Pandora's Box (26 page)

Chapter Forty-Four

Two weeks to Hell

Flaming mad, Madison struggled to contain her tears. If she released them, she might never stop crying. Fear grappled with anger, fighting to take control of her emotions. Nix was going to Hell because of an agreement with a demon. How stupid could he be?

Oh, God…. Her hands trembled and the phone tumbled from her numb fingers, to shatter against the tile floor, ejecting the battery across the kitchen.

Bile rose fast to the back of her throat. Madison ran to the sink and vomited. She turned the faucet on, washed the evidence of her despondency away, and wet a washcloth to wipe her mouth.

How could Nix have done such a thing? What drove a man to such a desperate commitment? What could a King plan to gain from a pact with Nix? A mortal man with nothing but his soul to offer? Yet, a covenant bartered for more than a soul, usually something of value to the demon.

Zoe had wept while explaining what she witnessed, splicing together the events with the little information Nix provided—the demon setting a trap, she and Gage dying, and their subsequent Lazarus resurrection. Only to discover Nix had entered a partnership of some sort with one of God’s former angels. In two weeks, Nix would join Hell to fulfill his end of the bargain. What that end could possibly be, Madison couldn’t imagine.

Stupid, selfish man!

No one’s life should be worth the eternal alliance of another. What had he been thinking? He would know Gage and Zoe preferred death to this sort of sacrifice. Something more must have been at stake to force him to accept such a ridiculous offer.

Steeling her spine, she determined to find out!

Zen and Amos were playing chess when she walked into the living room with her purse slung over her shoulder and her keys dangling from her fingers. Petra lounged on the sofa, flipping through a fashion magazine.

“Can you stay with Amos? I’ve got something to take care of.”

“Don’t go, Momma,” Amos said, moving a chess piece. “You shouldn’t go.”

“Save it, Amos. I may be a couple of days, Zen.”

“Do what you need to do. We’ll be fine.” Zen moved his Rook. “Checkmate.”

Amos’s eyes rounded and his glare whipped about the chess set. “Aw! No fair, Zen! You can’t always win.”

“I can. You might beat me one day.”

Madison kissed the side of Amos’s head and left them to another match. Zen always won. Amos always lost. What tumbled through her head, though, wasn’t the trivialities of a board game, rather Crow’s warning. “Nix, if you continue to squander and push aside what you desire the most, you’ll fall to a partnership of your own making. A pact with a devil in a hell you cannot fathom…. The anguish of lost regrets will force you to submit to his satisfaction, become the monster he desires, the tool for his entrance into a Kingdom not of his making. There’s hope. Allies will come to your aid, and a new Phoenix, battle hardened by heinous exploits, and shame, may rise from the ashes.”

An awful prediction she must stop.

***

“Mads!” Nix opened the hotel room door. Eagerly drinking in the sight of her, he gulped back a hard swallow at the realization of his imminent doom. “How’d you know where I—”

She slapped him. His head snapped sideways hard enough to crack at least one vertebra in his neck. With her arrival, broken bones became the least of his worries. Unless Beliel’s heart suddenly grew from its current two sizes too small, Mads just guaranteed he was Hell-bound two weeks sooner than expected.

Working the ache out of his jaw with his thumb and finger pressed to his chin, he turned back to face her.

She was a lefty. “I’d hate to see your left hook if that’s your right slap.”

She slapped him again. With her goddamn left hand!

Shit! Pain burst into his eye, his cheek burned, the inside of his mouth shredded from his teeth. Reminder to self—don’t piss Mads off!

“Goddamn it!” He stomped his foot.

She attacked, pounding his chest with closed fists. She shoved him and whacked him again and again, each blow to his chest, thankfully.

Nix grabbed her arms, dragged her against his chest, and trapped her there to eliminate any further hits. Her choppy breaths testified to her anger.

Two simple rules not to break, and he’d broken both in less than thirty seconds. Not to be in Madison’s presence—beyond his control. And not to touch her—well within his control to resist. Damned. Anytime now he would be collected. His heart and family jewels fed to the monster-Neko-cat Micah warned him about.

He shuddered at the thought and pushed it aside fast.

