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Hell’s Right Hand was defeated, and the King of Hell was furious.
What should have been a great victory for the angels was tainted with the revelation of a traitor in their midst. A traitor Jezebel had been tasked with tracking down.
Jezebel wanted to be proud of herself for receiving such an assignment, but the extra attention only made her nervous. Being in the spotlight made it that much easier to get caught, and she herself was far from innocent. So it didn’t help when her secret lover stubbornly insisted on joining her hunt, despite the risk.
Technically, Redd’s job was to spy on the angels. But his priorities had long ago shifted in ways no self-respecting demon would normally admit to, and the idea of his angel chasing after a violent traitor without backup was unacceptable. He didn’t care about the risk—he’d face that problem if it caught up to them.
Chances were good, running around together in the light of day, all their secrets would be exposed.
Before he could ask about it, she was sitting upright and pulling herself from his arms. “You don’t need to worry about me,” she said. “He may be an angel, but I won’t hesitate.”
He didn’t know why her answer made him angry. It shouldn’t have. Redd swung to his feet as she materialized a fresh outfit for herself, dressing his own body as he stalked back into her space. “The fuck you won’t. You think I don’t know you? You’ll want to talk him down. You’ll want to trust his word when he swears it’s just the two of you in the room. You’ll leave your sword sheathed because you can’t even see his.”
Her brows leapt up her forehead, but she didn’t step away from him. “Excuse me? Are you saying I’m incompetent?”
Redd growled low in his throat. “No, Jez. I’m saying you have a good heart, and he’s already seen it. A bastard like that won’t hesitate to take any advantage.” He grabbed her hands, needing her to see what he was trying to say, needing to keep her there with him. “After what he did, that asshole’s more of a demon than I am.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Yet you think I would not draw my sword on such a monster.”
“I’m saying you need me on this, Jezebel.”
Her upper body reared back as shock widened her features. “What?” Her hands held tight to his. “Redd, this is angel business. You can’t—”
“I already started,” he said, forcing his tone to lighten in the hopes it would calm her. “I had to do something with myself when you chased me off the other day.”
Jezebel yanked her hands from his. “Well, you have to stop! If you involve yourself in this and get caught, I won’t be able to save you. It could mean the end for both of us!”
Redd dragged in a deep breath. Despite everything they’d shared, true confessions of whatever they were feeling was a line they hadn’t crossed. He didn’t want to put one more burden on her shoulders than she could handle. He didn’t want to, but maybe it was time. Apparently, he’d been too subtle the night before. “I’m not sitting back and letting you run off by yourself, chasing after some violent piece of shit who might be working directly for him.”
Jezebel froze. “Is that … what you learned?”
Redd closed the distance between them again and cupped her face in his palms. “I’d call it an unreliable source, but probably the part about some degree of connection between the two is true.” He kissed her lips and gentled his voice. “I can’t lose you, Jez. You wouldn’t be proud of what I’d become if I lost you.”
She sighed quietly. “I do hear you.” Her palms rested on his chest. “But the risk, Redd…”
“You can leave here on your own, but if we’re both pursuing the same dirtbag, sooner or later we’ll end up in the same place.” It really was a crazy suggestion. Far crazier, even, than a secret information-sharing alliance-turned-love-affair with an angel. It wouldn’t be hard for them to be caught, on some level, because when he was near her, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
But the other thing was also true. If she fell, she’d take what goodness he’d cultivated with her. He wouldn’t just go back to being a directionless pawn in someone else’s chess game. Redd feared he would regress all the way back to the beast he had once been…
Jezebel gave him a pleading look that only made him want to peel her pretty new dress off her body. “You’re not going to give me a choice, are you?”
He smirked and moved his hands to her hips. “Of course I am. Next time we get naked, you can choose the starting position.”
