Angel of Darkness (26 page)
“Death
is
coming.”
is
coming.”
Her shoulders straightened. “Death ...
you
... can wait.” She made it to the door. Nicole didn’t even bother trying to push it open. Her hands were a mess. She needed blood, fast, in order to get the strength to heal, and even then, she wouldn’t fully recover until her next rising.
you
... can wait.” She made it to the door. Nicole didn’t even bother trying to push it open. Her hands were a mess. She needed blood, fast, in order to get the strength to heal, and even then, she wouldn’t fully recover until her next rising.
Carlos could be waiting right outside. He probably was.
Won’t get Keenan.
She kicked open the vault’s heavy metal door.
Sam had taken Keenan to a bar, one that looked like a dozen others. But this one was different—his prey waited inside.
“There.” Sam’s finger pointed to the right. The two bikers who’d escaped were at the bar, guzzling beers and acting like they didn’t have a care in the world.
He’d make them care.
As Keenan stalked across the bar, smart people got out of his way. Maybe they could feel his rage. It sure burned him.
“Don’t touch ’em, not yet,” Sam muttered. “We need ’em alive to talk, remember?”
He jerked his head in agreement. The idiots must have sensed trouble because they both spun around. When they saw him, their eyes widened and fear slipped over their thick faces.
“Didn’t think it was over, did you?” He braced his legs apart. The scrape of chairs filled the room. Folks were leaving as fast as they could. Guess they were used to trouble in this place, and they knew better than to stay around and watch the show.
The guy right in front of him, a burly guy with grizzled cheeks and a buzz cut, swallowed. “D-don’t know you.”
Keenan’s hand lifted. Oh, to touch ...
“Keenan,”
Sam warned, “the dead can’t talk.”
Sam warned, “the dead can’t talk.”
The buzz-cut biker blanched.
His buddy, a tall, tattooed guy with a mop of curly red hair, startled to sidle away.
“I can kill you with less than a thought,” Keenan said.
Both men froze.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
The red-haired guy shook his head.
Wrong answer. Keenan grabbed a beer bottle, shattered the glass and pressed the jagged edge to buzz-cut’s throat. Since he wasn’t touching the guy directly, the biker wouldn’t die. Well, he wouldn’t die until Keenan sliced his throat wide open with that glass. “I’ll ask once more, then you’ll start bleeding.”
Sam reached for a glass of whiskey that had just been placed on the bar top. He drained it in one gulp, then swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “Better tell him, he’s
real
good at killing.”
real
good at killing.”
“Y-you talking about the vamp?” This came from the redhead.
“Shut up, Pete!” Buzz-cut snarled.
“They’ll kill us, Bo! I ain’t dying for—”
Ah, a weak link. Keenan kept his weapon on Bo, but turned his stare on Pete. “Are there a couple more members of your little gang still living? A member or two who took my vampire?”
Pete shook his head. “N-not us ...”
“Bullshit.” From Sam. “I think you should slice this one for lying. A long slice right down his cheek.”
“
Pete, shut the hell up! The vamp bitch deserves to die after what she did—
”
Pete, shut the hell up! The vamp bitch deserves to die after what she did—
”
“I’m not r-ready to d-die,” Pete stammered. He was younger than Bo. He didn’t have that hardened, been-to-hell look yet. Pete’s breath whispered out. “The other one—he took her. It was all his idea, using the fire, coming to that house.
He’s
the one who knew where you were.”
He’s
the one who knew where you were.”
Sam lunged forward and jerked Bo away from Keenan.
“What are you—” Keenan began.
Sam slammed Bo’s head into the bar. Bo’s eyes rolled back into his head and when Sam lifted his hands, Bo slid to the floor in a heap. “Now we only have to deal with one.”
One who looked very, very scared.
“
Who
knew?” Keenan asked Pete, struggling for control.
Wasting time.
He needed to hurry.
Who
knew?” Keenan asked Pete, struggling for control.
Wasting time.
He needed to hurry.
“S-some Mexican. Car-Carlos ... big guy, dark hair, said he’d been huntin’ the v-vamp.”
The thunder of Keenan’s heartbeat filled his ears.
