Story of his existence.
He turned away from the room. The place smelled of her. His gaze swept the street. The sun was up. She shouldn’t have gone out during the day.
Easy prey.
Maybe he should just walk away. The obsession he had with her … no way could that be a good thing.
He stalked back toward the motorcycle with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. He’d bought new clothes. Even gotten some for her. Nicole’s were tucked into the saddlebags of the bike.
He kicked up the stand on the motorcycle. Where would she have gone?
I should have stayed with her.
“Lose something?” A voice drawled.
His hands tightened around the handlebars. Slowly, he glanced up and to the left.
A man stood there. He was tall and dressed all in black. His eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses.
“Maybe it’s not something you’ve lost …” The guy said, sauntering forward as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Maybe it’s someone.”
“Sam.”
Sammael flashed a crooked grin. “Good to see you haven’t forgotten your old friends.”
Keenan jumped off the bike. “We were never friends.” No one would be dumb enough to be Sam’s friend. Sam’s friends had a way of ending up in hell.
Sam shrugged. “My mistake. I forgot … you always thought you were better than me. Just like all the others.”
“No.” He readied for an attack because he knew one would be coming. “I just think a random slaughter of the humans wasn’t the best way to go.” That slaughter was why Sammael had fallen so many centuries before. Once, he’d been the strongest, his power ready to rival even Az.
But then Sammael had made the decision to kill those not on the death list. He’d strayed …
The Fallen laughed. “Just put the pieces together, huh? They threw my ass out because I killed those not on their list—just like you, Keenan. Just like you.”
“I’m nothing like you.” Sam hadn’t just killed one person, he’d killed dozens. “I was trying to save her, I didn’t—”
The grin faded from Sam’s face. “You broke the rules, same as me.” A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Did they give you a chance to explain or did they just toss you out, too?” Sam stalked closer. “Do you still think you can feel your wings? Do you try to fly, only to remember they f**king burned them off you?”
Yes. Sometimes, he could feel them stretching in the air behind him. A lie. An illusion. “Why are you here?” He wished he could see Sam’s eyes, but all he could see was his own image in those dark glasses.
“Maybe I just wanted the chance to talk to another of my kind. It’s not every day that an angel falls.”
No. Some angels didn’t even survive the fall. Their bodies just weren’t ready for the onslaught of pain.
“So you were trying to save ‘her,’ huh?” Sam’s head cocked. “Would that ‘her’ be that sexy little piece with that sweet Southern drawl?”
Keenan lunged forward and grabbed Sam by the front of his shirt. “Where is she?”
Sam didn’t flinch. “She’s really why you fell? You traded your wings, all your power … just for a human’s life?”
“Where is—”
“Of course, she’s not really human anymore, is she?” His brows rose. “Was that part of your plan? ’Cause her turning into a vamp must have really pissed off the guys upstairs.”
Keenan shoved him back. Sam slammed into the front of an SUV parked in the motel’s lot. The metal screamed and dented beneath the Fallen’s weight.
Keenan shook his head in disgust. “You don’t know anything. You’re just trying to mess with my head.” Everyone knew about Sam. The angel who’d been meant to fall. They’d all known it was coming long before he told the powers that be to screw off. He’d always had a darkness inside. Not fully good, too many whispers of evil had lurked within Sam.
Sam wasn’t the only angel like that. When you had so much power, the darkness could easily get into your blood.
Keenan understood that pull so much better now.
He turned away from Sam.
“Does she know that you were the angel sent to take her soul?”
Keenan kept walking. He’d get on the bike and—
“No answer. That means you can’t answer because you can’t tell a lie.”
And Sam was in front of him. Just like that, as fast as a blink. “You didn’t have to fall,” Sam said, “in order to get a piece of ass.”
Keenan went for his throat.
But he touched nothing. Sam had already moved. Already shot five feet away.
“Got to be faster than that,” Sam taunted.
Keenan launched forward.
Sam’s fist slammed into his chest, a hit right above his heart, and this time, Keenan stumbled back.
“You’ve got to be faster,” Sam repeated, voice rumbling. “And stronger.” Then it was Sam’s turn to spin away. “When you’re ready for some real power, come find me.”
What?
Sam glanced back over his shoulder. “They never let souls escape. You should know that. You do know that. I’m betting that’s why you high-tailed it after your piece of ass once you regained your sanity.”
Sanity.
Keenan’s fingers began to smoke as the fire of his fury burned through him.
“Ah … got the firepower now, do you? That’s a good step. But you’ll need more than fire to keep your vamp alive.” He gave a little salute. “When you want to play, find me.”
“You f**king ass**le, where is—”
“Now is that any way for an angel to talk?”
His back teeth clenched. “I’m not an angel anymore.”
The sunglasses tossed back his stark reflection. “No. You’re not.” Sam pointed at Keenan. “But you’ve still got the power of an angel in there. Just waiting to come out. And you’re gonna be wanting that magic and power back.”
One touch to kill. His breath heaved out. No, he didn’t want that back. “You didn’t see Nicole.”
Sam’s shoulders rolled. “I’ll give you a free one this time. Because, well … you don’t have much time. Or rather, she doesn’t.”
Humans were close by. He could almost feel their eyes. It was all he could do to pull the rage back and control the fire that wanted to shoot from him.