Her breath heaved out. Oh, shit, had she just done that?
Demon.
Jade pushed up onto her knees. A wild smile lifted her lips. The hound was down. Az was safe. She’d used magic and—
And the beast was getting bigger. Right before her eyes, he doubled in size.
Sam’s brows lifted as he stared up at her. “Hellhounds like the fire, demon. You just made him stronger.”
The hound rose to its feet and rushed toward Az.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jade was screaming his name. Fear tightened her beautiful face. She grabbed the cage’s bars as tears slid down her cheeks.
Az didn’t look away from her. Couldn’t. He put his hand up behind him.
Beelzebub whined, then licked him. The beast’s hot breath blew over Az’s skin.
“What the hell?” Sam muttered even as Seline said—
“You tamed the beast.” Her voice was dazed, but admiring.
“Not exactly a taming.” He pushed his hand into that thick fur. “I guess he decided he didn’t like the way I tasted, so he let me go.” Now he seemed to have a four-legged friend that he couldn’t shake.
And why was Jade up in a golden cage? Was she actually crying for him?
As he stared up at her, her hands slowly released the bars. She swiped at the tears on her face, and he saw the tremble in her fingertips.
“Beelzebub must have liked what he saw in your soul,” Seline said as she walked around him. Az glanced back in time to watch her fingers sink into the hound’s fur. “So no matter what you think about yourself, you really aren’t a heartless bastard.”
The hound pressed against her side. She bent and inspected the jagged remains of his claws. “Come with me, Beelzie,” she told him, voice crooning, “I’ll file those back into shape for you in no time.”
The hellhound followed her like a doting pup.
Az winced as the torn muscles and ligaments in his body began to mend. The blood had finally stopped gushing out of him. A good sign.
“I told you that your woman was a demon.” Sam sauntered toward him with his hands crossed over his chest. “And she’s got more than a bit of power in her.”
The cage swayed drunkenly above him. Az narrowed his eyes. “I don’t remember telling you to lock her up.”
“It was my way of keeping her safe.” A pause. “You’re welcome,” Sam said grandly.
Az grunted. He shouldered by Sam, but his brother reached out in a deceptively slow move and clasped his shoulder. “Is there a hybrid angel on the hunt you need to warn me about?”
Az glanced back toward Jade. There were no more tears from her. No emotion at all showed on her face. But the fear and desperation had been there before, and they’d seared him.
“I’ll take care of that guy.” Az’s words were a promise. “You don’t have to worry about him.”
“I worry any time there’s a being out there that can kill me.” Sam’s hold tightened on his shoulder. “You sure you’ve got him?”
Az turned his head and met Sam’s stare. “Get me a witch who can craft bullets out of those claws, and the shifter is as good as dead.”
One brow lifted. “Oh. Is that all you need?”
He nodded.
“Then consider it done, but, you should know, Mateo doesn’t work for free. There’ll be a cost.”
Ah, yes, Mateo. The magic man who had fought with Sam months before in Mexico. “There always is,” Az said.
With a nod of his head, Sam sauntered away. The guy was even whistling as he dodged the bloody trail Az had left behind.
“Uh, yeah, this is a great family moment and all,” Jade’s tight voice snapped out, “but how about we get me out of this cage?”
He waved his hand. The cage door flew open.
Jade jumped down. He caught her and held her easily in his arms. Her gaze searched his face. The remnants of fear lit her gaze. “If you ever do that again . . .” She swallowed. “I’ll find a way to kill you myself.”
Frowning, Az put Jade on her feet. He hadn’t expected that response.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she said, “We’re supposed to be partners here. When you have a partner, you don’t run off facing the big, bad hellhound on your own.”
“One swipe of his claws would have killed you.” His own anger began to spike even as he felt the continued ache from his healing flesh. “You really wanted me to risk your life?”
“No, jerk, I didn’t want you to risk yours!” Then she marched over to retrieve the bloody claws. “These!” She lifted them into the air. “They aren’t worth your life.”
“They’re a weapon we need.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to ever be trapped again when I can’t do anything but wait for the screams to come as you die.” Heat flushed her cheeks. “I’ve been there before. When Brandt came after . . .” She broke off and lifted her chin. “I won’t be helpless while someone dies again!”
He crossed slowly to her. His steps seemed to echo in the cavernous bar. “I won’t be dying.”
Her lip trembled. “You’d damn well better not.”
She cared. He could see that. She was the only woman who ever had.
His fingers, still bloody, brushed over her cheek. “You . . . you make me feel things that I shouldn’t.” The emotions seemed to rip him apart. The lust. The need.
But there was more.
He wanted to be by her side in the darkness. Wanted to hear her laugh. Jade didn’t laugh enough. Didn’t flash her real smile often enough to please him. How long had it been since he’d seen that wink of her dimple? Too long.
What would she look like when she was truly happy? Would her green eyes shine?
Would he ever find out?
“It’s your lucky day, Az.” Sam’s mocking voice jerked his gaze off Jade.
He saw his brother stride toward him from the direction of the back offices. Sam held a thin piece of paper between his thumb and forefinger. “Mateo’s in town.”
Tension tightened his body. Mateo wasn’t just a witch. He was a caller, the hybrid son of a crossroads spirit and a witch who’d wanted too much power. You had to be careful when you dealt with Mateo, because sometimes, the payment for his services was your life.
Az’s gaze slid to Jade. The last thing he wanted was for her to get too close to Mateo. If Sam had been curious about her powers, then Mateo would sure as hell be fascinated. And having Mateo fascinated wasn’t a good thing.