“Who told you?” Easy enough to figure out what angered her. But who ratted him out? He stared down at her, kicking the door closed with his bare toes. His heart broke at the anger, fear, and defeat shining out of her gorgeous blue eyes. Nix never expected that reaction from her. He expected Mads to go about her daily routine, running from Micah and gaining the skills necessary to defeat him. She might have remembered him fondly on occasion, but he’d never expected so much emotion.

“Zoe.” The word wasn’t much more than a breathless whisper that wavered on the last syllable making him think she struggled to hold it together.

Zo refused to speak to him because of her anger. No big surprise she’d called reinforcements when he refused to discuss a way out of his covenant.

“Why, Nix? Why?”

Anguish and guilt hit him hard. “I couldn’t let…Gage or Zo die.” He stumbled over adding her name to the mix, wishing to spare her any erroneous guilt. “They were dead because of me. My conscience couldn’t take it.”

“They were dead because y’all face death everyday when you go up against the paranormal world. They know the risks, Nix.”

He’d been the target, and his love for her used against him. He let her believe as she wished and said nothing.

She scanned the dingy hotel room over his shoulder, and he knew the minute her eyes touched on the two empty liquor bottles. “The drinking won’t erase your stupidity.”

“You gotta understand I—”

“I understand you’re going to Hell!” she yelled. “How are any of us supposed to live knowing you’re suffering there—and you can bet your ass, demons will be lining up to have a go at you.”

“I’ll be a partner of…Hell.” He couldn’t tell her Beliel’s name, and he wouldn’t give her Micah’s name either. “There’ll be no suffering.” The statement sounded as stupid as he felt.

“Don’t be naïve, Nix. You’re too old for that. You’ll suffer because it’s not where you belong. And if you think the demons you sent back to Hell won’t make sneaky attacks at you regardless of your freaking arrangement, then you’re….” She stared at him a long moment. “I don’t have a word to express how stupid you are if you believe that.” Her eyes traveled across his face as if memorizing his features. “How can we do nothing? How can you expect me, a Queen of Hell, to do nothing?”

Nix expected her to do just that…
nada!
He knew better than to respond. She couldn’t be appeased. He settled for staring at her, feeling broken and defeated.

“I’m furious at you, Nix. I can’t decide who’s more selfish, you for accepting the deal or the demon who issued it.”

He carefully released her arms. They remained on his chest, and she curled the fingers of both hands in his shirt. He rubbed a thick swath of hair between his fingers and vaguely wondered if other women’s hair compared to the soft texture of hers. He’d never concerned himself with the details of women much, his main focus finding release from the crazy world inside a warm, willing body and letting his worries melt away. With Mads, everything felt new and exciting, all his emotions a tangled mess of want and protectiveness.

“I didn’t do it to hurt you.” Hurting her never hit his bucket list. He’d give anything to have a do over, to change the night he damned himself. Choosing a different path and ignoring the signs leading to his doom might change everything or it might not. Nothing, however, could convince him to alter his agreement with Micah, if it remained the only option to save Gage and Zo…and Mads.

“I am hurt. You should have come to me, Nix. Let me help you figure out a way to change everything.” She jerked on his shirt, knocking him off balance so he crashed into her. They stumbled, her back hit the door, and Nix caught himself with his palm beside her head. “You big moron.”

Shifting his other hand to brace against the door, he trapped her between his arms and bit the corner of his mouth. Such an adorable curse.

“You helped me. You should have let me try to help you. I have power in Hell, you know.”

“I….” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I thought you were dead, too.”

He opened his eyes as her forehead wrinkled in confusion. He pondered how she’d react if he licked her quivering bottom lip.

“I wasn’t there, Nix.”

“I thought you were.” She stared into his eyes. “Your mom played your part. Convincingly, I might add.”

“Dear God.”

“You were all dead, Mads.” He wouldn’t confess she was the final death necessary to change his ‘fuck you’ stance. “A demon willing to kill the wife he needs for whatever fucked up plan he has…I was given a choice. I knew neither Amos nor your crystal genie—”

“Not my crystal genie,” she said sullenly.

“—could save any of you. I was the only salvation for all of you.” If only he could tell her how much of a savior he’d become.

Catching sight of her flesh at her shirt collar, he moved his hand and watched his fingers traipse across her collarbone. Her breath quickened noticeably. Rules broken, he contemplated breaking them further.

