Angel Betrayed (The Fallen 2)

And one who should have been her backup for the night.

She let her face harden with anger because she had a role to play. “Did you forget that you were supposed to be watching my ass?” she demanded.

His eyes swept over her, lingering just a bit on the cuts that still sliced across her wrist and forearm. He shrugged, the move far too careless for her taste. “I thought you were dead. I saw that guy grab you and pull you back inside the house.”

Oh, so he had been watching. Then when things got hot, he’d turned tail and run. Way to leave a woman behind. “You didn’t think about coming to my aid?” That’s what a team was supposed to be for.

“That wasn’t my job.”

She took the hit and kept her chin up.

“I was supposed to watch. You were supposed to . . . well . . .” His lips twisted, and she caught the flash of disgust on his face. “Do your thing.”

Her thing. Like she hadn’t risked her life for this group over and over again.

“Is he dead?” Alex wanted to know as he came close. Not too close. He never got too close. Like being a demon was some kind of virus he didn’t want to catch.

She’d never liked the man. Seline worked with him because she had to—Rogziel wouldn’t let her do anything else.

This is all you have, Seline. Rogziel’s voice whispered through her mind. You want redemption, then you fight for it.You kill for it. You earn it.

The price for redemption was too high. She just wanted freedom.

“Sammael’s not dead.” Now she could mix truth and lie for this part. “I took some of his . . . power and managed to slip away.” She exhaled and shook her head. “He’s stronger than we thought. Much stronger. I need to talk to Rogziel—”

“He’s not here.” A brief pause, then Alex said, “He’s out hunting.”

Well, perfect. Then she could get the Az guy and slip right away. Because other than a few guards, the place was deserted.

“He wants us to relocate to a more secure site,” Alex continued.

Ah, that explained the lack of personnel.

“We’ll be transferring out the last prisoner soon.”

“The last one?” Oh, come on, be Az, be . . .

Alex turned away. “He’s a real piece of work. A Fallen.” He shook his head and kept walking. “Can you believe an angel would be dumb enough to fall from heaven?”

“I’ve seen dumber things.” Like you, just walking away from me now after you admitted you left me to die. Seline grabbed the nearest object she could find—a metal chair that she lifted easily—and she slammed it into the back of Alex’s head.

He went down, and she leaned over him. “Maybe that will teach you to stop looking at me like I’m a piece of dog shit stuck on your shoe.” She’d seen the look in his eyes, in most of the eyes of the humans who were under Rogziel’s thumb, and she was tired of being trash. Seline yanked the keys off his belt. Alex always had the keys to the cages. As Rogziel’s first in command, he was the one given top access all the time.

She jumped up and hurried down the hall on the left. There wouldn’t be much time before someone found his body.

So she’d better haul ass.

She turned a quick left, a hard right, and still she didn’t see any other guards or personnel. She knew that the most dangerous Other were always kept in containment until Rogziel issued his judgment on them. This area of the warehouse had been reinforced for their containment. Other-proofed, so to speak. Silver cages for the shifters, magic blocks for the witches, and—

There. She pressed in a fast key code and the door for containment room 107 slid open. She slipped inside and saw—him.

The man’s muscled chest was bare. His head sagged forward, his blond hair concealing his face. Thick chains bound his arms, holding him securely, even as blood dripped from the cuts that slashed open his arms.

The guy barely seemed to be breathing. Maybe she was already too late, dammit. Now how was she supposed to bargain with Sam? He wouldn’t pay for a dead body.

She stepped forward, and her shoes slid over the hard floor.

His head whipped up. “Help . . . me.” A desperate plea that was echoed by the haunted look in his blue gaze.

She pushed the door closed behind her and gripped the keys in her hand. “That’s why I’m here.” Liar, liar . . . You’re my ticket to freedom.

So this was Az. Now that his hair had slid back, she could get a much better view of him. Perfect face. High cheekbones, straight blade of a nose, hard jaw. Golden skin. Bright blue eyes. Mouth that looked like it should be smiling. Instead, lines of pain bracketed his lips.

Yeah, she could buy him being an angel. Whereas Sam just looked more like the devil.

“Who . . .” his voice rasped out, “are . . . you?”

“My name’s Seline.” Giving him her name didn’t matter and maybe it would earn her the trust she needed to make the escape work. She just had to get him out of those cuffs and then slip him out of the warehouse.

Sam could take over the game then.

His brow furrowed. “Don’t . . . know you . . .” He shook his head. “Don’t know . . .”

She hesitated just a few feet from him.

He sucked in a deep breath. “Who am I?” Confusion roughened the words.

She blinked. “Uh . . . run that by me again?” She sure hadn’t been expecting that kind of response from him.

His gaze darted around the room. “Why . . . am I here?” That bright stare came back to her. “Did I do . . . something wrong? Did I . . . hurt someone?” He yanked at the chains.

Seline kept her distance. If he was truly Sam’s brother, then the guy before her might be able to kill with a touch, too. Which makes getting him out of here even harder.

His jaw clenched. “Please,” he grated, “help me.”

There was torment in his voice. And fear. The keys dug into her hand. “Your name is Az.”

He didn’t blink.

Okay, no recognition there. Is this the right guy? She walked a bit to the left and tried to peer over his shoulder. She couldn’t see the flesh on his back, not with the way he was chained, so in order to find out if he carried the same scars as Sam did, she’d have to touch him.Seline sucked in a deep breath. “I will help you,” she told him, “but you have to trust me.” She lifted her left hand to show that she wasn’t armed. “I need to touch you.”