Angel Betrayed (The Fallen #2)(56)

Nothing that could be seen, not yet, but the beast’s claws and teeth could sure be felt.

“It’s your hound.” Why hadn’t he seen this before? He’d been so unconcerned with Seline’s “other” half. A hybrid . . . hell, he’d been so blind.

The hound hadn’t attacked her.

The beast had found them too fast, and there was only one way a hound could track this fast.

The hellhound had honed in on its master.

And the next words had to be said, because that last swipe of the beast’s claws had come too close to his neck. “Call it off . . . or you die.” If a hound’s master wouldn’t call the beast back, then the only way to stop a hellhound was to kill that master.

Without the master, the hound went back to hell instantly.

“What?” Her hoarse whisper.

His hold tightened on her. He could hear the beast’s snarls now. Hungry growls. The hound wanted a soul to feed on. Too bad. His wasn’t on the menu. “Pull the beast back . . . or go to hell with the hound.” Betrayed. All of it had been a setup, and he’d been too blind to see the truth.

Lust had made him stupid.

The hound’s growls kept rumbling in his ears, and he had to dodge more swipes from those claws. The truck pushed forward faster, faster, and he felt razor-sharp teeth press into the back of his neck.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Now Seline was fighting to pull free of his grip. “Sam, you’re scaring me!”

She wasn’t going to call the beast back. Damn her. “The hellhound . . .” Those teeth clipped his throat. Fire burned along Sam’s flesh. “Send the beast back, now!” Another fast glance at her.

Her eyes were huge and filmed with the glimmer of tears. Tears. He’d never seen her cry. Fear had her face paling, and he knew she understood as she stared at the wounds spreading on his body. Those growls and snarls filled the truck as the hound gained strength from Sam’s blood.

“I-I can’t.” Her confession and she stopped trying to pull away from him. “I’m sorry . . .”

So was he. Power pumped through him. He had to do what was necessary for survival.

The truck thundered faster, its bald tires wobbling.

Faster, faster . . .

Those invisible teeth snapped at him again.

Sam slammed on the brakes. His chest rammed into the steering wheel, but those teeth—those damn sharp teeth—tore free of him. A giant gaping hole appeared in the windshield—a hole that had been made by the hound’s body. He could see the ghostly image of the beast struggling to take shape on the dirt road. The beast was bloody, and its hind legs were broken.

Seline slumped beside Sam. Her head had hit the windshield an instant before the beast had gone through and sent glass shattering, but she hadn’t been thrown from the truck.

Sam still had his hold on her wrist, and his grip was far more unbreakable than any seat belt ever could be.

Her eyes were closed. Blood trickled from the wound on her head, and he was pretty sure he’d dislocated her shoulder when he’d stopped her from flying out of the vehicle.

The hound’s ghostly image began to vanish. With Seline unconscious, the hound couldn’t marshal enough energy to focus and attack again.

Sam’s fingers curled around Seline’s limp hand. He glared at the disappearing beast. “Fuck you,” he snarled, and drove the truck right at the hound. Just as the front bumper reached the beast, its image completely melted away.





Her shoulder hurt. Seline felt the throbbing pain push through the cloaking darkness that surrounded her.

“We’ve got a big problem.” Sam’s angry voice.

She tensed and wondered why she couldn’t open her eyes.

“You’re sure she summoned him?” A voice she hadn’t heard before. Male. Deep. Not angry like Sam’s, more . . . measured.

She tried to lift her lashes. Not happening. What’s wrong with me? The last thing she remembered was being in that old, beat-up truck with Sam. He’d told her . . .

Call it off . . . or you die.

Then the world had stopped. No, not the world, that crappy pickup truck. Glass had exploded and a hound’s roaring cry had filled her ears.

Then, nothing.

“The minute she went out, the hellhound vanished. The beast didn’t hurt her, not even once, but it sure tried to take more than its pound of flesh from me.” Sam again. She could feel him, knew he was close.

Sam threatened to kill me. The thought had rage building within her. She’d saved his butt, and he’d actually said he’d kill her?

She hadn’t even seen anything in the back of that pickup. Yeah, something had been there. Once the blood started flowing, there had been no denying that fact. But she hadn’t summoned anything. She didn’t even know how to do something like that.

As for killing her? Kiss my ass, Fallen. The way Seline figured it, their deal was now over.

And the fact that it felt like Sam had ripped her heart out? Well, she’d find a way to deal with that later. She was good at dealing with disappointment.

Shouldn’t have trusted him. She knew better than to trust anyone.

Seline tried to talk, but only a moan slipped from her lips.

What happened to me?

“How long are you going to hold her under?” that other male voice asked again. No anger, no judgment. Just mild curiosity.