“Christ,” she said, and I shrugged.
Samael’s gaze found the man bleeding out next to the black SUV and he lifted his hand.
I bolted toward him, catching his arm and pulling it down. He looked through me. It was as if no one was home.
“No smiting,” I told him. “I need their bodies, and I need that one alive for as long as possible.”
He ignored that, still gazing past me as if I wasn’t there, retribution burning in his eyes. Shit.
I reached up, pulling his head down. I’d caught him off guard, which was the only reason it worked, but as I pressed my mouth to his, he was still for a long moment.
“No smiting. I mean it,”I whispered in his mind.
He tensed, and I felt the moment he transformed from the cold, remote demon to the hot, flesh-and-blood man.
Our kiss deepened, and my mind went blank as he wrapped me in his arms, his tongue stroking mine.
“Safe,”he said in my head.“You’re safe.”
“I am. I promise.”
“Uh, guys?”
Vas sounded amused, but when I slowly pulled away from Samael, I found the younger demon’s gaze on the bearded guy currently bleeding out.
I untangled myself from Samael and stalked toward him the half-unconscious human. Evie was already leaning over him, slapping his cheek to make him open his eyes.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “What do you want?”
“Monstrosity,” he gasped out. “Miscreation. You… are an atrocity that should never have been born.”
All of the color drained from Evie’s face and Vas pulled her away. Samael stepped past me and leaned over the asshole.
“If you think she is an atrocity, you have yet to see what I can do to a human body,” he purred. “You will tell us what you need to know, or my people will patch you up and break you down until you beg for death.”
As far as threats go, it was a pretty good one. But the asshole merely smiled, raising his hand as he shoved something in his mouth. Samael grabbed his jaw, squeezing so hard I heard something crack, but it was too late. The guy’s mouth foamed as he convulsed, his eyes rolling back in his head.
“Cyanide,” Samael stepped away, his eyes cold. “I didn’t anticipate it. I apologize.”
“It’s not your fault.”
I glanced over at where Bael was checking the pockets of the dead guy I’d slammed into the apartment wall. Sitri landed and Samael gestured for him to do the same for the guy I’d shot, while I took the one who’d been dragging Evie into the car.
I emptied out his pockets, finding a wallet, a parking receipt, and a chip from a casino.
“I need to go through the car,” I said, and Samael took my arm. “My people can do that,” he said carefully. I opened my mouth to argue, and he gestured at where my sister was staring at the dead guy. She looked shocked, worn out, and a little unhinged, my knife still in her hand.
“Okay. Okay.”
I turned and paced for a couple of moments, and then glanced at the demon, whose eyes were glued to my face. “We’re moving in with you. Let me just pack and get the cat, and we’ll figure things out once Evie is safe.”
To his credit, Samael didn’t show the smallest flicker of satisfaction, even down the other end of the bond. He merely nodded, his expression grim as he took in the scene.
“I will come up with you.”
I didn’t argue. Samael followed Evie and me into the elevator, which meant we were practically standing on top of each other as we jostled for space amongst his wings. He hadn’t bothered tucking them out of sight yet, although they were—thankfully— no longer dripping with sparks. I had a feeling he’d left them out because he knew studying them was giving Evie a tiny distraction from everything that had just happened.
My sister still only had a few clothes, so it barely took her a couple of minutes to pack them up. I hauled a suitcase out of my closet and loaded up on weapons, clothes, and toiletries.
