The electric shock became a painful burn … one that fired right to her heart.
She opened her mouth to scream.
“Don’t worry, this won’t kill you.”
The scream never passed her lips because her voice was gone. Nicole fell and hit the ground. She stared up at the fallen angel who looked—
Sad?
“It won’t kill you, and maybe … maybe it won’t kill him either.”
Darkness coated her vision. No, not darkness. Smoke.
Keenan.
“He needs to learn … he can’t save everyone.”
The fire raged.
“Let’s see just how far we can push him …” Sam’s dark voice drifted with the smoke. “Until he breaks.”
That bastard was supposed to help them!
She didn’t want Keenan to break. She wanted him out of the fire.
Keenan!
She couldn’t scream his name. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
She could only lie there as Sam slipped away and the fire burned higher.
CHAPTER TEN
The flames crackled around him, flaring high, golden and red, seeming to strike out like snakes as he followed the broken screams.
Keenan kept his head down, moving quickly, jumping and darting through the fire. Nicole was safe, he’d seen to it; now he just had to—
There.
He saw her through the flames. The woman who’d pulled the gun on Sam. She was behind the bar. Trapped by the fire. Her hand was over her mouth, and she was coughing.
Behind the bar. Great. Right next to the wall with the alcohol. The last place you wanted to be when flames were so close.
Her head turned. Her wild eyes met his. The flames swarmed higher, and he knew time was running out.
Then the bar ignited.
Damning the flames, he ran through the fire.
Nicole sucked in a deep gulp of air. One. Two. Her starving lungs filled greedily and her fingers began to move.
Damn that Sam. He wasn’t helping them.
Breaking us.
She pushed up slowly as her chest heaved. The air was bitter with smoke and it stung her throat, but she wasn’t about to be choosy then. She’d take what she could get.
Her gaze flew around the area. Cops were on the scene now, swarming in their patrol cars. They were holding a crowd back. A fire truck roared up the street.
No sign of Sam.
Or Keenan.
Still in there.
She stared at the gaping hole in the wall. Smoke billowed. The crackle of flames taunted her.
If Keenan had come out, he wouldn’t have just left her on the ground. She was sure of it.
Her knees shook a bit when she stood. Whatever Sam had hit her with, it had been strong.
Thirst had her throat drying up. Or maybe that was the smoke. Or the fear.
“Hey! Hey, lady!”
Her head whipped around at the call. A uniformed cop waved at her, his round face tense.
“Get away from there, lady! The fire crew’s comin’! Get back!”
Could a fire kill a Fallen? Fire killed nearly everything—everyone—else. Witches. Vampires.
“Sorry,” she muttered to the cop and dove for that opening, “but he needs me.”
She wouldn’t let Keenan break. Sam could go screw himself.
Keenan wouldn’t break.
The vampire went into the flames.
Unexpected.
She should have run. Covered her own ass.
Not gone back for her lover.
But Sam smiled as she disappeared. He’d hoped she’d risk her safety for the Fallen. Hoped—but hope was such a weak thing.
Fleeting.
Human.
The fire could fry her skin off in moments. Vamps burned just as quickly as witches.
The light scent of flowers teased his nose and his smile vanished.
Someone would be dying that night.
Keenan. His vampire. Or the helpless humans inside.
The scent grew stronger. The wind pressed against his body.
Someone would die.
Someone always did.
The ceiling was collapsing. The groans and creaks of the wood and beams above Keenan blended with the crackles of the flames. He hoisted his burden, being careful to keep her limbs from the fire. The woman—Seline—had screamed when he jumped through the flames. She’d tried to stumble back, but had smacked her head into the glass counter behind the bar.
He’d barely caught her before she fell into the fire.
He glanced around and held her tight. The fire had caught him on his arms and his legs. The pain throbbed, making his gut churn.
Nicole had taught him of pleasure.
Now pleasure’s evil bitch of a sister was back—and he didn’t like her much.