Redeeming Angel (2 page)

Not everyone agreed with my
methods. It was no surprise Emma fully supported caging Angel.
Lexi, on the other hand, lost her shit. Angel was her best friend,
her first real friend who wasn’t a half-demon. I knew how much she
cared for Angel, and not letting Lexi see her was a battle I
thought I would lose some days. But I knew once Lexi got a glimpse
of Angel behind bars, she would crack—
a
nd
in a not-so-pretty way. Like Hello Kitty crossed with the
Hulk.

It was a shuddering
thought.

The speed of the brisk wind washed
over my face as I ran, trekking up rocky hills, catapulting over
fallen trees, and dodging anything in my path. I was impatient to
see her, needing to know she was still safe, that she hadn’t found
a way to escape and unleash Hell on Earth. Good times.

Not even halfway there, I felt the
familiar prickle of disorder. Lower-demon would be my
guess.

Oh goodie. Just want I needed—a
punching bag to release all my rage and frustration.

The bastard was coming
straight for me, and with the way I was feeling right now, my
anticipation grew. Skidding to a halt, the not-so-bright demon
zoomed right past me.
Dumbass
. I whirled around, fists
curled.

Realizing his blunder, he circled back
toward me, a ball of blazing darkness. In the shadows of the tall
evergreens and the thick maples, his eyes glowed like hot ambers,
charcoal oily skin flickering as he ran. Demons without a human
suit were ugly mofos.

A split-second before he reached me, I
lunged, choke-slamming the slimy prick to the ground. A pile of
pine needles embedded into his flesh in what I considered icing on
the cake.

“
I hope that hurt,” I
sneered, my fingers squeezing.

His black lips pulled back, and he
hissed, “Where is ssshe?”

I titled my head to the side, pressing
my thumb into his windpipe. “Who?” I countered, playing ignorant.
They were more fun when provoked, and so was I.

“
You can’t hide her
forever.”

I had a mammoth-sized bone to pick
with Alastair, and his minions were just a means to an end. “It’s
killing you, isn’t it? Knowing I have what every demon in Hell
desires. The key to your freedom.”

He hissed, his tongue—the color of tar
and forking like a serpent—catching between his jagged fangs. “Tell
me where the keyssstone isss.”

I glared. “I just bet you would love
to know.”

Shooting daggers, his eyes got
brighter. “Then you die.”

I cracked my neck. “Bring
it.”

There was no hesitation.

Not from me. Not from him.

Launching to the side, the lower-demon
shot forward, a blur of dark limbs. I ducked, his swing whizzing
over my head, and sprung up behind him. The heel of my foot slammed
into the bow of his back and down he went. I welcomed the
physicality of fighting. Fist against flesh. Knuckles cracking
bone. I poured every bit of fury, worry, and aggravation into each
punch, each kick.

No sooner did he hit the ground was he
back on his feet. I leapt backward, but not before he was able to
clip the side of my jaw in a brain-rattling hit. I spit blood from
the corner of my mouth, thriving on the pain that erupted from the
side of my face. It fueled my hate.

So the bastard wants to
play that way, does he?

This time when he came at me, I
grabbed him and spun, tossing his ass straight into a tree. Bark
splintered, flying up into the air around his grotesque face. I
charged, the ground trembling under my feet. The demon met me
halfway in a thundering clash, both of us taking pot shots at the
other in punches so fast you felt them before you saw them
coming.

My knuckles were bleeding, but the
pain was irrelevant. I didn’t feel it. All I saw was Angel’s face
with crimson eyes—demon eyes. I pounded and pounded, dipping and
dodging as many blows as I could foresee. Time ceased. We could
have been going at each other for a minute or an hour. Mostly, I
was mocking him. Holding back, to drag out the fight.

And then he took me by surprise,
landing a blow that stunned me for a fraction of a second, but that
was all a demon needed. His hand went straight for my life source,
latching on with his claws on my heart. I guess he wasn’t joking
about killing me. Too bad today wasn’t my day. I had a mission,
which didn’t include dying.

