Angel in Chains (The Fallen #3)(24)

Az swung out with his fist. He slammed the punch right into the shifter’s jaw with a rough crunch of sound. Tanner went down, eyes closing, and the guy’s slack body hit the floor.

“Or you can handle it,” she muttered and cleared her throat. Well, Az had saved her knuckles some bruising.

Az glanced at her. She was pretty sure he’d enjoyed delivering that punch. The guy was fighting a grin.

Bad angel.

I like ’em that way.

“You up for a run through the swamp?” Jade asked as she pulled him away toward the back of the cabin. Judging by those sirens, the cops were getting way too close.

“We shouldn’t trust him,” Az said, moving slowly and slowing her down.

“Of course not. We shouldn’t trust anyone.” But she trusted Az. How could you not trust an angel? “One thing we know . . . the cops are coming. Those sirens are screaming louder every second, and we need to get our butts out of here.”

Jails sucked. She’d spent some unfortunate time in one before. Back when . . .

No. Jade slammed the door shut on that memory. She would not think about them. Not now.

As a general rule, she never let herself think about them. It hurt too much.

She realized that she was holding Az’s hand, her fingers intertwined with his. Jade stared at his hand. Strong. Warm.

Temptation. The whisper burned through her.

She pulled away from him. Did Az even know how much he’d hurt her with that one word? She was already another man’s curse.

Couldn’t she ever be more?

“Give me the keys, and I’ll get the hell out of here on my own.” She lifted her chin. “You can go the opposite way. The cops probably don’t even know about you. You can leave, we can split, and both just get on with our lives.”

He opened his palm. Jade tried to swipe the keys, but he snatched them away from her.

What? Jerk.

“We go together.”

Her gaze held his. “Sure that won’t be too much temptation for you?” Oh, yeah, she said it.

But then the guy surprised her when he said, “Will it be too much for you?”

Her jaw dropped. Maybe.

Screw this. Jade rushed for the back door. They could play coy and settle the tension between them later. Now was the time for running.

Her feet thudded down the wooden steps, and Az rushed right behind her. They hit the edge of the swamp at a run, ducking and dodging fallen trees and branches. The heat beat down on them, and Jade didn’t even want to think about the snakes that were probably lying in wait.

She hated snakes.

The thick scent of vegetation surrounded them. A line of dark green water, covered by algae, waited to the left. A log—no, not a log, a gator—drifted lazily in the sludge.

Her heart shoved into her ribs. Faster, faster, she zipped through the swamp. Northwest. Three miles wasn’t so much.

Except it seemed like a whole hell of a lot when you were running through a damn creature-infested swamp.

Then Az grabbed her wrist and jerked her against him.

“What—” she began, panting.

He covered her mouth with his hand.

“Someone’s following us.” His whisper.

And she heard the thud of pounding feet—coming quickly toward them.

A shifter would be able to pick up their scent and follow them perfectly in the swamp. But if it were just humans . . . humans wouldn’t be able to track them even half as well.

Her hand pressed against Az’s chest. His gaze held hers. They waited.

Humans . . . or shifters?

Az pulled her deeper into the shadows of some swaying trees. His hand slipped away from her mouth. They stood close, bodies brushing. Neither dared speak.

“Dammit!” A man’s angry shout seemed to echo through the swamp. “I saw them run out here!”

“Now I don’t see a f*ckin’ thing,” came another voice. Also male. Also pissed.

The sound of her breath seemed far too loud to Jade. And those voices were too close. She rose up on her tiptoes, and, over Az’s shoulder, she caught sight of the men.

Uniforms. “Cops,” she whispered. Cops who were heading in their direction.

She felt the tension in Az’s body. His head bent toward hers. “I can take care of them.” Barely a breath of sound.

No doubt he could. But, if possible, she’d really like to avoid adding the assault of two police officers to her already extensive résumé. So Jade pulled Az closer and tried not to make a sound.

Go away. Head back in the other direction.

“Shit, they could be anyplace by now,” one of the cops snarled.

Not just anyplace. She’d gone northwest. She’d scouted before she picked this house as a retreat spot. She knew how to mark the directions. And this way—it led to the old dirt road that cut around and looped through the back of the swamp.

The cops kept talking, but the sound of their voices grew softer. They were moving away. Going back to the house. Muttering about not getting paid enough to dodge snakes.

She waited until those voices faded away completely. Then she took a deep breath. Jade glanced up and found Az’s eyes on her—well, on her mouth.

Her hand was still on his chest. Right over his pounding heart. She cleared her throat. “I . . . uh, think it’s safe now.” Though the cops could return with reinforcements anytime.