Avenging Angel (The Fallen #4)(39)

“What happened?” Tanner repeated, gut clenching as he thought about the possibilities of just what could have gone wrong on that dark stretch of road. “According to the cop, me.”

Marna blinked. “I don’t—”

“He said I was the one who hurt him. And if I don’t get my ass down to the station and figure out what’s going on, then, baby, we could be in for a whole world of trouble.” Because Jonathan had been right. The cops would come looking for him.

And they might find her. He’d rather not explain a dead woman right then. Or a not-so-dead woman. It looked like he had enough shit hitting the fan without adding that to the menu.

Let the kid be all right. The thought whispered through his mind. The rookie had seemed like a decent sort. Na?ve, but—but he didn’t deserve death.

Tanner stalked toward Marna. He buried his hand in her hair—like silk—and tipped her head back. “Stay in the apartment. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

“I can help—”

“You can stay out of sight.” The whole damn thing had to be a setup. One designed to make him a target. “Someone is trying to pin this attack on me, so that means someone wants me out of the way.” Why?

To get at Marna.

“I was there,” she said, eyes searching his. “I know you didn’t do anything to that officer.”

No, he hadn’t done anything. This time.

She was staring up at him with those big, blue eyes, looking at him like he was some kind of hero.

What will you do when she realizes just how like your brother you really are?

He swallowed back the fury that wanted to build and brought his lips to hers. One taste. Fast. That was all he allowed himself.

For now.

“I’ll come back,” he promised. “I’ll figure out what happened, and I’ll be back for you.”

Then, because there wasn’t anything left to say, he headed for the door.

He’d taken only a few steps when . . .

“Thank you.”

Her words stopped him cold. His hand was reaching for the doorknob. “For what?”

“Teaching me about pleasure.”

She was gonna break him.

“After all the pain . . .” She stopped, and he heard the faint inhalation of her breath. “I didn’t know that much pleasure was possible.”

Helpless, Tanner glanced over his shoulder. “Baby, we’re just gettin’ started.”

Her smile lit up her face. “Yes, we are.”

And he realized that there had been something left to say, after all.





The police station was swarming with activity when Tanner marched inside. But all that activity sure stopped dead when folks got a look at him.

Every eye in the place turned to him. Every conversation—ended.

Great. He’d managed to piss off too many people in the PD over the years—folks who were now only too eager to watch him burn. Just a few months back, he’d managed to anger even more cops when he’d donned a uniform and jumped into an investigation—one that had been headed by other officers. But that case had involved another angel and Brandt’s ex-lover. He’d had to get involved, or else those other cops would have wound up dead.

He stepped on toes. He made enemies. But the humans just didn’t get it—he did it all to keep them safe.

Now they were lining up to burn his ass. Too bad for them. He wasn’t in the mood for a bonfire.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Tanner snapped. He’d brought in his weapon and still had it holstered on his hip.

Two uniformed cops headed for him with eyes narrowed and we’ll-kick-the-shit-out-of-you expressions on their faces.

“Tanner Chance.” The captain’s bellowing voice stopped them all. Tanner glanced to the left and saw that Captain Jillian Pope had left her office. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring holes in every officer in the room.

After a moment, that glare of hers turned to him. “In my office,” she ordered.

Tanner began to cross toward her.

“Your ass is gonna fry,” one of the uniforms muttered as he passed. A guy named Lawson Phillips. They’d clashed before. “You think you can turn on one of your own?”

“I haven’t turned on anyone.” Tanner kept his voice flat. “It wasn’t me.” The fact that he was echoing words Marna had once said to him—well, yeah, that was damn fitting.

“Unlike people, video cameras don’t lie.”

That stopped him. He frowned at Lawson. “What are you talking about?” What video camera?

Lawson’s smile was evil. “The next time you play a game of hit the cop, make sure his car video isn’t turned on, dumbass.”

Oh, someone was begging for a beating. He could oblige.

“Chance.”

His head whipped back toward the captain. Her cheeks were flushed. “Inside. Now,” she demanded.

This was gonna be ugly. If his face was on that video, how the hell was he supposed to talk his way out of this mess?

“We’ll talk later,” he promised Lawson. The guy backed up a step.

With one last glare at the uniform, Tanner headed into her office. She slammed the door closed behind him. Held up her hand. “I want your weapon, Detective.”