It was time for the stupid SOB to go
home. Wiggling my right hand behind me, I inched my fingers to the
hilt of the blade tucked into my pants. He was too busy basking in
what he thought was surely a victory to notice the glint in my
eyes. Doing what I could probably do blindfolded, I sent the blade
into the dead center of his chest.

Let it rain demon
ash.

His eyes went wide right before I was
covered from head to toe in smoky powder. I sat up, shaking the
dust from my hair. What a way to ruin a perfectly awesome T-shirt,
but there was no time to waste.

A cold wind moved down my spine. I
jumped to my feet, pivoting, and took off through the trees, racing
toward Angel. My brain was churning. They were looking for her. Of
course, I hadn’t thought Hell would just forget about its secret
weapon, but I’d really banked on having more time to figure shit
out. I didn’t have much of a plan. Nothing concrete, really only
consisting of a few things: Save Angel. Destroy Alastair. Don’t
die.

As I crested the grassy hill, I looked
over my shoulder, listening. It would do none of us any good if I
were being followed. Hunter or demon, I had to make sure neither of
them found Angel.

I knew the risks of what I
was doing, hiding her. So many people could get hurt. People I
loved, but
I
had
brought Angel so deep into my world. If only I had stayed away from
her… But I hadn’t, and look where that had gotten her. I owed it to
Angel to pull her out of the fiery depths of Hell.

If anyone should be sucked down into
the clutches of the underworld, it should be me. Never
Angel.

A whoosh of air left my lungs, and I
shot down the hill, breaking into the clearing lit by the golden
streaks of sunlight. With a heavy heart, the old barn-like door
creaked as I pulled it open and let it close behind me, shutting
out all the glorious light. This place gave me the creeps, and it
was no place for Angel.

I cursed under my breath, swiping a
cobweb from above my head. This had to end. I wasn’t sure how much
longer my resolve could last. Seeing her trapped here was wearing
on me. I had to work harder and faster at finding the answers. I
would not rest.

Taking the rickety concrete stairs
down into an abandoned cellar, I felt the familiar tingles. Even
though the circumstances were grim, it didn’t stop the excitement
from fluttering inside my belly or the hope I might get a glimpse
of the girl I loved.

Chapter 2

{Chase
}

My heart stopped.

Curled in a corner, her dark hair
curtained her face. She didn’t move at my approach, yet I knew she
felt my presence. I heard her heart kick up, beating in an
identical rhythm to mine. It was the same each time. Our
separation, whether it was hours or days, caused amplified
reactions between us.

I paused at the bottom of the steps.
If I closed my eyes, I could see Angel coming out of her house, the
sunlight streaming through her hair and picking up the red
highlights. And she’d be wearing those little shorts she loved. I
might have loved them more. They did crazy things to her sun-kissed
legs, which did crazy things to me. There were a number of things
about her that caused my belly to turn inside out.

Her scent. Her smile. Her laugh. Her
sharp tongue.

The usual icy guilt drenched my
insides. I had to fight every basic instinct to zap across the
room, throw open the door, swoop her up in my arms, and take her
far, far away from here. My fists balled at my sides and a shudder
rolled through me.

Then her head lifted. Letting out a
shaky breath, I walked toward the bars of her confinement, careful
not to get too close. “You’re awake.”

She stared right through
me.

No life glittered in her eyes. She was
just an empty shell with no one home.

My stomach knotted.

I’d come to expect the crimson glares,
so to see her blue eyes made me a little dizzy. “Angel,” I called
softly.

“
Chase?” Her voice was
hoarse and confusion clouded in her expression. Slowly, her eyes
traveled over the room, and I felt her blood pressure
rise.

