Seline huffed out a hard breath. “I didn’t even know—” she began as red stained her cheeks.
“That Rogziel was a sadist with his own twisted sense of right and wrong?” She’d worked with him. So much time—enough time for Rogziel to twist her. “Tell me, how many men did you kill for him?” Don’t touch her. He could never touch her with this fury fueling him. “How many did you seduce?”
She spun away and grabbed her clothes. The sheet dropped, he got one fine view of her ass, then she yanked on her clothes. “Screw you!”
He raised a brow. “You already did.”
Obviously, that wasn’t the right thing to say. A blast of psychic power hit him and tossed him across the room. When Sam picked himself off the floor, he glared at her. The woman was definitely stronger than she’d been before.
But, wait, if she was stronger, then shouldn’t that mean he was weaker?
Hell. A succubus only got stronger when she took power. He’d been so busy drinking her in that he hadn’t even realized what she could have been doing to him.
If she’s trying to set me up, I gave her the perfect opportunity.
The fire . . . had it been a trap? A way to get to him? He’d burned and would never forget that pain, so he hadn’t been able to just stand there and watch the fire ravage her skin.
Then she’d told him sensual energy was the only way for her to heal . . .
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Seline demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You deserved that shove. You’re lucky I didn’t slam your head into the wall.”
Sex equaled strength for her.
Weakness for him?
He waved his hand.
Seline yelped and her body lifted up into the air. Then wind rushed against Sam as she fought back, but this time, he was ready for her push of power.
In the face of her psychic blast, he didn’t move. Interesting. So she hadn’t taken enough to weaken him, not yet.
One more reason to leave the pretty succubus behind. Because if he stayed with her, he’d have her again.
He couldn’t afford any weakness.
She swore as she bobbed in the air. He skirted around her.
“Sam! Dammit, let me down!” Her feet came close to kicking his face.
“No.” He would though, eventually. But right then, he had a bastard brother to hunt, and he couldn’t have her slowing him down.
He also couldn’t trust her. Not if she’d been working with Rogziel. So she’d stay put, for now.
Sam opened the door.
“No! You can’t leave me like this!”
He looked back at her. Seline’s face was flushed with fury. Her eyes couldn’t have burned darker. “Don’t you do it!” She yelled as she thrashed helplessly in the air. “Don’t—”
“Sorry, sweetheart, but Az is out there.” He’d already lost too much time, but he hadn’t been able to turn away from her when she needed him—or when he needed her. “He’s still weak from the fall, but he won’t stay that way for long.” Sam would take any advantage he could get in the battle to come. “But don’t worry, I’ll send a demon to take care of you.”
“What?” Did fear flicker in her eyes? “No, Sam, you—”
He shut the door. Her screams followed him. So did the thud of furniture. The woman must be using her power to wreck the room. If she wasn’t careful, she’d wear herself out, or rather, she’d wear her power out.
Good. That was just what he wanted . . . Seline weaker and more controllable. Sam began to whistle.
Hunting time.
He’d left her hanging—literally. Seline twisted and snarled, but she seemed to hang suspended courtesy of invisible hands. The guy wasn’t even around, but he still trapped her easily. Talk about a powerhouse.
Just what would happen when a demon came to “take care” of her? She bit back her anger and pulled in her energy. No sense wasting her power now. Okay, yes, she’d already smashed two chairs and a TV set, but she was back in control now. She could think past the fury, and she knew she’d better save her power for whoever was unlucky enough to come in that room.
So she waited. Waited.
Time seemed to crawl by as she dangled in the air. Then finally the door began to creak open.
Cole’s dark head appeared. It figured that Sam would send his right-hand demon flunkie to deal with her. Cole glanced at her, and his brows rose. Then he leaned back against the door frame, crossed his arms, and actually smirked.
Thanks for giving me a reason.
She blasted the jerk.
The fire at the warehouse was out. Now, all that remained was a sodden black mess that reeked of ash. A few firefighters were still at the scene, and Sam saw several cops and a guy he tagged as an arson investigator scanning the area. They were making notes, talking to each other, and looking worried. This was way above their pay scale.
As the sun rose higher into the sky, Sam stood in the shadows of a nearby building and watched. Waited.
Rogziel. He’d wondered if the bastard was lurking around. Sam had been itching to rip that guy’s wings off for centuries. Pretentious prick.
And Seline had spent thirty years with him? Her whole life? Talk about a living hell.
Why would a punishment angel even take in a succubus? Didn’t make any sense. To stay with her . . . to keep watching her all this time.
Why Rogziel? What made you develop such an interest in Seline? Maybe that other half of hers did matter.
Brakes squealed as a familiar black van pulled to the curb near the blackened warehouse. Ah, he’d been wondering when the van would show again. Cole had traced the van back to a fake name and address. Interesting . . . so Rogziel was trying to cover his tracks a bit.
Two men jumped out of the vehicle, one with pale blond hair and one with hair a dark red. They talked to the cops. Gestured to the scene. Looked all angry and pissed.
Human minions.
What happened to the good old days? The days when angels took care of the dirty work themselves, without hiring it out to the humans. Sometimes, you really had to get your lily-white hands dirty in order to get the job done.
His hands curled around the bars of the motorcycle he’d “borrowed” earlier. He watched the two males climb back inside the van, and when they took off, he was right on their trail.
Getting his hands dirty had never been a big problem for him.
“Get me down from here!” Seline screamed.
Cole slowly picked himself off the floor. He rubbed his jaw. She’d been feeling pissy, so she’d let his pretty-boy face slam into the bathroom door. “No can do, ma’am.”