Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
His heart thundered in his ears, and the wild beat shook his chest. Keenan pushed up onto his elbows and stared down at Nicole. Pleasure still hummed through his blood. The orgasm had pounded through him—and he wanted more.
No wonder humans had sex so much. Sex was addictive. Not as messy as it had seemed. Hot. Wild.
So much better than his dreams.
Her hands were on his back, sliding down over his skin, and his cock thickened again inside her.
Once wouldn’t be nearly enough to sate the hunger that had been growing within him.
“Was that...” Nicole stopped and licked her lips. “For a first time, you sure seemed to know what you were doing.”
He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on the curve of her shoulder. I’ve seen plenty of sex. There wasn’t a move he didn’t understand. Mentally, he knew it all.
But the actual physical experience was something that he’d gotten only with her. And there was so much more he wanted to do.
“Ah, Keenan?” Her hands slipped forward and pushed on his shoulders. “Again?”
Surprise had lifted her voice. Why? What had she expected? He smiled down at her. “We’re just getting started.”
Her eyes had eased back to green but as he pulled back and began to thrust again, he saw the emerald slowly bleed away.
The edge of her sharpened teeth peeked out from behind her lips—the fangs she’d sunk into his flesh.
Her bite hadn’t brought pain. Not even close. Just pleasure. A sensual kick so powerful he’d shuddered.
He wanted her bite again.
He thrust harder. Deeper. Her sex was slick from her climax, from his, and so tight. A hot, clinging clasp that stroked over every inch of his cock.
This time, though, he wanted to watch her. Wanted to watch every flicker of emotion on her face.
In. Deeper.
His spine tightened.
Her legs squeezed him, so tight. Her sex— incredible.
“Harder this time,” she whispered, those fangs peeking at him. “You don’t have to be careful with me.”
But he felt like he should be. She was small. Delicate.
Nicole laughed and pushed up, a fast, strong move and Keenan found himself on his back, staring up at her.
“You keep forgetting.” A different note had entered her voice now. Darker. Sadder. “I’m not the same woman you watched before.”
His cock still lodged within her and she straddled his thighs. She caught his hands, brought them up to cup her breasts, then she started to move. Lifting up, gliding down. The rhythm built. Faster. Harder.
Her breath heaved out as her gaze bored into him. “I can take anything you’ve got.”
She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
Keenan shot up as the last thread of his control broke away. He caught her head and pushed her mouth to his neck. “Bite me.” Because he wanted, needed that wild surge that came when she?—
Bit.
Her teeth pierced him. His hands clamped on her waist, and he yanked her up, down, thrusting, driving deep, and a groan tore from his throat.
His hands were too hard. His thrusts too strong.
Her mouth just right.
Yes.
Deeper, stronger. Her nails raked him. She licked his throat, and his cock jerked inside her.
Then he felt the ripples of her release. The hard squeeze of her sex around him as she came for him again.
He exploded inside of her. Keenan’s body stiffened, and the drumming of his heartbeat echoed in his ears as he climaxed. And as he came, she tilted back her head and stared up at him.
Such dark, dark eyes.
His right hand curled around her chin, and his lips took hers.
Pleasure hummed through him, so much pleasure, but at that simple touch of lips— such a light touch —he saw...
Death.
The vision came to him, as had a thousand others over the years. Death angels always had a vision of their charges’ last moments. The better to know when to give the touch.
This time, he once again saw his charge’s death. Her death.
Nicole lay in a pool of blood. A wooden stake pierced her chest. Blood trickled from her lips. “It’s...okay.” Her voice was broken, just like her body.
And he was there. His fingers closed around the stake as he tried to pull it out.
“This time you can’t save her.”
In the vision, Keenan spun and saw Az. Az had spoken.
“No one can save her.”
“Keenan?” Nicole squeezed his shoulders. “Keenan, are you okay?”
The vision vanished. It was just him and Nicole again. In bed. In each other’s arms.
He forced a smile to his lips.
But she shook her head. “What happened? You left me.”
“No.” Said instantly. “I won’t.” Az was wrong. The vision was wrong.
But the visions were never wrong. And Az couldn’t lie.
He shoved back the fear and fury as he pulled Nicole down onto the bed beside him and held her tightly. Her heart raced, the beat reassuring him. For now, she lived.
He just had to make sure she stayed alive. In order for her to keep living, he’d have to fight the angels.
