“Gofrey.”
“Yes, master?” Gofrey sniveled.
“Send Solara up. Now.”
Asmodeus sat back to wait for her arrival, when a thought struck him. He’d used his scrying bowl earlier and had seen a few images of Amara with those Detainors. One of them more than the others. Could there be something between her and this bounty hunter? It would explain why she hadn’t attempted to use her allure to extract herself from their grasp. Amara was nearly impossible to resist when she turned it on full blast.
The bitch was stubborn. She could go longer than the rest of his succubi without sustenance. He rubbed his forefinger along the golden band adorning his wrist.
“What if I drain you, my pet?” She would be forced to feed, and he knew from his scrying that only one man guarded her at any given time. If he got lucky, she would drain someone besides the angel. They likelihood they were all immune was slim at best. And if she killed one of the other brothers, she’d have no choice but to flee, or face their wrath. She would come running back to him. Where else did she have to go? Then he would use what she’d learned about the brothers to take the surviving three down.
Asmodeus touched the portion of the band representing Amara’s essence. He closed his eyes and concentrated, uttering the draining spell Belpheg had taught him. A bright ribbon of energy curled out from the band, and he knew the spell was working.
The door to his meeting chamber swung open. Momentarily startled, he eyed Solara, who stood in the doorway.
Oh yes, I almost forgot about her.
Though her shoulders were hunched over, her hands were curled into fists. As if she would dare strike him.
“Close the door,” he ordered.
Only once she’d obeyed did he remember he was still draining Amara’s energy. He jerked his finger away with a muffled curse. Hopefully, he hadn’t taken too much. Killing her would do none of them any good.
“What do you want?” Despite her petulant words, there was a tremor in Solara’s voice.
Asmodeus gave her a thorough once-over. She wore an emerald silk robe that fell to mid-thigh. Probably the least-revealing item of clothing she owned. Though she hadn’t bothered with makeup, most likely in an effort to make herself seem less appealing, her hair and skin still glowed with allure she couldn’t quite restrain. Much as she might try to hide it, her body hungered to be fed.
Such a shame she tried to resist her connection with him. They could be so good together if she didn’t insist on lambasting him over adding Amara to his collection.
“Do you remember when we first met?” he asked fondly. Those first days had been rather fun.
“I don’t care to reminisce.”
Fine with him. He swept away from his chair and rounded the table toward her. Her eyes widened and she pressed her back to the door, but she had nowhere to flee. “Your daughter abandoned you. Three days, and she hasn’t even made an effort to return.”
Something surprisingly like pride flashed in her eyes. “Good.”
“Good?” He closed a hand around her throat. “You say that, even knowing the consequences of her betrayal? Knowing what she has allowed to happen to you?”
Palpable fear flowed off her, but when she responded she said, “I never wanted this life for her. My only regret is that she allowed herself to become a victim in the first place. You were my mistake, not hers.”
Her bolds words angered him more than he would’ve expected. Was he truly so bad? Her life—Amara’s life—had been so empty before him. He’d given them purpose. Meaning. And this was how they repaid him.
“So courageous you are, hmm?” He ripped open the front of her robe. “Let’s see how long that bravery remains.”
§
The crash of the door, followed by the din of voices, woke Amara out of a sound sleep. Disoriented, she sat up on the leather sectional and glanced around the room. It took her a moment to remember that she’d been hanging out at Brynn’s place with Brynn and Maya. She must’ve fallen asleep right here on the couch.
Bram, who’d come over to ‘stay’ with them—which clearly meant he’d been asked to guard her—sat outside on the terrace. He must have heard the noise too, because he walked inside. “They back?”
“I don’t—”
She cut off as Ronin, Keegan, and Dagan entered the living room. Their clothes were torn and bloodstained, and dried blood clung to their skin in specks. Wiping the sleep from her eyes with the sleeve of the red polka-dot pajamas Brynn had given her, Amara rose to get a better view of Ronin.
As always, seeing him was sweet agony. She ignored the ever-present, gnawing hunger in her gut. There were far more important things. Like the fact he appeared to have been in a battle. The fabric of his sweater had practically disintegrated around the shoulders, and one entire sleeve was torn to shreds. Her chest grew tight and she rushed over to him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Already completely healed.” He smiled and brought a hand to her cheek, using his thumb to caress her skin. For a brief moment she forgot about everyone else in the room. About everything other than her and Ronin and how a simple touch from him made her feel like she could soar.
“What happened?” Bram asked, shattering the momentary spell between the two of them.
“We were ambushed,” Keegan said.
“Ambushed?” Amara glanced at Keegan. “By Asmodeus?”
“Yes. He hired some goons to attack us and take us prisoner.” Keegan smiled grimly. “They didn’t.”
A sense of dread caused an involuntary shiver in her spine. She folded her hands into the sleeves of her pajama top and hugged them to her chest, taking comfort in the added sense of security the fabric gave her. “How did he know about you?”
“Good question,” Dagan said.
She recoiled from the suspicion in his eyes. “You think I’ve been giving him information?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Ronin reassured her. To his brother he snapped, “Cut it out.”
