I approached from behind without them detecting me—so much for the Angels being the top of the food chain. I could have taken their heads without them ever knowing who did it, but the boys were busy. The Angels were far too occupied rating the women and talking about bagging them. They were celestial pigs and that was beyond fabulous with me.

“What a lovely surprise to see two such handsome, divine studs sitting in the audience,” I whispered from behind them, making both of them jump in surprise. “Must be my lucky day.”

Whipping their heads around, they relaxed when they recognized me. First dumb move on their part.

“Ahhh,” Azriel purred as his eyes lit with sexual interest. “It’s the gorgeous one. I was hoping to see you again without that tiresome Vamp in tow.”

“Yes, well, here I am,” I said, leaning forward so they got a nice view of the girls.

“So it appears the showdown will happen tonight,” Azbogah said with his eyes glued to my cleavage.

“I know,” I said with a vapid giggle. “I’m so excited.”

I bounced in my chair and their heads bounced in rhythm with my jiggling breasts. Pig was too nice a description for these two Heavenly horn-dogs.

“I was hoping I could ask a favor from you,” I said with another silly giggle. Inwardly I cringed at my stupid girl act, but the boys were buying it.

“Favors require payments,” Azriel said with a smile that verged on a leer.

“Of course.” I twisted a curl with my finger and ran my tongue over my lips. I had them right where I wanted them. “But I’d like to make it more interesting.”

“Go on, pretty Vampyre,” Azbogah said, indulging me with a condescending smile that made it clear he thought I was an idiot.

Second dumb move on their part…

“I’ll bet you couldn’t seduce one of the gals on stage and get a promise for a date after the show tonight,” I challenged casually with a sexy little squeal thrown in for good measure.

“This is too easy,” Azriel muttered under his breath with a covert glance to Azbogah. “And if I can? Do I get to seduce you too, my lovely thing?”

I was not his thing. I was no one’s thing. However, I nodded and demurely let my chin drop to my chest. “Yes,” I whispered in a sultry tone.

“I take it that it would turn you on to watch me with another first?” Azriel suggested, getting excited.

God, men were so easy. “Yes,” I said softly. “It would make me, um… very aroused.”

“And let’s just say, for the purpose of the game, that I lose?” Azriel inquired cockily, clearly believing I was a pretty gal without a brain cell in my head.

“Then you will grant me a favor,” I replied, running my hands down my body.

“Deal,” he said, ignoring the calculated look Azbogah had thrown my way.

Azbogah was clearly the smarter one, but I only needed one oversexed idiot to get what I needed.

“Pick one,” Azriel said, openly adjusting the large erection in his pants. “I can get any of them.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, egging him on.

“Positive,” he assured me with a smarmy wink.

“Azriel,” Azbogah warned only to be ignored by his buddy.

“Do you like that one?” I asked pointing to Ginny-Gareth. “I think that one is gorgeous.”

Azriel’s overconfident laugh made me bite down on the inside of my cheek. “Had my eye on that one already. Two minutes,” he promised. “I’ll bag that beauty in two minutes.”

“Do it,” I squealed and let my girls bounce in agreement.

The Angel practically flew to the stage to conquer his prey. Holding back my laughter was difficult, but I was still seated with Azbogah.

“You just set the randy bastard up didn’t you?” he accused with a put upon sigh, staring at me with admiration in his eyes.

“Yep,” I said, letting go of the vapid girl persona I’d adopted.

“Are you sure there’s no way in Hell he’ll get that one?” Azbogah asked skeptically. “He is quite the ladies’ man—and he is an Angel.”

“It’s the ladies’ man part that will be a problem for him,” I explained as I reached into Gareth’s bag with my right hand and pulled out the rope of silver.

“Interesting,” Azbogah said as we both watched Ginny knee the aggressive Angel in the balls and then land an outstanding punch to his nose. The blood spurted everywhere as Azriel grabbed his face and shrieked.

I was quite positive that Azriel wanted to smite Ginny-Gareth where he-she stood, but the room was crowded with Vamps who were now all freaking out over the melee on stage.

“Well, aren’t you as crafty as you are beautiful,” Azbogah commented as he watched his cohort get his ass handed to him.

