Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Monsters and men liked to walk the streets of New Orleans at night. Both would look for prey—sex, blood, willing victims—and both would find it under the cover of darkness.
Marna hunched her shoulders as she stared up at the entrance to Hell. Extra bouncers were on duty. Probably in response to her and Tanner’s little visit the previous night. She guessed the management didn’t want any more dead demons being ditched in the alley.
Slowly, Marna inched her way toward that alley. She ignored the rancid scents and the piles of garbage. The body had been removed, and only a dark stain remained to mark the woman’s passing.
“Out alone tonight?” The vampire’s voice drifted to her.
Marna didn’t stiffen, but she did hold tighter to the weapon she’d brought with her. “No. I’m not alone.” She’d planned this. Tanner would never have agreed to any blood exchange from her. She glanced over her shoulder as she carefully kept her hands hidden. “You’re here.”
Riley leaned against the alley wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “So I am.” He inhaled and frowned. “I can smell that shifter all over you.” A pause as he shook his head in what looked like confusion. “You mean to tell me that after he had you, the big bruiser just let you walk away?”
After he had you.
Well, Tanner hadn’t exactly let her walk away. He’d been too busy running from her to pay much attention to anything.
Humans would have said he was a jerk. Marna would have agreed with that assessment.
“This isn’t about him.” It never had been. Tanner wasn’t being set up for murder. She was.
Time for her to handle her own problems. No more relying on the big, bad shifter.
“Tell me what you know,” Marna told the vamp, “then we’ll see about getting what you want.”
He laughed. “Do I look like I was turned yesterday?”
Since vamps didn’t age, she had no idea how old he was—or when he’d been turned.
“It’s been two hundred years.” He sauntered forward. “Long enough for me to know better than to listen to an angel twist the truth in order to get what she wants.”
Marna turned toward him but kept her hands behind her back. The pose probably made her look nervous. That was good. He’d never expect her attack if he thought she was weak.
He held up his hand. “Come with me.”
She lifted a brow. “Where?”
“You don’t expect me to dine in the garbage, now do you?” His gaze was on her throat. “Not when I’m going to be sampling some fine wine.” He shook his head. “Those two just don’t go well together.”
Her right hand slid down so that her weapon was concealed by the jeans she wore. She’d snuck into her apartment earlier. Gotten clothes. Planned her attack.
Her left hand took his. “Lead the way. You tell me what you know, and I’ll give you what you’ve got coming.” A stake to the heart. Because the weapon she concealed so carefully was a stake designed to end this vampire.
More laughter. His hand closed over hers. Warmer than she’d expected. Vamps were usually cool to the touch. The few she’d taken over the centuries had been. “What’s the rush, love? We’ve got all night.”
“No, you fucking don’t.” Tanner appeared at the mouth of the alley. His hands were loose at his sides, and his legs braced apart. “Let her go.”
Her heart slammed into her ribs. She’d known he’d come after her. That was just the way he was. The cop in him, trying to save the day. Only she didn’t need saving. From now on, Marna was determined to save herself. “Leave us alone, Tanner.”
She didn’t know who was more surprised—the shifter or the vampire.
“Well, well, ” Riley murmured. “Guess that’s how it’s going. ”
“No, it’s not.” Tanner stalked toward them, but his eyes were just on her. “You’ve got a death wish, is that it?”
Death wouldn’t come so easily to her, but when he did, she knew she’d recognize her friend.
“I’m just making a bargain.” Her voice sounded careless. Mostly. Maybe he didn’t notice the slight tremble at the end of her words. “Now you need to get out of our way.”
The vamp’s fangs flashed. “Yes, shifter, get out of the way. The lady’s made her choice.”
And it isn’t you.
The words hung in the air.
Tanner glanced down. Marna’s palm was growing slick with sweat and the slickness made it hard for her to hold on to her weapon. If Tanner would just move…
Tanner cocked his head and met her gaze once more. “So you are gonna be a killer now?”
He knew what she had planned. And she’d tried so hard to hide her stake. “I always was.” She’d never asked to be. Death had been all she’d ever known.
“Baby…” Tanner sighed and angled closer to her. “Why don’t you let me do the dirty work for you?” Then he grabbed Riley and ripped the vamp away from her. “I don’t mind getting my hands bloody.”
