Death Angel (The Angel Series Book 5)

Book summary

After a narrow escape from death, Stevie faces the chance to reconnect with Val despite lingering doubts about his loyalty. But when they learn that friends Dom and Jeffery are trapped in a ghoul-infested Shadow Sphere, they must act fast. As secrets unfold, Stephanie’s choices could shape her fate—and her heart.

Excerpt from Death Angel

Looking Back

Though born as a genetically engineered angel, I’d made many mistakes. But I swore I’d neverbecome a victim of deception ever again.

Idiscovered that Aidan was the man assisting Sally in her abduction. He was behind my incarceration, forcing me to take the rap for murders I didn’t commit.

Witnessing Aidan’s betrayal, there was a nagging feeling deep inside of me that nothing was what it seemed. Could I have been that blind to his tricks? Did he ever love me or was it all a lie? I recalled the riddle Aidan had given me before he’d disappeared.

“Believe in only half of what you see and none of which you don’t.”

What did he mean? Could all this be a vicious nightmare?

I hoped in the end, I’d learn the truth.

A spiritual war broke out in the heavens. As a result, Val had forsaken me, leavingme in the care of a mortal man while he and his heavenly armyleft earth to fight forthe greater good. Though I understood his duties, his leavingleft me feeling abandoned and angry.

The world crashed and the Illuminati took over the system bringing in forces of another kind, aliens, called the regulators. Theywere the peacemakers, but nothing about them was peaceful. They murdered innocent people and destroyed everything in their path. Starvation blanketed the earth like a frozen winter. No one was safe.

The Illuminati was gunning for me. I was a threat to their cause. Forced to seek safety with the help of the Cajun, the guys and Ihad to go underground. The Cajun promised Val that he would watch over us. We took cover at his grandmother’s house but it didn’t take long before Aidan found us.

Realizing Aidan’s vile betrayal, I seized him, taking him prisoner. I feared he’d alert Van, his uncle,to our whereabouts, who sought to take my life.

Despite the precautions I’d taken, Aidan escaped and kidnaped Dom and Jeffery. He left a note behind with a clear threat and an example of how far he’d go… leaving behind the dead body of the Cajun’s best friend, Titan.

Now I must hunt down Aidan and save the guys before hecarried through on his threat.

Just as luck would have it, the Cajun and I parted ways. We’d been found and the regulators were coming for me. No point in both of us going down. I had a better chance of surviving. The Cajun didn’t. While I distracted the regulators, the Cajun escaped. I wasn’t as lucky. I was captured and paid a heavy price.

The Gentlemen’s Club

I had awakened with a splitting headache. Punching through the throbbing pain only made my head hurt worse.I touched the crown of my head and flinched. Memories of my capture slowly crept through my skull, and I jolted, sitting up. The sudden urge to vomit struck hard.

My eyes fluttered open as I caught a trashcan beside the bed. I threw my legs over to the side just in time before I hurled. As I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, I wondered if all angels had a sensitive stomach. I reckonedthat was the human in me.

I placed the trashcan down and drew back into bed, drawing my knees to my chest. I eased out a wry sigh. There were worse things. They could’ve killed me.

The last vision that repeatedly circled my brain was the pleading expression on Nick’s face as I darted out of the Hummer. Most likely our last glanceforever. It was for the best. The Cajun alone slipping under the radar of the authorities would keep him safe. Hanging around me meant his chances of living were zero. I had to believe he made it out of the city safely and unharmed.

I swallowed down the knot that seemed to have cemented in my throat. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I skimmed over my surroundings. To my surprise, I wasn’t stuck in a drafty dungeon or restraint in a mental hospital. Nothing like my last capture.The room reminded me of a fancy hotel: a king-size bed with monogrammed pillows, sheets that felt like Egyptian and royal blue carpet. Not the sort of grand treatment I’d expected. Nevertheless, I was still a prisoner.

Of course, Aidan came through with his threat. The coward didn’t even bother showing up for the show. I questioned if he was the one that set me up in this cozy suite. That had me more worried than if I’d been sitting in a dank dungeon cell. At least I’d know what to expect. This exquisite suite pestered me like a pus-filled boil ready to pop. Whoever was keeping me hostage went through great lengths to spare my life. I should still be on guard. I wasn’t out of the woods by any means.

What did the Illuminati want from me? I figured there wasn’t much I could offer. After all, I’d infused my essence with Aidan. They couldn’t extract my powers and they had taken my child. Dom and Jeffery were mortals. And my powers were unpredictable.

