Angel Betrayed (The Fallen #2)(57)

Then she understood what was happening. Sam had put her out of commission. Damn him. He’d used his powers to trap her inside her own body. A psychic shutdown. She’d heard of this happening before, but Seline had never thought it could happen to her.

Or that he’d be the one to do this to her.

Bastard. Just when she’d started to care, to think that, maybe, she’d found a guy who understood her.

Can’t trust anyone in this world. Or the next.

Another weak moan slipped from her.

As soon as she could move again, he’d be hurting.

But the memory of that truck filled her mind. His blood had been everywhere. He’d been attacked, again and again, by something she couldn’t see.

Hellhound?

Talk about your living nightmare.

“She . . . looks familiar to me.” The other guy again. “Her nose, her cheeks . . .” A sharp inhalation. “I swear I’ve seen her before.”

“This hellhound . . .” And who the hell was talking now? A woman with a soft voice and the hint of the South drawling below the words. “Will it come back if she wakes up?”

I’m awake now! Awake, but not able to open her eyes. Or talk. Or move at all. Freaking paralyzed.

Why had she thought that she could count on Sam? She knew the stories about him, the mile-long list of enemies that he had. But still she’d gone right in and thought he’d be different with her. Obviously, she was delusional.

“If she’s the hound’s master, she’ll be able to summon it from hell anytime, anywhere.” Sam’s voice was flat, but his fingertips were on her cheek, gently brushing back her hair. The light touch felt . . . strange. It should have felt wrong, but it didn’t. Just . . . damn him. “Doesn’t matter where or when, she has an attack dog at her beck and call,” Sam finished.

“A dog that can kill you and Keenan?” The woman asked, and even Seline heard the fear in the chick’s voice, particularly when she said, “Keenan.”

“No one’s killing me, Nicole,” the guy, had to be Keenan, promised.

Something creaked. Probably a floorboard. Which brought up a new question . . . where was she?

“The hound can kill you, though?” Nicole pushed. Her voice had risen with fear.

“A hellhound can kill anyone.” It was Sam who answered. “It doesn’t matter how strong the Other is, a hound can still drag ’em down to hell.”

“And she can summon one of these hounds?” Nicole demanded.

No, I can’t. Could she?

“Yes.”

“Then why are we wasting time?” That southern accent got a little thicker. “Let’s kill her now.”

Oh, no, the chick just hadn’t said that. Bad plan.

“Nicole.” Keenan’s calm voice.

Yeah, that’s right, pull back your guard dog.

“Just touch her, and the threat’s gone.” Nicole was talking fast. Seline really didn’t like this woman. “Sam, why haven’t you killed her yet? If you know she’s this dangerous then why is she still breathing?”

Sam touched Seline’s cheek again. She wanted to flinch away yet couldn’t move. But his touch didn’t kill. Didn’t hurt her at all. “Because I’m addicted,” he said, the words rumbling, low.

Not exactly a giant declaration of love there.

“She doesn’t look like an angel,” Nicole muttered.

If she could have, Seline would have laughed. She knew exactly what she looked like. Sin. She’d been told that often enough over the years—both by lovers who thought they were seducing her and by humans who thought she should be repenting.

“You said she was a succubus.” Now Keenan was talking again. “A succubus can’t control a hound.”

“She’s only half-succubus.” From Sam. His fingers trailed down her throat and rested over the pulse that beat at the base of her neck. “As for her other half, well, there’s no doubt . . .”

“She’s angel,” Keenan said.

And there was the shame she’d tried so hard to hide. Mixed-blood daughter of an angel and the incubus who killed her. Abomination. Living sin.

“She’s crying.” The woman’s voice was soft now.

Seline realized a tear had leaked from her eye.

“I thought you put her under,” Keenan charged, and for the first time, she heard anger vibrate in his voice.

“I did.”

More creaking of floorboards. “She’s hearing everything we say.” Nicole was the one to state the obvious. “And she sure doesn’t like what she hears.”

“She’s fully aware.” Keenan’s voice had taken on a definite edge. “Hellhound callers don’t have to be able to speak to summon their beasts. They’re linked psychically. If she’s screaming for the beast in her mind . . .”

“Then it’ll be at the f*cking door,” Sam growled. His hand slid under her hair, and he tilted up her head. “Seline. ”

She felt a push of power, and it was like a curtain lifted from her body. Her eyes opened. She blinked away the teardrops that blurred her vision.

“Tell me you didn’t call the hellhound. Tell me.”

Her right hand curled into a fist. She licked her lips. She could move everything again. So she moved that fist and swung for him.