Angel Betrayed (The Fallen #2)(7)
Author: Cynthia Eden

His fingers trailed up her arm. “I’m not a good enemy to have.”

Neither am I. She tried not to shiver at his touch, but his fingers were slightly rough, and she liked that hint of danger and strength. She had a dark side, too, one that he seemed to arouse too easily. “I don’t want you for an enemy. I only want to get my life back.”

“If you’re telling the truth, I’ll give you that life”—he paused—“for a price.”

Because everything had a price. She’d never gotten anything for free in this world. Even her birth had been at the price of her mother’s life. “What do you want?” she asked. “Sex?” Taking her would be his mistake. Sex would simply give her power and give him a fast trip to hell.

“Eventually.” His fingers were still on her arm, and the interior of the car seemed small and tight. The scent of leather and man permeated the air. “But for now, I’ll start with a simple trade.”

Nothing was ever simple. She had to bite back “Am I the one who looks like an idiot now?” Seline wanted out of that car. He seemed too big and strong, and right then, he had her at a serious disadvantage. Her power was low, and she needed a serious recharge—a recharge she planned to get from him at the earliest opportunity. “When I first asked for help, you—you said no.”

His head inclined.

“You were going to let me die.” Heartless bastard. Or he would have been, if her story had been true. Since she hadn’t actually been in danger of an immediate death . . .

“I’m not here to save the f**king world.”

Very true. “But you saved me in the alley.”

“Did I?” he murmured. “Guess that is how it appears.”

This wasn’t going the way she’d planned at all. Usually, her plans worked so well. He should have taken her back to his place—that nice apartment in the Quarter—where they would’ve been under surveillance, and she should have been well on her way to seducing him.

Not. Good.

“I’ll get rid of this problem for you, Seline, but when the time comes, I’ll need you to do a favor for me.”

Offering a deal—wasn’t that the way the devil worked?

“What kind of favor?” Not that she’d ever have to hold up her end of the bargain, but . . .

“Does it matter?”

She reached for the door handle. Locked. “It does. I’m not trading in one psycho for another.”

He laughed, and her head whipped around at the deep, dark rumble. Wonderful. Even his laugh was sexy. The job got worse every minute.

“I know you’re not what you pretend to be,” Sam said as he leaned toward her. “You’re not a stripper, even though you came into Temptation to dance for me.”

For me. She’d danced twice. Twice. There’d been no choice. She’d worked at Temptation for two weeks as a waitress, and the guy hadn’t even glanced her way. She’d needed his attention, and the stage had been her only option at the time.

Seline hadn’t realized what a bonus she’d get from the stage. She’d known just how to shield her body and to tempt, a rather inborn trait for a demon like her. But when the crowd had focused all of their energy on her . . .

Power. The rush of energy she’d stolen had been incredible.

And she’d finally caught her mark’s attention. Talk about a two-for-one hit.

But Seline hadn’t gone back on the stage. Not because she was modest. Modesty was something she’d long ago sacrificed. She hadn’t gone back on that wooden stage with the bright lights because she was afraid that she’d steal too much energy from the humans. If she did that, then Sam might start suspecting the truth about her.

“Does it really matter what I am?” she asked him, her fingers still on the door handle.

There was a soft snick of sound as he released the lock. “Everything matters.”

She hurried out of the car. Yeah, fine. She jumped and nearly fell. So what? Only a sprinkling of stars lit the dark sky so maybe he hadn’t seen that less-than-graceful exit.

“The black van didn’t follow us.”

Crap. “Wh-what van? Someone was following us? Why didn’t you say—”

He slammed his car door shut and shook his head. “You really have to do better than that.” Then he started walking toward the house. Gravel crunched beneath his feet. Seline stood there a moment and figured there was no option other than giving chase.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. “What van?”

He moved in a blur, just like he’d done in the alley. Rushing too fast for her to see the full motions of his body. One instant, they stood a few feet from the car, and in the next second, he had her on the steps of the house, with her back pressed against the wall and his fingers holding tight to her arms. “The black van that was watching us, sweetheart. The one I know you saw, too. Now if you want to keep lying to me . . .”

His breath blew against her cheek.

“You’re really gonna piss me off.”

She shoved back against him. He didn’t move, and she’d even used a bit of her enhanced strength. Fine, if he wanted to play rough, she’d show him rough soon enough. “I’m not trying to piss you off,” she gritted out as she kept her chin up. “I’m trying to stay alive. I came to you for help, but you told me to get my ass out of your bar and to take care of myself.”

The moonlight showed her his slow blink.

“I got out of Sunrise, and I was jumped in the alley.” She pushed against him again. This time, he eased back a bit. “You’re the one who came charging out of the club. You didn’t have to save me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

If she hadn’t already been hired to kill the guy, she really would have thought about doing it for free right then. Jerk. “Then why did you?”

He shrugged. Shrugged. Time for some payback. “It’s been a really long night for me.” Seline let her voice tremble. “Please, I just want to go inside and get some sleep.” Dawn would come within a few hours.

Perhaps only one of them would make it to see that sun come up.

His hands dropped. “Go to the top of the stairs. You can take the first room to the left.”

“Is this your place?” The surprise in her words was real. No one had scoped out this location. Big mistake on their part. Someone on the team had been sloppy.