Angel is trying her best to forget the human, Delan. She’s out to destroy something, out to protect herself. She thinks to lose herself in anonymous men in a bar on the outskirts of town. When she’s confronted by her brother Riko, holding Delan captive, intent on killing him, what will Angel do?
Angel watched in amusement as the man backed away, fairly tripping over his own two feet in his haste. She picked up her glass and swirled the liquid around with her finger. “What do you want, Riko? I’m just out trying to have a little fun.”
“I need you to come outside, little sister.”
“No. I’m not done with my evening yet.”
“And you may return once we speak. Outside.”
“It’s too chilly outside. I would rather stay right here. Why not pull up a stool and have a drink with me? Oh wait, there are no vacant stools. I guess you’ll have to leave.”
The booming laughter of her brother echoed off the walls. He wasn’t going to leave without her and she doubted he was going to let her return to the disaster that was her night.
She downed the alcohol and after a few seconds, slid off the stool. Riko threw a few bills on the bar, more than enough to cover her drink, and motioned for her to precede him out the doors.
“What is so important, Riko? I haven’t done anything. Not really. Not yet.”
“No, Angel, you haven’t. I have.”
“What?”
“I sent the human to you, and I see now that I was mistaken to do so. You do not wish to see our kind survive.”
Guilt trip. Great. “What are you talking about? And it’s not ‘our’ kind, Riko. It’s your kind. I am only half demon.”
“I am still your blood.”
“I’m not out to destroy you and your fellow demons. I just do not want to fall prey to weakness as my mother did. Things are going along fine. So a few demons die once in a while, it’s not like there aren’t more to take their place. What does this have to do with Delan?”
“I realized that you care more about fighting who you are than you do in the purpose of who you are.”
Angel laughed. “There is no purpose, Riko. And all I care about is protecting me, you’re right about that.”
“Against what?”
She whirled at the voice. Delan stood, or rather was being held up between two of Riko’s demons. “What’s going on?” She looked back at her brother. “Riko?”
“He cannot reach you. You will not let him. I told him if he failed, that he would die.”
“You can’t do that. I’ve known him like what? One day? A few hours? You consider that failure? And you’re going to kill him? Human time and demon time is different. To him, it’s only been a day. You can’t expect him to have achieved what you want in so short a time.”
“You have shown no interest in trying, no care for how your actions affect others, so I do not see why we should all waste what’s left of our precious time anymore. He is not immortal, you are right. He can only use what time I have given him. To you and to me, it is more than just hours. It is more than night and day. It is as though a lifetime has gone by. We are not like the humans. We know when we have met our destiny.”
You can’t let them kill him.
Angel looked from Riko to Delan. Were they in on this together? The uncertainty, the fear, the…regret in Delan’s eyes spoke to the fact that they likely weren’t, but… “Come on, Riko. You aren’t really going to kill him. You don’t ever kill anyone.”
“I don’t have to. There are enough who would be glad to see the human dead. You are coveted, little sister, especially since I forbid any of the demons to pursue you. They want you now more than ever.”
Was he serious? She looked over at Delan again. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and one eye was puffier than the other. He didn’t look near as good right then as he had just a bit ago inside the bar. He was still damn close to irresistible, though.
You have to let me out. You have to trust me that we won’t get hurt.
“No.”
“What was that?”
Angel looked at the ground, digging the toe of her boot into the gravel of the parking lot. “It’s nothing.”
“Is the angel talking?”
“No. I’m going back inside. There’s nothing for me to do out here.”
“Angel…”
“No, Riko. I told you earlier that I wanted him gone.” She turned and walked away, not looking back, and she was almost to the door, almost safely behind the walls of the bar when Delan spoke.
“You did?”
Her voice was barely a whisper and she hoped that it didn’t carry across to him. “Yes.”
“Angel, please. Turn and talk to me, face me.”
Yes.
“No, I can’t.”
Please visit the following links to read more fantastic snippets and have a wonderful Saturday!
Emma Petersen
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd
McKenna Jeffries
Eliza Gayle
Mari Carr
Elisabeth Naughton
Juliana Stone
Lauren Dane
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