This was only the second time I’d seen
the clarity in her eyes since that night she’d killed her father. I
was suddenly afraid this moment was going to slip away before I had
the chance to savor it, because who knew how long it would be until
the next time? I could only hope it would be sooner rather than
later.

My thrill at seeing her overrode my
common sense. Before I processed what I was doing, I moved,
shutting myself inside with Angel. It was only a blink, and the
only reasonable explanation for my stupidity was she made me do
stupid things. “I can’t believe it’s you,” I said, framing her pale
face.

“
Who else would it be?” The
hoarseness in her voice caused a twinge in my chest, for I knew it
was from screaming.

Her beauty struck me hard,
like a bolt of lightning. She was the most beautiful creature I’d
ever seen. As soon as I touched her face, I knew I was in trouble.
My heart hammered inside my chest.
Thump.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It felt as if it had
been a lifetime since I’d been able to feel her skin. It was still
as soft as I remembered.

Then I was kissing her.

My lips were fastened to hers in a
hard, desperate kiss. I pulled her close, not thinking. In seconds
we were wrapped up in each other, the gloomy room disappearing,
which tended to happen when we kissed. Her arms secured around me,
fingers running along the back of my neck and leaving scorching
tingles trailing from her touch.

Deep down, I knew everything wasn’t
hunky-dory. She wasn’t magically better, but how convenient the
mind worked to get what it really wanted.

And oh, I wanted her.

There was no denying that every fiber
of my body wanted this. It had been weeks since my lips had touched
hers, and the hunger came on swift and strong. I ached inside.
Ached for the physical touch of her skin, of her soft,
berry-flavored lips.

Using my tongue, I parted her lips and
plunged, deepening the kiss. A thousand fires ignited inside me,
joining into one flame I couldn’t contain. I was drowning in the
sweetest fire. My hands inched under her shirt, splaying over her
lower back. The world didn’t seem so screwed up when Angel was
kissing my brains out. It was the greatest buzz.

She pulled back just slightly, her
eyes capturing mine, and then she cupped the back of my neck,
reclaiming the distance. Damn. She kissed me in a way that put all
others to shame. It would have made the Angel I loved blush. There
was nothing innocent or sweet as she nipped my lower lip, and I
swore I tasted blood.

Her breathy moan nearly undid me, yet
it was the wiggling of her hips that sent me over the edge. Our
hearts sped up. I totally took the kiss there, throwing every worry
and fear into it. It was then I felt the sudden change in her, but
I was powerless to pull away. My demon was screaming, “Yes, yes,
yes!” He loved the darker side of Angel, and it was tearing me in
two. The struggle between my demon and me was the hardest I’d ever
had to deal with.

I gripped her hips and pushed back.
Her eyes. They were dark in the shadowy light, but the glimmer of
red was undeniable.

They were wrong. So very
wrong.

My stomach sunk in what felt like a
swift kick to the gonads. Having my emotions plunge from one
extreme to another left me slightly off-kilter, and after the
intimacy we’d shared, I was torn in half. Remorse ate away at
me.

It was a splash of cold water thrown
in my face. Shell-shocked, some part of my brain thought I’d been
struck by lightning. It only took a moment of sanity to bring me
back to Earth. I flashed to the other side of the bars, slamming
the door shut with a clatter of metal. So many things could have
gone wrong. What had I’d been thinking, and that was the problem. I
hadn’t been thinking. Too much time had gone by without seeing her
blue eyes that I lost it, which could have led to a catastrophe. I
couldn’t allow for mistakes or let my emotions get the best of
me.

I released a long, deep sigh, instead
of thumping my forehead on the nearest wall like I
wanted.

Control. It had always been a
struggle, and I spent my life exercising power over my demon. All
it had taken was one look from Angel to shatter a lifetime of
discipline.

I scowled darkly over my shoulder, and
she gave a sultry, devious laugh. “If you let me out of here, we
can go for round two.”

My face remained motionless. “Do you
still want to open a portal to between Hell and Earth?”