And his claws were out.
So was her stake. She’d leapt forward at the same instant. Tanner’s claws were at the vamp’s throat, but her stake was at Riley Kane’s heart.
“Fuck me,” Riley snarled. “Can’t anyone just donate a little angel blood anymore?”
“Tell us who killed those shifters,” Tanner demanded. “And you can walk out of here with your body mostly intact.”
Mostly?
But then Tanner stiffened and swore.
When Riley’s smile flashed, Marna knew they were in trouble. The vampire’s stare cut her way. “I never expected you to come alone. Not when you’ve got that possessive shifter who guards you so closely.”
Tanner’s nostrils flared. “Five…six…”
Marna heard the soft footsteps behind her and knew that he was counting the number of vamps heading their way.
“Six,” Riley agreed with a slow nod. “You see, I didn’t come alone either.”
“Like backup is gonna make a difference for you,” Tanner muttered, then he slammed Riley’s head back into the brick wall and whirled to grab Marna’s hand. “Stay behind me!”
The vamps were racing toward them now. Fangs bared, their own claws out as they were ready to rip and tear.
Marna heard the sound of popping bones. Snapping. Breaking. Tanner was shifting, but while he shifted?—
He was vulnerable.
His kind was always at their most vulnerable mid-shift. And the vamps knew that. They attacked. Their claws raked across his skin. His blood splashed onto the walls of the alley and dripped onto the ground.
“No!” Marna screamed and lunged for Tanner. But Riley caught her and jerked her back.
His arms locked around her as he shouted to his men, “Make sure he doesn’t follow us!”
The stake was still in her hand. Clenched tight. Had Riley forgotten about her weapon? If so, dumb mistake.
The vamps were swarming around Tanner now. She could barely see him. “Let him go!”
Riley lowered his head toward her throat. Inhaled deeply. “Maybe I’ll go ahead and take that bite.”
Marna spun around and shoved her stake into his chest. Not into his heart—he’d moved to deflect her blow, but she still drove that stake into him as hard as she could.
His eyes widened, and he began to yank at the stake.
Marna leapt away from him. Tanner . She had to save Tanner. There was so much blood on the ground. Too much. And she could hear the panther now, grunting in pain.
“Get away from him!” Marna yelled again as she raised her hands. “Get. Away.” A blast of fire shot out from her fingertips and flew at the pack of vamps.
Two caught on fire instantly. They screamed and fell to the ground, rolling desperately as they tried to put out the flames. Smoke drifted in the air around them.
The panther slashed out with his claws and cut the throat of another vamp.
More blood.
The scent of death hung heavily in that alley.
Marna stared at her fingers. Powerful angels could control fire, only she hadn’t been able to raise the flames. Not since she fell, anyway.
But now…
A vamp raced toward her. A redhead with hate twisting his face. “I’m gonna drain you?—”
“No, you’re not.” She raised her hands again. “But you will burn.”
The flames slammed into him. Directed. Intense. The scent of burning flesh had her stomach churning.
The other vamps were struggling with Tanner. The panther had left them bloody and weak, and they were trying desperately to hold him off.
It looked like he was going in for the kill.
She caught a light floral scent in the air. Marna knew what that telling scent meant. A death angel was close. One who’d come to ferry souls.
So who would be dying in that alley?
Not me. The vamps were the ones biting the dust.
She rushed to Tanner’s side. A charred vamp tried to slash out at her with his claws. She didn’t move fast enough, and he ripped into her skin, tearing a bloody path down her side. Even as Marna cried out, the black panther attacked. He sank his razor-sharp teeth into the vampire’s throat.
She looked away, not wanting to see the rest. But she knew that particular vampire wouldn’t be rising again. Not when the panther was done with him.
The others fled the alley. They left behind only blood and death.
The panther bumped into her side. Marna trembled. His head came nearly to her shoulders. Fully beast, so primal, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw a man’s gaze staring back at her.
And she saw a dead vampire at her feet. No, not dead, not yet. But a bloody mess that should have been dead. His head was barely attached, and his chest was a gaping hole.
The shadows around the vampire thickened. She lifted a hand, holding her bleeding side, and watched as the large, black wings of a death angel appeared from the darkness.
