“I’d still be alive,” she whispered.
“No, Nicole, you wouldn’t be … that would have been against the rules.”
She spun at the hard, male voice.
A man stood there, his dark hair loose around his shoulders. He wore dark sunglasses, glasses that cast her reflection right back at her. Broad shoulders stretched the black T-shirt he wore. His back was pressed against the brick wall on the side of the building and a faint smile curved his lips.
“Stopping you from going into that alley, saving you … those weren’t options for our boy,” he said as his grin stretched.
Our boy.
Suddenly, the day wasn’t quite as warm. She stepped forward, just a small step, aware of the few humans strolling down the street. No help there. “Who are you?”
One black brow rose. His thumbs were hooked in the loops of his jeans. “I’m a friend of Keenan’s.”
“An angel?” She’d been raised her whole life to believe in angels. She just hadn’t expected angels to look like Keenan … or like this guy.
But I believe.
It was vamps and the other monsters she hadn’t believed in. That disbelief had come back to bite her in the ass.
He laughed softly at her question, and the sound sent a shiver over her. “I’m no more an angel than Keenan is.”
But Keenan was …
“Once an angel falls, he becomes something very, very different.” He pulled off his sunglasses. His eyes were the same bright blue as Keenan’s. His blue gaze trekked to the left, then to the right as it swept past the pedestrians. “Why don’t you come closer,” he invited, “so we can … talk … without worrying that the humans will overhear.”
She didn’t move. The gun was tucked in the waistband of her jeans, hidden beneath her shirt. But what would the silver bullets do against someone like him? Probably not much. “I’m fine right here.”
His eyes slit. “Are you?”
Nicole swallowed. “What do you want?”
He took a step toward her. She tensed.
“Where is Keenan?” He asked.
She braced her legs apart. “You’re not really his friend, are you?” Her right hand began to edge toward the gun. So what if the humans saw? She wasn’t dying on this street.
He didn’t blink. “No, I’m not.”
Great.
“He left you all alone.” His lips—sensual but cruel, just like the rest of him—pulled down. “Didn’t expect that. I thought you mattered more.”
“Why would I matter to him?” I begged for help. Help Keenan hadn’t given her. “We barely know each other.” Fury thickened her voice.
He took another slow, gliding step toward her. She was reminded of a snake slithering up on his prey. “Oh, you might not know him well,” he said, “but Keenan knows you.”
Then he was in front of her. Mere inches away. He’d moved in a blink—as fast as Keenan had at the motel.
Her hand flew for the gun.
He caught her wrist. Held tight. “I can’t let you do that.” His head came close, and his lips feathered against her ear as he spoke. To everyone else on the street, it would look like they were lovers whispering secrets and promises. “Digging those bullets out,” he told her as his breath stroked over her, “can be a real bitch.”
She’d lost feeling in the tips of her fingers. He wasn’t hurting her—there was just no feeling. “Who are you?”
His left hand rose and brushed back the hair from her cheek. “You can call me Sam.”
That told her nothing.
He eased back and gazed down at her. “He should have been with you.” There actually seemed to be some sadness in his voice. “I thought he was going to protect you.”
“Why would he?” She fired, refusing to cower. For all she knew, this guy was a low-level demon, just bullshitting his way around and trying to screw with her head. “He has no link to me.” Even though she could still feel his hands on her body. Still taste him. Bastard. “We’re not—”
His laughter cut through her words. “Don’t bother lying to me.”
“I’m not.”
Faint lines appeared around his eyes, then his brows shot up. “You don’t know.”
She snapped her lips closed.
Once more, his fingers brushed down her cheek. “I bet he likes to touch you, doesn’t he?”
Two giggling teenage girls passed them.
“Everything’s so new when you fall. Touch … it can bring so much pleasure.” To be so bright, those eyes of his were so cold. “Or so much pain.”
“Let go of my hand,” she gritted. A cop was walking down the sidewalk now. The last thing she needed was to get caught between this jerk and a cop.
He didn’t let go. “The emotions hit next. Anger. Hate. Fury.” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Lust. I bet he knows all about that, thanks to you.”
She jumped back, and was surprised to see that she actually broke his hold. “I don’t mean anything to Keenan. So if you’re trying to get back at him by taking hits at me …”
“Stop lying.”
The real fury in his voice had her heart slamming into her chest.
“He fell for you. Of course, he’s damn well linked to you.”
He fell—
“And because of that link …” He sighed. “I’m afraid you’re gonna have to suffer.”
She really didn’t like the sound of that.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he told her.
That was when the punch hit her—not a punch, an electric shock. Her head whipped to the right, and she saw the cop who’d been approaching—and the bastard had a Taser out. The volts were hitting her, hard, jolting her body, and the cop was screaming something.
If she’d been at full strength, the shock wouldn’t have even slowed her down. She would have laughed at him. Jerked out the electrodes and laughed.
But the sun was out. She was weak. And she went down.
The motel room door was ajar. Keenan frowned as unease slipped over him. This wasn’t right. He didn’t knock. He just pushed the door open with his knuckles.
Empty.
Of course, she’d left him again. Figured. Especially after his big reveal. Not like she’d want to stick around with the man who’d been responsible for her undead transformation.
You just stood there and watched.