“But wait… there’s more. And in three… two… one,” I said as Sunny fucking exploded in a rage and literally flew across the stage and attacked Azriel.

The Angel was now being pummeled by about thirty pissed off Vampyres. It was every kind of awesome. He had to lay there and take it or else reveal what he was. I knew there was no way in Hell he was allowed to show his wings. Roberto liked his Angels to work undercover and from the tales I’d heard the punishment for revealing oneself was horrifying.

Azbogah turned away from the beat-down of his partner on the stage and placed his laser sharp focus on me. Titling his head to the side, he grinned. “And what is it that you want?”

Lifting the silver up, I handed it to him. His look in his eyes was the only evidence he was shocked I could handle the metal—the rest of him stayed very still.

“Bless this. I need it.”

“That’s all you wanted?” he asked with a chuckle of disbelief. “You could have gotten this without humiliating Azriel. He won’t take kindly to being made a fool of.”

“Wasn’t sure with you guys,” I told him with a shrug of indifference and a sinking feeling in my gut. It wasn’t a picnic to be on the bad side of an Angel, but that was the least of my problems right now. “Will you do it?”

“Don’t seem to have much of a choice seeing as how we lost the bet,” he replied, annoyed. “When do you need it?”

“Now.”

“Pushy little Vamp, aren’t you?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“May I ask you a question?” Azbogah inquired.

“If you bless the silver now, yes you may,” I shot back.

His laugh of appreciation at my tactics warmed me, but he was a dangerous being, and I knew it. Azbogah could end me with a flick of his fingers. We were on the same side this time luckily for me so I hoped I’d make it out of the conversation in one piece.

“I will.” He nodded and glanced back at the commotion on the stage.

Sunny had Azriel by the ear and was marching him out of the auditorium swearing at him profusely. Gareth stood on the stage with his focus glued to me and Azbogah. He’d kept his word about not getting involved, but he was watching like a hawk.

“Why were you so sure that the female Vamp would deny Azriel?”

“She doesn’t go for men,” I replied easily.

“She’s a lesbian?”

“No. Not at all. She’s a man.”

Azbogah’s belly laugh drew a few stares, but most eyes were still cemented to the Sunny and Azriel show. He turned and stared at the stunning woman on the stage who was shooting daggers from her eyes. “It’s Gareth,” Azbogah whispered with a hard won respect in his voice. “That bastard will stop at nothing.”

“First off, he’s not a bastard,” I informed him with a raised brow. “He’s legitimate and he’s mine.”

“Lucky bas… man,” Azbogah said with a grin, taking the silver into his large hands and closing his eyes.

He muttered quietly in a language that sounded a bit like Latin with a magically musical flair. He held the silver low to the floor and it glowed brilliantly as the words tumbled melodically from his lips. The air surrounding us crackled and sparked a bit, but the focus was thankfully not on us.

Azbogah’s magic was mesmerizing and all-enveloping—warm and liquid soft. It would be incredibly easy to get lost in the enchantment of an Angel. I felt sad and empty when he finished. Handing me the silver and grabbing his cell at the same time. He quickly read the message and hissed out a curse.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, alarmed.

He glanced at me in assessment for a beat and then smiled a vicious smile. “Roberto has located Rachmiel. Azriel and I are needed. I’d suggest you and your girlfriend get Vlad tonight. Rachmiel is a slippery one and holding onto him to break the curse will be a challenge.”

My insides buzzed and I tucked the blessed silver back into the bag with care. This was very good news.

“Thank you,” I told him as he stood to go. “And tell Azriel I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” he asked with a lopsided grin that made the man breathtaking.

“Nope, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?”

“Good luck little Vampyre. May God be with you.”

On that note, he disappeared into thin air leaving only a small blast of glitter behind.

One thing down and a whole shitload more to go.

* * *

“I didn’t like watching that one bit,” Gareth growled. “It took all I had not to kill him.”

“Which one?” I asked with an innocent grin. “Azriel or Azbogah?”

“Both,” he muttered.

“Didn’t it feel nice to rack an Angel?” I prodded him.