Angels marked by despair always had black wings. Death angels. Punishers. The most powerful of the angels, they were the ones that humans should fear.
The ones that could make even paranormals shudder.
The vampire stared up at the angel. Since the moment of his final death was at hand, he’d be able to see those broad, dark wings now. And he’d see the hard, carved features of the angel that she knew as?—
Bastion?
Her breath froze in her lungs. It was him. Tall, strong, one of the few angels gifted with golden eyes—eyes the same color as the burnished gold that adorned the home in heaven she’d never see again.
She hadn’t seen Bastion in weeks. After she’d lost her wings, he’d tried to help her at first.
Then vanished when he realized there wasn’t any help to give.
He bent his dark head and gazed down at the vampire. Bastion hadn’t said anything to her. Hadn’t even looked her way.
It hurt. He knew she was there. Because of what she was, he also knew she’d be able to see him.
And he didn’t look at her. In heaven, he’d been her closest confidant. Now he couldn’t stand the sight of her?
“How the hell did you do that?” Tanner demanded as he reached for her. His arms caught her shoulders and he spun her around to face him. He’d shifted back to human form, and her gaze darted down the muscled expanse of his chest to?—
She yanked her eyes right back up. Clothes. Tanner seriously needed clothes.
And with just that thought, they appeared. A black T-shirt. Jeans. Even boots. A complete outfit to cover him.
Tanner’s eyes widened. “Nice trick.”
Angels were always able to conjure clothes. Since they had wings sprouting from their backs, they had to be able to use their powers to make articles that would fit around them. Except she hadn’t been able to use that particular talent since she’d fallen.
Until now.
First the fire, now conjuring. It looked like her powers were flooding back. Finally. No more weakness.
Marna glanced over her shoulder. Bastion was still there. With both Azrael and Sammael walking the earth, he’d be the ruler of the death angels now, but once, he’d been her only friend. “Bastion.”
His head lifted.
There was no emotion in his eyes or on the face that appeared to have been carved from stone. He looked at her as if he didn’t even know her. Why? Didn’t he understand?
“I miss you,” she said.
Did he flinch?
“Who the hell are you talking to?” Tanner pulled her closer to him.
Bastion bent and placed his hand over the vampire’s chest. Just that simply, another soul was taken.
The air seemed to chill, and goose bumps rose on Marna’s body.
Tanner swore, and then he scooped her into his arms. “Screw this.” Holding her tightly, he rushed toward the alley entrance.
Her arms wrapped around him, but she said, “Tanner, no, I can?—”
Bastion was in front of them. Staring at her with eyes that seemed to blaze.
“Stop,” she told Tanner.
He froze.
He wouldn’t see the angel. Couldn’t . Fallen angels could always see their winged brethren, but most others couldn’t. Not unless they had the blood of celestial beings in them. Since demons were descended from the Fallen, some of them could see the angels who walked among the humans—as long as their bloodline was strong enough.
But vampires? Shifters? No, they wouldn’t typically see angels even though they sometimes strolled right beside them. Well, they wouldn’t see the angels…unless some magic was involved. With the right—or wrong dark magic—anything could happen.
“I’m…sorry,” Bastion told her, voice stilted.
Her arms were around Tanner’s neck. She could feel the tension coursing through him.
Tanner stared at the alley, glanced at her, then stared again at the alley’s entrance. “All right, who the fuck is there?”
She licked her lips. “An angel.”
“I know that. Which winged ass am I dealing with?”
A muscle jerked in Bastion’s jaw. His gaze hardened when he saw the way Tanner’s hands held her so tightly. “Be careful with him,” Bastion warned her. “He’s not someone you can trust.”
Her stare turned back to Tanner. Right then, he was the only one she could trust.
“Who is it?” Tanner gritted out.
“Bastion.” She sighed the name. “He’s?—”
Tanner ran right at the angel. In a flash, Bastion vanished.
“No!” Marna leapt from his arms and almost fell flat on her face. She managed to stumble and barely stay upright. “I need to ask him?—”
“Baby, this alley is a bloodbath. That smell will have every predator in a ten-mile radius coming out.”
The predators were already out. She glanced around and saw the eyes in the darkness. The flash of fangs.
Tanner’s hand wrapped around her wrist. “Come on.”
