by Vivi Anna
“If there are guards down there, I’d sooner see you get shot than one of us.”
Shaking his head, he swung his legs over into the grate and lowered himself until he disappeared.
Kat peered down, her weapon cocked and ready in case he made a run for it without them.
He didn’t. Still standing on one of the tables, he peered up at her and grinned. “Come on down.
Coast is clear. Everyone’s watching the fight Wally’s gotten himself into. It’ll be a while before they break that one up.”
Shouldering her shotgun, Kat slid through the hole and let Onyx help her down to the table. She jumped off the table and put her hand on her gun, ready for any trouble that might arise. None did while Leucothea and Hades dropped down. The patrons were busy watching Wally punch some guy in the middle of the room.
Once they were on the ground, Kat glanced around, looking for the quickest way out. “We need to find a way up and out. We can’t take the lift. It’ll be well guarded by now.”
“There’s a ladder on the other side of the market,” Hades commented. “Thea and I came down that way. No guards.”
“Let’s move quickly but cautiously. The less attention we draw to ourselves, the better.” Kat glanced at Onyx. He was standing there nodding at her, still dressed in only his cutoff denim pants. No shirt or shoes. He stuck out like a bruise on porcelain skin. “You need a cloak.”
He glanced down at himself and then noticed a moss-green cloak draped over one of the chairs.
Picking it up, he covered himself with it, pulling up the hood. “Better?”
“It’ll do. Just keep your head down, and walk behind Hades. He’s big enough to shield you.”
Onyx glanced at Hades. “She sure is bossy.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Hades commented with a half smile.
Kat glared at him, but he just winked at her, his sexy dimple flashing at her. Instantly her resolve melted, and she returned his smile.
He put his arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Come on, babe, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“You lead, I’ll follow.”
“Hmmm, that’s a first.” Chuckling, he pressed another quick kiss to her head and then started his way through the tavern to the exit.
23
There were no guards waiting when they stepped out of Pell’s tavern and into the marketplace, just throngs of people walking about, looking at shop carts or going someplace else.
Hades moved out into the streaming crowd and hoped that they blended in. Hunching down, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were right behind him. They were, Kat taking the rear.
Just looking at her, eyes darting around, hand gripping the barrel of her shotgun, made his heart ache. She was a fighter, and he knew she’d never surrender. He hoped he could lead them out of here without her having to consider that option.
While they moved through the marketplace, Hades eyed the crowd, looking for any sign of danger. So far, nobody was paying them any mind. Cart keepers went about their business hocking their wares, and consumers bought them. They were just four anonymous inhabitants of Inferno out for a stroll.
As they edged closer to the end of the marketplace, Hades could see the ladder he and Leucothea had descended. It was thankfully unguarded. A few more yards and they’d be safely making their way up.
Shivers of dread raced down his back. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it crawling over his skin like a thousand baby spiders. Glancing up to the second level, he quickly spied the reason for his apprehension.
They’d been spotted.
Four burly guards with rifles were following them along the second level, two on each side. They were trapped. The only thing keeping them safe was the possibility that the guards might not shoot into the crowd for fear of hitting others. From what he knew of Satarah and her men, that was a huge leap of faith.
Hades slowed his pace and dropped back so he could talk to Kat. When he was in step with her, she glanced at him sideways. By the look in her eyes, he knew she suspected something was wrong.
“We have company.”
“I know.” She moved her hand down, showing him she already had one of her throwing stars gripped tightly in her fingers. “I can take one out on the right. But I don’t know what kind of advantage that’ll give us.”
“It’ll be one less gun shooting at us,” Hades joked.
Kat chuckled.
Hades nodded to the right. “I’ll take the other one out, and we’ll run left. If we stay under the shop canopies, the guards up top won’t have a clear shot.”
“I’ll take whatever advantage we can get.”
Hades shuffled forward, coming up between Leucothea and Onyx. “Keep your eyes forward, and don’t look at me. I want you two to start walking to the left. But do not get into the open. Stay grouped up with others.”
Leucothea protested. “But—”
“Just do it. There’s going to be shooting soon. Four guards are tracking us from the second level.
As soon as you hear a gunshot, run and get under the canopies of the shops, and then keep running. No matter what happens, get up top. Get out of Inferno.”
With that, Hades fell back to keep stride with Kat. He watched as Onyx took Leucothea’s hand and started veering off to the left.
He hoped they’d get free. Someone in this tale needed a “happily ever after.” Glancing at Kat, he suspected it wouldn’t be for either of them. They had both lived their lives dangerously.
Constantly on the edge of death. Together, they had managed to escape it twice.
He didn’t think they were three times charmed.
“How come it always comes down to us having to battle our way out of situations?”
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Lucky, I guess.”
By god, he wanted to kiss her right there and then. It wasn’t fair that he had to march into battle without her taste on his lips.
