Avenging Angel (The Fallen #4)(14)

“Shifter deaths are hardly surprising.” Sam shrugged, looking completely careless. “When I heard, I thought she was just getting some payback.” His eyes raked Marna. “But that wasn’t the way of it?”

“No.” Quiet. Firm.

Sam nodded. “Then we’ll find out who’s doing the killing. I can help you.”

Tanner didn’t want the Fallen close to Marna, but he knew just how powerful Sam’s reach could be. “If you hear anything, you tell me.” Sam had missed his whole I’m-the-cop bit. Figured.

Sam turned away and began to head back toward the broken door. He hadn’t kicked it in the way Tanner had done upstairs; instead, Sam had pulverized the thing. “If you want to hear the supernatural secrets in this town . . .” Sam tossed this back over his shoulder. “Head to Hell.”

Hell. Not the home of the devil—though from what Tanner had heard, the dude had long since left that place—but the bar nestled deep in the Quarter. A bar humans instinctively avoided, as if they felt the evil that lurked inside.

A bar he’d be hitting that night.

Sam paused in the doorway and glanced over his shoulder. His gaze locked on Tanner’s. “You’d better keep her safe.”

Tanner inclined his head even as he choked back his rage. Like he needed this jerk to tell him—

Sam glanced toward Marna. “And if you need me, remember that I’m here. You have an ally in the city.”

There was no missing the surprise on Marna’s face. “Why? Why would you help me?”

“You fell in the middle of my brother’s battle.”

Right, because Sam’s brother was the Azrael—Az. The dark fallen angel who’d sent Brandt on a fast trip to hell. The night that Marna lost her wings, Brandt had been intending to kill Az. He’d been the target. Only when the dust from that battle cleared, Az had gotten away, and Marna had been the one to fall.

No. She hadn’t fallen. Tanner knew that. Not really. She’d just never been able to go back home.

Because Brandt had taken her wings with the slice of his claws.

“I owe you,” Sam told her, “and I’ll make sure my debt is paid.”

The wind howled and the Fallen vanished.

In the silence that followed, Tanner was certain of only one thing. He’d be seeing Hell that night.





“Stay close,” Tanner told her as they headed past the two bouncers stationed outside of Hell. Demons, Marna knew that from just a glance. The guys looked at her and immediately stepped back.

Maybe they realized what she was, too.

When they entered the bar, the blasting music hit her first. The darkness came second. It took Marna a moment to be able to see anything, but then her eyes adjusted and she saw the bodies. Couples hidden in corners. Vampires . . . drinking from the prey they’d penned against the walls.

Her hand rose to her throat. She’d heard stories about vampires. Some had drained angels dry because they wanted a taste of power. It seemed that angel blood might be the new delicacy of choice among the undead.

Marna sure didn’t want to be on their menu.

She’d be steering clear of the vamps. Marna inched forward and bumped into Tanner’s back. He turned around and frowned down at her.

It was crazy, but she wanted to grab on to his arm and hold tight. This place with its darkness and the evil that she could feel in the air around her . . . she didn’t want to be here.

Marna licked her lips. “H-how are we going to do this?” They were near the bar now, and that was most definitely not your average alcohol in those decanters. She would not be drinking tonight. “I mean, we can’t just walk up to the first demon we see—” She’d already seen at least ten. “We can’t walk up to him and demand information.”

Sure, she was new to the whole wing-less scene, but she realized that wasn’t the way the paranormal world worked. These guys weren’t going to share their secrets out of the goodness of their hearts. From the look of things, goodness was not a key word for any of them.

“Relax.” Tanner wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Why did that make her feel better? “I know how to work this crowd.”

Okay, so having the cop shifter with her wasn’t such a bad thing. She just wished that she didn’t—

“You smell good.”

A vampire was in her way. Tall, blond. Big fangs. Hungry eyes.

And, for some reason, the guy seemed familiar to her. But Marna couldn’t quite place him.

He inhaled and those hungry eyes of his widened with pleasure. “Sweet . . . fresh flowers . . .” He licked his lips. “And fear.”

Her heart slammed into her ribs. The vampire couldn’t find out what she really was.

Or I’m dead.

“Smells so good . . .” The vampire took a step toward her and lifted his hand. His gaze seemed to burn through her. “I just want a taste. Just one taste.”

Tanner grabbed the vamp by the throat and lifted him a good foot into the air. “In a second, you’re gonna be tasting my fist as it’s shoved down your damn throat.”

The vamp was gasping for breath. Vamps had to breathe, just like humans. Their hearts still beat. Their lungs still worked. When a human became a vampire, he only died for a moment, and then was reborn as a bloodsucker. That momentary death was the way the virus spread.