"Stay here." The raspiness of his voice embarrassed him. He didn't mind if othersand even Danika herselfknew he desired her. There was no hiding that fact. What he did mind was anyone knowing the intensity of that desire. The knowledge could be used against him.
"Why can't I go farther?" she asked.
He was pleased to note her voice shook.
"I want to see him first, discover if his mood has changed since I left him." And check to see if his wrists had healed and were no longer in danger of detaching, but Reyes didn't add that part. "If he's relatively calm, you may approach the bars. You will not enter the cell at any time. Understand?"
"Yes."
"You may ask him questions, but do not insult him and incite hiswrath."
"Okay! I get it. Stay back, ask nicely. Just get on with it already."
He didn't. He remained in place. "When you see him, do not be afraid. I will not allow anything bad to happen to you."
"Yeah, and tomorrow I'll count to infinity. Twice. If you don't move this along, I'm going to snap."
Reyes peered over at Lucien, who was watching him with a hard expression. "Stay with her. Please."
At that, Danika growled. He didn't think she was angry that he wanted her guarded and didn't trust her to take care of herself. She truly had reached the breaking point and needed answers.
Lucien nodded.
Reyes pivoted away from them. More than he wanted to take his next breath, he wanted to look at Danika, to reassure her, comfort her. Hold her. But one glance at her, and he would not be able to stop himself from doing all of those things. He would not be able to leave her.
Fisting a blade in one hand and the cell key in the other, he unlocked the door. The hinges creaked as the metal parted. Creaked again as he closed the door. Aeron crouched against the far wall, steeped in shadows. He ceased mumbling the moment he spied Reyes.
Reyes studied his friend, hoping to find signs of the warrior he'd once been, not the monster he'd become. Eyesstill dilated and hungry. Teethstill sharpened and bared. Still a monster, then, but also a man Reyes loved. The tattoos that covered Aeron from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet were familiar.
Reyes didn't know why Aeron had tattooed himself with colorful depictions of things he probably wished he'd never done: killing, mutilating, destroying. Reyes had never asked, and Aeron had never volunteered the information. Some things were simply too painful to talk about. That he knew very well.
"Leave," Aeron barked.
The command was not slurred or layered with the voice of his demon, and Reyes blinked in surprise. Had the warrior's bloodlust faded, even slightly?
"You are lucid now, I see." A glance at the bound man's wrists, and Reyes saw that they were mostly healed. "You were crazed when Lucien and I appeared in the cave. I'm sorry if I hurt you trying to get you here."
"Free me. I have a job to do."
"Two weeks ago, you were grateful to be restrained. You hated what you'd been ordered to do and begged me to kill you."
"Grateful no longer." Aeron shifted, his legs inching closer to his chest. "Those women need to die."
No, the bloodlust had not left him. "So they still live? All four?" Tension radiated from Danika and enveloped him. There was distance between them, yes, but still he felt that blistering tension.
Guilt flashed in Aeron's eyes. Guiltboth beautiful and terrible. Beautiful because it meant Aeron was still inside that mind, still fighting. Terrible because it probably meant oneor moreof the women were already dead.
Reyes's skin pulled tight against his bones, and he held back a disappointed groan. He'd desperately yearned for good news. Now, he could only pray there was a survivor. "Aeron. Tell me about the women."
Silence.
"Please," he said, ready to beg if necessary.
Again, silence.
No, not silence, he realized a moment later. In the background, there was a soft but menacing growl.
"Answer him!" Danika shouted.
Aeron stilled, even stopped breathing. His eyes glazed over, glowing with crimson rage that overshadowed any hint of guilt. Then, without warning, he sprang forward. His wings popped from the slits in his back, black gossamer that ripped away the remaining tatters of his shirt and expanded across the entire cell. Their razor-sharp points scratched at the walls.
Reyes held his ground. Aeron wanted to lash out, so he would allow Aeron to lash out at him. Better him than Danika.
The chain around Aeron's neck jerked taut, placing the warrior inches from Reyes's face. So close a sulfur-laced breeze caressed him. He'd been so near hell, he would reek of its scent for days. Reyes almost wished his demon had not remembered how to get there, allowing him to bury Aeron in the first place.
