She tasted blood in her mouth. Jade lifted her head. Nope, the angel wasn’t so much as singed. He stood about five feet away, not looking winded, but appearing . . . mildly annoyed.

Well, big damn deal for him. She was feeling pretty annoyed, too.

“You’re not going to get away.” Bastion’s wings fluttered in the breeze. They were doing that neat magic trick again where they seemed to just burst right through his shirt. He crouched so they were more on eye level. “He’ll find you soon.”

Now why did those words fill her with dread?

Because he’s setting a trap for Az, and I’m his bait.

Az didn’t bother knocking at the witch’s door this time. He just blew off the right wall of the place and stormed back inside.

Mateo turned at his approach, holding up the small, black bag that Jade had given him. “Ah, back from your psycho moment, are you? Bueno, because I’ve got your bullets—”

And Az had him. His hands locked onto the witch’s shirt, and he yanked Mateo toward him. “You’ve had another visitor.”

Mateo glanced down at the floor. Az was holding him a good foot in the air. “I have many visitors.”

“In a moment, you’re going to be in many pieces.”

Mateo’s gaze lifted. “Your eyes have gone black.”

“Where. Is. She.”

“Some beings are too powerful. When emotions hit them, they lose all control. Power without control can mean—”

“Would you like for me to incinerate you?”

Mateo smiled at him. “I’ve felt fire before, Fallen. Remember where I came from.”

Hell.

Mateo jerked away from him. Wind rushed in the air. “Your friend paid me for a job. The job is done.” He tossed Az the bag.

Az caught it and tried to fight the rage surging within him. Jade. Gone.

Bastion should have never touched her. Never. “Is she dead?” he gritted.

Mateo shook his head.

Az took a breath.

“Now you know better than that . . . there’s a price for information.”

Az let his power rip from him. In an instant, fire engulfed the building. The remaining walls burned. The windows exploded. Smoke thickened the air.

Mateo’s eyes widened.

The flames were less than a foot away from the witch. The fire wasn’t touching him, but only because Az didn’t want Mateo dead, not yet.

“I think you’ve confused me with someone else.” Az’s voice boomed from him, easily louder than the crackling flames. “I’m not Sammael. I’m not here to save your ass and play your games.”

With a wave of his hand, he sent the fire to lick across Mateo’s arms. Agony twisted the witch’s face.

“This isn’t hellfire,” Az snarled. “You don’t control it.”

Mateo slapped at the flames, but they just flared higher as he began to scream.

“So the games end now, or you die.”

Mateo fell to his knees. The flames closed in.

“The choice is yours.”

Jade shoved up to her knees. “Okay, angel, I get it. You’re pissed—”

“Angels feel no emotions.”

Yeah, she’d call bullshit on that one. The guy was a big old vibrating ball of emotion—mostly rage.

“Whatever. So I’m the walking dead, and you want to put me in the ground.” She straightened her shoulders. “But here’s the deal. Az isn’t gonna let you do that, okay?” He’d better not. “When he gets here, he’ll be freaking furious, and you don’t want to be in the area when that guy is enraged.”

She’d hoped her threat would make the angel back off long enough for her to get a running start. But he was holding his ground.

Then his lips curved a bit. “I never said Azrael was the one coming to find you.”

Her heart seemed to freeze.

Bastion pointed to the woods behind him. “Your shifter has found a new base. Just a mile or two over that hill.” In the next second, he was at her side. He grabbed her arm, and sliced her flesh with a knife she hadn’t even seen.

She didn’t give him the satisfaction of screaming. Since when did angels go around knifing people? How was that possibly in their job description?

“Your scent is special to the shifter.” Bastion dropped her hand. “He’ll follow the blood trail, and he’ll find you.” He stepped back. His wings began to spread out behind him. She realized then that the jerk was just going to leave her, bleeding, for Brandt to find.