Angel in Chains (The Fallen 3)

Her scent slipped around him. His body hungered for hers. Needed.

“And I’m not going to be your temptation, either.” Now a thread of anger slipped into her voice. Anger. Hurt? “I’ve already been there and done that for another. Dammit, I’m more.”

Pain was reflected in her eyes.

She tried to turn away then. He grabbed her hand and held tight. Won’t let go. “You need me.” He didn’t bother lowering his voice. He wanted the shifter to hear this. If they were going into a fight, they’d need his strength to win.

Jade would need him. He didn’t know why it was so important for her to admit that.

It simply was.

“Look,” Tanner growled, “you two can have your lovers’ spat later, but right now, we need to go figure out our plan of attack.”

Az felt the shifter’s eyes on him then. Seeing too much. His hold on Jade tightened as he looked up and regarded the shifter with deeper suspicion. Just because you were a cop, it didn’t mean you should be trusted.

He sure didn’t trust the jerk.

Just because you were an angel, it didn’t mean you were good.

He knew that better than others.

“You didn’t come alone,” Az said, certain.

“Because I’m not so trusting, either.” He shrugged. “And because I know you’re no guardian.”

No, but he was guarding Jade. While angels couldn’t lie outright, they knew how to twist the truth to conceal their secrets.

“So who’s watching us?” Jade wanted to know. With her free hand, she pointed to the shadows.

“My backup plan.” Tanner didn’t look away from them. “Now are we going to stand out here all night, wasting time, or are we ready to get down to business?”

“Business?” Az repeated.

“Brandt’s death. It’s what we both want.”

It was what Jade seemed to need.

“He’s not exactly an easy guy to destroy,” Jade said softly. “In case you haven’t noticed.”

Tanner laughed, but the grating sound held no humor. “I noticed alright. I also know that everything can die. You just have to get close enough to make the kill.” Tanner stalked toward them. “Getting close isn’t exactly a problem for you, is it, Jade?”

She didn’t answer. Az narrowed his eyes on the shifter.

“But there’s close . . .” Tanner murmured, “and then there’s killing close.”

Jade sucked in a deep breath. “Do you have a plan?” she demanded. “Or are you just out here to spout bullshit?”

Az smiled. He liked the woman’s fire. She seemed to have more fury in her than most humans.

So hot, you could almost feel the burn.

Tanner smiled at her, too, and that grin flashed his sharp canines. “I thought a human would be more afraid.”

“I am scared. Scared every single moment.” That wasn’t sarcasm coming from her, either.

Her confession gave Az pause. He hadn’t realized . . .

“I just want the nightmare over,” she continued, “and I want to be able to live like everyone else. So if you’ve got some great plan, then share it, and let’s cut the crap.”

Az listened carefully, not to Jade and the shifter, but to the whisper of sounds that surrounded them.

Another rustle. A brush of fabric against stone. The softest of breaths.

There.

Az moved in an instant, rushing toward the watcher, and moving so quickly that he knew he’d appear to be a blur.

He caught the watcher in his grasp even as he heard Tanner call out a warning.

Too late.

He stared at the person in his hands—a person very familiar to him.

Wide eyes. Close-cropped blond hair. Small. Deceptively delicate.

Witch.

The same witch who’d sold him out months before. In that instant, Az knew they’d walked into a trap.

“You’re dying,” he told her. She’d traded his life. Now he’d take hers.

“No!” Tanner’s shout, cutting through the night. “Fuck, no, don’t hurt her!”

It wouldn’t hurt. He could be compassionate. Death could be as gentle as a whisper.

Vengeance is mine.

“Az . . .” Jade’s voice, drifting on the wind to him.

The scent of flowers teased his nose again. A Death Angel was close.

Az looked back. Tanner had his claws at Jade’s throat. In turn, she had a gun pointed right at his heart.

“I think we all need to take a minute and calm the hell down,” the shifter called out.

Az felt amazingly calm. The witch barely seemed to breathe.

“We need each other,” Tanner growled. “Brandt and his pack are too powerful for us to face alone.”

Doubtful.

Az stared back at the witch. A faint smile lifted her lips. “Still think you’re the strongest force on earth, do you, angel?”

“I think I’m looking at a dead woman,” he said.

But she laughed. “Not yet, you aren’t.

Why was he hesitating? “You sold me out once already.”

“And I’ll do it again.” Sounded like a promise. “That’s why you need me.”

Footsteps raced toward them. Jade and Tanner. Not taking aim at one another any longer. Instead—

“Don’t hurt her,” Tanner ordered. “That witch is our ticket into the pack.”

“Witch?” Jade staggered to a stop beside them. Az’s focus shifted to Jade even as he kept his grip on the witch.

Jade’s gaze flew between Az and the woman. “No one mentioned anything about a witch—”

“I told you that every Other in the city would be after your guardian.” Sweat trickled down Tanner’s temple. “Well, Heather here has a certain . . . reputation.”

“For selling out everyone she meets?” Az demanded. He hadn’t let the witch go yet, but he hadn’t killed her, either.

He thought he was showing pretty good restraint.

“Almost everyone,” the witch said.

“Heather . . .” A warning tone entered Tanner’s voice.

But Heather didn’t heed that warning. “I was trying to do the world a favor.” She held Az’s gaze. “Some Other are too dangerous to live.”

“Wait a minute!” Jade grabbed Az’s arm and hauled him away from the witch. Only because Az let her haul him. “You’re the one who found Az?” She asked the other woman.

Heather’s lips curved. “The world is smaller than we like to think.”