The Darkest Pleasure (28 page)

Wide-eyed, she continued to watch, afraid to get in his way. Afraid he wouldn’t care who she was and would attack her, too. So badly she wanted to run and hide. Blood already splattered Reyes from head to boot, slicking his hair to his scalp and his clothes to his body. So badly—but she didn’t. Her family was inside this building. Were they okay?

I should have come for them sooner.

Amid the terrible chaos, she grabbed a fallen gun and rushed past Reyes and through the building. Where were they? She checked the nearest room—empty. The next room—four Hunters were inside, cursing, loading bullets into weapons.

One of them saw her and aimed his gun at her, shouting, “Filthy demon whore! I don’t care what they say you are.” She raised hers, too. They fired at the same time. But the next thing she knew, she was being shoved to the ground, eating dirt, and Reyes was racing past her, a mere blur. A second later, the men were screaming.

Oh, God. Danika lumbered to her feet, legs nearly giving out. She stumbled forward, determined to continue her search. Reyes hadn’t hurt her, had still managed to protect her. She rounded a corner, saw a flight of stairs. Weapon trained ahead, arm shaking, she climbed them two at a time. Another corner.

Three Hunters, all of them trembling and pale, waited at the end of the hall. They saw her and fired. Just like before, Reyes was there, shoving her down and taking the blows himself. Was he hurt? Oh, God, oh, God.

He likes pain, remember? He’s fine.
Her ears rang and her heart raced.

When she looked up, the men were already on the floor, unmoving. Reyes was nowhere to be seen. Danika scrambled up
yet again, racing forward, tripping and falling twice. She knew she scraped her knees, but her adrenaline was so high she didn’t feel a thing.

Down the hall, a woman screamed.

“Mom!” she shouted, recognizing the voice. “I’m here.”

“Danika?”

Another scream.

“Danika, baby, run. Get out of here!”

She ran, not away but forward. A moment later she was standing inside a bedroom, panting, sweating. Her mother and sister were chained to the heating unit. Her grandmother was chained to a bed, both of her legs in a cast.

Reyes was in the process of breaking those chains, his face still skeletal. He was shaking, bleeding. She should not have doubted him and would not again. Even in this form, he wanted her happy. The women were trembling and kicking at him, but still he persisted. Finally, all three were free.

Danika rushed to them and fell to her knees, gathering her mother and sister in her arms. Hot tears were flowing down her cheeks, blending with theirs.

“Danika, he’s—he’s—” her sister stuttered.

“I know, I know. Don’t worry. He’s not going to hurt you. He’s a good guy.” Her family was alive. She was with them again, holding them. Shock and pleasure and relief all tumbled through her.

“I thought you were dead,” her mother said through her sobs. “They told me you were dead.”

“I’m here now. I’m here.” Wiping her face, she let go of them and pushed to her feet. “We will not be parted again. I swear it. I’m just sorry it took me so long to get here.”

They stood weakly, and together they walked to the bed where her grandmother lay. Tears were falling down her weathered cheeks, as well. Danika clutched the woman’s trembling hand in her own.

“What happened to you?” she whispered, using her free hand to run her fingers over one of the casts.

“The monster with wings.” Grandma Mallory sniffled. “He found me, threw me down and…and…” Her chin quaked.

Danika almost made her granny stop, but she had to know. She covered her mouth, cutting off any words that might try and escape. She nodded to prove she was listening.

“He could have killed me after I fell, but he didn’t. He picked me up and carried me to this building. I think I used to dream of him. I’ve tried to block those dreams so long they’re only mist in a storm now, but I think maybe he saw me during those dark terrors, because he looked at me as if he knew me. I don’t know why, but I told him not to relive his past mistakes. He backed away and then he left me.”

Tears splashed down her face. Dear God. They’d always dreamed for a reason. What could she have avoided if she’d studied her dreams rather than feared them? Didn’t matter, she supposed. In the end, Grandma Mallory’s dreams had saved her. And there was still time for Danika’s to save Reyes, once and for all.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” her grandmother said. “Now isn’t the time for that. You want to know how I got here. I couldn’t move, was stuck in this building. The bastards with guns had been following me, I guess, because they found me later that day. They already had your mother and sister.”

Her hand fell, her gaze circling the still crying group. They were pale, with bruises under their eyes. “Were any of you—”

“No,” Ginger, her sister, said. “No, we’re fine. For the most part, they left us alone. They fed us, kept us healthy. Apparently they planned to use us to draw out our former kidnappers.”