"Girl," Aeron shouted. His hands snaked around Reyes's neck and squeezed tight. "Want her."
"Mine," Reyes managed to push past his lips. "Tell me about her family."
"Die!"
"Tell me."
He heard Danika gasp. Thought he heard Lucien shout a terse warning.
"Tell me." The plea was barely audible. He dropped his knife, unwilling to use it on his friend to save himself, and clutched Aeron's wrists. If this was needed to get answers out of Aeron, this he would allow.
But all too soon, the feeling of Aeron's hands squeezing tighter and tighter, harder and harder, became too good. The pain was too intoxicating. His demon purred happily.
More.
"She must die," Aeron snarled.
"She'sinnocent."
"Doesn't matter."
"Once it would have." Before Reyes could add anything else, his mind fogged, dizziness rushing through him like the ocean to the shore.
You have to protect Danika. As he pried Aeron's hands off him, his windpipe shattered, a thousand needle pricks in his throat. Oxygen could not get through. Blood laced with the bone shards and swept them into his stomach; along the way, they cut everything they encountered.
This was going to kill him. For a little while, anyway.
His eyes closed in bliss, but his mind screamed in denial.
"HELP HIM!" Danika shouted to Lucien. She gripped the prison's bars, cold all the way to her soul. Colder than ever before. Right now, she couldn't see Reyes. Not even a glimpse. Aeron, the bastard, had him wrapped in those lethal black wings. "Help him." None of her instructors had prepared her for demons attacking other demons, and she didn't know what to do. "Please."
"He'll survive." Lucien withdrew a gun from the waist of his pants, checked the magazine.
"No one could survive that," she said, eyeing the weapon. Her first thought was that he meant to shoot her. Her second, that he would have done so already if that had been his plan.
"Aeron, let him go," Lucien called.
"No!" the warrior roared.
A moment passed. Lucien stiffened, muttered, "What is that thing?" and withdrew a bullet from his pocket. He slid the lethal ball into the gun's chamber.
Danika was shaking violently, couldn't stop. "What if you accidentally hit Reyes?" She wanted Reyeswhat? Alive, yes. Unhurt, definitely. He had protected her two weeks ago, had taken the brunt of Aeron's rage today, and now she would protect him. At the moment, he was her only lifeline. At least, that's what she told herself. That had to be the reason he suddenly mattered to her.
"As I said, he'll survive."
Would he, though? He was immortal, he was a demon, but was he completely immune to strangulation and bullets? Every time she'd seen Reyes, he'd been cut and bleeding. Clearly, he could be injured. And what if Aeron attempted to cut off his head while he was incapacitated? Stefano had told her that decapitation was the surest way to kill an immortal permanently. Tacking on that "surest" meant there were other ways to kill them.
Her wild gaze locked on Aeron, who most likely still had a death grip on Reyes. The enraged warrior was unmoving now, head bowed, no sound emerging from him. Oh, God. What did that mean? "Justjust let me distract him. I'll get him away from Reyes, then you can shoot Aeron."
Hinges creaked as she opened the barred door.
Lucien grabbed her arm, stopping her. "The gun isn't for Aeron." He motioned to a corner of the cell with a tilt of his chin.
Danika followed the line of his vision. There, in the corner, was a thin, waist-highthing. Her eyes widened in shock. Green scales covered its naked body. Its teeth were long like sabers, saliva dripping from them, and its ears were pointed. Bright red eyes glowed as Aeron's had glowed just before he'd attacked Reyes.
"To my knowledge, I didn't flash the creature here," Lucien said. "It is not our friend."
What was it? And why did she feel as though she'd seen it before? Watched it? Frowned in confusion over its antics?
"Demon," Lucien said as though she'd asked aloud. Maybe she had. Lucien aimed the gun.
"Don't shoot near Reyes," she said on a rush of air.
Lucien looked at her in surprise, as if he couldn't quite believe she was defending her captor. "I'll be careful."
Aeron's body began shaking again, nearly convulsing. He once more began growling like an animal at mealtime. What was he doing? She released the bars and her nails bit into her palms. Sweat poured down her back, even though she trembled from that shivering cold.
Standing here, doing nothing, she felt utterly helpless.
Boom.
