“I’ll give you the spell,” Mateo promised. “Damn you, I’ll get it—but I need some time to get all the elements and ingredients together. It’s not simple, and just so you know, it’s one f**king dark spell.”

To bind an angel, he would expect nothing less. “Get it fast, because we’re going in.”

Mateo’s eyes widened. “No, just wait—”

But it was Tomas who answered. “We wait, and Sierra dies.” His hands were fisted at his sides.

“I’ve got enough innocent blood on me.” Sam let his smile stretch in anticipation. “From now on, I’m ready to balance those scales. Let’s see how fast the blood of the wicked flows.”

He dropped Mateo’s hand. “’Cause I’m betting Rogziel is a bleeder.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tomas took them to Rogziel’s hideaway. There were guards walking the perimeter of the area. Three men, armed with guns. Seline had never seen them before, but Sam took one look and muttered, “Humans,” and she figured if anyone could make that instant call, it would be him.

Sam’s gaze swept the scene, and he inhaled deeply, then said, “Dammit.”

Seline tilted her head and caught the light scent of flowers. The smell didn’t come from inside the compound. No, instead, that scent seemed to be coming from . . . right behind them.

No!

Seline spun around. But Rogziel wasn’t waiting with his cold eyes. Delia stood behind her. Actually, the angel floated behind her. “Time to make your move,” Delia said, her gaze on Seline. “Rogziel isn’t there. You can get the woman out.”

Seline licked her lips and hoped this wasn’t a lie. But, wait, angels couldn’t lie . . . just twist the truth to suit their purposes.

“Helping me?” Sam drawled. “Delia, I thought you’d rather see me burn than ever lift a wing to help me.”

“I’m not helping you.” Delia shook her head. “This isn’t for you. I just don’t believe innocents should be punished.” Her gaze finally slid from Seline to take in the two Fallen. “Better hurry. Someone will be coming back very, very angry.”

“Coming back?” Seline repeated, voice going hoarse.

“Um, it seems . . .” and Delia’s gaze cut once more to Tomas. “Rogziel finally realized the obvious. Sometimes, you just can’t go home again.”

Her wings spread behind her. She raced up into the air and disappeared into the clouds.

Sam laughed and glanced toward the house.

Tomas grabbed his arm. “You can’t trust her. She could be setting us up for punishment.”

The guards hadn’t noticed the angel. She’d moved too fast. And they probably hadn’t realized they should be watching the sky. Their mistake.

“I don’t trust her,” Sam said, “but I’m f**king ready to attack.” Then he vanished, too. No, he didn’t vanish, Seline knew that he just moved so fast he blurred—angel speed. The first guard went down, slumping back, and Seline knew Sam had subdued him.

The second guard didn’t even have a chance to gasp before he hit the dirt. The third—Sam snatched his gun right out of his hand and then knocked the guy out with one punch.

Sam grabbed the front door and ripped it right off the hinges.

Seline had to admit, that was rather hot.

Then Tomas pushed her forward, and they raced inside the house. She realized immediately that those guards outside had just been the beginning. More men and women swarmed, but Sam sent them scurrying back when he let out a blast of fire.

“You don’t want to f**k with me,” he told them.

Two men ran away. Seline guessed they weren’t in the f**king mood. Four more guards opened fire. Bullets slammed into Sam’s chest. Seline screamed.

“Warned you,” Sam said, and more fire burst free from his hands, flaring higher and greedily chasing Rogziel’s team.

Tomas swore. “You’re killin’ her!” He ran away from them and hurried down the snaking hallway. “Sierra!”

Seline jumped forward and delivered a hard right hook to the nearest guard. She snatched away his weapon and swiveled in time to slam it against the head of the idiot who’d been grabbing for her.

But then, Sam laughed. That laughter was rather eerie. Too cold and dark. The hairs on her arms stood up. She risked a glance at him. His gaze was pitch-black. “Playtime’s over,” Sam muttered. He waved his hand. All the guards lifted into the air. The guards rose higher, higher. They were screaming, begging—