Page 24 of Angel Betrayed

His head whipped up. “Help…me.” A desperate plea that was echoed by the haunted look in his blue gaze.

She pushed the door closed behind her and gripped the keys in her hand. “That’s why I’m here.” Liar, liar. You’re my ticket to freedom.

So this was Az. Now that his hair had slid back, she could get a much better view of him. Perfect face. High cheekbones, straight blade of a nose, hard jaw. Golden skin. Bright blue eyes. Mouth that looked like it should be smiling. Instead, lines of pain bracketed his lips.

Yeah, she could buy him being an angel. Whereas Sam just looked more like the devil.

His voice rasped out, “Who…are you?”

“My name’s Seline.” Giving him her name didn’t matter and maybe it would earn her the trust she needed to make the escape work. She just had to get him out of those cuffs and then slip him out of the warehouse.

Sam could take over the game then.

His brow furrowed. “Don’t…know you…” He shook his head. “Don’t know…”

She hesitated just a few feet from him.

He sucked in a deep breath. “Who am I?” Confusion roughened the words.

She blinked. “Uh, run that by me again?” She sure hadn’t been expecting that kind of response from him.

His gaze darted around the room. “Why…am I here?” That bright stare came back to her. “Did I do…something wrong? Did I…hurt someone?” He yanked at the chains.

Seline kept her distance. If he was truly Sam’s brother, then the guy before her might be able to kill with a touch, too. Which makes getting him out of here even harder.

His jaw clenched. “Please,” he grated, “help me.”

There was torment in his voice. And fear. The keys dug into her hand. “Your name is Az.”

He didn’t blink.

Okay, no recognition there. Is this the right prisoner? She walked a bit to the left and tried to peer over his shoulder. She couldn’t see the skin on his back, not with the way he was chained, so in order to find out if he carried the same scars as Sam did, she’d have to touch him. Seline sucked in a deep breath. “I will help you,” she told him, “but you have to trust me.” She lifted her left hand to show that she wasn’t armed. “I need to touch you.”

His stare bored into her, and a faint line appeared between his brows.

“I have to make certain you’re the man I think you are.” Because these days, she didn’t trust a thing Rogziel told her. Not after what she’d seen him do on the last case.

Sam wasn’t the first angel she’d met. No, the first angel she could remember was Rogziel. But he wasn’t an angel of death like Sam. Instead, Rogziel was on earth to punish. Punishment angels were fueled by wrath.

Only she knew that Rogziel had a twisted idea of what constituted guilt. Sometimes, just having demon blood was enough of a justification for punishment in his mind.

He doesn’t kill quickly. He enjoys the pain too much.

The only time Rogziel ever seemed to feel anything was when he was doling out his justice. Then he smiled.

His smile chilled her to the bone.

Swallowing, Seline lifted her arm and let her fingers trail over Az’s back.

He pulled in a sharp breath at her touch, but he didn’t move. Her fingers skimmed up his skin and found the thick, rough scars near his shoulder blades.

Her head tilted back, and she looked deeper into his eyes. His pupils flared as she gazed at him. “You fell.” It wasn’t hard to mistake those marks. Once you knew what they were, the scars were an instant indicator. She’d only touched Sam’s scars in the dream-walk, but she’d never forget them. He’d had wings, once upon a time. So had Az.

Once upon a time…until the fire came, and he fell to earth. Seline cleared her throat and explained, “You fell, and your wings burned away.”

Not a flicker of recognition filled his gaze. He just looked lost.

“Fell from where?” he asked blankly as he blinked and shook his head.

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