Angel in Chains (The Fallen 3)

She’d looked at him, but seemed to see a monster.

Now she’s really seeing me.

“How long will she be out?”

“At least till dusk. Hell . . .” Cody rubbed his forehead. “With all those tranqs I gave her, an elephant would be out until sunset.”

Az stood by her side. He couldn’t move away. Her color seemed better. No lines of pain ravaged her face anymore. A sheet covered her chest and lower body. Beneath the sheet, bandages hid her injuries.

There was no way a human wouldn’t scar from those wounds. But then, a human shouldn’t live with them, either.

“You know that she’ll be . . . more when she wakes.” Cody’s voice was hesitant.

Az frowned and glanced at the demon.

Cody still gazed at Jade with a faint furrow between his brows. “Human before,” he murmured, “but, now, with your blood . . .”

“She’ll be the same as she was.”

Cody lifted a brow and turned his too dark stare on Az. “Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to make yourself think that it’s true?” Cody exhaled on a rough sigh. “When the first angels fell and mated with humans, their blood mixed—”

“And demons were born.” He didn’t need a history lesson. He’d been there for that history. He’d witnessed the temptations. Cleaned up the chaos left in the wake of so much recklessness.

“Even vampires can go wild when they ingest an angel’s blood.” Cody lifted Jade’s wrist and checked her pulse. “I’ve heard vamps say they can actually drink an angel’s power through the blood.” He put her hand back down and stared at her still form. “I can’t help but wonder . . . did you think about the risks to her? Or did you just not care?”

“I wasn’t letting her die,” Az growled.

“But you weren’t going to let her stay human, either, were you?”

“She still is human! She won’t change.”

The doctor turned away. “She already has. Didn’t you hear her screams?”

Az brushed back her hair. He let his hand linger on her cheek. “She was delusional. Out of her mind from the pain and the attack—”

“No.” The demon stared out of the small window. “She just opened her eyes and saw monsters all around her. She saw monsters when she’d only seen men before.”

Az’s body tensed.

“She saw my black eyes,” the doctor continued as he turned to slowly face Az once more, “and I’m curious to know, what do you think she saw when she looked at you? Because whatever it was, that sight made her scream the loudest.”

CHAPTER TEN

It was the beeping that woke her. A slow, steady beep of sound that gradually penetrated Jade’s consciousness. She opened her eyes, then immediately squinted against the light.

“You’re back.”

She stiffened at the deep voice.

“Don’t worry.” A warm hand covered hers. “You’re safe here.”

Jade turned her head and met Tanner’s worried stare. She licked her lips, swallowed back what tasted like ash on her tongue, and managed to ask, “Where am I?” Her voice came out cool and . . . normal. Why had she thought that she’d be hoarse? Why did the memory of screams whisper through her mind?

“Ah . . .” He exhaled. “Okay, don’t freak on me, but we’re at my brother’s place.”

In an instant, she yanked her hand away from him and snapped upright. Something sharp yanked on her arm. Quickly, she glanced at her right arm. What was that? A needle? An IV? She hated needles. Jade ripped it out and tossed it away from her. “You sold me out!”

“Easy.” He lifted both of his hands in one of those I’m-harmless gestures that people did. “I’m not talking about that brother, okay? Not the insane, psychotic prick who wants us both dead.” He jerked his thumb behind him, to the wall of bandages and medicine and what looked like hospital equipment. “My brother Cody is a doctor, and after you were injured—”

“You mean after you and that bitch witch friend of yours tried to kill me—”

“You weren’t going to make it back to the city alive.”

Okay, that stopped her. “I knew I was dying.” Crazy, but, she’d almost felt death touching her.

“Your angel wasn’t real keen to let you go.”

Angel.

Her gaze flew back to his.

“Yeah, I know what he is. This isn’t my first ball game, lady. And when we got here and he started talking to people that I couldn’t see and my nose”—he tapped said nose—“kept catching the scent of flowers, I knew Death was standing close by.”

Now Tanner had lost her. “Flowers? What are you even talking about?”

“An old legend. At least, some folks think it’s legend. When an angel’s close by, if you pay attention, you’ll catch the smell of flowers in the air.”

“Az doesn’t smell like flowers.” Man. Power. Not petunias.

“That’s because he’s not exactly an angel anymore, now is he?”

She swallowed. “No, he isn’t.” The bandages on her chest were pulling on her skin. She didn’t want to look down and see the mess that had been made of her flesh. She could still feel Brandt’s claws, sinking into her chest.

Jade took a deep breath and forced her head to lift. Tanner’s gaze was full of sympathy and that just made her feel vulnerable. And a little sad. “How am I still alive?”

“You’re alive because your veins are pumping with that not-quite angel blood.”

Shock froze her for a moment.

“We rushed you here,” he said. “My brother got you on his table, did his best to patch you up, and then Az gave you the dirtiest blood transfusion that I’ve ever seen.”

“Blood transfusion?” Goose bumps rose on her flesh.

“Um . . .” He inclined his head toward her. “I thought you were dead, but that ex-angel of yours brought you right back to life.”

She didn’t remember any transfusion. She didn’t remember a doctor. Only . . .

Black wings, rising above her. A monster with eyes darker than night.

Jade licked her lips. “Where is Az?”

Tanner glanced toward the shut door. “When we saw that you were starting to wake up, we figured it might be best if you didn’t see him or Cody first thing.”

“Cody?”