Descent - Tara Fuller Page 0,52

in exchange for hiding us out, there was too much for him to lose. Which meant this place wasn’t safe anymore.

“How did you find us?” I finally asked.

“You’ve been dragging an angel through Hell with you,” he said, drily. “You’re not exactly flying under the radar.”

“I was careful.”

“Yeah?” He raised a brow. “Not careful enough. That little succubus downstairs is singing your praises as we speak. Can’t stop talking about the reaper that tastes like an angel. You’re lucky I got up here first, because she’s getting them all riled up down there.”

Guilt and regret were like lead weights piling up inside me.

“She gave me a lead,” I said, not recognizing the sound of my own voice.

“So you let her feed on you?” Scout asked. “Jesus, man, this isn’t you. What is going on with you?”

I ground my teeth together, despising the shame I felt. “I did what I had to do. End of story.”

“You let her feed on you?” a small voice asked from the crumbling bathroom doorway. My stomach dropped, and Scout’s eyes widened as he spun around to get a look at the angel behind him. Gwen stepped into the room when I didn’t answer. She’d know if I lied. My heart gave a hard kick against my ribs, making sure I felt what I was about to do to her. I’d spent days protecting her from a world full of sharp edges and nightmares and none of it mattered. In the end, I was going to be the one to hurt this girl.

“Yes.”

“H-how?” She folded her arms across her chest. “How did she feed on you?”

“You know how they feed, Red,” I combed my hair back off my forehead with my fingers and looked away. “I had to kiss her.”

“When?” Her voice quivered, giving away the hurt inside. The hurt I caused. I fought the urge to fall to my knees and beg her to forgive me. Her hating me would be better. Loving me…it would be her end if I let it go on.

“Last night.”

There. It was out there. I was an asshole. I’d kissed someone else. Let Gwen suffer to give me an ember of her light…and then gave it away. I allowed that cold, dead leech of a creature to suck it right out of me. Gwen’s eyes flashed with pain, and she took a rough step back.

“After…” She closed her eyes, and a tear trickled past her lashes and down her cheek. “After we…you…”

After her very first kiss…

“After you what?” Scout looked back and forth between us. “Oh, holy fu—”

“Shut up, Scout!” I kept my gaze on Gwen. She flinched at the sound of my voice, driving a new needle of pain through my heart.

“Look…I’m all for you pulling the stick out of your ass and finding a girl, but…” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Balthazar’s daughter? If he finds out about this…if he doesn’t already know…you’re finished. You get that, right?”

I met his gaze head-on, and something in my eyes made him back away. “You think I don’t know that?”

Gwen rushed forward, stopping herself before she touched me. “No! You don’t understand. It was all me. I kissed him. He didn’t want to. He doesn’t even like me. He doesn’t like anyone. You of all people should know that.”

“Normally, I’d believe you, but the fact that he’s here with you speaks volumes.” His gaze raked over Gwen, taking in the black leather, her glowing skin, and the brilliant red hair falling loose around her face. His gaze dropped to the shard of glass in her hand, and he smirked. “Can’t say that I blame him. Good girls gone bad are pretty hot.”

When her cheeks flushed, an involuntary growling sound erupted from me. Before I could rein in the sudden flash of anger, I shoved Scout across the room and stabbed my finger in his chest.

“Don’t ever talk about her like that. Ever.”

Scout looked at me with wary eyes and slowly held his palms up in surrender.

“Jesus, man… I’m sorry. Okay.” He looked at Gwen. “I’m sorry.”

“What does Balthazar want?” I asked.

“What do you think he wants, Einstein? He wants both of you. Like yesterday. You were supposed to scare her into running home. Not kidnap her.”

Gwen looked up at me, eyes pleading. “What about Tyler? We can’t just leave him. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

She was right. Neither of us would ever be at peace if we gave up on him when we were this close. I returned