Avenging Angel (The Fallen #4)(60)
Author: Cynthia Eden

He knew an angel of death was chasing them. He’d caught a glimpse of Bastion. Still seeing angels. But that prick wasn’t taking his brother.

Not without one hell of a fight.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The vampire took them to the edge of the swamp. A cabin waited, one that looked abandoned from the outside, but inside, the place was stocked with bandages, antibiotics, and . . . bags of blood.

Marna turned away when Riley pulled one of those bags from the extra-large refrigerator and began to drink.

Cody was in the back of the cabin. A woman had rushed out to meet them as soon as they’d arrived. A doctor? A nurse? Marna wasn’t sure, but the woman with warm brown eyes and coffee cream skin sure seemed to know what she was doing. Tanner was back there with the woman, trying to force his brother to live.

And Marna was grappling with her own desire—to kill.

“You gave me freedom.” Riley tossed away the empty bag. A little bit of blood stained his lips.

Marna shrugged. “I gave a blood donation.” The least she could do.

“Is my family . . . are they safe?” Riley’s question was halting, and it seemed to be pulled from him.

She nodded. This much, she did know. “The instant they left you, they didn’t know any more pain.”

His breath eased out as he crossed toward her. His steps were slow. His eyes watchful. “Do they know what I became?” There was no missing the pain in his eyes.

She could give him this release, as well. “They only remember what you were.” Not what you are.

Monster.

Wasn’t that what she was now, too?

His hands came up and curled around her shoulders. “We can both be more.” His head lowered toward hers.

“And you can get your f**king fangs and hands away from her,” Tanner said, his lethal voice cutting through the room better than any knife ever could.

Riley’s hands didn’t drop, but his head didn’t lower toward her any more, either.

“Want to lose them?” Tanner asked. “ ’Cause I can accommodate you.”

Marna glanced toward Tanner. Sure enough, his claws were out.

Riley’s hands dropped. “I wasn’t—” he began.

“No, you weren’t.” Blood stained Tanner’s shirt and hands. He looked tired—and pissed. “With her, you’re not doing anything.”

Marna’s eyes narrowed on him. “That’s not your call to make.”

Tanner’s head turned slowly toward her. “It’s not?” How could a man’s voice be so cold and yet so furious at the same time? What an interesting blend, and very chilling. “I thought when you gave yourself to me, it sure made things like this jerk coming on to you my call.”

Men—humans or paranormals—could all be idiots. Marna exhaled. There was a room upstairs for her. Riley had showed it to her earlier. Right then, she just wanted to crash. The men could attack each other if they wanted. More bruises, scrapes, and busted ribs would serve them right.

She headed up the stairs. “He wasn’t coming on to me. He was talking. Maybe that’s something you should try more of.”

But all she got in response to that was silence. She was learning that Tanner could say more with his silence than most men could with their words.

She pulled at her shirt as she climbed the stairs. She was tired of smelling like blood. Tired of feeling like hell. And tired of her shoulders itching. Because on top of everything else, her scars had been bugging her for hours.

This day really did just . . . suck.

A knife to the heart—okay, from the back to the heart—could sure put a girl in what she knew Tanner would call a piss-poor mood.

But, jeez, at this rate, what else could happen?

The scent of flowers teased her nose. Her eyes squeezed closed. “Bastion, if that’s you . . .” She exhaled. “Stay away from me right now.”

Because she was in the mood to fight. Anyone. Anything. Even an angel.

Or a shifter.

Tanner watched Marna head up the stairs. Her shoulders were slumped. Her steps slow. He could feel the tiredness pouring off her, and it infuriated him.

Attacked. Stabbed with that knife.

While he just watched.

“You need to do a better job of keeping her safe,” Riley’s cold, drawling voice told him.

What? Advice from the vamp? Sonofabitch. Tanner tossed the guy against the nearest wall. “What I don’t need is some undead jerk telling me how to handle my angel.” He bared his own fangs. “And what you need to do . . . you need to learn to keep those hands off her.”

Riley smirked. Smirked? Really? Could he have begged any more for an ass beating? Apparently, he could because the vamp said, “What if she likes my hands? Maybe she’s in the mood for some . . . variety. Not every woman likes to lie with an animal.”

Tanner slammed his forehead into the guy’s nose. Bones crunched. Riley howled. Ah, that was one of his favorite moves. Why didn’t more people ever see that hit coming?

Tanner smiled, then said, “Trust me, she likes my animal side.” He’d been worried that he might scare her, but he hadn’t. Marna had been just as wild and fierce when they came together.

His gaze lifted to the stairs. He heard the roar of water and knew that she’d turned on the shower. She’d be up there now, naked.

Wet.

He dropped his hold on Riley and walked straight for the stairs.

“You really think she’s just gonna turn and greet you with open arms?” Riley’s voice mocked him. “That was one very angry angel who stalked up those stairs.”

Tanner tossed a glare over his shoulder. “Don’t worry about what happens between us.”

Riley laughed. “You are one clueless ass**le. Go on up there. She’ll toss you right back down.”

Jaw clenching, Tanner grabbed for the thin stair railing. The day he needed romantic advice from a vamp—

I’ll be cold in the ground.

He took the steps three at a time. There was no lock on the door to Marna’s room, so he pushed it open and hurried inside. Steam came from the small room near the bed. She’d left the bathroom door ajar.

But Tanner didn’t rush inside. He stopped. Shut the bedroom door behind him, and took a deep breath.

I could have lost her.

He understood the game that the killer was playing now. The sick prick. The guy had set things up perfectly, and Tanner had been the one forced to choose.

Save the angel or save the demon.

Bastard.

Tanner had managed, just barely, to save them both. But what would happen next time? He couldn’t just let his own brother die.