The way he was talking about vengeance . . . “Your—your mother or father—one of them could have been a punishment angel.” Only the way he’d been killing—that wasn’t the way punishers worked. When they punished, it was never about emotion or payback. It was just . . . duty.
The punishment angels weren’t supposed to enjoy their dark work.
“How many?” Marna asked quietly. The guy wasn’t coming closer to her. She needed him closer. “How many more did you kill over the years?”
“Hundreds.” Said with relish. “Criminals. Thieves. Whores. Murderers. They all needed to be punished, and I was the instrument of that punishment.”
Her mouth was so dry that it hurt to swallow. “How did you know . . . what they’d done?”
He took a gliding step toward her. “I could see the sin on them. Almost smell it.” His gaze dropped to Tanner. “Like I see it on him. Evil. He reeks of it. He’s got blood on him, and it will never wash off.”
Like the crazy jerk in front of her could talk.
“I’m going to kill him for you,” Jonathan promised with a nod. “Just like I killed the others for you.”
For you. Her heart lurched as she began to fully understand.
The two panther shifters in the alley . . .
“I knew you wanted those animals dead. You tried to do it. I saw you.”
A shiver slid over her at his words. She’d felt eyes on her, but she’d thought it had been Tanner watching over her. It had been Jonathan?
“I shot ’em full with one of my special mixes. A quick injection . . .”
Back in the interrogation room, he’d mentioned drugs. The cocky bastard, he’d been telling her what he’d done to them.
“They never even had the time to scream.”
No, they’d just had time to die.
Jonathan’s gaze dropped to Tanner’s still body. “He’s the one who led me to you. He was so focused on you, almost addicted. I wondered about the woman who was driving him crazy. Then I saw you. Your wings. And I knew.”
“You knew nothing,” she whispered. Tanner’s body was completely still against her. Still—but tight and tensed for battle. He was ready to attack, she knew it. And when he made his move, those claws of his had better go deep. She stood up, determined to distract Jonathan. She needed to give Tanner the perfect moment to strike. “You don’t know anything about me. I am nothing like you.”
Jonathan’s brows rose. “You wanted to kill. You wanted to punish.” His eyes were bright with a feverish light. “I punished for you. I killed for you, and I’ll do it again.” He rushed for her.
Marna was ready. She pushed out with her fire. He batted it away with one hand, but that was what she wanted him to do. In that instant, while his focus was on the flames, she kicked him, then drove her fist into his jaw. He stumbled back.
And Tanner attacked. He jumped up from the ground and struck with his claws out. His claws sank into Jonathan’s chest.
Jonathan screamed in fury and pain as he wrenched away from the attack. The hybrid stumbled back.
“I’m punishing now,” Tanner snarled. “I’m—”
Jonathan sent a wave of fire blasting right at Tanner. Tanner’s arms burned, and Marna leapt in front of him. “Stop!”
The flames froze. Not by Jonathan’s will, but by hers. Fury pumped inside of her. So strong that her whole body seemed to ache. “You aren’t killing him.” Not when Tanner was the one thing on this earth that she cared about.
The flames disappeared into a wisp of smoke.
“You choose him?” Shock had slackened Jonathan’s features.
What? Was the guy really that delusional? Did he think—
“I’m just like you!” His hands fell limply at his sides. “I’ve killed . . . for you.” Now he sounded lost. “He’s done nothing for you, while I’ve done everything.”
Wrong. Tanner had done the one thing that mattered most. He’d given her a reason to live.
Jonathan shook his head. “We can put the world back to order. Punish the wicked. Send the monsters to hell.”
Didn’t he see? “You are one of those monsters.” One of the worst she’d ever seen. And he didn’t understand just how evil he truly was. “That cop you attacked, what was his crime?”
He’d left an innocent to die—why? The cop had never done anything to her.
But Jonathan shouted, “He saw you! I know he did! You were with Tanner, so he must have seen! And he would have told the others that you were still alive! That—”