Angel Betrayed

She blinked. “Uh . . . run that by me again?” She sure hadn’t been expecting that kind of response from him.

His gaze darted around the room. “Why . . . am I here?” That bright stare came back to her. “Did I do . . . something wrong? Did I . . . hurt someone?” He yanked at the chains.

Seline kept her distance. If he was truly Sam’s brother, then the guy before her might be able to kill with a touch, too. Which makes getting him out of here even harder.

His jaw clenched. “Please,” he grated, “help me.”

There was torment in his voice. And fear. The keys dug into her hand. “Your name is Az.”

He didn’t blink.

Okay, no recognition there. Is this the right guy? She walked a bit to the left and tried to peer over his shoulder. She couldn’t see the flesh on his back, not with the way he was chained, so in order to find out if he carried the same scars as Sam did, she’d have to touch him.Seline sucked in a deep breath. “I will help you,” she told him, “but you have to trust me.” She lifted her left hand to show that she wasn’t armed. “I need to touch you.”

His stare bored into her and a faint line appeared between his brows.

“I have to make certain you’re the man I think you are.” Because these days, she didn’t trust a thing Rogziel told her. Not after what she’d seen him do on the last case.

Sam wasn’t the first angel she’d met. No, the first angel she could remember was Rogziel. But he wasn’t an Angel of Death like Sam. Instead, Rogziel was on earth to punish. Punishment angels were fueled by wrath.

Only she knew that Rogziel had a twisted idea of what constituted guilt. Sometimes, just having demon blood was enough of a justification for punishment in his mind.

He doesn’t kill quickly. He enjoys the pain too much.

The only time Rogziel ever seemed to feel anything was when he was doling out his justice. Then he smiled.

His smile chilled her to the bone.

Swallowing, Seline lifted her arm and let her fingers trail over Az’s back.

He pulled in a sharp breath at her touch, but he didn’t move. Her fingers skimmed up his flesh and found the thick, rough scars near his shoulder blades.

Her head tilted back, and she looked deeper into his eyes. His pupils flared as she gazed at him. “You fell.” It wasn’t hard to mistake those marks. Once you knew what they were, the scars were an instant indicator. She’d only touched Sam’s scars in the dream-walk, but she’d never forget them. He’d had wings, once upon a time. So had Az.

Once upon a time . . . until the fire came, and he fell to earth. Seline cleared her throat and said, “You fell, and your wings burned away.”

Not a flicker of recognition filled his gaze. He just looked . . . lost.

“Fell from where?” he asked blankly as he blinked and shook his head.

She pulled away, hurrying back a step. Getting out of touching range. “I’ll get you out of here, but you have to—”

“I woke up in a . . . graveyard. I was on a broken tomb, naked, I was—”

Voices shouted in the hallway. Oh, hell. No more time.

She grabbed the chain on his right wrist and shoved the key into the lock. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It does.” He caught her hand the instant the cuff popped open. Now it was Seline’s turn to freeze. One touch.

But his fingers just smoothed over her skin. “You’re . . .” He broke off and the blue of his eyes seemed to fade a bit. “Danger.”

Oh, yeah, she was dangerous to him, but she wasn’t about to confess to that bit now.

His hold tightened. “Be careful. Evil . . . it’s at the door.”

What? Chill bumps rose on her arms.

Then the scent of smoke reached her, burning her nose, and Seline’s head whipped around. She could see thick, dark smoke sliding beneath the bottom of the containment room’s door.

Smoke and then—the door exploded inward as a ball of flames swept into the room. Seline screamed, and Az laughed.

Laughed.

Her gaze flew back to him, and she saw that he was smiling. Oh, hell. That smile reminded her far too much of Rogziel—it was the same smile he wore right before Rogziel got ready to punish some bastard.

Playing with the big boys . . . Had she really thought Az wouldn’t be as dangerous as Sam?

The fire licked her arm, and she screamed again.

When the scent of smoke drifted to him on the wind, Sam stiffened. Then the armed men ran out of the warehouse, one of the guys carrying an unconscious man over his shoulder. They were running away.