Danika's ears rang. Underneath the ringing, however, she could make out an eerie laugh. Alarmed, she watched the creature bound around the cell walls and even crawl along the ceiling.
"Play, play. Thisss fun."
I've seen this before, she thought again. But how? Her nightmares? Her eyes widened. Yes, of course. She constantly dreamed of demons and hell, so it stood to reason she might have visualized a creature such as this.
Lucien added another bullet, fired again.
More laughter.
Aeron straightened. Blood poured from his mouth and stained his hands. Catching her first glimpse of Reyes since Aeron had begun choking him, Danika covered her gaping mouth with the back of her hand. He was slumped on the ground, motionless, his neckflat.
Should be happy, should be happy.
But she wasn't. Tears were burning her eyes. She should hate this man for everything he'd done to her. Should, should, should. The word meant nothing to her at the moment. Bending down, she curled her fingers around one of the blades she'd stolen, not caring that her theft was now revealed.
Aeron had to die, and she had to kill him. It was as simple as that. He was a crazed murderer. He had hurt Reyesnot dead, he couldn't be deadand he wanted to hurt her. Worse, he'd probably harmed her grandmother. It was clear her family would never be safe as long as he lived. Yes, he needed to die. Now or never.
Determined, she finally stepped into the cell. Lucien was too busy following the demon with the barrel of his gun to notice. She moved forward tentatively. Aeron's narrowed gaze locked on her and tracked her every movement.
"Legion," Aeron said. "Need you."
The scaled creature jumped onto his shoulders and held tight. "Me here." Bony fingers caressed Aeron's scalp. Words Danika didn't understand were whispered into Aeron's ear. Soft words, gentle.
Aeron's body relaxed, his muscles no longer clenched for attack. The red in his eyes faded.
Lucien paused outside the cell. "Danika," he said.
"Get Reyes out of here. His body can't take any more damage." Danika continued to inch forward. When she reached Reyes, she crouched beside him. Her gaze never left Aeron as she placed a finger on Reyes's neck, hoping to feel a pulse.
She didn't.
Don't panic. He was too vital, too strong to die here, like this. Wasn't he? He desperately needed medical attention. "Lucien. For God's sake, come get him."
"He's fine, and I am unwilling to lose focus with the demon unfettered."
Damn it! She couldn't leave him here. Truly, any more damage and there would be nothing left of him. Save Reyes or question/try to hurt Aeron? She didn't have to think about it. She latched on to Reyes's shoulders, knife flatshe would not release itand tried to drag him. When Reyes was out of range, she could attack Aeron without fear for him. But Reyes's large body proved to be too heavy and she only made it a foot before stopping to catch her breath.
Aeron straightened, his knees bending to accept his weight, his hands curling to strike. Any minute, and he would attack.
"He was your friend," she said, pushing back to her feet to haul Reyes another few inches.
"But you are not," Aeron replied.
"No, I'm not."
He grinned, wicked, eerie. "Do you wish to hurt me, little human?"
"Yes." No reason to lie. The truth blazed in her eyes, she was sure. "I wish to destroy you."
"Try."
"So you'll feel better about what you plan to do to me? No, thanks. Not while Reyes needs help. But once he's out of the cell, you're mine."
For some reason, the conversation seemed to calm him as much as the little creature still whispering in his ear. "Do I scare you?"
"You? Scare me? Never again." Another inch. A few more, and she'd have Reyes's shoulders out the door.
"Why don't you come for me, then?"
"The difference between us is that I care about someone else more than I care about my own wishes."
He lost his grin in a hurry. "You cannot care for Reyes."
She didn't want to, knew she shouldn't. ButFootsteps suddenly echoed behind her, saving her from trying to form a reply.
"The others are coming." Finally Lucien opted to help. He approached her, gripped the base of her neck before she could protest his touch. One second she was holding Reyes, the next she was inside Reyes's bedroom.
Dizziness assaulted her. When Lucien released her, she realized she couldn't stand on her own. She toppled over, her knees hitting the floor. She cringed at the action, but was too wired to feel the jolt. "What the hell did you do to me?"
"Stay here," Lucien said.
As she fought to stand, she glared up at him. "I don't"
Without another word, he disappeared, leaving her gaping. Bastard! She couldn't, wouldn't, leave Reyes down there with thatthatanimal. Should have killed the beast when you had the chance. Determined to return, she lumbered toward the front door. She tripped over a pair of boots and barely managed to stay upright.