Yet as I’d said before, I would never belong to myself. I wasn’t born like a normal person. There wasn’t anything about me that was ordinary. I was a product of my environment, a genetically engineered angel that turned out to be a dud, a useless mistake.

If anything good comes out of this, I hoped Aidan would make a gesture of good faith and free Dom and Jeffery. Surely, considering their history together, Aidan would have a soft spot for them. He no longer needed the guys to bait me. He wanted my capture and now he had it. Yet if that wasn’t enough, I’d gladly give my life in exchange for the guys.

I’d caused a lot of pain to those I loved. If I’d just turned myself in before now, the Cajun and the guys wouldn’t have been thrust into peril. Because of me, the Cajun nearly died and because of me, Aidan kidnapped Jeffery and Dom. I blamed myself. A creature like me didn’t have the right to walk freely. This planet belonged to humans. Not a freak created in a lab. I shouldn’t have ever been born. I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself or expecting anyone to take pity on me. It was the truth.

Despite my resolve, I wasn’t going to sit still and allow them to do whatever they wanted to me without giving them one hell of a good old southern ass kicking.

I knew what I had to do next. My eyes gravitated to the door. With a little help from my essence, I was fairly certain that I could break out of this joint. I reckonedI had the advantage there. What worried me was what might be lurking on the other side of the door. Did I have enough strength to fight any attack?

What if I used the same exertion that I’d used on Aidan and I turned back into that green-faced monster? Chills spiraled down my spine. Morphing into a monster was something I preferred to avoid. But was there a way I could balance my powers without turning into some hideous creature?

If Val were here, I could’ve asked him if my green face was normal for a Zop. Then again, this problem could stem from my creation. After all, I was a lab experiment. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch that the scientist made a mistake mixing a celestial being with a human’s DNA. There could be a hundred and one reasons why I had morphed.

One thing for sure, I wasn’t going to find answers sitting in this suite. I had to do what I had to do and worry about the effects later. I had to escape. It was that simple.First thing on the list after I blew this coop was finding Jeffery and Dom. I’d like to think that Aidan had the guys stowed away in one of these rooms here.

Wherever here was.

Still, it made sense. He staged my capture, knowing that I’d follow the guys anywhere. What other place did Aidan have to hide them?

Then I remembered the note. He mentioned another dimension. I didn’t see how he could carry the guys to another world. They were mortal. Aidan had mentioned that their oxygen was running low. What if hewere merely trying to scare me?

What if Aidanwere telling the truth? I remembered how the castle had magically vanished at his place in Tangi and then when I met Mustafa at the castle for the first time. We were in limbo. An empty forsaken land of darkness. The castle must be enchanted, traveling from dimension to dimension.

I lost Dawn in that castle to Mustafa. My chest tightened as the visions pummeled through my mind. That was the worst moment of my life. I drew in a sharp sigh. As much as I wanted to curl up and have a good cry over my loss, I needed to keep my head clear.

I threw my legs off the bed as the pounding ache in the back of my head sharpened. My whole body throbbed. I pushed past it and focused on that mahogany door, the barrier blocking my freedom. In four strides, I had my ear against the cool wood listening. It was quiet. “Okay, so far so good!” I mumbled.

I dropped down to the floor and peered through the space under the door. I spotted a shadow, pacing back and forth. I gathered to my feet quietly with a scowl on my face. “Ugh… a guard!” I bit my bottom lip wondering if I’d be encountering a regulator or a Nephilim? First, I needed to weigh out my options before making a move. I glanced over the room. Nothing but four walls. No windows. I checked the bathroom. It was nice but nothing out of the ordinary, monogram towels, a separate shower with white marble and blue rugs and no windows either.It made sense why they put me in this room. It wasn’t an easy escape. I huffed an exasperated sigh. It looked like the only way out was the door. And I’d bet my life on it that it was heavily guarded.

Then I thought about the element of surprise. If it were going to work, I had to attack swiftly, with no hesitation. I lifted under my blouse feeling for my blades. A smile spread wide across my face. Ms. Noel once taught me an invisible spell. Good thing too! It sure came in handy. They didn’t spot my sheath of knives.

It was a shame the spell only worked on inanimate objects. If I could castthe spell on myself, I’d walk straight out of this place and no one would know the better. Sweetidea, but an impossible feat. Too bad I couldn’t shift like Aidan. That was a trick I’d kill to have. So, I had to go to plan B. Whatever the hell that might be.