Like they tried to use me,
she thought angrily. Thank God Reyes had—her gaze circled the room again, not seeing him.
Give
him a moment to calm down
.
Enjoy your family.
Because in that moment Danika knew, all the way to her bones, that she was going to help Reyes bring down the Hunters once and for all.

No one threatened her family and lived. And Reyes was her family.

R
EYES HAD ALREADY COME DOWN
from his demon-high, had caged the beast even now drenched in agonizing physical pain and sated bloodlust. A beast currently purring with satisfaction. Now, Reyes feared the thoughts that must be running through Danika’s mind. He trembled, weakened from his injuries, knowing he couldn’t reassure her yet.

She was currently wrapped in the loving arms of her family—gods, how she glowed. If she knew he was in the room, she gave no indication. Quietly, he stepped into the hall and withdrew his cell phone.

He’d wanted to do this all night, all day, but hadn’t wanted Danika to overhear and hadn’t been able to reach Lucien when he’d been collecting their haphazard breakfast. With Danika preoccupied with her family, there was no better time.

As he dialed Lucien’s cell, his knees gave out and he sank to the ground. Once again, his friend failed to answer. This time, however, the keeper of Death simply appeared in front of him, mismatched eyes bright, face tight with fatigue. The fragrance of roses drifted from him, stronger than Reyes had ever smelled it.

Reyes wiped at his face with one hand and used the other to pocket the phone. He didn’t bother standing. “Here to collect souls?”

“Not yet, but I feel the tug.” Lucien’s gaze slid past him, past the cracked open door. “What happened to you, my friend? You have more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese.”

“Hunters happened. They were here, waiting, holding Danika’s family hostage to use against us later.”

Those unusual eyes jerked back to Reyes, shock in their depths, before once again peering past the doorway. “Bastards. And they call themselves the good guys.”

The sound of feminine laughter, then silence, then urgent female warnings drifted to them.

“You have to kill him, Dani.”

“No, no. You don’t understand.”

“There’s nothing to understand.”

Reyes didn’t hear Danika’s response. Their voices became whispers. Was
he
the “him” who needed killing? Probably. After this latest battle, he was surprised and humbled to find that Danika hadn’t rushed to agree.

Lucien arched a brow. “The reunion, I take it.”

He nodded and lumbered to his feet, hand immediately going to his temple and rubbing, as if the motion could shove the dizziness away.

“The building is probably wired and monitored,” Lucien muttered. “We need to remove the women as soon as possible.”

“Let’s see what we’re dealing with first.”

“Very well.”

They searched the entire structure and did indeed find a room very much like Torin’s in Budapest. There were computers and screens of the surrounding area, as well as one monitor that seemed to be showing another compound—where a large group of Hunters were gathering weapons.

“They were probably alerted, might even have watched the battle,” Lucien said. “I imagine they’re coming here.”

Reyes hunched over, trying to catch his breath. “Is the fortress secure?”

“Yes.”

“Take us back, then,” Reyes said. “All of us. Me last.”

Lucien nodded, began to mist a second later, when Reyes grabbed his arm, stopping him. “How is Sabin?”

“Better. He’ll recover.”

Good. Lucien disappeared completely then. Reyes couldn’t allow the Hunters to see what was going on, so he used the last of his strength to disable the wires. As he worked, he heard several of the women screaming and knew Lucien had just materialized in front of them. He wanted Danika unafraid, but he wanted her safe more.

Several minutes later, Lucien reappeared. “You’re the last. Ready?”

He gave a single nod. It was all he could manage.

Lucien touched his arm. Next thing Reyes knew, he was standing inside his bedroom in the fortress. His knees gave out again and he collapsed on the edge of his bed, remaining upright by clutching the nearest post. “Where are the women?”

“Locked next door. I will help you deal with them, I just need…the souls are calling to me.” Lucien disappeared. When he returned a long while later, he reeked of sulfur. Reyes, who hadn’t moved an inch, wasn’t surprised the Hunters’ final resting place was hell.

Reyes’s head lolled forward, chin hitting his chest heavily. “Listen. I need you to go to Aeron’s cell.”

“Why?”

“Please. Take your phone and call me when you get there. If I had the strength, I would go myself.”

Expression confused, Lucien once more disappeared. In a heartbeat of time, Reyes’s phone was ringing. He flipped it open, fingers fumbling, and barked a quick, “You there?”

