Sam. She finally took a deep breath.
“His clothes were burnin’, but he wasn’t.” The guy, older, wearing a white shirt that had already started to show his sweat, shook his head. “He looked like the damn devil.”
Definitely her Sam. No one else fit that description quite like him.
The cop sighed and glanced at another uniform. She caught the raised brows and knew they weren’t even close to buying the guy’s story.
Didn’t matter. She was ready to buy it.
Seline waited until the cops stepped away and went off to interview more witnesses, probably folks they hoped would be more reliable. Then she grabbed Cole and headed for the man who was now making the sign of the cross over his body.
“Uh, excuse me, sir . . .” Seline began.
He turned toward her, with his eyes narrowing.
She tried a smile. “I couldn’t help but overhear—”
“I’m not f**kin’ crazy!” Sweat trickled down the side of his face.
Firefighters were shooting giant streams of water at the remaining flames.
“No, of course not,” she soothed. “But could you tell me . . . the man you saw,” the man she didn’t see any place now, “where did he go?”
The witness blinked his light blue eyes. “You believe me?”
She gave a quick nod. “Where did he go?”
A sigh heaved out of the guy as he swiped his hand over his forehead. “He chased after the other one.”
She kept her expression blank, but it was Cole who demanded, “Other one?”
“That blond guy.” He glanced down at the dirt stains on his shirt. “I tried to help him, thought he might have been hurt in the fire, but the guy just shoved me and ran.” His gaze tracked to the right and to the alley that snaked behind the cemetery. “Poor dumbass. The devil was followin’ him.”
“Not the devil,” Seline muttered. Not quite.
“Close enough,” Cole said instantly.
That just made the witness stare at them with a slack jaw.
Time to leave.
They hurried toward that alley. Blond. Okay, two possibilities for the blond male’s identity. Option one . . . Alex. His van was parked close by and the cemetery still burned—had he set a trap for Sam?
Rogziel wouldn’t be giving up on his prey so easily, and she’d seen Alex use his come-and-get-me routine before. He lured the prey in, then attacked with everything that he had.
But if Sam had chased after him, everything hadn’t been enough this time.
Or if it wasn’t Alex, then it could be Az. Her option two was a whole lot scarier than a human who thought he was tough.
Seline and Cole followed the snaking alley away from the cemetery and the crowd. The stench of garbage surrounded her as she jumped over things that she really didn’t want to think about too hard.
They turned another corner, and she stopped cold when she saw the scene before her.
Alex stood with his back pressed against a dirty brick wall. His hands were up, his eyes wide. Dark ash covered his face and clothes. He was breathing hard, the ragged sounds filling the air, and it sounded like he might be . . . begging?
Sam stood in front of him. No burning clothes. Perfect clothes again. Not so much as a hint of soot or ash on him. Mere inches separated Sam from Alex.
“Seline!” Alex saw her and screamed her name. “Call your dog off!”
Not her dog. Sam didn’t glance back at her.
“Stay away, Seline,” he said.
But Alex’s desperate eyes were on her. “He’s going to kill me!” he cried as spittle flew from his mouth.
“Only fair.” Sam’s voice held a taunting edge. “You tried to kill me today.”
Seline crept forward. Cole stood back, waiting.
“Here’s a tip,” Sam said, and as Seline circled around the men, she caught the flash of his grin. “You’re not strong enough to kill me. Your weapons aren’t strong enough. All you manage to do is piss me off.” He lifted his hand. “Guess what happens when I get pissed?”
Alex pressed back even more against the bricks. It looked like the guy was trying to shrivel up.
“I make you hurt.” Sam moved in that too-fast blur he did so well.
Alex screamed and grabbed for his left hand. Uh, his hand was facing the wrong direction. The bones had been broken in a blink of time.
She swallowed. “Sam . . .”
He didn’t look her way. “You should have stayed at the safe house.”
She tensed. Now he was going to talk about that?
“She’s in this!” More spittle flew from Alex’s mouth as he cradled his injured hand. “She’s f**king in this! Do your job, Seline—get this bastard! Drain him like you were supposed to!”
Seline didn’t move, not so much as an inch.
Did Sam’s shoulders stiffen? Hard to say. No change of expression crossed his face.
“Seline!” Alex bellowed.
She glanced back over her shoulder. Good thing those sirens were still wailing. Otherwise, they’d be having company. But the sirens were wailing, and she knew they were covering Alex’s cries. “I’m not working for Rogziel anymore.”
Alex laughed. “Is that the story you’re spinning?” He let his hands fall.
“Yes,” she said quietly, and took a deep breath. “Alex, where’s Az?”
His lips firmed into a thin line.
“Just tell me—”
“How the hell should I know? You’re the one who let him go last night!”
Not quite.
She glanced over her shoulder once more. This whole setup wasn’t good. They shouldn’t be outside like this. “We need to get out of here.” If Sam wanted, he could bring Alex with him, but right then, they needed to split. “We’re gonna have company soon.” Because Rogziel’s teams never worked alone. There was always backup lurking nearby.
And not all the other teams would leave Alex to his fate—the way he left me.
“Let them come.” Sam shrugged.
Right. Well, if she was an all-powerful Fallen who’d walked through fire without a burn, she might be shrugging, too. And to think, she’d actually raced over on the idea that he might need her help.
Delusions. Apparently, she had them.
But a loud pop filled the air, like an exploding firecracker, and Cole cried out in pain. Her gaze flew to him, and Seline saw that he’d grabbed his shoulder. His bleeding shoulder.
Shot. Not firecrackers, nothing nearly so innocent.