I drew in a deep breath and walked back to the end of the bed and stretched my arms out focusing on the door, pushing the limits of my powers.The energy in the atmosphere sizzled. I could feel my magick boil like a pressure cooker, climbing to the surface. My essence expanded, shooting forth with mighty force like a mini volcanoobliteratingthe door into a million wooden splinters, knocking the massive guardoff his feet. A loud clunk echoed down the hallway as bloodoozed from thebeast’s head.How about that? I giggled, staring at the large stiff scaly body. It was a giant Nephilim with ashard of wood penetrating his thick skull lay sprawled on the floor.

I jumped with triumph, confident that the beast was dead as I spun on my heels to make my get-away. But when I felt my feet rumble, I stopped and turned. The beast had risen to his feet, standing a good seven feet tall and gnarling at me. He shook his massive head, knocking the splinter free from his thick skull. Sheer black fright swept through me as I gawked. He pointed his hell-hot eyes at me and with lightning speed,he wrangledme by the neckand slammed my body onto the floor. The impact knocked the breath out of me,but I had to act fast or else die. Iscrambled to my feet and shot my hands out, expecting to blast the beast to Timbuktu but nothing happened.“Shit!” I shook my hands trying to ignite the magical fire but all it did was sputter.“Freckin’ magick!”I stomped my feet in a tantrum,“Can’t depend on it for nothin’!”Swiftly moving on to the next line of offense, I commanded my steel knives to attack the beast, aiming between his black eyes. Thisrascal was one tough mother. The giant was ready to fight to the death. He swatted his burly fist at my blades, sendingthemcrashing to the wall. Continuing his attack, he twisted his dense body and then like a wrecking ball, his massivefist collided intomy stomach, sending me sailingseveral feet into the air and falling to the floor with a hard whomp. Before I could catch my breath, the Nephilim wrappedhis meaty fingersaround my neck and lifted me to eye level as drool dripped from his long, sharp snappers. “Holy shit!”Staring back into his hungry,baleful eyes, I came to a haunting realization that this fat bastard intended to eat me!

I reached out for my knives commanding them to attack. The deadly blades shot forth, piercinghis left eye. I could hear cartilage snapping as the bloody eyeball dropped down his face. Like a domino effect:the giantdropped his grip, staggered backward, fell flat on his back,shook the floor, and knocked me off my feet.

But the creature was like a cat with nine lives, springing to his feet and charging. His speed was incredibly fast that I hardly had time to think. He flew in the air and pounced on me with all fours. As I ducked and rolled underneath him, clenching my fingers around the hilt of my dagger,raised above my head, I thrust the deadly bladebetween the Nephilim’s legs,swiftly sliding out from under him.

This time, I hurt the beast as his loud squealed burst my eardrums. “Damnit!”I had to stop him before he brought down this whole place.I leaped into the air, taking my knife to his throat. The blade sliced his vocal cords stopping his screams. Crimson blood splattered the wall and my face and clothes. The giant fell like a fallen tree crashing to the ground. His body jerked as he lay on his back asbloodpooled around his whale body. Gurgling sounds emerged as hesuffocated from his own blood. Seconds later, hestilled.

I stood raking in air as my eyes washed over the giant. How much I’d changed in these last three years. I was turning into one cold bitch. I felt no remorse. Strangely, I delighted in his kill. That was one less evil bastard hurting innocent folks.

Moving along, I coiledthe corner, noticing a black cape and mask on a small table. I smirked. Anonymity wasn’t such a bad idea. I quickly snatched the items and slipped them on. I pulled the hood down over my head, trying to hide my hair. The mask would take care of my face. The disguise might work. I could blend in with all the other cloaks. I needed to act fast and get as far from this area as possible.

Then it hit me thatI couldn’t leave the bloody Nephilimfor everyone’s eyes. Once a guard spotted him, he’d alert the whole house that I’d escaped. I went back to where I’d left the giant now saturated in his blood. Judging by his monstrous size, he was too heavy for me to drag. Then my gaze dropped to the crimson saturated carpet.Blood was everywhere, streaking the walls and ceiling.

My mind began to churn… if an inanimate object could become invisible, then a dead person had to be considered as one of those stiff objects. I looked in both directions of the hall. No sign of anyone coming. I leaned over the smelly creature, not touching the blood that enwreathed him. God, he reeked!

