Sonofabitch.

That angel had almost touched her.

No f**king way. Cadence wasn’t ready for death. She’d screwed up too many times. Nothing good waited for her on the other side.

Before she bit the dust, she had to make some kind of amends.

Maybe for the lover she’d murdered.

But he’d had it coming. Trying to beat her, trying to hurt her. Bill hadn’t realized just what he’d been dealing with.

Before he’d died, he’d known. She’d made sure of it.

Cadence lifted the bottle to her lips and gulped. She barely felt the burn as the liquid rolled down her throat.

Ten thousand? Would that be enough cash? She knew about the cop shifter. The guy who tried to play good with the humans but who was really just as f**ked up as the rest of the supernaturals in New Orleans.

He had some cash, she was sure of it. He could give her the money. She could split town, and the world would keep right on going.

As if she’d never even existed.

A sweet scent teased her nose. Freaking flowers. That angel.

“I told you to meet me outside!” Cadence swung around.

No one was there.

Just boxes. A rat scurrying around. Dust.

Her heart was racing. She’d made a mistake. Been in the wrong place, at the wrong time. But when she’d gone to that alley, she’d never known what was going to happen. She’d just needed to make a purchase. Needed to buy a few drugs to get her through the night.

Demons needed drugs. As far as Cadence was concerned, that was a simple fact. She had to use her drugs. Otherwise, she couldn’t shut out the voices in her head.

One of those voices had made her kill her father when she was twelve. The voice had told her that daddy wanted to do bad things to her. Such very, very bad things.

She’d stopped him. He hadn’t been able to hurt her.

The same voice had told her about Bill’s dark side. How he liked to hurt women. To hit until you couldn’t move. She’d ignored the voice at first.

But the voice had been right. Her bruises and broken bones had proved its truth soon enough.

The voice was quiet tonight. The drugs were still in her system. The drugs muted all the voices that wanted to whisper to her about the wicked things in the world.

I’m wicked.

She’d gotten the drugs from the alley. Seen the death that waited for those two panther shifters.

I saw what you did. She’d never be able to forget that night.

Now it was time to collect and get out of there. The shifter and his angel should have made it around to the back of Hell by now. She could slip out, make her deal, and get away.

Cadence dropped the bottle. It spilled on the floor, a long, wet stain, and the rat scurried toward it. Cadence grabbed her bag. There’d be no missing this shithole for her.

She yanked open the back door. Slipped out into the night. The air was hot. Always was, down in this freaking pit. Maybe she’d go someplace up north. Someplace where it actually snowed. She’d never seen real snow. Wouldn’t that be a kick?

Careful . . .

That whisper came from her own mind. The voice was waking up. Dammit. No. Not now.

Cadence shoved her hand into her bag. She had a few more white pills left. They’d shut up the voice. Buy her more time.

Blood. That horrible whisper again.

She couldn’t find the damn pills.

Blood on the dirty bricks. Blood on the ground. Can’t scream. Can’t—

Her fingers closed around one small pill. She shoved it in her mouth and swallowed. Her hands were shaking, but that wasn’t new. When the voice screamed so loud in her mind—or even when it whispered—her hands trembled.

But the pill was in her body now. Her heart rate began to slow. The drug always worked fast. After a moment, the voice fell silent.

It was just her now. Alone in the night.

Cadence sucked in a few quick breaths. Where was the shifter? He’d better show up and get ready to hand over some serious cash. ’Cause if he wanted to hear all the juicy bits that she had to share, he’d need to—

“Hello, Cadence.”

She stiffened. Impossible. That voice—it belonged to a dead man. She knew. She’d put Bill in the ground herself. Dug the grave and dumped his sorry ass inside and left him in the middle of the woods.

“Why don’t you come here . . . ” Bill’s voice said from the darkness, “and give me a kiss, baby girl?”

Her blood iced. That was Bill’s voice. When she turned, she saw him walking from the shadows. Bill. With his balding head, his tattoos, and the slightly crooked smile that had disarmed her from the first moment she met him.