Loving Angel (A Divisa Novel Book 4) (21 page)

“Give up before you embarrass yourself,” Angel yelled.

“You know I can’t.”

She flexed her fingers, linking them together and stretching them out in front of her. “We’ll see about that.”

I squared my shoulders. “You might be able to control me like one of your puppet demons, but nothing can break our bond.”

She lunged.

Emma’s voice rose above the chaos, shouting at me. “Now. Do it now, Winters.”

Heart pounding like a jackhammer, I threw out my hand, willing an ability I rarely used. Levitation wasn’t my thing; I’d rather rely on brute strength, quick speed, and a sharp mind. Drained, I pulled from my core, putting everything I had into this last act. If we screwed this up…

I shook the thought from my head, refusing to even think it. This
would
work, at least until I found a way to cure her. When Angel surged forward, I froze her, lifting her off her feet. Clearly pissed off, she bared her teeth, suspended in midair.

One shot. Everything I put into motion was dependent on one shot. “Emma!” I yelled.

I knew I had no other choice.

I knew it was Angel who screamed.

I knew she would probably hate me.

Chapter 27

I wouldn’t be able to hold her there for long, my abilities weakening from my feelings, and they were pinging erratically inside me. Seeing her side with my enemy broke me. I hated the wedge that was forced between us, putting us at odds.

I heard the arrow eject from Emma’s bow and whiz through the air, twirling until it sunk itself into Angel’s thigh. She snarled, thrashing against her frozen bonds. Closing my eyes, I struggled to keep my grasp steady, until the tranquilizer mixed with the demon blood in her system.

She screamed in anger, an animal-like sound.

Automatically, I blinked, meeting her glare head on. It was a reflex, my desire to help her, the demon inside me conflicting against the man at every breath.
He
despised me for not running to her aid at the sound of her cries. Through it all, my self-control was dwindling, slipping right through my fingertips. The more
he
brawled against me, the shakier I became.

Idiot
.

If
he
had half a brain,
he
would realize that I
was
helping her, just not in our usually attack-everything-in-sight style.

Slowly, the serum began to take effect, her eyes getting heavy. I was stricken by my inability to protect her from what I was about to do. The space between my ears buzzed, like a swarm of killer bees, and I realized there was a fault in my plan.

A big one.

Through our bond, I felt the effects of the drugs, making my bones feel like Jell-O. It was unexpected, and I lost my hold.

Double Shit.

Her body plunged toward the ground as she succumbed to the murky depths. I moved, but even at my speed, I might not make it in time. Cobwebs clouded my brain; still I had to try. With only half my bearings intact, I ran.

“Nice catch, Romeo,” Emma said, her shadow falling over me just as the sun peeked over the horizon.

I didn’t even know I had caught her until that moment. The feel of Angel’s weight in my arms sent a bolt of relief so strong it almost knocked me to the ground. Gently, I cradled her, gliding her into my lap as I sunk into the grass. All around us, little piles of flames flickered, slowly burning out. The smell was worse than charred flesh.

She pried her eyes open, staring straight at me, and stark terror spun through me. Shimmery blue liquid spilled out the side of her mouth. Blood soaked her shirt, not hers, but the sight was disturbing. Discombobulated, I shook my head, attempting to separate myself from the craziness ricocheting inside her. It speared my heart.

“Chase,” she whispered in a voice I was secretly afraid I would never hear again. Then, she was gone. Lights out.

Hesitantly, I touched her cheek, overjoyed at the spark that traveled from her skin to mine. I wanted a moment to savor the feel of her in my arms, not knowing how long it would be until I got the chance again. The lack of physical touch would hurt us both, a side of effect of our bodybond.

“We need to hurry,” Emma interrupted. “She isn’t out of the woods yet.”

Reluctantly, I nodded, gathering Angel back into my arms. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

Angel was a wildcard. Hell had gotten what it longed for, a way to the human realm and an anchor to keep it here. It had used me and Angel as pawns in its sick, twisted need for power and pandemonium. I knew in the depths of my half-breed soul that Alastair was responsible. Knowing what it had done to Angel didn’t diminish what I felt for her. If anything, it only fueled my fierce determination for revenge.

Travis and Emma took the lead as we backtracked our steps, crossing through an open field, taking the shortest possible route home. With the sunlight, came early-morning stragglers, college students drunk and staggering home from last night’s frat party, or the early birds getting in their run. The last thing we needed was someone to see us covered in blood, carrying a lifeless body, and decide to call the cops. I had a bad rep with authority. “I’ll meet you at the car,” I said, making the decision to go ahead.

Travis nodded. His skin was slick with sweat. “We’ll be right behind you.”

I returned his nod. Then I took off, securing Angel’s head against my chest, thinking about the very first time I had carried her through the wheat fields. She had gotten sick. How simple high school had seemed compared to this. I never thought there would be anything harder than having Angel find out what I truly was.

God, I was such a moron.

Sliding on the heels of my feet, I stopped an inch from Emma’s SUV—the mean machine. I swung open the back door, and just as I was getting ready to lay Angel across the back seat, trouble of a different kind showed up.

Lexi.

She moved soundlessly, like a fairy, until she saw Angel’s lifeless body in my arms. We had doused one fire, just to start another.

A scream pierced the darkness, echoing far into the stars. Travis flashed to his sister’s side, clasping a hand over her mouth. “Quiet,” he whispered sternly. “She’s not dead.”

Lexi shook off her gag, looking to me for confirmation. “She’s not?”

I gave her a sad but direct gaze. “No, she’s alive.” But she was far from all right. The less Lexi knew the better. “We don’t have time to explain. Trust us. It’s for the best.”