His gaze drifted around the room. No telltale scent of flowers teased his nose, but that vision had come from somewhere. Since he’d fallen, he shouldn’t see the images anymore. If he couldn’t see them on his own, then that meant someone had sent that death picture to him. Someone who was one serious asshole. And the most serious asshole he knew?
Az.
Keenan’s stare centered on the ceiling. Want to play rough, Az? Then let’s play, angel. Let’s play.
When Nicole opened her eyes, Keenan was gone. She blinked, rose quickly, and pulled the sheet with her. “Keenan?”
“We don’t have much time.”
His voice came from the darkness on the left. Night had fallen, once more cloaking the house in its shadows. Nicole turned her head and found him unerringly. Sometimes vampire vision could be a good thing. “What do you mean?”
“You’re going to die.”
Not what a woman wanted to hear moments after rising. She wet her lips. “The sex was good,” she told him quietly. Way better than good. More, please. “But we’ve really got to work on your pillow talk.”
He pounced. No other word for it. He caught her arms and pulled her against him. “I’m not making a joke. You’re going to die. I saw it.”
Goose bumps rose on her arms.
“Death angels always see the end coming for their charges. We know exactly what it will look like.”
“I didn’t think you had those powers anymore.”
She caught the sad twist of his lips. “Not sure it is my power.”
That didn’t sound good. She stared at his face, that perfect, sculpted face, and saw the rage lurking in the tightness near his mouth and in the hardness of his gaze. “I don’t understand.” And she didn’t. There was still so much about this Other world that she didn’t know.
“Az is jerking me around. He sent the image because he wants me to know what’s coming.”
My death. She had to swallow to ease the lump in her throat. “Maybe there’s no escaping what will come.” She’d tried. But if death was just going to keep coming after her, how long could she fight?
“You got out of that alley.” His fingers tightened on her.
Yes. Part of her had gotten out.
“Nothing is written in stone. Humans have choices, and now, so do angels. Az can take his fucking rules and screw off.”
Not very angel-like. But then, angels weren’t exactly cute little cherubs carrying harps. They were big, dangerous men who could burn an enemy to dust with a thought.
“Get dressed.” His hands dropped. “We’re going back to the Quarter.”
“Why?”
“Because if we’re fighting Az, we’ll need help.” He turned to leave.
“This fight isn’t yours.” Did he think he needed to do some kind of penance because of what had happened before?
“It is,” Keenan growled. He looked over his shoulder at her. His gaze seemed to burn. “Because you are.”
Her breath froze in her lungs. “We aren’t—” Okay, they’d had sex. Great sex.
But she was a vampire, and he kept thinking she was just a woman. If he knew the things she’d done, he’d be the one sending her to the afterlife.
And what’s to say he won’t? When he finds out that you’re not sweet Nicole any more, maybe he’ll change his mind. He’ll be the one to give you that death touch and then he’ll go back to the life he had.
While she—what? Got the death she deserved?
“You were my charge. Mine. Your life was mine to take or to spare. No one else’s.”
Oh, okay. He hadn’t meant that whole you’re mine thing in a sexual kind of way. Got it. Awkward.
Not as awkward as dying, of course. But a close second.
Her fingers dug into the sheet.
“You lived in that alley. All the rules changed when you survived. Everything changed.” His hands fisted. “The angels have been acting like we’re the ultimate power for too long. Just because we can kill, it doesn’t mean we have to.”
“And you really think we can stop that guy, that Az?—”
“Azrael.”
Oh, damn. She knew that name. “He’s not just another death angel.”
“No. He’s the angel of death. The strongest. The one we all reported to.” He shrugged with a little ripple of movement and her gaze went to his back. Again, she had the quick impression of darkness surrounding him, of shadowy black wings spreading high, but she blinked, and they were gone. “Az is the one who’s after us.”
Not really “us.” Just her. From what she’d heard, Az hadn’t wanted to kill Keenan. He’d wanted to give Keenan the secret key— me —back into heaven.
“Lucky for us?—”
Again with the “us.”
“—Az has a powerful enemy.”
And what? This enemy was their new best friend? “Who?” Her voice came out too rough.
His lips tightened.
Nicole knew she wasn’t going to like this even before he said?—
“Sam.”
Damn.
Sam stared at the brightly lit stage. He watched the new girl as she came out to the driving beat of the music.
Tall, a little too thin, but she had nice breasts. She didn’t really look like a stripper, though, and she didn’t move like one with that dancer’s grace, either, but?—
She turned to face him and her eyes—dark and deep—pinned him to the chair.
Power.