“Seriously, we don’t know anything about her. What if she’s been feeding him information all along?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Ronin growled. But Dagan’s words triggered a seed of doubt in Amara’s head. She lifted the sleeve of her top and stared at the golden band on her wrist.
Dagan softened his tone. “I’m not saying she’s evil or anything. She’s already admitted he has her mother. Maybe he’s forcing her to spy for him.”
“It’s not true. Tell him, Amara.” When she didn’t immediately respond, Ronin tensed and turned to her. “Amara?”
“The band, remember?” She raised her wrist toward Ronin. “He said he could track me with it. What if he’s been spying on us all along?”
He frowned, two lines appearing between his brows. “If that was the case, don’t you think he would’ve ambushed us here at home?”
“I don’t think we’re gonna find any answers tonight,” Keegan said. He strode toward the bar and upended one of the glasses, then got out a bottle labeled Johnny Walker Gold and poured himself a glass. “We need to figure out what the hell we’re going to do.”
The worry lines still marred Ronin’s forehead. Amara touched her finger to them, smoothing them out. It killed her that she was the cause of all his problems. How easier life would be for him if he had never met her. “How did you get away from the men after you?”
“We fought them,” Ronin said.
Dagan snorted and stomped over to the sectional, throwing himself back on it. “We schooled them.”
“Don’t forget we got our own share of cuts and bruises,” Keegan said.
She trailed her hand down his arm. “Why didn’t you use your angelic ability to calm them into submission?”
“Too many of them. Doesn’t work well in a crowd that size. The ones furthe
st from the blast zone would quickly figure out someone was trying to fuck with their emotions and get even more pissed.” He wound his hand around hers. “Besides, it only seems to work when you’re nearby.”
Her jaw dropped. “Since when?”
Ronin shrugged. “I lost that ability after the...after Opiate. But Taeg pointed out the other day that being around you seems to trigger it back into action.”
“After Opiate? I...” Her heart plummeted. She didn’t even know what to say. How did one apologize for something like that?
“It’s okay.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
She didn’t think it was, but if he could so nonchalantly accept it, maybe it was for the best if she did, too. At least for now.
Amara took a breath, fearful to bring up the next topic when she was sure she already knew the answer. “I take it you didn’t learn anything about Solar—?”
The band on her wrist heated with fiery intensity. It blazed a scalding trail up her arm, and into her torso. Her heart clenched and stuttered before resuming its beat at triple speed. At the same time, a sharp stab of pain wrenched her stomach, blinding her vision with shards of white. She gasped and doubled over.
“What is it?” Alarm colored Ronin’s voice as he crouched down to wrap his arms around her, lending her support.
“My stomach. Oh.” Rolling waves of agony constricted all her muscles, driving her body into spasms. She fell forward onto Ronin and couldn’t pull herself back. Couldn’t do anything other than moan.
“Amara.” Ronin pulled her to him, supporting her head when it flopped to the side. “Tell me, what’s wrong?”
She opened her mouth, but she couldn’t summon the energy to form the words.
No energy. Biting pain. Oh hell, this had to be Asmodeus’s doing. He’d finally decided she’d outlived her usefulness.
He was killing her.
Another blast of pain sent fireworks through her vision, and then everything went black. Ronin set her down on the floor, and she didn’t even have the strength to curl into a ball.
Torture. So Asmodeus had decided to torture her before letting her die. Didn’t that figure?
She felt another set of hands on her, then heard Keegan’s voice. “How long since she last fed?”
Ronin murmured a response, but she couldn’t hear it over the sudden ringing in her ears.
At least the pain isn’t as bad anymore. With that final thought, she lost consciousness.
Chapter Fifteen
Ronin paced the length of Keegan’s living room floor, cursing the fact that he couldn’t do a damn thing. He was such a shit. Ignoring what she was because it suited him. He’d known all along she was starving. She’d admitted as much to him the first night he’d apprehended her. But knowing what feeding her entailed, he’d put it off. Buried his head in the sand. Hoped she could somehow fight her nature. Now she might very well be dying, and it was his fucking fault.
“Stop, Ronin.” Brynn took a seat on the couch next to Amara’s prone figure, and placed a cold compress over her feverish brow. “This isn’t your fault.”
“In what reality?” he snapped. “I knew she needed to feed. I knew it, but I did nothing.”
Keegan walked into the living room with his cell phone in hand. “I’ve got the charter plane. They’re fueling up and should be ready to go by the time you get there.”
“Good.” After Amara had lost consciousness, Ronin had called Cresso, described what happened, and Cresso had assured him Amara had two to three days to get sustenance before she...
Fuck!
If she lost her life because of him, he didn’t know what he’d do.
“You know, I have an incubus friend in New Orleans,” Cresso had said with hesitation in his voice. “I can’t come to you right now, but he might be able to, and it would be faster than flying all the way over here.”
The thought of a stranger laying hands on Amara made him want to destroy everything within reach. “Will she survive the trip to London?”
“Yes.” Cresso’s voice had been certain. “You’ve got enough time.”
“Then we’ll meet you there.” It was stupid, yes, but if there was any sort of choice, he wanted it to be someone he knew and trusted. Someone like Cresso.