“H-heard him t-tell Big Mike ... he’d t-take her to St. Louis Cemetery and leave her—leave h-her to rot.”
“Ummm ...” Sam lifted a brow. “I think that might be all he knows.”
Keenan’s fingers tightened around the bottle.
“Do we let him live?” Sam asked, eyeing the guy with a hard stare. “Or do we kill him?”
“
Please ...
” Pete begged and the guy’s eyes were filling with tears.
Please ...
” Pete begged and the guy’s eyes were filling with tears.
Keenan stared at him. “You burned her. Your gang attacked a woman.
You burned her.
”
You burned her.
”
“I-I didn’t throw my bottle! I-I didn’t—”
“But you didn’t stop the others, did you?” Sam leaned in close. “You were right there for the party, and you didn’t help her out.”
Pete started to shake.
“If she’s not in that cemetery, if she’s not still
alive
in that cemetery ...” Keenan ran the glass down Pete’s cheek and let the blood flow. “Then I’ll be back, and you
will
truly learn to beg.”
alive
in that cemetery ...” Keenan ran the glass down Pete’s cheek and let the blood flow. “Then I’ll be back, and you
will
truly learn to beg.”
The guy’s face couldn’t get whiter. And he was one fast bleeder.
Keenan dropped the bottle.
But Sam caught it before the glass could shatter. Quick as a flash, he turned, and drove that broken bottle into Pete’s shoulder. Pete went down, screaming.
“That will teach you,” Sam said with his eyes slitting. “Next time,
don’t just fucking watch while a woman burns.
”
don’t just fucking watch while a woman burns.
”
Keenan turned away from the screams. He’d taken two steps when the angel scent hit him. His gaze zeroed in on the shadows near the bar’s entrance. No, not near the entrance,
blocking
the entrance. “Don’t get in my way, Az.”
blocking
the entrance. “Don’t get in my way, Az.”
The shadows shifted. He glimpsed the wings. Az’s stark face. “You’re losing control,” Az warned.
Losing?
Lost it.
Lost it.
“Soon you’ll be like him ...”
Sam laughed behind Keenan. “Wouldn’t that be damn great? Then you’d have two pissed off Fallen on your trail.”
Keenan rushed for the door. “
Get out of my way.
” Because if he had to, he’d pound his way through the angel. He’d do anything to get to her.
Get out of my way.
” Because if he had to, he’d pound his way through the angel. He’d do anything to get to her.
“She’s made you like this,” Az said. But the shadows lightened as he pulled back. “She’ll destroy you.”
“No,” Sam spoke with certainty behind him. “She’s just making him stronger—and that scares you, Az.”
The shadows vanished.
They screamed when Nicole kicked open the crypt door. A guy and his girlfriend, both dressed in goth black, whirled around, their cries filling her ears. They’d been leaning down, lighting candles near another crypt, leaving offerings—
Didn’t they realize the voodoo queen wasn’t even there anymore? Tourists.
“
Look at her teeth! Oh, Sean, look at—
”
Look at her teeth! Oh, Sean, look at—
”
Okay, the girl didn’t sound scared. More like excited.
“
Bite me,
” Sean whispered. “
Please.
”
Bite me,
” Sean whispered. “
Please.
”
Well, if he was gonna be offering ... She lunged forward and sank her teeth into his throat. His blood spilled over her tongue and strength started to push back into her body.
“Sean?” A thread of fear entered the girl’s voice, banking that excitement. “Sean ... she’s ... really drinking your bl-blood.” Then the girl let out a shriek. Her footsteps thudded as she ran away.
Nicole took more blood from her donor. Not too much. Just enough to survive. When she let him go, her savior slipped to the ground. Not dead, but unconscious.
She pushed her hands against the nearest crypt. The bones popped and snapped back into place as she reset them. Not perfect, not yet, but she’d make it through the night. She’d—
“I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I,
querida?
”
querida?
”
Nicole stiffened.
Carlos.
“No, I guess you can’t.” She licked the last of the blood away and turned toward him. “You should have used that stake when you had the chance.”
Carlos.
