Going to dwell on that, was she?
“Told you, sweet, I fell.” Now they had to move. Sleeping Beauty wasn’t going to stay out for long. “You ready to run or do you want him to toss your butt in jail?”
She swallowed. “Run.”
Good. He laced his fingers through hers, and they raced into the night.
The angel watched them run. Keenan was so fast he could have easily left the vampire, had that been what the Fallen wanted.
But he knew Keenan didn’t want to leave her.
That was the whole crux of this nightmare. Keenan didn’t want to leave the one who’d lied, f**ked, and killed.
Sad. He’d had so much potential. So much promise. And for Keenan to now fall so low …
The vampire would suffer for this. Tempting. Making the strong weak.
She’d suffer.
Wings flapped as the angel prepared to soar above his charges. Death was coming. Sweeping closer in the air. This time, Death wouldn’t be denied. No last-minute reprieve would be given because of temptation.
Not for the vampire, anyway. There was still a chance for Keenan. Grace could be regained.
It just took one selfless act. One courageous, determined act.
And all would be forgiven.
Sins … wiped clean.
As the angel soared into the night sky, his black wings merged with the darkness.
Sheriff Tom Duggley pushed up, flexing his jaw. That little lady had one damn devil of a punch. But then, he should have expected that.
He rose and shuffled toward his car. The scent of flowers hung in the air, a light scent, totally out of place in the all but barren land.
Tom was surprised they’d left his keys—and the car. Bad move. They’d be on foot, and so much easier to track now.
He grabbed the radio. “Need an APB …” He spit out a mouthful of blood. That punch had been real hard.
But she hadn’t killed him.
Odd, that.
“We got us a wanted fugitive in the area. A Nicole St. James …” He rattled off her description.
Killing him would have been so easy for her. Child’s play, especially with him knocked out.
But she’d let him live.
And that big hoss of a protective shadow she’d had with her hadn’t gone for his head, either.
“Approach with extreme caution,” he said as his fingers tightened around the radio. The deputies wouldn’t understand just how extreme the situation would be.
They didn’t know about vampires. He did.
Good thing he’d taken the liberty of ordering special bullets for his department. A sweet little batch made just for situations like this.
A silver bullet/holy water combination—a mix that had trickled through law enforcement personnel a few years back.
A mix that worked wonders on the border. You never knew exactly what you’d see on a Texas night, not when you’d been patrolling for as long as he had.
But she’d let him live.
Damn odd for a vamp.
Damn odd. Especially since, if the stories were true, Nicole St. James had killed two men since her vampire transformation.
The motorcycle roared down the road. The engine vibrated between Nicole’s legs as she held tight to her angel.
Angel.
Impossible.
But she’d spent her life as a semi-good Catholic girl. She’d been taught about angels since the time she learned her first few words. She’d always believed, until …
Until she’d thought God turned away from her.
Not when she’d gotten the news from the doctor. No, she’d still believed. Still hoped. Still wanted to pray.
But…
That alley. That blood-soaked hell of an alley had convinced her. And then, the things she’d done …
Her eyes squeezed shut as she pressed her forehead against Keenan’s strong back. No helmets, of course. They’d been lucky to steal the bike. The bike’s owner hadn’t been forgetful enough to leave helmets behind. Now they were just driving hard and driving fast. Her arms were around Keenan, holding tight.
Trusting him didn’t seem wise, but what choice did she have? She’d been thrown into this new world, with no damn clue how to survive. She’d barely scraped by the last few months. There’d been so many times she’d come close to death.
And she’d changed. The woman she’d been—yes, she really had died in that alley. The woman holding onto the back of a fallen angel had fallen herself.
He’d said that if she drank his blood, it wouldn’t weaken him, so the man seemed to be her perfect prey.
Perfect, but …
I can’t trust him.