“No, sweetheart, no one else is here.”

She couldn’t open her eyes. In that moment, everything hurt too much. “He . . . said I’d—die. All Fallen . . . gonna die.”

His lips pressed to hers. The kiss was hot, hard, and his tongue pushed right inside her mouth. The ash vanished, the memory of flames receded, and Seline just tasted him. Her hands lifted and curled around Sam’s shoulders. Her body shuddered against him.

Thank you. She took his power, drinking it in greedily as the fear faded. He kept kissing her, slow, long kisses.

Sam.

After a time, Sam’s head lifted. “Okay?”

No, but she was getting there.

“Az was with you,” he said. No question.

She nodded anyway and, yeah, she hunched a little closer to him. When a Fallen tried to kill you—twice—it made sense to buddy up to the toughest guy in town.

“Is the blood yours?” he demanded as his gaze swept over her.

She looked down. “I don’t . . . think so.” Seline wanted to strip those bloody clothes off right then.

Sam’s eyes narrowed.

“Omayo’s,” she told him, her voice still hoarse. “I think it’s Omayo’s.”

“Fuck.”

Yeah. “Az said . . . Fallen die.” And he’d meant it.

The last thing she remembered before the fire was Az touching her forehead. She’d been sure that he just sent her to hell. That fire had been unmistakable. So . . . “Why am I still breathing?” she asked softly, aware that her fingers were trembling.

Sam rose and turned away from her. His gaze swept the street.

Her movements much slower, Seline stood as well. Despite the power infusion he’d give her, Seline’s knees wanted to do a little jiggle. She looked to the left, then the right. She didn’t see anyone. “There was so much fire.”

His head whipped back toward her. “Where?”

She rubbed her forehead. She could almost feel Az’s touch still on her skin. “I-I think I was in hell. I couldn’t stop burning.”

A silver SUV barreled down the street. She tensed. “Sam . . .” Her hands reached for him and clamped around his arm. Keep him close.

“Easy.” His breath blew against her hair. “It’s just Cole.”

Another SUV—blue this time—followed. The vehicles slammed to a stop, and the doors flew open.

Cole rushed toward them. You never would’ve thought he’d been shot earlier that day. The demon was sure a fast healer.

“Get her out of here,” Sam ordered.

Cole blinked. The guys behind him—they were all demons; she could see right through their glamour—hesitated.

“But what about—” Cole began.

“Take her to Sunrise and make sure guards stay with her. No one gets in or out of that place without my permission.”

Cole reached for her. Wait, this wasn’t the way this scene was supposed to go down. “No, Az is here, he wants—”

“He wants me,” Sam said, and a muscle flexed in his jaw. “I’m Fallen, and he thinks he’s gonna make me burn. You were my message.”

So a little bit of torture for her was a way of jerking around Sam? Az was a sadistic ass**le.

Cole had his fingers locked around her arm. She glanced back at Sam. Her knees were still shaking, and, this was awkward because that little trip to hell sure had done a number on her. Her energy had plummeted and though Sam had given her a little boost, the kisses hadn’t been enough to fully strengthen her.

She needed so much more, but admitting that fact in front of this group of demons wasn’t exactly her plan. “Sam . . .” Never look weak. Demons fed on weakness.

She did it often enough.

But Sam had turned away. He and a few of the demons were fanning out on the street. Searching for Az.

Others were heading into the building to take care of Omayo. Or what was left of him.

“Sam . . .” She cleared her throat and tried again. “I need . . .”

He still wasn’t looking at her. His whole focus was on searching the scene.

Good luck with that. She knew Az was long gone. Again.

Shaking her head, Seline climbed into the silver SUV. Cole slammed the door shut behind her.

And as the vehicle pulled away from the curb, she wondered why her back still hurt—right beneath both of her shoulder blades. Her back burned and ached, and she felt like she’d lost . . . something in the fire.

A fire that had only been in her mind.

When Sam finally made it to Sunrise, two demons were guarding the door. Tension held his body tight, and rage continued to pump through him.