Shaking his head and laughing begrudgingly, he narrowed his eyes at me in fun. “Yes, it was very satisfying to place his testicles in his esophagus, but I saw them eyeing your chest. That’s my chest. They are not allowed to ogle it. Ever.”

“Hush now, boy,” Martha said. “You got your own titties. Venus got that dang silver blessed and that’s gonna burn the mother humping Hell out of Vlad. I say she did some fine fucking work.”

Gareth was speechless at being spoken to that way by Martha, but the old woman was correct—wildly disrespectful—but correct. I did do good work and Gareth did have his own set of temporary girls.

Biting back my smirk with tremendous effort I told him, “Azriel thought you were hot.”

“And now I’m simply ill and appalled,” Gareth griped. “My boobs don’t even help.”

Tiara and Claudia approached and moved our little group to the far side of the stage, away from the still panicky contestants and handlers. From the way the gals were practicing, you’d think the prize was for Queen of the World.

“Sunny wants Claudia to meet with Vlad before the pageant,” Tiara said in a tight voice.

The Fairy-Demon-Vampyre was holding on by a thread. I admired her control, but knew it wouldn’t take much for her to snap.

“Where?” Gareth demanded.

“In the Green Room,” Claudia whispered.

“Green Room?” I asked. There were entirely too many terms I didn’t understand.

“The waiting room,” Jane explained. “It was the huge room with all the couches and a chandelier we passed on the way to the dressing room that you did the nasty with Gareth—I mean, Ginny—in.”

“She did it with Gareth, not Ginny,” Martha said. “Pretty sure Venus is straight.”

We all ignored them. If we commented, they’d continue. We had no time for that.

“What time?” Gareth asked, checking the time on his phone.

“Six,” Tiara confirmed. “Pageant is supposed to start at seven thirty.”

“Will Sunny be there?” I asked, trying to get as much intel as possible.

Tiara shrugged. “She didn’t say. I tried to volunteer to greet him as well and was told absolutely not. Claudia was to go alone.”

“That sure as Hell won’t be happening,” Gareth said sharply. “Are there windows in the room?”

“Not sure,” Jane said.

“Jane and Martha, come with me. We’re going to case the room and all the exits. Venus, stay with Claudia and Tiara, and see if you can get anything else out of Sunny,” Gareth directed as he began to cross the stage with the old coots on his heels.

“Dude’s bossy,” Tiara commented with a shadow of a smile.

“You have no idea,” I replied. “Let’s go bug Sunny.”

“Umm… we have incoming,” Claudia whispered, referring to all five of the D’s approaching us menacingly. They were every kind of perfect in their glittery, figure-fitting, very short dresses. I almost laughed, but the expressions on their collectively beautiful faces implied that the D’s meant business.

Help us all, I really didn’t have time for this shit. “What the Hell now?” I said with a groan.

“We’d like a word with you, new girl,” the D with the biggest rack snarled.

They all had big racks but this one defied gravity.

I rolled my eyes and didn’t even try to disguise my laugh. This gal had no clue the can of whoop ass she’d just opened up. I was a ticking time bomb and this dumbass was carrying a lit match.

“I have a name,” I said with a polite smile that didn’t reach my eyes.

“Don’t need to bother with niceties seeing as you aren’t going to be around much longer,” one of the D’s boasted loudly to the amusement of her buddies.

“Why don’t we go backstage for our little chat,” I suggested flatly, trying not to stare as their breasts bounced in rhythm with their laughter.

“Very good idea,” another D snapped and cracked her knuckles ominously.

“You need backup?” Tiara whispered, clearly in the mood to beat the hell out of someone.

“Nope, but I do like an audience,” I said. “A little tension relief would be a good warm up for later.”

“Damn,” Claudia said so quietly I had to lean in. “I wish I had some popcorn. This is gonna be good.”

“You can eat food?” I asked shocked and jealous.

“No, but popcorn would make me feel like I was at the movies.”

“Move it, new bitch. We’ve got a message to give you,” the apparent leader of the D’s hissed.

“Can’t wait,” I said with a small smile that I hoped appeared scared.

It did. The vapid gals laughed and pushed me into the wings.