Bastion was gone.
Only the monsters remained.
And they were closing in.
Tanner pushed her behind his body. “Stay the hell back,” he ordered those who waited in the darkness. He lifted his claws. “Or I’ll start slicing you apart.”
Silence.
But maybe that silence wasn’t enough. Marna’s shoulders straightened. Time to send a message. She glanced down at her hands. “I’ve got this,” she whispered to Tanner.
He frowned over his shoulder at her.
Her chin rose. She could do this.
He stepped away.
Marna sent a ball of fire racing into the alley. The fire caught the vampire’s dead body. Incinerated him and sent the others fleeing back—back to whatever hole they’d crawled from.
The rush of power was amazing. Using fire…when she’d been an angel, it had never felt this way. Like the energy was pouring from within her, surging inside her.
Not as good as the pleasure that Tanner had given her, but still good.
Marna smiled. “Now you know to stay away,” she said into the flames.
The warning wasn’t just for the monsters. It was for the angel who lurked nearby. She wasn’t the same woman she’d been. Each day, she was changing. Becoming more. It was time for the rest of the world to realize that fact.
And to stay out of my way.
He watched the action from his perch on the rooftop. The little lost Fallen enjoyed her fire. He could see the thrill on her face.
Angels didn’t enjoy the rush of power. Angels didn’t enjoy anything.
But she wasn’t an angel anymore. She liked the crackle of the blaze. Liked the heat of the licking flames.
She’d used her fire on the vampires. Finally, that power had broken free for her.
He watched as the shifter took her from the alley. Bundled her into an SUV and shot down the street.
He would be a problem. The panther guarded Marna too closely. Touched her too much. Do you think she’ll be yours?
That wasn’t the fate that waited for Marna. She deserved to have her vengeance. Deserved all the power that would come her way.
The panther? He’d get what he deserved, too. Death.
Because Tanner Chance was the key that he needed. In order to unlock all the power and magic inside of Marna, she would have to break. Tanner could be used to break her.
When she broke, it would be brutal, and it would be beautiful. Just like her.
He leapt off the rooftop.
There was still plenty of time in the night, and there were some vamps that needed killing. Did they truly think they were just going to get away after attacking her?
No. Not likely. He’d make them pay. And he’d enjoy the sound of their screams.
But first he’d follow his little angel. Just in case the shifter planned to stash her someplace else.
He liked to know where she was—all the time. That way, she’d never escape him.
Never.
Tanner raced through the streets. A fast left. A hard right. His blood seemed to burn in his veins, and he clutched the steering wheel so tightly, he could feel it starting to bend beneath his fingers.
Control.
He was losing more of it by the second.
He spun the SUV to the left. They were out of the Quarter and heading down a lonely, oak-lined street that would have to do for now. He slammed on the brakes and turned on her. “What in the hell was that?”
Moonlight spilled through the windows. Onto her face. Made her look as if she was glowing. Beautiful. “I-I don’t know, the fire came back to me and—” Her voice was all but humming with excitement.
She’d saved his ass back in that alley. No getting around it. But she’d also scared a good ten years off his life when she sent that fire blazing out, missing his body by, oh, about two inches as she aimed it into the alley and at all the pricks who’d waited in the darkness.
“A little warning next time would be good,” he managed to snap. Enough of a warning that he could jump out of the way and not get singed.
Her head tilted back. More moonlight fell on her. Damn. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but don’t worry. There isn’t going to be a next time.” Then she shoved open the passenger side door and jumped outside.
What the hell?
He pushed open his own door and followed right after her. Tanner caught her almost instantly and pushed her back against the side of the vehicle. “You walked right into that vamp’s trap.” Yeah, he was pissed over that, and would be for the next year or so. The bastard could have drained her and tossed away her broken body.
“I could have handled him!”
With her fire? With her stake? Didn’t she get it? “Baby, when there are enough of them…” Six to one odds. No, seven to one when you added that Riley prick. The sheer numbers still had his stomach clenching. “They can take you out.” Especially if they sank their fangs into her and drained her until she was too weak to fight back.
But Marna drew in a ragged breath and told him, “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
He wouldn’t have been more shocked if she’d stripped right then and there. Tanner forced his back teeth to unlock as he fired back, “And I don’t want you dying when I can keep you safe!”
