The Fire Within by Dana Marie Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

laid.”
    “I’m afraid not.” Gabriel sighed wearily. “And until he returns, both Sasha and Gio are unavailable for patrol.”
    “Meaning we need to step up our game.” Dante shot Seth a sympathetic look. The man’s wife was due to pop out a baby soon, and his life would change dramatically.
    “Abby understands.” Seth smiled softly.
    Of course Abby did, but that was beside the point. “If you need some time, we could work with Eli.” Someone would have to partner with him, and Dante was willing to look after him. Hell, it was better than pairing him with Piotr. Only Micah was willing to work with him, the Cambion making everyone else far too nervous. The cold son of a bitch would turn on them someday, Dante just knew it.
    “We’ll see.” But from his expression Seth wasn’t planning on going anywhere.
    “Dante.” He turned to find Gabriel’s penetrating gaze focused on him. “Tell me about the latest killing. It was an Azar?”
    Dante paled. “You don’t think—”
    Gabriel shook his head immediately. “No, I don’t. Rafe hasn’t turned.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “I am, Dante. If Rafe was lost to us, I would know.”
    He was reassured by the serene certainty in the archangel’s voice. “Thank you, Gabriel.”
    “The Azar, Dante.”
    He filled Gabriel in on what Elizabeth had seen, the bloody wound in the victim’s chest, the green miasma around the kill. “I think it was an interrupted Azar attack. The shape of the wound and the way the body was mutilated makes me think he was planning on eating her heart.” Dante shivered. Blech.
    “And this human, this Elizabeth Rand. What of her?”
    “I can answer that.” Seth came out of the kitchen, having gone to refill his mug. “Beth knows what I am, what the Shem are. She’s the one who killed that Chameleon, remember?”
    Gabriel focused once more on Dante. “Good. Work with her. Keep her safe. It’s possible the death of the Chameleon has put her on their radar. I won’t lose someone who protected one of our own.”
    “Shit. You think he attacked the victim outside Elizabeth’s place of work because he wanted her to find the body.” He cursed under his breath. Humans didn’t kill Shem. It was always the other way around. Such a thing could fascinate the Shem, cause them to try and find out how she’d managed to take one of them. It was the very thing he’d been terrified of all along.
    “And as I doubt the good P.I. will simply sit back and allow you to protect her...” Gabriel’s voice trailed off.
    Merda. Gabriel was right. Elizabeth would rush in where angels feared to tread. That urge to protect her solidified into something more, something deeply tied to the attraction he’d tried to deny for months. The Shem would not touch a hair on her head. Not on Dante’s watch. “I’ll take care of her.”
    In more ways than one.
    * * *
    Beth was going to wind up in jail for murder.
    “...and so I said, Marge, I said, if he really, really loved you, don’t you think he’d call or something?” The blonde flipped her hair in the classic bimbo move. “And she said...”
    Candace “Call me Candy” Grahame was a petite woman with a greedy, sparkling blue gaze that devoured anything that looked like office gossip. She ate it up with a hunger Beth reserved for Sam’s homemade peanut butter brownies. Unlike Beth’s adoration of chocolate peanut-butter goodness, Candy was willing to share with anyone who stopped in front of her long enough for her to open her mouth.
    Candy was also the victim’s secretary. If anyone knew what was going on in Mrs. Blake’s office, it should have been her. Which explained why Beth’s feet were currently nailed to the floor, listening to the inane chatter of the Queen of Candyland.
    Why she was at the receptionist’s desk instead of in the back room, Beth didn’t know. She just wished the blabbermouth would shut up for two seconds so Beth could ask a god damn question.
    “...and he was holding