“Yes,” Lucien said.

In the background, beyond his door, Reyes could hear mumbling. He would have given his left arm—literally—to walk to it and press his ear to the wood. But in the end, he didn’t have
to. He could hear Danika soothe her family, her voice gentle yet determined. A grin curled the corners of his lips.
My little soldier.

He had to see her.

The overwhelming need gave him strength, a surging heat that swarmed through him and lifted him to his feet. One unsteady foot in front of the other and he was flipping the door’s lock and winding his fingers around the knob.

“Reyes, are you there?”

Lucien.

“I’m here. Listen, last night Danika told me about a dream she’d had,” he whispered so the women wouldn’t hear him. “In it, she visited hell. Heard and saw the demons there, heard and saw their victims. But Lucien, I don’t think it was a dream.”

Crackling static. Reception in the dungeon was spotty at best. “I don’t understand.”

“When I’m…with her, I’m somehow propelled out of my body and into the heavens. I think she’s a portal into the hereafter.”

“Are you sure? Perhaps you—”

“I’m sure. Last time, an angel actually spoke to me.”

“Dear gods.”

“I know.”

“But what does this have to do with Aeron?”

“Not Aeron. His friend.”

“The little demon?” Shock rang in Lucien’s voice. “Reyes, break this down for me as though I were a child. Why?”

“Do you remember the Hunter Danika killed? Well, she saw him in hell and a demon was questioning him, demanding to know about the All-Seeing Eye.”

There was more crackling static, tense and heavy. “The repercussions of this could be devastating.”

Reyes knew that well. “Ask the demon why his friends would want information on Danika.”

Bars rattled. Dark curses arose. Both so loud they managed
to blast through the weakened phone signal. Lucien sighed. “I only see Aeron.”

“Damn. Try to draw him out. I’ll compose myself and be there in a moment.” He closed the cell and once more pushed it into his pocket—or rather, missed his pocket. The phone clanked to the ground. Scowling, he bent over and swiped it up. He swayed as he straightened, but managed to slide it in place and enter the women’s bedroom without falling.

All four were on the bed and clamped their lips together as they turned to gape at him. Three of them paled. He was still covered in blood, he realized, and probably looked every bit the monster they imagined him to be. He’d been shot. A lot. Stabbed, too. His clothing was tattered, his wounds still seeping. Still, his hungry gaze sought Danika.

“Reyes!” She grinned when their gazes met, but that grin quickly faded. “You’re hurt!” She moved from her family, rushing toward him…soon so close he could smell her stormy fragrance.

Heart pounding in his chest, he shut the door in her face. Turned the lock.

He heard her gasp. Her fists banged against the wood. “Reyes!” she growled.

He’d seen her, knew she was unharmed. It was time to walk away from her. For good. Last night she’d wanted to hurt him during sex. Had been eager to do so. Being gentle hadn’t stopped the dark cravings as he’d hoped. And even though he hadn’t allowed her to hurt him, his demon must have affected her already, propelling her toward the life Reyes had endured for too long. Pain, always pain.

What if she wanted to hurt her family next? She’d fought so diligently to save them. He wouldn’t jeopardize that.

“Reyes! Let me out.”

“Dani,” the grandmother called unexpectedly. “Leave him be.”

The pounding continued.

Reyes ran a fingertip along the wood. Then, slowly, he
stepped away from the door. Only when he reached the end of the hallway did he pivot. Some of the home’s furnishings were missing, he realized as he limped. A few tables, all of the knickknacks Ashlyn had added. There was no blood on the walls, so the warriors must have been hard at work, cleaning. Thankfully, he didn’t see any of the warriors in question. He wasn’t sure how he would have reacted if they’d asked him about Danika.

Danika,
Pain suddenly shouted.

“Hush,” he replied.

But the more distance he put between him and Danika, the more the demon growled inside his mind.

Danika,
Pain shouted again.

“I’m riddled with bullet holes. What more do you want?” Reyes growled back.

Her.

“Why?” She was the epitome of pleasure. “She is not for us.”

Mine
.

“No!” Down the stairs he pounded, his steps long and furious, eating up the distance to the dungeon. He found Lucien in front of Aeron’s cell, gripping the bars, silent.

Reyes stopped beside him and looked into the holding. Aeron was still chained to the wall, his eyes bright red, his fangs long and sharp. His nails were elongated into claws. The demon, Legion, slithered around his neck, down his arms and then across his ankles.

