Page 109 of Where Angels Fall

I set her on the ground behind a rusted, blue shipping container, ducking around the side to shoot off a few bullets at the men who are too close to my angel.

It’s a blood bath. Blood pools on the concrete, bodies falling left right, and centre. My Devils hold their own, defending us in a way that I trust them to.

Screams of agony find me, and it brings a smile to my face. They deserve every bit of pain they get, and more. Turning, I head back to my angel, crouching before her. She’s weak, her body limp against the container as her eyes follow my every movement.

The way she looks at me... It’s everything. Her eyes wide in wonder, a small smile on her pouty lips, despite all she’s been through.

“Angel,” I breathe, my hands finding her face again. I can’t ever get enough of touching her and feeling her warmth. Her pulse stutters under my palm, her life force still pumping through her veins. “Where hurts?”

Her shaking hand points in the direction of her thigh, where I know Zeke stabbed her. I have to grit my teeth and fist my hands to stop myself from marching back out there and shooting the already dead man again, just for good measure.

The wound is wrapped in black clothing, but there is so much blood. Too much.

“It’s not all mine,” she whispers, as if she could read my mind.

My eyes flick up to hers, searching for what she means. Not all hers? Her lips twist into a satisfied curl, those eyes darkening in the sexiest of ways.

“What? You think you’re the only one around here with the killing instincts, Devil?” The way she purrs the words has my cock straining against my pants.

A growl slips out of me, and my body hums with need.

“We’ll unpack that later, Angel.” My voice is low, threat laced in promise. “But for now, I’m gonna go unleash my killing instincts.”

Leaning down, I kiss her with all the heat I’m feeling. But her hand comes up to grip my shirt, not letting me go. Sadness etches her features, and I freeze, bringing my face back close to hers.

“Ash...” her voice is clogged with emotion. “I’m so, so sorry.” I go to speak. To tell her she has nothing to be sorry for and that I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m the one who let her get taken and hurt, but she shakes her head. “You are the best person I know. The only person who lets me be me and loves me for it, anyway... I love you, Ash. I love your fierceness and protectiveness. I love how you wholeheartedly live by your own rules.”

My heart is thrumming in my chest, and I have to swallow a lump that’s formed in my throat. Noone has ever loved me, not just despite my flaws, but because of them. And somehow this perfect, breathtaking angel does.

She loves me.

Her eyes flick between mine, intensity burning in them as if she’s trying to convey how much she means what she is telling me.

“I just needed to tell you... in case...”

I stop her with a growl, my face less than an inch from hers. “Don’t you fucking finish that sentence, Angel. We will both be walking out of here tonight.”

I stand, my body looming over hers, my eyes raking up and down her, memorizing the injuries that mark her perfect skin. It’s what I’ll see as I’m tearing the flesh from these assholes.

I almost don’t reply, unable to find the words that could describe how she makes me feel. How her loving me makes me feel. My lips move anyway.

“You are my heart, Angel,” I bite the words out. “You have been the second I saw you. I would torch every city, every human, every God that tried to take you from me. I don’t want redemption, Angel. I want you. And if that condemns me, then I’ll carve us a throne in hell and make it ours.”

I turn, running into the wild chaos, my fists immediately finding flesh, my gun finding its mark. Every hit, every shot, is payback for what has been done to my girl. It’s a beautiful thing, flaying the flesh of my enemies. Hearing them scream in pain.

My ruthless nerves calm as each one falls, the monster in my chest soothing with each scream. And she loves me anyway. She doesn’t see me as a monster. The shackles of that word loosen, and a fire is lit inside my chest.

A Wraith lunges for me, and my knife sinks into his chest; the angry twist of his face falls into shock. He collapses to the ground as I slide the knife out and jam it into his eye socket. It’s gruesome and vile and fucking disgusting.

And I fucking love it.

It doesn’t take long; the Devil’s showing the city what we are capable of. Before I know it, lifeless bodies of Wraiths lie in defeat, while most of my Devil’s will be returning home tonight. Most.

The ringing in my ears slowly fades, replaced by the slap of the waves against the dock and the distant creak of metal shifting in the wind. The scent of gunpowder and blood wafts in the salty air. Darkness is taking over, and the night feels heavier now. Quieter.

I turn immediately, scanning for her. She’s still propped against the container where I left her, blood drenched, knife still clutched in her fist like it’s part of her now. Her eyes are already on me.

My chest expands for what feels like the first full breath in hours. But then my gaze shifts, and lands on Kai.