They were at the mouth of a narrow alley. Just a few more turns and they’d be—
He froze.
Marna bumped into his back. “I didn’t say stop,” she muttered, pushing back. “I just said—”
Tanner’s nostrils flared. “Blood.” Not just any blood either. Demon blood had a stronger scent than others. Almost like ash.
And shifter blood . . . it smelled of animal.
Only one guy in town had that mixed scent of beast and demon.
Fuck.
Tanner raced down the alley, shouting Cody’s name, but his brother wasn’t there. There was just a too-big pool of blood, looking black in the darkness.
Tanner bent next to the blood and his claws scraped the pavement.
“It’s . . . his?” Marna asked as she pressed closer.
Tanner’s gaze followed the trail of blood as it snaked around the corner. “Like bread crumbs.” A trail of blood splatter to follow.
And he could follow it. He had Cody’s scent. He could follow that blood trail all the way back to his brother—and to the fool who’d hurt him.
Was it one of the angel-blood-addicted paranormals? Or the actual punishment angel that Sam had suggested? Either way, no one was getting away with hurting his brother.
No one.
Tanner rose in a fast ripple of power. He caught Marna’s shoulders, pulled her close, and stared in her eyes. “When I shift, the panther’s gonna hunt.”
She nodded. “It’s Cody’s blood, isn’t it?” Marna didn’t give him time to answer. “I understand. We’ll find him. He’ll be okay.”
She didn’t understand. It wasn’t about finding Cody.
Tanner kissed her. Deep. Fast. Hard.
It was about destroying the one who’d attacked his brother.
Tanner spun away. He started to run, and with every movement, the beast inside stretched and growled. Bones popped. Snapped. When he bounded past the corner, he hit down on all fours.
And he kept running as the beast took over fully.
He’d find Cody, and he’d tear apart the bastard who had thought to hurt him. Angels weren’t immortal. They could bleed. They could die. You just had to use the right weapon against them.
His claws were the perfect weapon.
Marna ran behind him. The thud of her footsteps followed him. The blood trail led away from the lights of the bars and back into the darkness. Past the Square, deeper and—
Marna’s footsteps stopped. Even with the rage pumping through him, he heard that telling sound. He’d been so focused on the blood trail, he hadn’t let any other scents hit him, but now—
The panther’s head swung back around. Marna had frozen. She stared at him with wide eyes. And then she looked down at her chest. A blooming circle of red appeared right in the middle of her br**sts. Her mouth opened as if she would scream.
But Tanner’s roar drowned out the sound.
Marna fell to her knees. The knife that had been plunged into her, from back to front, slid out with a slosh of sound that enraged the beast and had the man inside screaming.
Then he saw the bastard who’d hurt her. Saw his face—and everything stopped for him.
Standing there, smiling, holding the bloody knife—no, lifting that f**king knife to his mouth and licking the blood away—that ass**le was Cody.
Cody smiled, and his teeth were stained with her blood. “You were right. It is so easy to get addicted. Especially when the blood is so sweet.”
Tanner roared his fury. Marna was trying to rise. Her hands pushed against the dirty brick wall, and her body shook.
Tanner leapt forward. Brother or no brother, Cody had just signed his own death warrant. I didn’t want to believe it.
He should have believed it.
Tanner knew just how much evil was in their bloodline. I should have believed it.
Not a punishment angel. Their killer was just a twisted prick of a demon.
My brother.
Cody turned and raced away. He laughed as he fled into the cracks that passed for alleyways. The panther rushed to Marna’s side. His head pushed against her shoulder. He couldn’t comfort her like this. Couldn’t hold her. Dammit.
Her hand lifted. Rubbed against his head. “It’s . . . okay. ” Her voice was weak, but her gaze was strong. “This won’t . . . stop me for long.”
A knife wound to the heart couldn’t kill her, but it could hurt her. It had.
I’ll make him pay.
Cody had set him up. Left a trail of blood for him to follow and all the while, Cody had been hunting them. Waiting for his moment to attack.