Angel in Chains

There were women up in the golden cage that swung lightly from the ceiling. A band screaming on the small stage.

“That way . . .” Cole pointed to the left. “Your . . . um . . . friends have already been shown to a private room.”

Good. “The woman was with them?”

Cole laughed with real appreciation then. “Yeah, she was.” He leaned toward Az. “Kind of hard to miss a handcuffed, pissed-off angel.”

Az saw Jade’s shoulders relax. “She’s alive.”

Cole glanced toward her and nodded. “But I doubt those guys with her will be once she breaks loose.” He shrugged. “So they’d better hope those cuffs keep holding her in check.”

Cole turned to stride back outside, but Az lifted his hand and stopped him. “There will be one more guest for our little private party.” He paused. “Be very careful around him. Bastion isn’t the kind you want to antagonize. Actually, you don’t want to touch him at all.”

“Great.” Cole sighed and shook his head. “Another Death Angel? Can’t any of you ass**les just stay in heaven these days?”

“He’s not Fallen.” Not yet. But if Bastion stayed on the path he seemed to be taking . . . “He’s blond, my height, and—”

“And I think I’ll be able to figure out which guy’s the angel. Not my first ball game.” Cole spun away. “Fucking angels,” he muttered.

Az waved his hand, and the crowd parted before him. The dancers didn’t even realize they were moving back. It was as if a light wind blew right by them, ushering them subtly to the side, but he and Jade could now slide through the crush of bodies without any problem.

They avoided the once-again-bolted metal doors, though Az was sure that the hellhound had been . . . relocated. Instead, they took the winding hallway that led away from the crowd. When he arrived before the reserved room—the room that Sam kept especially for occasions when Other needed a private place to meet—Az didn’t bother to knock. He waved his hand and the door flew open.

Marna’s blue eyes widened with fear when she saw him. She was seated in a wooden chair, with her hands cuffed behind her. Tanner stood on one side of her while Cody paced near the back of the room.

The door slammed against the wall, jerking everyone’s attention toward him and Jade.

“Azrael.” Marna’s sharp voice.

“Why is she cuffed?” Jade demanded as she pushed forward. “She should be taking it easy, not—”

“Her wounds have healed,” Cody told her as he stepped toward her. Then he stopped and glanced over at Marna. “As much as they can heal.”

Marna laughed then. A bitter, tight laugh that Az had never expected to hear from the angel who cared too much. “He means the blood’s stopped—but my wings are long gone.”

Tears glittered in her eyes, shining like jagged diamonds.

“Uncuff her,” Jade snapped.

Tanner’s body stiffened. “I’m not real sure that’s a good plan, there, Jade.” His faint drawl had thickened. “One touch and—”

“She’s been hurt enough.” Jade strode closer to her. Az made sure he shadowed her moves. “Just let her go,” Jade said.

Marna’s gaze darted to him. The fear was still there. Fear and fury and . . .

Hope?

“There’s some kind of spell on the cuffs,” Marna said, her voice soft now, almost broken. “I can’t get out of them, no matter what I do.”

Jade’s attention jumped back to Tanner. “Get the key and get her out.”

But Tanner stood his ground. “You really that eager for her to kill you? The wings might be gone, but her powers aren’t. One touch, and you aren’t coming back.”

“The touch doesn’t work on me anymore. At least, Bastion said it didn’t.”

Marna’s eyes widened, and Az saw the hope die in her gaze.

He realized that she’d been planning to finish her mission. To kill Jade.

The hell she would.

Az strode forward. He crouched in front of Marna and made sure that their gazes held. “We found you in those woods. The two men behind you—”

“They aren’t men!” Her voice was stronger now, more caked with fury than fear. “One’s an animal, one’s a demon, and they’re both linked to the bastard who did this to me!”

“A bastard who’s got angel blood.” This came from the demon doc who Az knew must have spent hours trying to help Marna. “He’s like you, so before you start looking down that perfect nose of yours at us animals, remember that. Angels can go bad, too.”