Their gazes held. The night seemed so still. And she…fuck, she was even prettier by moonlight. How the hell had he managed to walk away from her before? Had he really left her alone in bed? Some days, he could be such a damn idiot.
I knew playing the gentleman wasn’t my bit. But he’d still tried. For her.
“There are times…” Marna paused, and her tongue swiped nervously over her lower lip. “Times when we have to fight our own battles.”
She wasn’t doing this alone. The angel needed to think again. “You forget, this isn’t just about you.” And if that tongue of hers swiped out again, he’d pounce. Simple fact.
A furrow appeared between her brows.
The murders were being pinned on her, but this thing stretched far wider than that. “If there’s some rogue Fallen in the city, I need to know.” Because he had to be ready to deal with the bastard. Fallen weren’t easy to kill, but luckily he had the particular skill set— claws and fangs— to get the job done.
Marna shook her head. “A Fallen didn’t kill the demon in the alley.”
Maybe. Maybe not. The knife attack sure hadn’t fit a Fallen’s usual MO, but maybe their killer was just trying to throw them off the scent. It wouldn’t work. If there was one being who could track a scent better than any other, it was a shifter.
He caught her hand and lifted it up. Her palm was soft, small, and her eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight. “You been holding out on me?” he asked as his fingers rubbed lightly over her palm.
She swallowed and seemed to shiver. The night wasn’t cold. “N-no. It just happened. Wh-when I saw them go after you…” Her breath whispered out. “I wasn’t going to let them hurt you.”
He could take down a group of vamps, any day of the week. Sure, they’d gotten their claws into him, but he’d been well on his way to kicking ass by the time her flames erupted.
Still, she’d saved him. In his experience, no one did that. Not for me .
Back when he’d been a kid, he’d had to learn early how to take care of himself. In those days, everyone had tried to pound the shit out of him.
So he’d started beating back.
He bought her hand to his lips. Pressed a kiss to her palm. “Thank you.” Because he couldn’t help it, he tasted her skin with a slow lick of his tongue.
Marna sucked in a sharp breath. “You…you said…”
Take.
The panther clawed inside of him. Tanner growled, “I said I wouldn’t fuck you.” No, he hadn’t said that. He’d said if he did, there’d be no escape for her. Already, he needed her too much. He could smell her scent. Sweet, but rich…with arousal.
She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. That didn’t make things easier. It made him just want to fuck her all the more.
Tanner grabbed the reins of his control and pulled back. Turned away. “We need to get the hell out of here.” Before some dumbass came driving up, offering to help because he thought they were broken down or?—
Marna grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around with surprising strength.
“Marna, look?—”
She rose onto her toes and yanked his head down toward her. Her lips pressed against his, and the lady sure didn’t kiss like an angel.
More like a woman too used to sin. The sensual press of her lips and the silken glide of her tongue had his whole body burning with lust.
Her taste…
He pulled her closer. A fews steps and a half-turn, and he had her pinned against the vehicle. She’d been warned. She knew the risk.
He kissed her harder. Deeper. Took in her sweet taste. And realized he was starving for more.
Her breasts—nipples tight—pressed into his chest. He wanted them in his mouth again. More, he wanted his mouth on the heat between her legs. Nothing had ever tasted so good to him.
Marna.
He began to kiss his way down her neck. Her head tipped back, and he scored her skin with his teeth in a light bite. Mine.
“You’re…” Her voice was husky. Heavy with a desire that made his cock swell even more. “You’re better than the fire.”
He wasn’t sure what that meant, but Tanner wasn’t gonna argue. His hands went to the snap of her jeans. The zipper eased down with a hiss. Then he slid his hand inside, pushing his fingers under her panties.
“Tanner!” Marna gasped his name.
The snarl of an approaching engine grated in his ears.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
He stared down at Marna. The smooth curve of her stomach. The silken edge of her panties.
The snarling engine grew louder.
His hands were shaking when he snapped her jeans. As he hurriedly pulled her clothing back into place, they didn’t speak. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he could speak. The panther roared too loudly inside of him.
Marna’s cheeks were flushed, but her head had jerked toward the approaching car so she knew what was happening.