He sat up and automatically leaned a bit toward the stage. The strip club was his place. Temptation. A fitting name for a fallen angel’s hell.
But her—the new girl he hadn’t tried out—something was very, very off with her.
She began to dance. Her moves weren’t overtly sensual.
She danced slowly, but still the movement of her hips, the careful twist and roll. Oh, yes, sexy.
He realized the catcalls had stopped. No voices shouted and not even any whispers filled the room. Every eye was on her. No one could look away.
Just like I can’t. Trapped.
Power.
He grabbed Ron, the low-level demon he kept in charge. “Who is she?”
Ron blinked. “Ah, she just started, I didn’t?—”
“Name.”
“Seline. Seline O’Shaw.”
His gaze pulled back to her, almost helplessly. And he hadn’t been helpless in a thousand years. “She’s not human.” Absolutely certain. He didn’t feel any glamour around her, but he’d bet a chunk of his power the woman on that stage wasn’t your average Southern girl.
She sure as shit wasn’t a stripper.
Because she wasn’t stripping—not all the way. A teasing dance, yes. But her movements were too deliberate. Every time she revealed something, she concealed it instantly with a toss of her blond hair or a turn of her body.
Demon?
Witch?
He’d find out.
Then she looked at him once more. Her gaze met his, and there was fury in her dark stare.
The music stopped. After one more glance from his dancer, she disappeared behind the black curtain.
He rose, blood heating. Finally, someone worth the effort.
“You’ve got company, boss,” Ron said.
Annoyed, he turned his head and glared at the demon. “Not now.” He pushed ahead. The dancer would be backstage. He’d find her and discover just what she was.
The night had gotten much, much more interesting for him.
But Ron—with his high forehead sweating—stepped in front of him. “He—he said his name’s Keenan. That you’d be looking for him.”
Ah, yes, his other prey. Actually, Keenan was the reason he’d come back to New Orleans. Why keep hunting on the road when he knew Keenan would be coming home?
But... “Let him wait,” he told Ron, and the demon’s already wide eyes seemed to bulge.
The Fallen would have to cool his heels. Sam had other prey to catch.
Besides, the angel might enjoy the view in Temptation.
After the storm, it had taken a while for life to return to normal in her city, but this night, Nicole saw that New Orleans was back. The streets were full, voices filled the air, and the city seemed to pulse with energy.
Her angel took her to the last place she expected. A strip club. The bouncer didn’t even raise a brow when they walked inside, but Nicole’s grasp on Keenan was so fierce she worried she might break his hand. “Why are we here?” She wasn’t a prude, okay, maybe she’d been before her change. When he’d said they were getting ready to fight, she’d expected a visit to a magic shop. Or maybe even a trip to a nearby graveyard to summon a spirit.
Not this place.
“If the stories are true,” he told her, voice deep, “this spot is one of Sam’s favorite hangouts.”
A place named Temptation? Packed with breasty strippers? Yes, she could buy it as a hangout for a fallen angel. Especially that Sam jerk.
Her gaze slipped to the stage. A woman was walking away, a woman with long blond hair and a confident, can’t-get-me stride. The men were staring after her in open-mouthed lust, but she didn’t look back.
Keenan pushed through the crowd. “There he is.”
Her head turned to the right. Yes, like she’d forget that guy. Sam was headed to the back, and he paused only long enough to yank open a “Staff ” door.
Keenan curled his fingers around hers and hauled Nicole with him. They were moving quickly, pushing through the crowd and?—
“What’s your rush, sweet thing?” A tall, muscled biker grabbed her left hand. “Why don’t you just stop to have some fun?”
She had stopped. He’d yanked her to a stop. “I’m not part of the entertainment,” she snapped. Did she look like one of the half-dressed chicks strolling around?
His hot gaze swept over her. “You could be.”
“No,” Keenan said very definitely. “She couldn’t be. Now get your hand off her or?—”
But the biker wasn’t letting go and the men sitting at his table all looked nice and pissed and ready to rumble.
The biker taunted, “Or what? You gonna make me let her go?”
Keenan’s left hand shot up and shoved against the biker’s chest. The guy flew back, about ten feet, and crashed into the side of the stage. The new stripper on the stage screamed, but the DJ kept right on playing.
“Yeah,” Keenan murmured. “I am.”
The biker’s buddies scrambled to their feet.
“You really don’t want to mess with me.” Keenan’s voice was flat. “But if you want to try…” He shrugged. “Let’s go.”
They didn’t try. They didn’t move.
