Angel in Chains (The Fallen #3)(10)

“Go ahead,” Sam told him. “Go find a human. Screw yourself silly. Live a little.”

But with every moment that he spent on earth, Az felt like he slipped farther away from his past. From his real life.

Not meant for earth. Too much pain. It ate at him here.

“Redemption,” Seline said softly as she pressed against Sam’s side. “It’s your only way.”

It was his only way. Because if he stayed here, well, a very long, long time ago, a certain powerful prophet had predicted that Az might just bring about the end of the world . . . when he killed his own brother.

He’d had the chance to kill Sam before. He’d passed. End of the world apocalypse averted.

For the moment. But every day, Az could feel a darkness stirring inside him. If the emotions just kept growing stronger, what would happen?

Could he keep holding on to his control?

Or what if that old prediction finally came true? If the darkness inside of him grew too strong, Az wasn’t sure what would happen or what he might do.

His gaze returned to Jade. He could barely see the top of her dark hair now. She’d slipped to the side, moving almost stealthily as she turned toward the hallway that led to the darker part of Sunrise.

The part humans weren’t meant to see.

She was a human. Lost. Alone. Hunted by the Other.

Weak.

Sam began to laugh behind him.

Humans were weak, but they were also favored.

“You’re going to regret so many things,” Sam murmured to Az as he pulled Seline closer. “So many . . .”

Az turned his head and offered a tight smile to his brother, the only angel who’d ever been able to equal him in power. The angel who’d fallen when he’d slaughtered dozens of humans. “Fuck off,” Az told him.

But Sam’s grin didn’t fade. It only stretched wider as he said, “Now that’s the spirit, brother.”

Az left him. Intent on finding Jade, he pushed his way through the crowd. She shouldn’t be there. It was far too dangerous for her to be in that wild crowd.

Redemption.

He pushed back two demons who’d blocked his path. Demons . . . they looked just like humans, unless you were powerful enough to see through the glamour that they used. Usually, only other demons could read past the illusion. A demon’s true gaze was pitch black. Darker than the worst night in hell.

The demons didn’t bother with glamour when they glared at him. Az shoved a burst of his power at them and sent the demons stumbling back. In this town, he was used to enemies being near. He was used to enemies being everywhere.

The dark corridor on the left snaked away from the main bar. A few more steps down that corridor, and Az found himself in front of a barred door. A seven-foot-tall bear shifter blocked his way—and there was no sign of Jade.

“Where is she?” Az demanded.

The shifter smiled.

Fine. Az grabbed him and slammed the shifter’s head against the door. Once. Twice. The third slam broke the door.

He tossed the shifter aside and peered through the shattered remains of the door. Another hallway waited.

But voices reached his ears. Men. Probably more demons or shifters. And then, he heard her.

Az entered a cavernous room and, even with the cluster of bodies, he caught the scent of strawberries. He focused on that scent. Followed it.

There she was. Jade was leaning over an old wooden table. Two demons sat at the table, with their eyes too intent on her body. She slapped a wad of cash down on the table’s scarred surface. “Here’s the money, now do it.”

One demon jumped up. Grabbed her. And put a knife to her throat.

In that instant, the dumb-ass demon begged for death.

And Death heard his plea.





CHAPTER THREE

The blade slipped down her throat, slicing the skin—then the demon was yanked away and tossed across the room.

What the hell?

Jade covered her throat even as she scrambled for the knife that had fallen to the floor. She needed that knife, she needed—

“Get out of here.” Oh, hell. She knew that deep, rumbling voice. Az was there. He grabbed her before her searching fingers could close over the knife’s handle. “Run,” he told her. “I’ll take care of them.”

Run? No, thank you. Her throat stung, but, luckily, the blade hadn’t sliced her too deeply. “What are you doing here?” Had the guy totally not listened to her at all? She’d tried to do the right thing, but, no, here he was, looking all tall, strong, and avenging, and—

And he’d been the one to toss the demon across the room.

So screwing up my plan.

“Go.” Az pushed her toward the door. Jade guessed that he didn’t realize the door was now blocked by two really pissed-off looking demons. “I’ll handle them.”

She didn’t go.

The demon he’d hurled across the room had now risen to his feet. His eyes—no longer a warm green but instead a cold, pitch black—locked on her. “You set me up, bitch.”

Well, no, she hadn’t. She’d come in, intending to do this deal right. Couldn’t a girl hire a paranormal hit squad anymore without issues coming up? No deal was ever simple these days.

“I didn’t set you up,” she told the demon. William. A hard-hitter with a reputation for taking care of business. She’d worked for weeks arranging this meeting. Jade tried to step around Az. He glared at her and blocked her path. Wrong time, hero. “There’s just a—a misunderstanding going on here.”