Wrong place.
He opened the passenger side door. Pushed her inside. He’d just slammed the door when the car slowed beside them.
Not just some friendly dumbass looking to help them out.
A patrol car.
This was so not his night. Hadn’t the vamps been bad enough?
The patrol car, of course, pulled to a full stop and its blue lights flashed on. Shining his flashlight, the cop climbed out and demanded to know. “There a problem here?”
“No problem.” Tanner exhaled, cleared his throat and tried to sound less like a snarling animal. “I’m a cop.”
“Are you now.” Not a question, just a statement of doubt. The cop tried to shine his lights toward the passenger seat.
Tanner moved his body and blocked that light before it could fall on Marna. “My badge is in the vehicle, but you can go ahead and call my ID number in on your radio. 5-2-7. Detective Tanner Chance.”
The cop, a fresh-faced newbie if Tanner had ever seen one, immediately pulled out his radio and called in the badge number. Tanner began to head toward the driver’s side.
“Hold on there!” The flashlight hit him right in the face when he glanced back. “You move nice and slow, got me?”
Smothering a sigh, Tanner tried to play it cool. The last thing he wanted was for this kid to get a look at Marna. If he’d heard the talk at the station…
But Marna hunched into the shadows when Tanner opened the door. He grabbed his badge from the glove box and held it up for the kid. “Are we good now?”
The guy swiped the badge. Brought his light up real close to it as he peered down at the badge. Hell. This uniform was so green. If he’d wanted, Tanner could have jumped the kid five times by now.
Amateur hour.
“You need to be more careful,” he snapped to the kid, not able to hold back. “Never get within striking distance of a suspect, no matter what shit he says.”
The young cop gulped and jumped back. “S-sorry.” The flashlight bobbed.
“Keep your weapon ready, and don’t ever give any perp an advantage.” The cop needed backup. He shouldn’t be out riding alone.
The uniform’s fingers were shaking when he gave Tanner back the badge. “Why—” The word cracked so the kid cleared his throat and tried again. “ Why did you stop here, Detective Chance?”
Because I had to taste her. “Lust.” Tanner turned away and climbed into the car. “It’ll get you every time, kid.”
When he drove away, the patrolman was still standing in the middle of the road and staring after him.
Officer Paul Hodges exhaled on a long sigh as he watched the SUV’s taillights vanish. He’d screwed up. And in front of a detective, no less. How was he supposed to live this down? When word spread at the precinct…
Shouldn’t have let down my guard. Rookie mistake. He’d been patrolling for five months now. He knew better.
But…when the big guy had said he was a cop…
“People freakin’ lie.” He headed back to his car. He grabbed his radio and spoke into the mike, “Affirmative on the ID. Verified it was Detective Tanner?—”
Headlights flashed on the dark street. Bright lights that pinned him in their glare. “What the hell?”
A vehicle was coming toward him. Too fast. Paul waved his arms. His cruiser was right there. The driver had to see it. Him.
The ground seemed to shake beneath his feet. Not stopping. Paul dove for the side of the road.
But those bright lights—that big vehicle—followed him. The front fender slammed into him, and Paul went flying. When he hit the ground, he heard the snap and crunch of his bones.
And the vehicle stopped. Reversed.
Paul tried to drag himself across the road. He tried to call out because someone might still be on the radio. “Officer down! Officer ? — ”
The vehicle—an SUV—hit him again. The tires rolled right over his legs, and Paul screamed. Everything went black and all he knew was agony. So much pain.
Too much.
Someone hit him. Punched him in the face. His eyes had been closed— had he passed out?— but Paul’s eyes flew open at that impact.
“You’re not dying, kid.” That voice. He knew that voice. Detective Chance had come back to help him. He must have seen the accident! He must have?—
“I’ll let you live a few more hours.” Tanner Chance smiled down at him, and Paul’s blood iced. “But you won’t escape me for too long.” Then Chance drove his foot into Paul’s side. “That’ll fucking teach you,” the detective snarled, “to ever question me!”
Paul spat up blood.
Chance kept smiling. And kicking. And Paul realized Tanner Chance wasn’t there to save him.
He’s the one. Only one vehicle was at the scene. An SUV. Detective Chance had come back, all right.
The detective had come back to kill him.