Keenan inclined his head in a nod. “Then stay the hell away from us.” Then he was guiding her again as they headed for that closed door.
Hurrying, Nicole had to point out, “I could have taken him, you know.” Stop thinking I’m human.
His hand pushed against the wood, but he spared her a hard glance. “I know.”
“Then why?—”
“I was just in the mood to kick some ass.”
She shook her head. “You know, you just don’t sound like an angel.”
“Maybe I was never a good angel.” His eyes went flat and hard. “But then, humans have most of the lore wrong anyway. Most of us were created to punish and to kill.”
“And to protect?” Nicole whispered. Because Keenan was protecting her.
He didn’t answer. He shoved open the door and stalked down the narrow hallway. Half-dressed women filled the space. Some called out invitations as they glanced Keenan’s way. Nicole glared at them. Maybe she was in the mood to kick some ass, too.
“Sam!” Keenan’s voice boomed. “Get out here!”
But Sam wasn’t appearing.
A small guy with bright red hair and dark eyes eased from a shadowy corner. He was the same male Keenan had spoken with when they first came into Temptation. His name had been Ray or maybe Ron?
Keenan grabbed the man by the shirtfront. “Where is he?”
A trembling finger pointed to the left.
“Playing games. Should have known.” Keenan released their helper, and then he kicked in the door.
Nicole saw Sam whirl to face them. A woman stood behind him, but Nicole couldn’t see much of her because Sam’s body blocked her view. Deliberately, she was sure.
“Your timing is shit,” Sam said, crossing his arms and raising one dark brow.
“ You knew. ” Keenan launched across the room and grabbed Sam. In a heartbeat, he tossed Sam a good five feet. The Fallen’s body slammed into a mirror and the glass shattered.
Nicole glanced over her shoulder. Ron —that was definitely his name—watched with bulging eyes. “You should probably keep everyone away,” she advised and flashed some fang.
He stumbled back.
Huh. Not very protective of his boss. Sometimes, it was just hard to find good help.
“You knew that Az would come, you knew ,” Keenan snarled and lunged forward.
“ Don’t. ” From the woman. The blonde. It wasn’t a scream or a desperate threat. Just a flat order.
Nicole took a good look at her. The woman wore jeans and a loose white shirt. Her brown eyes were wide and filled with cold determination.
And she had a gun. One that was aimed at Keenan.
“If you come at him again,” the blonde said clearly to Keenan, “I’ll have to shoot you.”
Sam laughed. A deep, rumbling laugh. Then he said, “You can try, but a bullet won’t keep him down for long.”
Good to know.
“And you’d do better to be aiming at her , anyway,” Sam added, pointing his index finger right at Nicole.
Bastard. This was the guy they were turning to for help? “A bullet won’t keep me down either,” Nicole felt obliged to point out.
But the woman’s aim didn’t falter. “ She hasn’t done anything,” the lady said, voice clear and arctic. “You two are the ones fighting, and I’m not looking to be collateral damage.”
Because being collateral damage sucked.
“Does the fact that she’s a vampire matter?” Sam asked with mild curiosity flavoring his words.
“Doesn’t matter. Neither does the fact that you two”—now the gun swung between Sam and Keenan—“are demons.”
“That’s just insulting.” Sam brushed off the broken mirror shards and rose slowly. “Just because you’re in hell, it doesn’t mean we’re demons.”
Her arm lifted, and she pointed the gun at his heart. “Don’t move.”
He stilled.
“Good boy.” Her voice mocked him, but her eyes turned back to Nicole. “I’d advise you to leave with me. Whatever these two are doing, you don’t want to be part of it.”
“Too late,” Sam murmured. “It’s all about her.”
Nicole swallowed. “Thanks, but I’m not going anywhere.” She stepped closer to Keenan.
The woman’s jaw clenched. “Your funeral.”
“She’s already had one.” Sam couldn’t seem to keep quiet, and—judging by the expression on his face—he seemed to be enjoying this scene.
The blonde with the gun shook her head and backed toward the door, never lowering her weapon.
“I’ll see you again, right?” Sam called. “Seline, you will be back to dance again tomorrow.” The guy made the last part sound like an order.
Seline didn’t speak. She kept her gun up, took a few more steps back, and disappeared through the open doorway.
Because she was watching Sam so closely, Nicole saw the flicker of his eyelids and the fleeting expression of disappointment on his face. Interesting. She filed that little flash away for later.
Sam brushed off more glass shards and sighed. “There a reason you came slumming tonight, Fallen? Or were you just looking to get tempted?”