She glanced from Lexi to Travis and back to me. “Are you insane?” she shrieked.

“It’s the only way,” Emma’s voice rang out.

Hearing that Emma was on board with this crazy scheme consoled her as much as possible under the circumstances. “I don’t understand what’s going on, but you all owe me a hell of an explanation, and it better be good.”

“Everything will be fine,” I reassured her. “Go back inside.”

She left the same way she had come—stealthily.

Travis slid
Dukes of Hazard
style over the hood of the truck as I climbed into the backseat with Angel’s comatose body. Travis barely had time to close his door before Emma slammed her foot on the gas. “How is she doing?” he asked, throwing on his seat belt.

“She’s out cold.”

“C-can you still sense her?” he asked, weakly.

“Yeah.” I exhaled.

Emma’s emerald eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “What about the demons? Will they come looking for her?”

“As long as the keystone is unconscious, the portal is closed. No other demons will pass through to Earth, but if she wakes up…”

“We’re shit up a creek,” Travis filled in.

“How far is it to this place?” I asked, concerned about our timing.

“Too far.” And with that said, Emma punched the accelerator. Her SUV jerked into gear.

Travis turned in his seat, looking over his shoulder. “Are you really going to go through with this?”

I stared at the wounds on my arm, watching them heal. “What other choice to do I have?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can be there when she wakes.”

I understood. God did I ever. “It might be best if I was there alone.”

“This is so screwed up,” he huffed.

None of us spoke after that, a thousand what ifs running wild in our heads. I spent the remainder of the drive memorizing every feature of her face. The fullness of her pink lips. Her peach-colored cheeks. Dark, inky lashes fanned against her skin. I seared it all into my memory, tracing the outline of her heart-shaped face, such softness it made my breath catch. I didn’t want to forget how beautiful she was like this. Tranquilized, she looked like
my
Angel. I could almost convince myself that this was all a bad dream. That she wasn’t partaking in a demon war and rooting for the wrong side.

“Pinch yourself, Winters. This is very real.” Emma killed the engine and looked out the window. “Home sweet home.”

When I had first met the slim, redheaded dancer, she drove a conservative little sedan—quiet and tasteful. She had never gone anywhere without earbuds in and a gym bag strapped over her shoulder. Now she strapped on a bow and had traded in the little sedan for a monster-sized truck.

It was remarkable how much we all had changed.

I glanced out the window. “There’s nothing here,” I stated, edginess leaking into my voice. If she screwed me over, taking us to the middle of nowhere, I couldn’t be responsible for my actions. For Angel, I would risk everything, including the scorn of my family, of my kind, and of anyone who got in my way.

Irritation flared.

Emma sighed pitifully. “Did you think this place would be in plain sight for any idiot to see or stumble upon? Just as your kind has secrets, so does mine. We protect those secrets, because if humankind where to find out you existed, that demons preyed on them, mad chaos would arise.”

“Fine. So where is this
top secret
lair?”

“Where all demons belong. In the ground.”

Clever.

I scoured the empty field, and it took me a few moments to find it. Without my heightened sight, I wouldn’t have seen it at all. A weathered, wooden door the same color as the wheat embedded in the ground. Seeing it brought on conflicted emotions. I wasn’t sure I could come to terms with this shithole being Angel’s salvation.

Her head lay in my lap as I combed my fingers through her hair, needing the physically contact.

“There’s still time to change your mind,” Travis muttered.

I wished.

Swallowing the rock-sized lump in my throat, I gathered her in my arms one last time. “I can’t.” A dark, somber mood settled, creeping over us.

Travis stayed behind, and I didn’t blame him. More than once he’d voiced just how incredibly stupid this plan was. He had a soft spot for Angel. We all did. So that left me with Emma, the hardass.

But in a job such as this, a cold, indifferent hunter was called for. She would do what needed to be done. Emma and I had an unspoken understanding. The people we loved relied on us to make the tough choices. To do what others couldn’t.

There must have had been a look of utter desolation and hopelessness on my face, because Emma asked, “Should I put you on suicide watch?”

Shaking the doe-eyed expression from my face, I steeled myself for what I had to do. My eyes hardened, and I let pieces of my demon emerge. I would need that asshole part of myself more than ever. “And leave Angel in your capable hands? I think we both know we will never truly trust each other.”

Emma grabbed the ringed handle from the wooden trap door hidden in the ground. “That’s hilarious coming from you, after what the two of you did to me. You’re lucky I’m here at all—”

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Save your warnings. They don’t work on me. You and I can settle our differences later, after Angel is safe.”

She yanked the dusty door open, dirt kicking up into the air. “I will have your head for what you’ve done to my family,” Emma seethed.

Her family? What about mine? It was because of
her
family that I was forced to do the things I had. If they hadn’t relentlessly tried to kill me… If they hadn’t kidnaped Angel… Glaring at her with golden eyes, I replied, “Bring it.”

Her eyes flashed, and for a second, I thought she might try to shoot me. Then she blew out a long exhale. “Walk through this door and you’ll find what you’re looking for.” She dangled a single key on a chain. “This is as far as I go. You’re on your own.” She dropped the ruby red skeleton key into my palm.

I looked past the deathtrap stairs that led down into the dark dungeon. Large chucks of concrete were missing from the stairs, the walls were cracked, and the air smelled stale and dusty. Gently, I pressed a kiss to Angel’s forehead, savoring the taste of her skin. With one last glance at the sun beating behind us, I took a step. And another. Remorse. Regret. Misery. They all weighed heavily on my broken heart.