Cody nodded and reached for her. “I’ll treat her, I’ll—”
“You and Tanner will get her out of here. You run as fast as you can, and don’t look back.” Because when Brandt came hunting, he’d follow Jade’s scent, not Marna’s. Jade’s and Az’s. They had to split up from the others if Marna was going to survive.
Az held the demon’s gaze. “When she wakes, whatever you do, don’t let her touch you.”
The doc’s eyes widened. “Why would—”
“She’s going to be furious, and you’ll be the demon within striking distance. One touch, and you’ll be dead.”
Cody swallowed. “Guess I’ll be strapping her down.” His hold tightened on the unconscious woman.
“If you want to keep living, you will.”
A nod from the demon.
Jade was silent beside him.
“How will you find us?” Tanner demanded. “Once you get the witch, what’s the big plan? You going after Brandt on your own?”
Perhaps. “Head back to New Orleans. Be at a bar called Sunrise tomorrow night, right at midnight.”
“And you’ll be there?” The shifter pressed.
Lying wasn’t an option, so it was a good thing that Jade said, “Yes” before Azrael had to reply.
“Go!” He told the other two, because tension already held his body tight. Minutes were trickling by. Brandt would be coming closer.
Tanner and Cody vanished into the trees. They’d protect Marna. Az just hoped she didn’t wind up killing them for their trouble.
“We need to make sure that Brandt has a scent to follow,” he said. “You’re the one he wants, so he’ll ignore everyone else and focus just on your trail.”
Jade nodded, then turned and started running deeper into the woods. He stayed right on her trail. Running with her, keeping close, but not trying to mask her scent in any way.
Then they broke through the bush. She stood gasping at the edge of the thick, green bayou water. “Now . . . what?”
They’d run far enough to lead Brandt on a nice chase. Az caught her hand. Pulled her close. He’d never tried this with another person. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” No hesitation.
“Then hold on.” He tightened his arms around her.
And they vanished.
When Jade opened her eyes, the whole world was spinning. She stumbled away from Az and nearly fell to the ground. The guy’s reflexes were superfast though, and he caught her right before she could slam into the earth.
“Easy,” he whispered against her ear. “It’ll take your body a few minutes to adjust.”
Adjust to what? Nausea welled in her stomach, and she had to crouch, putting her head between her knees. “What just . . . happened?”
“We moved very, very fast.”
Blinking, she glanced back up. The bayou was gone. They stood just a few feet from an arching cypress tree. Not just any cypress. She remembered staring up at this tree as she struggled to live.
Azrael paced away from her. He bent and studied the ground. She saw his shoulders tense.
The ground seemed to shake beneath her feet.
Jade sucked in a deep breath. Then another. She followed him on shaky legs, and saw the bloody black feathers on the earth. The feathers were far too big to belong to a bird.
Come with me, Jade. It’s time for you to rest. She remembered the words, whispering through her mind, though she hadn’t told Az about them. She remembered the words and the angel who’d appeared.
Marna.
But Marna had never touched her. If the angel had, Jade knew she wouldn’t be there.
“Where’s his camp?” Az asked as he kept gazing at those feathers. “Where’s the hole that the bastard retreated to after he sliced her apart?”
Az glanced up then and she went very still. His eyes weren’t blue now. They were demon black.
And the rage in them stole her breath.
“Where would he go?” Az stalked toward her. “You know him. Know how he thinks. Where would the bastard set up his base?”
Close by. Jade stiffened her shaky knees as she pointed. “Probably across the water.” She knew this area. Now that the fog was gone, she recognized the place because she’d visited it in her youth. “They could have gone over on motorboats. From what I remember, there used to be a campsite over there. Lots of abandoned buildings.”
Az straightened and strode to the twisting pier. Gators slowly glided in the water.
She could just make out the old campsite. “He won’t have left the place undefended,” she told him. “He’s too smart for that. He’s hunting, but he’ll have left a trap behind. Left men behind.”