Keenan’s hands fisted. “Az wants her.”
Sam didn’t blink. “Really.” No surprise there, but then, he’d all but told her this would be happening.
You’ll suffer.
“Guess you can’t cheat death,” Sam returned, not sounding the least bit ruffled to hear that she’d be dead, again, soon.
Not his problem.
They’d made a mistake coming there.
“Sucks for you.” Sam stalked forward. “But what the hell do you think I’m going to do? Why do I care if another vamp bites the dust?”
She winced. “Keenan, let’s go.” She wasn’t going to beg this prick for anything. Certainly not for her life. He won’t help me.
“Right.” Sam nodded. “Go, Keenan. Go screw your little vamp while you have the chance. And when Az comes for her, and you try to stop him—well, then you’ll find out just what death is like for a Fallen.” His lips twisted into a cruel grin. “Think you’re heading upstairs again?” He paused for a beat of time. “Think again.”
Someone punched her in the chest. No, it just felt like that. The thought of Keenan dying hurt . No . “He’s not dying for me,” Nicole said. She wouldn’t let him.
“He fell for you.” Sam shrugged his broad shoulders. “Dying’s the next step.”
“ Sam. ” Keenan’s voice snapped out, and the room seemed to tremble.
No, the room did tremble, and a smile curved Sam’s lips. “Getting some of your bite back, are you? Not being a demon-wannabe anymore?”
What?
Pieces of mirror crunched beneath Sam’s boots. He stopped walking and stood right in front of Keenan. Her gaze darted between them. Same height, same build. One dark, one light. Power seemed to crackle in the air around them.
“What would you do for her?” Sam wanted to know. “To save her, would you fall again?”
Keenan’s eyes cut to her.
Oh, damn. He really did it. He fell for me.
She swallowed the lump that was trying to choke her. He’d fallen for the woman she’d been before her change. When he found out about all that she’d done since becoming a vampire, he’d hate her.
Tell him.
If he found out, he’d turn away and she wouldn’t have to worry about him risking his life for her.
“I’m not letting her die,” Keenan declared flatly. “She lived before, that means she should get a new shot. Az—the bastard’s making this personal.”
Her gaze flew up to his face. She caught the hard flex of his strong jaw.
“Ah.” Sam sighed. “You don’t buy that her name’s on that big, magical list of death, huh? You think Az is trying to make an example of you? Trying to show all the other angels that if they fuck up, they won’t get rewarded? No falling and pleasure for them—just another nightmare?”
“You tell me.” Fury vibrated in Keenan’s voice. “You’ve known him a lot longer than me.”
“True.” Sam’s smile faded. “I know him well enough to say he’d do anything to keep his good little soldiers in line.” His stare, black now and so cold, flickered to Nicole. “Killing you wouldn’t give him a moment’s hesitation.”
Great. Nice to be so special—or rather, so insignificant. “Can we fight him?” Nicole wanted to know.
“ You can’t. You’re just a vamp. You don’t have the power to take on someone like Az.”
Again with the making-her-feel-great talk.
“But you…” Sam nodded as he focused on Keenan. “If you got your powers back, there’d be no stopping you.”
“My powers are gone. ”
“Really? Then how’d you throw fire the other night?”
“How did you know about that?”
Sam laughed. “There’s little in this world I don’t know about. Pay people enough, and they’ll tell you anything. A vamp—goes by the name Connor—came running to tell me about your visit to the blood room.”
Connor. He’d always been willing to trade almost anything—even a life—for money.
“Tell me, Fallen,” Sam continued silkily, “If your powers are gone, then how’d you make the room shake just a moment ago? And how...” Sam’s voice dropped, became taunting, “did you see your sweet vamp’s death, if your powers weren’t coming back?”
Her teeth were burning, her claws pushing out. Sam was a threat to her, and her body responded instinctively. He was playing some kind of game with them. Nicole felt like everything was a game, and she wanted it to stop.
Keenan’s gaze jumped to her. “You mean all the powers will be coming back?”
Sam laughed. “Bit of a bitch, isn’t it? You can save her, but the cost will be hell.”
“What are you talking about?” Nicole demanded, sick of being in the dark. “If we can stop this Az character, tell me how. ”
“Fury’s the key.” Sam flashed his teeth in a grin that chilled. “You got to let the rage take you, and then you can take him. ”
“Why don’t you just take him out?” Nicole snarled as she grabbed Sam’s arm and jerked him toward her.
