Angel in Chains (The Fallen 3)

She rose from the bed and turned to face him. The woman didn’t even seem aware of her nudity. That was fine. He was plenty aware of it for them both.

“A hybrid?” She repeated with a little line deepening between her brows. “You mean, like, his dad was a shifter and his mom—”

“Probably was an angel.”

Her eyes narrowed. “He never talked to me about his mother.” She searched the room. Found her shirt. Frowned at it when she realized it had been sliced to pieces.

“So you truly didn’t know?” He rose slowly, stretching. Her scent was on his skin. Az rather liked that. What he didn’t like was the idea that she’d deliberately set him up. While his touch hadn’t been able to kill Brandt, that guy’s claws had done a thorough job of slicing him to pieces.

Shifter claws weren’t a weapon forged of man, so, yes, they’d do the trick when it came to killing an angel.

Is that how Brandt’s mother had died?

Her hands clenched in the torn fabric of her shirt. “You actually think I set you up? To die?”

He stared back at her, waiting.

She threw the shirt at him. “No, jerk, I didn’t!” Then she whirled around and started yanking open closets and drawers. Jade growled when she didn’t find any clothing, then she spun back around with blazing eyes.

Red stained her cheeks, but he didn’t think that glow was from passion anymore. More like fury. “I’m the one that took the claws to the chest in order to protect you. Remember that sweet little moment? Because I sure do. It’s kinda etched in my memory.”

He’d never be able to forget that moment. In that instant, he’d decided—

“So, no, I didn’t think it would be a fun game of shits and giggles for me to set you up so that my ex—who has made my life nothing but hell and blood for the last ten years—could slaughter you. I was really rather hoping that the all-powerful, badass angel would be the one to take him out.” Her chest rose and fell with her fast breaths.

She was strangely beautiful when enraged.

Her gaze dropped to his cock. Narrowed. “Don’t even think it right now, got me? You just accused me of using you as some kind of kill toy for Brandt. That’s not how I work, and you, angel, well, you need to think again.” She stomped away from him.

He should let it go. Let her go. But . . .

“Who did you kill?” Az asked her.

She froze with her fingers inches from the doorknob.

With a wave of his hands, he conjured clothes for himself—and for her. She might be pissed, but he wasn’t letting her waltz out of the room naked, not with the others just a few feet away.

In an instant, soft jeans and a white T-shirt appeared on her body. She didn’t acknowledge the clothing, though she started in surprise. Still not looking at me. He’d make her see him. After what he’d traded for her, she damn well owed him the truth.

“Did Brandt tell you that I’m a killer?” Her voice was soft. “You know you really shouldn’t trust him. He’s a pathological liar.”

“It wasn’t Brandt. It was an angel I’ve known for centuries.” A guy who couldn’t lie. Unlike Brandt, the guy wasn’t a hybrid. Pureblood angels only spoke the truth.

Since the words had come from Bastion, he knew they weren’t a trick. He’d thought she was innocent. In need of protection. But she’d been lying to him all along.

Not so innocent. Not even close.

Why do I still want her so much?

She still didn’t look at him. Her fingers reached for the doorknob. “Then I guess you know the truth.”

Jade opened the door. No. He grabbed her. Slammed that door shut, and in an instant, he had her caged between his arms. “Who was it?”

A faint sheen of tears filled her eyes. “Go to hell.”

He stepped back, shocked more by the tears than by her words.

“Don’t stand there and judge me. You’re a Death Angel. Not some gentle guardian. Death is all you know. How many lives have you taken, huh? Hundreds? Thousands? You don’t know what my life has been like, and you sure don’t understand what I’ve had to do in order to survive.”

Kill.

“Humans adapt, right? That’s our strength?” Her lips curved in the hardest smile he’d ever seen her give. A smile that didn’t match the trace of moisture in her eyes. “Let’s just say I’m a pro at adapting. Now do me a favor and step back.”

He stared down at her and didn’t move an inch. “Do you know what I traded for you?”

“Considering I was ready to trade my life for you, right now, I don’t really care.” She didn’t wait for him to move. Jade shoved him—shoved, and Az flew back five feet.

Her jaw dropped open. “How did I—” She broke off, staring at her hand. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean . . .”

He rose from the floor. The blood. He’d have to tell her what to expect, but . . . he didn’t know what to expect.

Jade whirled around and yanked open the door. She rushed out even as Az called her name. She didn’t get far though. A few steps, and she slammed right into Tanner.

The shifter caught her arms and held her in place. “We’ve got a problem.” A muscle jerked along his jaw.

She pulled away from him. “A problem?” Her laugh held a ragged edge. “Trust me, I think we’ve got a whole lot more than just one problem to deal with here.”

Tanner glanced over her shoulder at Az. “He’s hunting us.”

Az just nodded. He’d figured that Brandt would come after him sooner rather than later.

“We maybe have an hour, probably less than that, before he tracks us here.”

“How do you know that?” Jade demanded as she ran a hand through her hair. “How can you possibly?”

“’Cause I’ve got one friend still in that pack, and he just called to tell me that we need to get the hell out of this place.” He huffed out a rough breath. “Heather’s still alive. Brandt forced her to scry, and she told him exactly where we are.”

So the bastard was coming for him. Fine. “Let him hunt.”

Tanner lifted a brow. “You’re that eager for another ass-kicking? ’Cause I’m not.”

Az crossed the room in an instant. His power might not work on Brandt, but Tanner was one hundred percent shifter. “You knew what he was.”

Jade hadn’t. He got that, now. But Tanner . . .