“You’re such a fool, Nix.”

He agreed.

“You don’t belong in Hell. My God, consorting with a demon because of…me?” Her voice broke on the final word. “I’d rather be dead than know I caused the decision.”

“I’m sorry.” Lame apology that offered no solace. Those words were all the comfort he could offer at this point.

“I should slap you again for the apology.” He would let her, too. “Maybe I’ll make my own deal to save you from your fucked-up one.”

His palm tightened on her shoulder, even as he casually noted how sexy she sounded when she cursed.

“Don’t. Even. Consider. It.” Fury at the thought of Mads in Hell for any reason hit him hard in the gut. He managed to soften his voice even though he gritted his teeth, “Don’t give the Sherlocks more of a reason to hunt you and Amos down.”

God have mercy, he wouldn’t be here to protect her if they came for her. And Sherlocks were worse than a demon after prey.

“Nix…” Her breath stuttered, and his focus jerked to her face. Shiny prisms of tears flooded her blue eyes. “My worst days were bearable only because I knew you were out there making the world safer.” The tears spilled over and hit her cheeks. Nix moved in closer, wedging her body against the door with his weight. “I’m selfish. I want to know you’re there when I need you. Even if it is only through a telephone line. I can’t bear this life…this journey…knowing my best friend resides in Hell, serving the whims of demons with a grudge against him.” She couldn’t imagine how big a grudge this demon held against him. Or how much it involved her. “I’ll miss you terribly.”

She thought that selfish? Nix could teach her lessons on self-centeredness. Her idea of it sounded like she cared a little more than she should, definitely more than he deserved.

“Is that all I am to you?” He cinched her wrists with his thumbs and forefingers and pulled her arms above her head. Anchoring them against the door with one hand, he slithered the knuckles of his other down her arm, admiring the smooth, soft texture of her flesh, until they came to rest at her hips. Turning his palm over, he gripped her hip. The thinness of her black yoga pants clung to every curve of her delectable body. They’d be easy to remove, even less restrictive to push a hand inside.

Mads stared at his mouth and licked her lips. “Repeat the question.”

“Pay attention, Mads.”

“Okay,” she said, sounding distracted as she stared at his lips, appearing fascinated with them.

Tears sparkled against her cheeks, glittered in her eyes. Nix wondered if she wanted him to kiss her as much as he wanted to.

“You’ve got Zen and Amos.”

The comment sent a fresh batch of tears sliding down her cheeks. Flanked by her arms, she rolled her head against the door. “Amos is my son. Zen is….not you. He’s my best friend. Like a brother. My relationship with them isn’t the same, Nix. Not even close.”

“How many best friends do you need?”

“Huh?” Her gaze shot to his.

“You said I am your best friend. I asked earlier if that was all I meant to you.”

“Oh.” She said nothing further, but stared into his eyes, and Nix wanted to look into hers as he drove his dick into her body. Wanted to know if she’d be as demure and shy climaxing as she was with people? Or would a hidden wanton emerge?

“Why are you holding my arms?”

“So you won’t hit me again.”
So I can touch you one final time
.

“I could get out of this easily, Nix.”

He nodded. He had no doubt of that. Slowly, he pushed his knee between her legs and parted them.

“Wh-what are you doing?” He didn’t answer her question, but thrust his thigh up and wedged it tight against her pussy. A hard gasp fell from her mouth, and her eyes rounded. “What—” She licked her lips fast. “What are you doing?”

He let his actions speak for themselves. Maintaining his grasp on her wrists, he gripped her hip tighter and slowly dragged his thigh against her core, back and forth. Her breath hitched, froze in her lungs, and a strangled, “N—Nix!” slipped free.

“Relax.” He leaned in, and whispered against her ear, “Enjoy.” He nipped her lobe and dragged his teeth down the side of her throat. Goosebumps prickled her flesh, and Nix couldn’t cease until he received what he wanted. “Hurt me, if you want me to quit.” He discovered dying men were rash creatures. “It’s the only way I’ll stop.”

Nix kissed her, tasting the salty remnants of her tears. Mads responded with surprising ferocity. Their tongues met, clung, and lapped in a wild dance hinting of desperation and long checked desires. Cock thickening, his jeans grew uncomfortable, and he rubbed his thigh against her pussy faster.