"I told you to stay put."
Spinning, experiencing another wave of dizziness, Danika released a startled gasp. Lucien had appeared once more, stoic, uncompromising. He was cradling Reyes in his arms as he strode to the bed. Gently, he laid the still-motionless warrior on the mattress. The springs creaked.
Danika rushed to Reyes's side.
"Take care of him," Lucien uttered, a warning in his tone.
"Iwill." The last was said on a sigh. He had disappeared again.
Almost afraid to look, she slowly turned her head. Her eyes landed on Reyes, and her stomach twisted. There were so many sides to him: captor, savior, demon, man. But he was still such a mystery to her, this being who had both threatened her life and saved it. And here he was, defeated. His throat was smashed, his Adam's apple smooth and discolored.
His chest was utterly still.
The tears that had stung her eyes so often this day now ran freely down her cheeks. How could someone so strong have beenThrough the watery haze, she thought she saw his chest move, thought she saw his decimated throat constrict. Please! Let that be real.
Her hand fluttered to his heart, the beat frantic against her palm. A wheeze filled her ears, and it was a glorious noise.
He was alive!
Crying out, she fell to her knees. She clutched at his hand, felt his fingers give a weak squeeze. The strength of her relief was appalling. Unwelcome. Because it meant she would never be able to betray this man. This demon. Not now, not later. Aeron, yes. Sabin, yes. But not him, never him. Not even to save her family. "I'm here, Reyes."
His eyelids cracked open.
"Don't try to talk. Just know that I'm here. I'll take care of you." Only problem was, she had no real medical training and didn't know what to do. She choked back a pained laugh. She'd been in this situation once before. Ashlyn had been sick. Bargaining for her mom, sister and grandmother's lives, she'd lied, told Reyes she was a healer, and doctored Ashlyn as best she could.
Ashlyn had come out okay. Would Reyes?
Dark irises came into full view. They weren't flooded with pain; they were glazed withpleasure? Surely not. Their gazes collided a moment before he closed his eyes again. Her lungs deflated on a sigh.
Reyes's lips moved, but no sound emerged from them.
"You're hurting yourself," she said. "I told you not to talk. We'll"
"Don't go back to Aeron without me," he managed to get out, the words savage. "Promise." His hand clutched at her. "Protect you."
Again, he wanted to protect her. Little wonder he'd battered down her defenses and reduced her to a devoted puppy. "I promise."
CHAPTER TEN
REYES AWOKE GRADUALLY, his senses already on alert thanks to several oddities.
One, there was a weight on his chest. Warm, so warm, and soft. He was used to waking unfettered, a little cold. Two, the scent of thunderstorms and angel-skies filled his nose, sultry and erotic. It was a scent he craved with every fiber of his being, but one that was dangerous to his peace of mind. Three, he never wanted to leave this paradise.
Pain did not agree.
Pain was prowling the cage of Reyes's mind, roaring. Roaring so loudly Reyes covered his ears. The weight on his chest shifted to the side, taking with it that delicious warmth and softness.
The roaring increased in volume, and he cringed.
"You okay?"
The voice of an angel, a perfect match for the scent. Danika. The roaring became a broken mewling, her rich timbre soothing the beast.
What was it about her? What made her so different from the other women he'd known?
Ashlyn had alleviated Maddox's torment. Anya had renewed Lucien's desire to love. Both women had accepted the warriors for who and what they were. Danika enhanced Reyes's pain and drove him crazy. She would never accept him. But even if a miracle happened and she could, he would never be able to bed her, thereby allowing Pain to sink its claws inside her. Change her.
As a couple, they were hopeless.
That failed to lessen his need for her. Again, he wondered why. She was pretty, intelligent and courageous, but other women were equally so. Weren't they? At the moment, he could think of no one else whose bright eyes pierced him to his soul. No one else whose silky hair caressed his skin so perfectly. No one else who faced him dead on and refused to back down.
Only Danika.
Her name whispered through his mind, and he eased open his eyelids. First thing he noticed was that morning sunlight seeped past the black curtains, painting hazy yellow dots everywhere he looked. Normal enough. Then a dazzling halo appeared in front of him, strands of pale hair tickling his chest. A soft breast meshed into his side.