An electric shot flew through her fingertips. Not pain, not yet. But...
“Interesting,” Sam mused as he looked down at her hand. “Very, very interesting.”
Keenan swore and pulled her away from Sam.
But Sam’s stare had locked on her now with an unnerving intensity. “Maybe you’re not so insignificant after all.”
Well, wasn’t that grand.
Sam’s tongue swiped over his bottom lip. “I’ll help you, for a price.”
“I thought you just said I could take him out—” Keenan began.
“I said you could, not that you would.” Sam rocked back on his heels. “There’s a difference, you know.”
“And just what’s your price?” Nicole asked him.
His eyes glinted. “For fighting an angel bent on vengeance? Because it is vengeance. Your name’s not on any list. Az just wants to take you out to prove that no one screws with his guard.”
“You’re sure?” Keenan’s fingers squeezed hers, the grip just shy of actual pain. “He said?—”
“He can twist the truth as well as any of our kind.” Sam crossed his arms over his chest. “Az isn’t the lily-white angel he wants to be. He’s been tempted, he’s broken the rules, and now, Az thinks he is the power when it comes to death.”
“You want to take him out.” Keenan spoke the words easily, but his body was tight against hers. “You’ve been fighting with him for a long time.”
“Since before you took your first soul. Right.” Now Sam looked bored. “Az owes me. Payback can be a bitch.” A mocking smile tilted his lips. “Or in this case, a vampire.”
The guy was weird.
A faint odor began to fill the room. Metallic, harsh— gasoline.
A soft whoosh hit her ears, and she spun back toward the door. Fire.
“Huh. I didn’t expect that,” Sam muttered. “Pity. I was so looking forward to tomorrow night’s dance.”
What?
The smoke seeped through the doorway.
“You got enemies, other than Az?” Sam asked as he headed for the nearest wall. He punched it with his fist and the bricks crumbled. “Because it sure looks like someone is gunning for you—or your vamp.” Then he was pushing through the loose bricks and heading into the dark.
“Dammit, Sam!” Keenan yelled. “ Wait! ”
But waiting in a burning building wasn’t a good idea. Especially when you knew you were living on borrowed time anyway. Nicole locked her fingers with Keenan’s. “ Come on! ”
They’d just reached that broken wall when she heard?—
“Help me!”
The smoke was already filling her lungs and trying to choke her. The smoke wouldn’t kill her, it couldn’t. But the fire sure could.
Keenan hesitated. His gaze met hers.
“Keenan...” Nicole said.
Another desperate scream rose above that crackling fire. A woman’s scream.
Nicole turned back to the doorway. She wouldn’t leave someone trapped in that fiery hell.
Keenan grabbed her and threw her out of the building. As she flew through that rough opening, the bricks scraped over her arms and legs. Nicole hit the cement outside hard enough to make her whole body shudder. When she looked up, Keenan wasn’t there.
Because he’d gone back into the flames.
“Some angels just never learn.” Sam’s voice floated to her, rising easily above the fire and the shouts from those fleeing the building.
She pushed to her feet.
“You can’t save everyone.” Sam wasn’t moving. He was just standing there and staring at the fire. “Sometimes, you can’t even save yourself.”
Screw him. Sometimes, you could save someone.
Her hands slapped against the brick wall.
“You’ll burn if you go in there.” His quiet warning.
“I’m not leaving Keenan on his own.” He hadn’t left her. And that woman in there—screaming— been there, done that. She knew too well what it was like to be screaming for help that didn’t come.
Help is coming.
“Nice sentiment.” And somehow, Sam was right beside her now. No, behind her. His hand stroked down her arm and sent goose bumps over her skin as that weird little electric shock vibrated through her. “But I can’t let you save him.”
The electric shock became a painful burn. One that fired right to her heart.
She opened her mouth to scream.
“Don’t worry, this won’t kill you.”
The scream never passed her lips because her voice was gone. Nicole fell and hit the ground. She stared up at the fallen angel who looked?—
Sad?
“It won’t kill you, and maybe—maybe it won’t kill him either.”
Darkness coated her vision. No, not darkness. Smoke.
Keenan.
“He needs to learn that he can’t save everyone.”
The fire raged.
“Let’s see just how far we can push him.” Sam’s dark voice drifted with the smoke. “Until he breaks.”
That bastard was supposed to help them!
She didn’t want Keenan to break. She wanted him out of the fire.
Keenan!
She couldn’t scream his name. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She could only lie there as Sam slipped away, and the flames burned higher.