Coming to a stop, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t stop him from covering her mouth with his. She met his frantic passion with her own.
They gorged themselves on each other. Nipping and tugging on each other’s lips, sweeping their tongues over one another, frenzied to taste, to consume one last time.
Breaking the kiss, Hades rested his forehead on hers and sighed deeply. “I think the universe is trying to tell us something, babe. Every time we’re together, someone’s trying to rip us apart.”
“Yeah, love’s a bitch.”
“It certainly is.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Ready?”
“Always.”
Taking a step back and whipping around, Hades raised his shotgun and fired at one of the guards watching them from the second-level. At the same time, Kat flung her metal star at the other guard.
Hades’ shot nearly ripped the knee out of the guard’s leg and peppered the other guy with buckshot. Screaming, the injured gunman went down, just as Kat’s throwing star stuck the other guard in the throat. Before either one hit the metal of the second-level walkway, Hades and Kat were sprinting left across the marketplace.
The guards above them on the opposite side opened fire into the screaming, panicking crowd.
As Hades and Kat maneuvered around people, pushing them out of the way, bullets whizzed by.
An old man took a shot in the shoulder just as Hades ducked around him. The guards didn’t seem to care who went down as they kept shooting into the frenzied throng of people.
From the right side, the downed guard waved his hand madly in the air and yelled, “Don’t hit the woman! Baruch wants her alive!”
After a couple of narrow escapes, Hades made it to the left side under the line of shop canopies.
He stopped there and waited for Kat, his heart all but frozen in his chest as he watched her struggle.
She’d fallen. A young man with a blossoming red spot on his chest was
lying on top of her.
Scrambling out from under the body, Kat got up and ran. Reaching out, Hades snagged her arm and pulled her in the rest of the way. Without time to wait, he kept her hand in his and started to run along the shops protected by the overhang above.
The firing ceased as they ran. The guards were probably moving along the metal ramp trying to get in better position. Hades knew it wouldn’t be long before more guards surrounded them. The shooting definitely would have alerted others.
While his legs pumped, pain continually surged through him. Radiating from his throbbing side, it had turned into one big ball of hurt rolling all over him. It was becoming next to impossible for him to take in breath without coughing.
He couldn’t run for much longer. It was like fire inside his lungs. It wouldn’t take much more for him to burn out completely.
As they sprinted down the shop lane, Kat could hear Hades’ ragged intake of breath. She didn’t know how he was still moving. His stamina and strength astounded her to no end. He’d never give up. She loved him for that. Loved him for every step he was taking, knowing it was killing him.
The end of the marketplace was nearing quickly. If they wanted to continue, they’d have to take the stairs up to the next level. However, that would take them out into the open. Vulnerable to sniper fire. The only other option was to turn around and run the other way. Like a rat on a wheel with nowhere to go.
As they raced past the last shop, a jewelry store, Kat spied the line of guards at the end of the lane, making the decision easy. Turn around and run. But where were Leucothea and Onyx?
That answer appeared just as she and Hades came to an abrupt stop next to the jewelry maker’s cart.
Leucothea and Onyx were on their knees in front of two guards, guns pointed at the backs of their heads. Tears streamed down the Neried’s face.
Kat’s heart lurched at the sight of her.
The three other guards raised their weapons toward Kat and Hades. One of them yelled, “Stay where you are!”
As if! Without another thought, Kat released Hades’ hand and raced toward the guards. Slipping her hands under her cloak, she pried two metal stars from her belt. She whipped them at the two men holding her friends hostage.
One struck Leucothea’s guard in the cheek. Shrieking, he dropped his gun and brought his hands up to his wounded face. The other star hit the man behind Onyx in the shoulder. It afforded the dark man the opportunity to turn, yank the weapon out of the guard’s hands, and roll away.
Hades took the man down with a gunshot to the head.
The other guards were bewildered as Kat come barreling toward them. They obviously had never encountered a woman like Kat before. Fearless and just a little insane.
Finally one regained his senses and started firing his rifle, unconcerned where he aimed.
A bullet tore through Kat’s leg, taking her down. But not before she was able to release another throwing star. It sailed through the air and embedded in the gunman’s stomach. He stumbled back and fired another shot, killing one of his own. Only one guard remained standing, and he quickly rushed to where Kat lay, pointing his gun at her head.
“Don’t move,” he grunted.
As quickly as the guard appeared above her, he fell to the ground with a smoking hole in his chest.
Before she could even contemplate what had happened, Hades was there beside her, lifting her to her feet.
“Can you run?”
Gauging the hot flow of pain surging over her from her limb, she knew it was useless. She’d be surprised if she ever walked again.
She shook her head. “I’m fucked. Leave me. Take the others, and get out.”
“Hey, it’s my turn to be the rescuer, OK? I’ll say when it’s hopeless.”
Squeezing her eyes shut to stem the tears, Kat grunted, “Fine. Be a stubborn bastard.”
