angels don’t love!”

“I do.” Nicole’s breath blew lightly against his throat. Good, she’d taken enough blood to keep her alive until he could get them out of there. Keenan pushed her behind his body, positioning her so that he was in front of her and the brick wall was at her back.

“You can’t stay down here.” A muscle jerked in Az’s jaw. “This isn’t the place for you.”

“Wherever she is … that’s where I’ll be.”

Carlos stood now, strong, grinning, his claws out and his sharpened teeth glinting.

“You going to sic your dog on me?” Keenan demanded, and Nicole’s fingers pressed into his back. “You’re the one who sent him here, after all.” Yes, he’d figured that out. The alley. The cathedral. “You’re the only one who knew what this place meant to Nicole.”

Az’s smile held an evil edge. Damn. This guy was supposed to be the good one?

“I thought angels helped people,” Nicole said, her voice weak but clear. “I thought you were supposed to protect humans, to keep them safe!”

“Told you before, you’re not human.” Disgust had Az’s lips twisting. “You should have died that night. Couldn’t you see? We were trying to be merciful!”

Carlos stalked closer.

“How?” Nicole demanded. “By letting that bastard rape me? By letting him rip out my throat?”

“The cancer inside you would have broken your body. You would have suffered for months. Just like your mother, you would have withered away.” Az lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. “Instead, your pain lasted only a few moments.”

Cancer?

“Didn’t know that, did you, Keenan? Why did you think your charge was racing for those church steps that night? Humans always turn to God when they need something.” Az stepped back and cleared the path for Carlos. “Then they turn away when he needs them.” Az pointed at Keenan. “You shouldn’t have turned away.”

Keenan held Az’s stare and felt the fury rise even higher.

“This is your last chance.” Az expelled a hard breath. “You can still come back.”

You just have to kill her.

Keenan smiled. “Fuck you, Az.”

Az blinked, then his jaw tightened. “Then you’ve chosen. I wonder what waits in the next world for an angel that fell?”

Carlos ran toward them, his claws out, long, sharp, and deadly.

Keenan wasn’t afraid. The rage was too strong. He could touch and kill and he’d take Carlos out.