"You okay?" Danika asked again. Concern burned in her sleep-rich eyes, lids at half-mast. Through the thick shield of her spiked lashes, he could see electric green, his new favorite color. "You took quite a beating last night."
"Last night?" His voice was raspy, and every word rubbed his throat raw. A delicious sensation. "Your hair." He reached up and drew several strands through his fingers. "Pale again."
"I took another shower and the semipermanent dye washed the rest of the way out."
"I like it."
Appearing uncomfortable, she nibbled on her bottom lip.
His body heated another degree. Oh, to have those teeth nibbling on him again. "Last night?" he prompted.
"With Aeron. In his cell."
The memories flooded him, images flashing one after another, and he jerked upright. He'd taken Danika into the dungeon. He'd entered Aeron's cell. Aeron had looked guilty at the mention of Danika's family, as if he'd already taken oneor moreout. Then Aeron had attacked him and Pain had loved it.
Mortification created a symphony inside him: the pound of his heart, the rush of his blood, the purr of his demon. He'd reveled in it, and Danika had been there, had seen him take pleasure in so vicious an act.
Shamed to his soul, he closed his eyes, dropped his head into his waiting hands. She doesn't know, he assured himself. Otherwise, she would not be sitting calmly on the bed, conversing with you. She would be hurling insults like "pervert" and "deviant."
Some women could accept his particular brand of pleasure. Most could not. For a few years, Reyes had found his partners in BDSM clubs. They'd been secret venues back then. Private. The women had liked to be strapped down, whipped, and he'd liked delivering the pain. And when he'd commanded them to hurt him, they'd done so willingly, happily.
But after learning that the women he'd bedded had erupted in violent sprees, he'd stopped going to the clubs. For centuries, he'd relied only on his own hand, cutting himself while he fisted his cock. Then he'd had what he'd considered an epiphany. Surely those females had been predisposed to violence. Surely that was why they'd harmed innocents so casually after bedding him.
So he'd tried again, this time taking Paris's advice and choosing Sunday-school teachers and librarians as his bedmates. The first few times he'd asked them to wear spurs on their ankles and dig them into his back. Among other things he did not like to recall. "You're sick," a few had cried. "Get help, you pervert."
If only they had continued to resist him.
Before long, they, too, had begun to crave pain. For themselves, a thousand others. When he noticed the hungry glint burning deep in their eyes, he'd ceased all contact, hoping, praying they would morph back into the women they'd once been. They hadn't.
Soft fingers brushed his brow, smoothing his hair out of the way. Always before, that type of touch had disgusted him. Physically, he'd felt nothing, so the gesture had merely reminded him of what he could never have. Only the hard bite of nails and the sharp sting of teeth had delighted him.
Here, now, with Danika, he still felt nothing physically, but the generous act rocked him emotionally and he found it just as tantalizing as a sting. She had never touched him like this before.
Your demon infects every woman you desire. To have Danika is to damn her soul. Do not forget.
"Reyes?"
He blinked, Danika coming into slow focus. "Yes."
"I lost you."
"I am sorry. You are well?" he asked.
"Yes."
Her hand fell away from him, and both he and the demon wanted to shout in protest. He blinked in surprise. The demon was upset? Missing a soft touch?
"There was acreature with Aeron."
"Yes," Reyes said with a nod. "I remember."
"Had you seen it before? Do you know where it came from?"
"I had not, but I know it came from hell." Pain had recognized it for what it wasa brother in evil. Reyes turned his head, facing Danika. "Do not concern yourself with him."
She paled, color fading to snow-white. Whatever thoughts danced in her head were not pleasant. "Why didn't you fight him?"
"The little demon?"
"No. Aeron. I've seen you engage him in combat before. You weren't afraid. You were strong and" She gulped, as though the rest of the confession pained her. "Capable. But this time, you just stood there. You let him hurt you."
Reyes straightened fully, his eyes never leaving her. Her legs curved behind her, her hip flat on the mattress. She rested her weight on one elbow, her hair a glorious silk curtain that fell over her shoulders. She still wore jeans. Jeans he had picked out for her. He felt pride and satisfaction, for he'd spent hours shopping for her, hopeful he would one day see her in what he chose.