“It is able to flash,” Lucien said. “It popped itself into the middle of the cell and now is refusing to talk to me.”

“I talk,” the demon said.

“Then tell me where you went.”

“Hell.”

“Why?”

“You get why, my friend get free,” Legion said, forked tongue flicking out. “He isss sssad. Me not like sssad. Ssso we trade.”

Actually Aeron appeared enraged, his gaze tracking Reyes’s
every move, but Reyes wasn’t going to argue the point. “I’m afraid I can’t trade with you. If Aeron goes free, he will try and kill my woman. And Aeron,” he said to the warrior, “I thought you’d like to know you didn’t kill Danika’s grandmother. You walked away before rendering that final blow.”

There was a hitch in the warrior’s breath, a slight tensing of his large form. “I failed.”

“Reason to rejoice.”

“I failed,” Aeron repeated stiffly.

Reyes sighed.

“Uh-oh. You make him mad.” Legion crouched, moving into an attack stance. “You pay.”

Would no one cooperate with him?

“Settle down, boy,” Lucien told the little demon. “We only want the best for Aeron.”

Legion hissed like a startled cat, the noise scraping at Reyes’s skin. “Me no boy. You think me a boy?”

Everyone stopped, stared. Even Aeron.

Reyes was the first to find his voice. “You’re a…girl?”

A nod. “Me pretty.”

“Yes, you are.” Reyes exchanged a glance with Lucien. “Beautiful.”

Aeron had yet to recover from the shock.

“I need your help…sweetheart. There is a demon in hell who was asking a damned soul about a woman,” Reyes said to the she-demon, getting them back on track. “
My
woman. I think he means to hurt her. Is there anything you can tell me?”

“Oh, oh. Big newsss in hell,” Legion said, lips lifting in a proud, happy smile. He—
she
—turned to Aeron. “Everyone talking ’bout it. Visssiting demon told them. Can I tell, can I, can I?”

Still silent, Aeron nodded.

“Ssshe ticket to heaven. Whichever demonsss find her, get to ussse her to essscape.”

S
ABIN LIMPED TO THE CENTER
of the entertainment room and turned—swayed, damn it—to face the people who were scattered throughout. Some were playing pool, others watching TV. Some were drinking. Ashlyn was sitting in Maddox’s lap.

“What are we going to do with the girl?” he rasped. His throat was still raw, still healing from the bomb smoke he’d inhaled.

All eyes anchored on him.

“Study her paintings,” Lucien said, cue in hand. “That’s all we can do.”

“That, and treat her well,” Ashlyn interjected.

Softhearted women were the bane of the universe. “Now that they know what she is, Hunters will come after us more fervently now.”

“I’d think that would delight you,” Paris said, glancing up from the flesh-fest playing out on the television screen.

It would, just as soon as he healed fully. Even now he wanted to prop himself against the wall. “We need to lock her up, put her somewhere they won’t think to look.”

Ashlyn gave a firm shake of her head. “No way.”

“Yeah, good luck getting past Reyes.” William slapped Lucien on the shoulder, though his amused gaze never left Sabin. “Man is wicked good with knives.”

“Who invited you into this conversation?” Sabin grumbled.

“Anya,” the immortal replied with a grin. “She said I could stay as long as I wanted. Now, will you let us finish our game or what?”

More and more, Sabin couldn’t help but like the irreverent bastard. “Anya, put a leash on your friend.”

“Why? I’m winning.”

The two returned to their game of pool, Lucien watching Anya bend over to take a shot. “I’d rather we kill the girl than allow her to fall into our enemies’ hands. She’s too powerful, could perpetrate too much damage to our cause.”

No one responded. They’d already tuned him out.

Kane picked up a wine bottle, and the glass shattered. “Damn it!”

Rolling his eyes, Sabin strode to him, grabbed another bottle and filled a glass. “Here. So?” he demanded of the others.

Torin, who stood off in the corner, alone and out of reach, finally acknowledged him. “Touch her, and our groups will split again. Reyes would rather die than lose her, and I would rather lose you than hurt him.”

Sabin sighed, scoured a tired palm down his bruised face. He valued these men and didn’t want to lose them again. Perhaps one day they would prize him as much as they used to.

Perhaps not.

Doubt, you stupid motherfucker. I hate you!

“Then we’re gonna have to push her to find the third and fourth artifacts for us,” he said, “so that the score remains in our favor. Hunters find the other two, and the war might never end.”