The four of them huddled together and stumbled the last few yards to the stairs leading up to the second level. Before they reached the first step, a loud clicking noise echoed around them.
Kat knew that sound. Had heard it many times before.
Glancing up, she saw at least thirty guards surrounding them, all with rifles raised.
They weren’t going anywhere, not in one piece anyway.
Kat sagged against Hades, dark pain swimming in her head and dejection squeezing her like a vise. Gripping his hand, she turned in his arms to look into his face.
“Promise me, if you can get away, you’ll go.” She squeezed his hand tighter, digging in her nails.
She needed his promise before she passed out. “Don’t come for me.”
He shook his head. “I can’t promise that. I won’t leave you ever.”
“He’s going to use you against me, Hades. I know he will.” She closed her eyes against the nausea rising in her throat. “You have no idea what he’s capable of.”
“I’ll take my chances, babe. I’m not leaving you.”
Opening her eyes, she smiled. “Stubborn bastard.”
The last thing she felt before she spiraled down into the black unconsciousness was the gentle press of Hades’ lips to hers.
24
The knock at his door came as no surprise. Baruch knew it wouldn’t be long before Kat and her group of miscreants were captured. He’d been sitting in his chair, sipping wine, contemplating the ways in which he could torture every single one of them.
“Come.”
The door opened, and one of his men rushed in. “The fugitives have been caught, my lord.”
Grinning, Baruch finished the last of his wine and stood. “Where are they?”
“The guards took them to a holding cell one floor below.”
“Excellent.”
“Satarah awaits an audience with you, my lord.”
He chuckled at that. What a wondrous turn of events. Only a few days ago, she was holding court like a queen. Now Satarah was at his door begging him to speak with her.
Obviously the woman had learned her lesson. Baruch was not one to be stopped. If he desired Inferno City as his own, he would have it, one way or another.
“Tell her she may enter.” Baruch refilled his cup with wine and sat back down on his chair. This time he would receive her like a king.
His messenger shuffled out, and Satarah limped in. Although still dressed like royalty, she had lost some of her superior essence. Her chin was held high, but he could see the quiver in it.
Oooh, how he reveled in that sight.
“Kat and the others have been captured,” she announced, trying to appear nonchalant. However, Baruch could hear the apprehension in her voice.
“So I hear.” He took a sip of his drink.
“I’m wondering what you’ll do with them.”
“Why the concern? They are my prisoners now. I will do with them as I please.”
“I know that you’ll not give me Hades, as was originally promised. So I ask that you gift to me the other two. Onyx and the young girl.”
“Why?”
He watched in amusement as she fisted her hands at her sides and glared at him. She was like a spoiled little brat, angry for not getting her way.
“Because you owe me as much for allowing you into my city.”
Baruch was out of his chair and grabbing her by the throat before she could blink. He squeezed her tightly, leaning in close to her face. Her eyes glowed bright in response, but he could see the alarm in the white light.
“I owe you nothing.” He could smell her fear like perfume. Leaning in, he took in a deep breath, nearly swooning from the erotic bouquet. “But as I am in a good mood, you can have the other two.”
Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth and biting on her bottom lip. When he broke the kiss, he released his hold on her neck and pushed her away. The taste of her blood like honey in his mouth.
Massaging her neck, she licked the crimson from her lip and continued to glare at him. “You are very kind.”
He was sure Kat would find Satarah an amusing servant.
“Shall we go tell our guests about all the delicious plans we have for them?”
Baruch felt like he was floating on air, he was so elated. He finally had in his hands everything he’d ever wanted. A kingdom to rule, a woman to tame, and a man to torture in front of her.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun.
Whistling a peppy tune, he exited his room, Satarah following demurely behind, and followed the long hallway to the elevator to take him down to the holding cells.
25
Hades didn’t know how long he’d hung there, naked, from the ceiling, the metal shackles digging into his wrists, before the holding-cell door opened and Baruch entered with a bright, cheery smile on his pale, cruel face.
However long it had been, it wasn’t long enough. He’d hang there forever if he knew he didn’t have to see the Dark Dweller again.
A woman with flaming red hair had followed him in. Hades needed no introduction to know who she was. Satarah glanced at him briefly and then looked away, her eyes glued to the Dark Dweller. That surprised him, considering Satarah’s reputation for collecting large beefy men as pets. She’d looked at Hades as if she was almost embarrassed.
Hades watched his comrades’ faces as Baruch inspected each of them hanging from chains in the ceiling, his eyes shining with glee.
Onyx was hanging naked to his left. He appeared to be a man that had been through this once or twice before. His face was slack and void of emotion.
Leucothea, on the other hand, looked like she’d pass out at any minute. The girl hadn’t stopped trembling since the guards had brought them to the cell. His heart went out to her. Out of them all, she was the most fragile. If she survived this, he wasn’t sure she’d do it with her mind intact.