Her features were so delicate. She could have fallen straight from the heavens and he would not have been surprised. Small, pert nose, rounded cherub cheeks. Ruby-red lips that glistened.
As always, the sight of her caused his chest to ache. Pain loved it, loved the ache and the ensuing hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach. Reyes smiled wryly. Perhaps he would simply gaze upon Danika for the rest of her too-short human life. His demon would always be sated.
At the thought of her death, the ache became a throb.
"Well?" she said.
What had she asked him? He replayed their entire conversation in his mind. Oh, yes. Aeron. Reyes's secret enjoyment. He'd had good intentions before Pain took over. "I have hurt him many times. He owed me."
"No." Danika shook her head. "That's not why you did it."
He frowned. No way in hell could she guess the truth. "Then why?"
"You wanted answers. For me. And you thought that was the only way to get them."
All right, maybe she could. Until now, she had only believed the worst about him. Was shecould she possibly be softening toward him?
"Are you and Aeron still friends?" There was a hard edge to her tone this time. So much for softening.
"Yes. We are." He hoped. He loved Aeron. He did. Danika, thoughHe still wasn't sure how he felt about her or what, exactly, she meant to him. Only that she did mean something she shouldn't, and he couldn't stop the emotions she pulled out of him.
Can't have her.
"Stop," she said stiffly, and turned away from him. She stared up at the ceiling.
His brows furrowed in confusion. "Stop what?"
"I don't know. That gleam in your eyes when you look at me, itdistresses me."
"I cannot help myself."
A pause. "There can be nothing between us, Reyes." There at the end, her voice cracked.
"I know."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "What am I doing here?"
"I could not leave you with the Hunters." Truth.
"Maybe you should have."
In that moment, he knew beyond any doubt the Hunters had asked her to act as Bait. His stomach rolled into several hard knots, each beating against the other. He would have to remain alert with her. Always alert. Not reveal anything that could hurt his friends. He would have to watch her, make sure she didn't try and sneak those bastards inside the fortress or tell them where the warriors were headed. And why.
But he couldn't let her go. He couldn't kill her, even though it was the smart thing to do. Even though his friends would demand it if they learned the truth. They suspected, otherwise Sabin wouldn't have entered Reyes's room to question her.
How much danger was Reyes placing them in by letting her live? Did it matter to him? I am such a fool. Perhaps he did love her.
Pain laughed giddily at the thought, for love brought its own brand of torment. Lots and lots of torment. In the heart, the soul. Both causing a physical ache too intense to be relieved.
Reyes scowled. "Do not mention the Hunters to my friends," he commanded tightly.
She laughed. Unlike Pain's, it was not out of giddiness. Strain echoed in the undertones of that forced amusement. "I couldn't, even if I wanted to."
"And why is that?"
"They left."
His confusion morphed into anger, and he jolted to his feet. The stone was cold against his skin. He stalked to his closet. "When?"
"This morning."
"Everyone?"
"Except the one named Torin. Maybe a few others. I can't keep your friends straight."
Pausing in the door frame, Reyes pinched the bridge of his nose. Once he would have been furious at being left behind. Now, what he felt for Danika was even stronger than his desire to find dimOuniak.
"They came for you. When they saw you were still recovering, they told me to deliver a message."
A muscle ticked below each of his eyes as he pivoted and faced her. "Well? Deliver it."
Danika raised her chin. It was an action of defiance and one he'd noted she performed often, ready to take on the world. "The one called Sabin said to tell you to stop acting like a pussy and do your duty. What's in Rome? Someone mentioned a temple."
Reyes ignored her question and glanced down at himself to hide the glint of fury he knew must be shining in his eyes. His weapons were no longer strapped to his ankles and thighs, but he still wore his jeans. They were unfastened. While he liked the thought of Danika undressing him, he did not like the notion that she could have taken his weapons.
He hated that he had slept like the dead. She could have done anything at allmight have done everythingand he wouldn't have known. Frowning, he hastily snapped the jeans and turned back to his closet. He withdrew the velvet-lined cache of guns and knives, saw that was in order, nothing out of place. Good. He wouldn't have to frisk her.