I took a second to relax and I spoke a soft flow of words, “Let this object hide from sight, veiled behind the light, where it might go unnoticed passing through the night.” I repeated the same spell on the blood that had grown cold and still and the broken door.

After I finished all three objects, the Nephilim, the blood, and the door, there were no visible signs of a disturbance. The wooden door looked as it had before. An illusion. Though, it wasn’t forever. Any minute someone could walk down this hall and stumble over the giant's body or try to open the door, my illusion would be discovered. I planned to be gone by then. With any luck, I hoped the spell would last long enough for me to find Jeffery and Dom and blow this joint.

I hurried along down the hall, listening at each door. I softly whispered out Dom and Jeffery’s name but no one answered. I remembered the doors were soundproof. I dropped to my knees looking under the door for a shadow, any movement at all.But I came up empty-handed. Desperation was starting to get under my skin.

I turned the corner and entered a spacious lobby. I paused for a second recovering my shock, raking my gaze over the room. One thing f’sure... money didn’t buy class.

The room reeked of cigars and sex. Glowing Candles flickered heavily in the swirl ofgray smoke. It had man-cave stamped all over it. Deep Mahogany wood, crystal chandeliers, and topless women wore nothing but a thong while parading trays of flutes filled to the brim with what looked like champagne.

Adorned with their black mask, the men hid their faces. A nice feature to their costume or lack of. I continued to walk through the establishment. Each room looked like the next, men smoking cigars and taking liberties with the women. The men didn’t seem to care if others watched.

Depraved much?

I made a point to look the other way. Not a sideshow I particularly wanted to watch. Why would any womansubject herself to such degradation? Did they do this for food or a position among the elite? Whatever their reason might be, I hoped it was worth it. I’d rather die than let anyone of these disgusting pigs put their paws on me. I reckonedthe women might not have a choice. Perhaps they were like me. Captured and held captive against their will.

When I entered another open room, one girl caught my eye. She stood out among the rest withlong, blonde hair,glistening in the candlelight. The way she carried her shoulders seemed familiar to me. Then she glanced at me and I gawked. I knew this girl…it was Gina!Holy shit! She was a prostitute! Gina didn’t have the cleanest rep in school, but I knew she had too much pride to stoop this low. Now I had to somehow get these girls out of here. That wasn’t going to be easy. They were mostly naked and if I counted correctly, there had to be at least twenty girls. Guards were standing at every exit too. Crap!

I had to get Gina’s attention. The last thing I wanted was to stir the nest. I casually walked up,hiding my face, and whispered in her ear. “Come with me.” I tried deepening my voice like a man. I did a pathetic job at it too. Luckily, only she could hear me.

She replied as if she was reciting lines from a bad play. “Yes. Shall I invite any of the other girls, sir?”

Damn! Had The Family turned her into Robo-chick? “No. Just you,” I whispered curtly.I started for another room and she followed behind me. The girl’s movements reminded me of someone under a trance. Though her cheeks were not hollow like the street people, she carried that same empty stare as they held.

I hoped she snapped out of it. I wasn’t sure how I’d manage to get her out safely. I reckonedI’d figure it out as I go. Not a soundproof plan but it would have to do. Rescuing one girl was tough but twenty would be impossible without reinforcement. And where I saw it, I was the only reinforcement left. Boy, us girls were screwed.

I found an empty room down a long narrow hall. I quickly ushered her inside and shut the door. Strangely, she went straight for the bed and began to tug off her thong. Gross! I sprinted to her side, “No, no! I didn’t call you in here for that! Put your… that cloth back on.” I lowered my eyes, totally grossed out.

“Have I disappointed you?” She stared at me blank-faced.

“You are not disappointing me. I’m a friend.” I pulled off my hoodie and mask, hoping I’d jarred her memory.

Her eyes orbed in sheer fear and she started to scream. I lunged, slapping my hand across her mouth to muffle her protest. “Shush! I’m here to help you.” I waited a moment to let it sink in her thick skull. “If I take my hand away are you going to scream?”

She shook her head no, but her eyes remained glossed with fright. I had to talk to her and I had to trust that she trusted me even in her state of mind. I eased my hand off and she stood there quiet but trembling. I pulled my cape off and wrapped it around her, sitting back down on the bed. Gina sat there staring off into space. What had these devils done to this girl? It wouldn’t be hard to guess that the other women were in the same state of fog.