Angel Betrayed (The Fallen 2)

“No.” Tomas’s lips twisted. “I’m just the errand boy. Guess it was my turn to play messenger.”

Sam’s blood chilled. “Rogziel did catch you, didn’t he?”

A sad, regretful nod of Tomas’s head. “You didn’t arrive soon enough.”

Sam could smell the blood that still coated Tomas. He couldn’t see the wounds, but he knew they were there. “Why are you still living?” A brutal question but one that had to be asked.

Nicole appeared again and shook her head. No Seline.

“Rogziel wanted me to trick you—to get you to come in willingly with me.”

Sam waited.

Tomas held his stare. “I agreed.”

“You traded your life for mine?” And to think, he’d once saved Tomas’s sorry ass. A pack of vampires had closed in on the Fallen just days after he’d hit earth. The angel blood was often a lure for the undead—the taste of it made them feel alive again.

I should have let him die.

But he’d been in the mood to kick vampire ass then.

“Something like that,” Tomas muttered. He glanced at Keenan. “You need to get out of Mexico, K. Get out.” His jaw tightened when he saw Nicole. “And make sure you take her with you.”

Tomas hadn’t been real keen on vampires since his attack. But then Tomas said, “The last thing you want to do is leave her unprotected.”

And Sam understood. What was said . . . and what wasn’t. Some angels couldn’t even twist the truth that well.

Tomas was such an angel.

“You know Rogziel’s crossed the line,” Sam said. Az was still there. Not moving. Just watching, waiting. Because he understood what it was like to be Rogziel’s captive?

Because he wanted to find out where the bastard was so he could rip him apart first?

No dice. Rogziel’s mine.

“Yes, I know . . .” Tomas lifted his shirt, and Sam saw the deep claw marks that crossed his stomach. “He let his pet play with me for a while.”

“The hound?” Keenan demanded. “The hound is back?”

“He doesn’t just have one hound,” Tomas told him, shoving his shirt back down. “He’s got two. The second bastard is even bigger than the one I saw at the motel.”

That wasn’t good to know. Sam took a step toward Tomas. “Where’s Seline?”

“Two hounds?” Az muttered. “Two?”

Kill him. The spear was still in Sam’s hand. It would be so easy.

“If you want her to live, you’ll come with me now.”

Angels could twist the truth . . .

“We’ll all come,” Keenan snarled, and his shadow wings flared.

But Tomas shook his head. “Sorry, that’s not how it works.”

Then he lunged forward and grabbed Sam. “When it comes to angels, you were always too trusting.” Then a familiar chant filled Sam’s ears.

Mateo.

Sam didn’t fight. He could have broken free. But if he had, then Seline might suffer. In the instant of time that he had, Sam broke the head off the spear and curled his fingers around the claw. The wood fell to the ground.

Az’s tense face vanished. Keenan shouted his name.

And the world became a swirling vortex of dark gray smoke.

“Something you should know,” Sam grated as wind howled in his ear like demons screaming.

Tomas grunted.

“Mateo knows better than to sell my ass out.” He slammed his hand into Tomas’s chest. “He’s too smart for that.”

The wind stopped howling. The smoke vanished. Sam and Tomas slammed into the ground. But in an instant, Sam was back on his feet. On his feet, and with his weapon pressed against Tomas’s throat. “Obviously,” Sam told the dumbass, “you’re not.”

Tomas glared up at him. “How the hell did you do that?”

He used his left hand to yank at the charm around his neck—a charm Mateo had given him. “Let’s just call it my little get-out-of-jail free card. It’s real handy for breaking spells.” He let the claw slice Tomas’s throat. “You take me to Seline, now, or you die.”

Seline glared down the long, winding road. The sun was rising slowly in the sky, and she was already baking out there.

No one was on this road. That freaking Fallen had dumped her in the middle of nowhere. No phone. No people. No help.

No Sam.

And, oh, damn, she was worried about him. What if Az killed him? What would she do then?

Her shoulders hunched even as her head tilted back, and she stared helplessly up at that stretching expanse of blue sky.

“Please,” she whispered, aware that her voice was thick with emotion that nearly choked her. Az had known her mother. Sam could be dying. “Help me.”

Because she knew Rogziel had gone after Sam. Despite his strength, Sam couldn’t defeat both Az and Rogziel, and if Rogziel brought his hounds with him, there wouldn’t even be a chance for Sam to survive.

Her eyes squeezed closed. She was lost, had no clue, and Sam—

“Sam is stronger than you think.” A soft laugh floated in the air. “He’s stronger than pretty much any angel on earth or above it.”

Slowly, Seline opened her eyes. A woman stood before her. Small, delicate, with close-cropped dark hair and a delicate, almost elfin face.

The woman wore all white, a bright contrast to her light brown skin, and strong, powerful black wings spread behind her.

Seline’s knees trembled. Rogziel usually kept his wings hidden, an old angel trick. This woman—she wasn’t bothering with tricks.

And she also wasn’t standing in front of Seline. The woman hovered about a foot in the air.

Black wings . . . Rogziel had black wings, too. All punishment angels did. And, because of Sam, she knew that all Angels of Death did, as well. Seline swallowed back her fear. “Are you here to kill me?”

The woman glanced around. “Um, no.”

The scent of flowers was strong. Roses. The woman smelled like roses.

“Then you’re a punishment angel.”

“Um . . .”

That really wasn’t an answer.

The woman flew closer. Those wings fluttered behind her. “You look a lot like Erina.”

Seline licked her lips. “So I’ve been told.”

The angel’s bright stare raked her. “It’s a pity you never knew her.”

Her throat hurt when she cleared it. “Yeah, it is.”

The angel’s gaze saw too much. “Why didn’t you call sooner?” the woman asked softly. “All these years . . . it sure took you long enough, Seline.”