Free My Avenging Angel by Madelyn Ford

will do as ordered, my—”
    “No,” Michael hastily interrupted. “I am asking this as a special favor. For me.”
    A slow smile spread across Zadkiel’s face. “You know, this is the first time you’ve ever asked for my help.”
    “And hopefully the last,” he mumbled under his breath. “I’m sure you’ll see you are suitably compensated.”
    “Let’s just say you’ll owe me,” Zadkiel said with a chuckle. “You are not the first to find his mate and I’m sure you won’t be the last. I might need that favor someday.”
    Michael snorted. God forbid Zadkiel mate. He needed someone he trusted to retain their faculties. This whole mating business drew a male to the edge of insanity. He’d been breaking one covenant after another since he’d first set eyes on Tory.
    A weight lifted from Michael’s shoulders as Zadkiel faded from sight. It was good to know someone had his back. Once upon a time, it would have been Gabriel riding shotgun.
    With a sigh, he decided it was best not to think about Gabriel right now. Tory should awaken soon. Maybe later he could find a way to mend the cosmic gap between him and Gabriel, but for now Tory was his one and only priority.
     

Chapter Nine
    Asmodeus paced the tiny confines of his chamber, hissing in frustration. The bitch still lived. Why? He should be free. Why was she not dead?
    It wasn’t from lack of trying on his part. He’d stabbed the bitch enough. But she’d continued to hang on. And then that sanctimonious bastard, Michael, had appeared. Michael. What the hell was he doing showing up? He never involved himself in the workings of humans. It was like a cardinal rule or something.
    Ripping a hand through his hair, Asmodeus still couldn’t get over the shock. The fucking archangel Michael. He was growing weak. That’s why the son of a bitch had almost caught him. He’d known he would grow to regret letting the witch in Chicago live, but he’d been in such a hurry, thinking the end was within his grasp. Well, there was nothing else to do but find another meal. Something to last him several days. Then he would return and finish the job.
    That drew a smile to his face. Yes, kill the bitch.
    He came to a sudden halt, it finally hitting him. The look on Michael’s face just before he’d fled. The anguish. The fear. It was what had struck him wrong. Michael cared about the woman. She was important to him.
    Could it be that easy? Could he possibly kill two birds with one stone?
    If he could defeat the mighty Michael… Oh, how Lucifer would reward him. He’d set Asmodeus up as his right-hand man. And without Michael around there would be no one to stop them. They’d take their rightful places on Earth. As gods. Corralling the humans like cattle, feasting on their souls until they were too full to move.
    Then Lucifer would be next. If he could wipe out Michael, what was stopping him from going all the way and taking over Hell? He’d be it . King of Hell.
    Yes. King was good. Very good.
     

Chapter Ten
    Tory woke, panic rolling through her, chagrined when she was unable to recall the reason. She couldn’t even remember how she’d ended up in bed. The clock on the nightstand read eight, which was obviously a.m. given the amount of sunlight flooding the bedroom.
    Wait. How did it get to be daylight? The last thing Tory remembered was darkness had just fallen and Michael was leaving…but he was worried…about something. A demon?
    Yes. That was it. A demon.
    Tory jerked upright, the memory of the attack crashing over her. The demon’s damn sword had pierced her flesh over and over again. She’d never in her life encountered anything so painful. Not even when, at the age of twelve, she’d seriously botched up a spell and set her pants on fire.
    This time though, the culprit hadn’t been a tiny little fire one of the stooges could put out with a great gust of wind. No, the sword had plunged into her, shredding major organs and destroying her from the inside