He still couldn’t believe it.
He’d searched around for Tara, found her with Christian, and realized that it was the vampire’s job to protect her now. He would keep Tara safe if anyone could.
Ash had known he was coming to care for Faith, had tried not to think about it too much because the whole idea terrified him. He’d once sworn he would never love anyone again. That had changed when he’d discovered Tara still lived.
But not Faith.
She was human. He would lose her—that was inevitable.
And the main reason he’d gone into the relationship was that he’d thought he could never care for her. She was the total opposite of Lily. Maybe that was why she’d sneaked up on him.
From the expression on her face when he’d sprouted the wings, their relationship was probably over before it began.
Total abject horror.
Well, she was going to have deal. Because she owed him, and he always believed in collecting his debts. He remembered the taste of her on his tongue. The feel of her shaking with need in his arms. Her cries of pleasure.
Yeah, she owed him.
And in the end, she had trusted him.
He came out of the portal to find things pretty much the same. The sky filled with a whole host of the bastards. In his mind, angels were pretty much on a par with the fae in terms of how they viewed the other races. Elitist bastards the lot of them. Thought they were better than everyone else.
He lunged to avoid a blast and swore softly.
Christian had ten other vamps with him now. Presumably, all that had been in the building when the attack happened. They were holding them off, but being pushed steadily back.
Christian glanced briefly his way. “Tara?”
“Safe.”
Christian nodded a small smile flashing across his face. He appeared to be enjoying himself. Probably the relief of getting Tara back and knowing she was safe. Or maybe just enjoying a good fight—vampires were hard to kill, especially ones as old and strong as Christian.
Unfortunately, on this world demons were easier to dispose of, especially by avenging angels who wielded the white fire.
How had they known Roz had been here?
It didn’t matter. Something had led them to the Order. Of course, the angels knew of the Order’s existence and had been involved in setting up the original Accords. But otherwise, they stayed out of the way and kept themselves to themselves. One of the advantages to them being elitist he supposed.
He couldn’t see Ryan or Graham. He needed to get them to safety. One direct hit and they’d be ashes. Then he would come back, join in the fight. Kick a little angel butt.
And after that…he’d introduce himself to Faith.
“Ryan!”
The detective’s head peered around the door to the stairwell.
“Yeah?”
He didn’t seem inclined to leave his safety.
“We’re leaving. Get over here now. And where’s Graham?”
“Here as well.”
He ducked another blast, heard it sizzle across the tip of his wing.
“Now!”
Ryan raced toward him, Graham close behind. Ash held his arms out. “Take hold and don’t let go. Graham gripped his lower arm immediately. Ryan hesitated, but shrugged and grasped hold of his right wrist.
Two more blasts headed his way and he dived for the portal. Christ, they were holding on tight, he thought his bones might snap. He landed hard, but Ryan and Graham were still attached.
“You can let go now,” he suggested.
“Shit,” Ryan muttered. “Double shit. Where the fuck are we?”
Ash bit back a grin. “Where do you think?”
“Believe me, I’m trying not to.”
Faith stood beside Tara. She appeared a little shell-shocked but otherwise okay. Ash nodded. “I have to go back. You’ll be okay. My…housekeeper should be here. She’ll show you where to go.” He looked around. Where was his housekeeper? “Shera,” he yelled. “Get out here and bring my sword!”
Tara rose to her feet and came over. “You can’t go back,” she said. “You don’t have any protection. They’ll kill you. I’d give you my talisman, but they took it from me.”
“I’ll be all right. I’ve fought these bastards before.”
“Talisman? Protection?” Faith hurried over. She reached into her pocket and pulled out pulled out the talisman. “Is this it?”
Ash leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He didn’t know where she’d found it, and he didn’t care. He took the chain from her outstretched hand and slipped it over his neck. “Thank you.” Leaning in, he kissed her again, longer this time, pushing his tongue slowly inside her mouth. She didn’t try to stop him, in fact her lips parted sweetly. Triumph rose inside him, and he was losing himself in the taste of her when someone coughed behind him. Shera. He pulled away.
He stared down into Faith’s eyes. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back soon.”
He had to go. Since when had staying with a woman won out over a big bust up with a bunch of asshole angels?