Page 88 of Angel Betrayed

A low growl came from the darkness.

Javier tensed. The last thing he needed was to face an attacker. He was so weak that his claws wouldn’t even come out.

When I find her, I’ll cut every inch of skin off her body. She’d beg for death, just like the others.

Another growl, but this one sure was much closer. “Back the fuck off!” Javier tried to roar, but the words barely rumbled out of his throat. He tilted back his head. No way would he bow before another shifter.

No one was there.

His eyes narrowed. His sight was five times better than any other coyote in the area. But right then, he didn’t see a damn thing.

But I smell fire. Ash.

Death.

The ground began to tremble. Fear had his heart racing too fast, and his blood chilling in his veins. Javier opened his mouth to beg?—

But invisible claws ripped into his throat.

Sam stared at the body on the ground. The blood puddled beneath the man, dark and still so fresh. The scent of death hung heavily in the air.

So did brimstone. Seline and her hound had been at work.

His gaze slid over the dark earth. He’d learned to track long ago when he studied with a Native American hunter who could find anyone, anytime. Sam had followed the Jeep out to that desolate spot and found death.

Not what he expected. Had the hound been protecting Seline again? Had she summoned the beast?

He stared at the markings in the dirt. Seline had turned the vehicle around here, then she’d driven north toward the lights of the town. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what her next move would be.

If you were a succubus low on energy, where would you go?

To the loudest, raunchiest bar you could find.

Seconds later, the motorcycle hurtled toward those shining lights.

The bouncer didn’t make the mistake of trying to keep Sam out of the club. He just wisely stepped to the side, and Sam followed the pounding music into El Diablo. Fitting name. The place was packed with Other. Shifters—he caught the flash of their claws. Vamps—two were drinking in the back corner. Demons—so many black eyes filled the room.

Humans mixed with them. Aware? Or just blind? Maybe both.

Dancers twisted in cages that rose above the wooden floor. Lights flashed in a swirling circle. And he didn’t see Seline.

Fuck. He’d been so sure she’d come here. A dozen clubs lined the strip. He’d found the abandoned Jeep, so he’d known that she came this way. He just didn’t know exactly which bar she’d gone into once she’d gotten off the street.

The couple on the right began to claw at each other’s clothing.

The man and woman on his left were nearly fucking right in front of him.

Sam stilled. Damn that was sure one whole lot of sexual energy. An unnatural degree, even for the Other.

Seline.

He looked upward again and stared harder at the woman who’d just entered the cage lined with steel bars.

She was alone in the cage. The other dancers had vanished. She wasn’t dancing. Her long hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Her arms were up, and she seemed to be pulling energy right from the crowd.

Because she was.

He grabbed the ladder that led to that cage. The music kept pumping behind him, and now he could feel the sensual power in the air. Not normal. Far from it.

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