When Ronin had spoken again, his voice cracked. “Cresso, I...”
“Hey, it’s okay, man. It’ll be fine. Focus on getting your girl here. She’ll make it through. I promise.”
Ronin hadn’t bothered correcting him about Amara being his girl. Not when there were so many other things to worry about.
“I packed some clothes and toiletries for Amara.” Brynn struggled to rise and Keegan rushed to help her. She pointed to a black duffel bag at the foot of the couch. “She’ll want them when she wakes up.”
“Thank you.”
Brynn’s eyes softened and she walked up to Ronin, dragging him down for a hug. “She’ll be fine. I know it.”
Ronin wished he could be so certain. He closed his arms around her. “Thanks.”
When he pulled away, Keegan snatched him into a one-armed hug. “Dagan’s waiting for you downstairs in his car. Don’t worry, we’ll keep searching for a way to free Amara’s mother.”
Ronin clapped Keegan on the back and broke away. He hefted the duffel bag onto one shoulder, along with a bag he’d packed for himself, and lifted Amara into his arms. She didn’t rouse. Not that he’d expected her to. As Cresso had suggested, he’d given her a human sedative. The effect would only last a few hours, but Cresso had said it would help ease her pain as well as lessen her body’s absorption of the life essence she had left.
He headed down to the garage. As promised, Dagan sat in the driver’s seat of his car. Ronin maneuvered himself and Amara into the backseat, and Dagan took off fast. They made it to the airport quicker than he could’ve hoped. The charter plane and pilot awaited them there.
Dagan carried his and Amara’s bags onto the plane and waited until Ronin laid Amara down on the tan suede couch that lined one end of the plane. He grabbed him into a hug. “Be safe.”
“I’m not going off to war.”
“I know. It’s only...you will wait until you get to Cresso, right?”
The insinuation behind his question made Ronin go still. “I don’t have a death wish, brother.”
“Good,” Dagan said into his hair. “Because if you get yourself killed, I’ll beat your fucking ass.”
Ronin broke away with a laugh. “Duly noted.”
“Don’t forget to call us.” Dagan clapped him on the shoulder and left.
As the plane taxied on the runway, Ronin sat next to Amara and laid her head on his lap. She appeared mostly peaceful, though every now and again she would utter a low moan and thrash around. Doubt and uncertainty gnawed at him. Was he doing the right thing in flying all the way to London? What would she want him to do?
Dagan’s words came back to haunt him. You will wait, won’t you?
He would, because Amara wouldn’t want him to lay down his life for hers. Somehow he knew that if he did such a thing, it’d destroy her. She might not think so, but Amara was a decent person, one who’d gotten a bum deal in life. A kind soul rested in her body.
Her brows knitted together and she turned her head toward his stomach. She undulated against him, the hardened peaks of her breasts poking against the satin fabric of her pajamas. The unconscious movement, along with the heavy waves of allure her body put out, made his cock go stiff. Go back to sleep, you stupid idiot.
“Hold on, Amara.” He cupped her cheek. “We’ll be there soon. Please hold on.”
§
The flaxen-haired angel spotted him and zoomed over to where he and his friends hovered. She placed her cherubic hands on her waist and addressed him with an exaggerated pout
. “Where are you going?”
“None of your business,” he heard himself respond in that little boy voice.
Inside, he screamed at himself. No. Don’t turn her away. But that would do no good. This wasn’t an actual dream, but a memory. He knew better than anyone, he couldn’t change the past.
“Don’t go,” she said with a quiver in her voice. “Stay and play with me.”
He laughed and ruffled her hair. “Go play with your own friends, pest. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”
She gave a furtive glance around and her voice lowered to a whisper. “You know you’re not supposed to go to ground. Mama Flavia will kill you if she finds out.”
“We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t find out, won’t we?”
“But Xander, it’s dangerous.” Her eyes welled with emotion, and it tugged at his heartstrings. She’d lost a lot of loved ones. Deep down he knew she feared losing him, too. It was only to be expected of a five-year-old.
“Don’t worry,” he said lightly. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” he said with all the confidence of someone who had no idea what the future held.
“Xander, come on,” one of his friends yelled.
“See you later, pest.” He turned, never knowing he’d unintentionally lied to her. That this was the last time he’d see her.
No.
No.
Ronin jolted awake, almost sending Amara tumbling to the ground. He grabbed her and repositioned her on his lap, settling back onto the suede couch. With a sigh, he smoothed her hair from her face. The meaning of his dream hadn’t escaped him. Despite all he’d done to prevent it, here he found himself again. At risk of losing someone he cared about. Like he’d lost his mother...and Lina. Was he forever doomed when it came to the women in his life?
If only he’d turned the other way when he’d first seen Amara at Opiate. Or let her go when she’d fled the dance floor. But he couldn’t back then, and he couldn’t do it now. Something about her called to him on a primal level. It was soul deep, beyond chemistry. Now he could begin to understand how difficult it had been for Keegan when he’d first met Brynn. How he hadn’t been able to resist her, no matter the consequences.
Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) Page 16