“No, I guess you can’t.” She licked the last of the blood away and turned toward him. “You should have used that stake when you had the chance.”
He stood between two stone vaults, his claws scraping over them. “I’ll take the chance now. Your angel can just mourn over your broken body.”
No, he wouldn’t.
“The bait’s already set. I wager one of the bikers broke by now and told him where you were.” He pulled out the stake. “Let’s see how fast you can die.”
He leapt at her.
But Nicole was ready for him. She jumped back and the stake missed her. She kicked out and caught his wrist with her foot. This time, the bone that snapped was his. When the stake flew from his hand, she scrambled after it, diving to her knees. Her fingers curled around the wood just as Carlos grabbed her legs and yanked her back.
“
I’ll cut off your fucking head—
”
I’ll cut off your fucking head—
”
She had the stake. She twisted and came up ready. Nicole drove the stake right into his chest. “And I’ll take your heart.” Her whisper.
Another kill. Another death.
What was one more stain on her black soul?
He stared at her, mouth open, eyes gaping, then he sagged back, slipping onto the ground as blood began to pool beneath him.
Killing again hadn’t been nearly as hard as she’d hoped.
Connor had been right. Perhaps she did have a talent for murder. Damn him.
She closed her eyes.
“
Nicole!
” A roar that was her name.
Nicole!
” A roar that was her name.
Keenan. Her eyes flew right back open. And it was just like Carlos had said. She could see Keenan now, running toward her, snaking through the vaults. He wasn’t even checking around him for an attack—just running straight for her, his gaze locked
on
her.
on
her.
He would have run right into Carlos and never seen the danger until the claws were at his throat.
“It’s okay,” she called out as she rose and hurried forward. “I—”
Bones snapped. Crunched. Still not hers.
Not. Hers
. Goose bumps rose on her arms. Nicole glanced back over her shoulder.
Not. Hers
. Goose bumps rose on her arms. Nicole glanced back over her shoulder.
Carlos was shifting.
Fur sprang up over his flesh. Thick, brown fur. His hands had already turned into paws, his claws had lengthened, sharpening even more. His face contorted as she watched. Stretched. Elongated. Animal, not man.
An animal with really big teeth—and she knew all about big teeth.
I missed his heart.
Oh, damn.
He was a shifter. He didn’t need blood to heal and kick ass. He just needed to transform.
“Run,” Nicole whispered and then she whirled around to face Keenan as she shouted, “Run!”
Too late. Keenan was almost on her. He reached out to her, but then froze, his fingers inches away. She stumbled for him. “You’ve got to get—”
A coyote’s high, quavering howl broke the air.
Then that guy, Sam, he was there. Sam yanked her into his arms and pulled her away from Keenan. “Oh, what the hell?” He huffed out a hard breath. “Now the dogs are in this?”
Not a dog. A coyote. A very big, very pissed-off coyote with bloodlust burning in his glowing eyes. “It’s a trap,” she whispered. “He’s after Keenan. We can’t let him get ...”
“The sonofabitch figured it out.” Sam shoved her behind him. She caught a glimpse of the coyote.
Way
bigger than your average coyote. The beast lunged into the air and leapt right for Keenan.
Way
bigger than your average coyote. The beast lunged into the air and leapt right for Keenan.
No!
But Sam was there. Moving with his super speed, he jumped in front of Keenan.
The coyote gave a choked bark and twisted in midair. The beast landed on the top of a shallow crypt.
“Didn’t count on two of us, did you?” Keenan snarled.
Then another coyote’s wailing cry echoed in the cemetery. Another, another ...
If coyotes could smile, she knew that beast would be grinning.
Her head whipped to the right. She saw a black coyote stalking along the high stone wall. The coyote had its eyes locked on Keenan’s back.
“
Keenan, watch out!
”
Keenan, watch out!
”
But her scream came too late. The coyote jumped from the wall and lunged for Keenan. The beast’s mouth—wide with sharp teeth and dripping with saliva—went for Keenan’s throat.
But Keenan shoved his forearm into the coyote’s mouth. The beast stiffened. Its whole body froze and as Nicole watched, the fur began to melt away.
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