Mercy's Protectors (Mercy Ashby Book 1)

by A. M. Hardin

  "You promise?" She asks.

  "I promise. You'll be safe with them," I swear, knowing deep in my gut I will come back for this little girl. She nods, her green eyes shining with a trust that I pray with all my heart that I don't break.

  Standing, I face my mom and uncle. "You guys take Vivian and go to Hunter and his team. They'll keep you all safe for me." I meet Roderick's eyes. "Can you teleport them to the guys?"

  He nods, his eyes hard. "Yes."

  “They're at Hunter's cabin,” I tell him telepathically, knowing he'll be able to find them just from that information alone.

  I guide Vivian to my moms arms while Jerome unlocks the handcuffs from my uncles wrists.

  "I told Mercy you three can leave first," Jerome informs Roderick after seeing the questioning look on his face. Understanding dawns before he grabs my mom and Vivian's arms and disappears from our sight. I breathe a sigh of relief when they're gone and meet Jerome's eyes. "Time to go."

  I nod, ignoring the churning in my stomach. I survived before, I'll survive again. I just have to keep believing that.

  Jerome grabs my arm roughly in his grasp and the momentary disorientation from teleportation makes me dizzy as we appear in a large, mostly empty room. There's a few chairs in front of the fireplace ahead but that's it. I stiffen when the room stops spinning and I finally notice him staring into the fire, back facing me.

  "It's been a long time, Mercy," he says, keeping his body to the fire in front of him, although I know he's well aware of every movement I make.

  "Not nearly long enough, Payne."

  22

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mercy

  I inhale sharply when Payne turns from the fire and faces me, dismissing Jerome with a nod. He hasn't aged a damn day since I last saw him.

  Still has the same brown hair, the same angry red eyes. Even though he's a gorgeous demon, he radiates evil and menace. Even just being in the same room as him is giving me the creeps. The fact that he's meeting my eyes but giving away nothing makes a chill roll down my spine.

  "You've been giving my men a great deal of trouble Mercy," he chides.

  I raise a brow. "This somehow surprises you?"

  His eyes narrow. "I see you got that attitude of yours back."

  "I see you're still the same evil bastard as before," I retort, not willing to show him the fear that's running through my veins.

  Payne's mouth quirks up on one side as he makes his way to stand in front of me. It takes all of my willpower not to tense. Lifting his hand, he runs a finger down my cheek. I clench my fists, mentally reminding myself that I can't retaliate. Not yet.

  "You're so much more beautiful now than you were then," he muses. "It's almost painful to look at you."

  "Considering I was twelve the last time you saw me, it shouldn't be much of a fucking shock that I changed," I bite out, wincing inwardly when anger flashes through his eyes.

  "Not that it matters, I suppose," he says with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I would have taken you to my bed anyway. The fact that you're not hideous to look at is a plus."

  "I will never let you take me to bed," I snap. "I'm not the same scared little girl you had here before, Payne."

  "It may not be right away my dear, but it will happen. That, I can assure you," he vows.

  "Over my dead body," I promise, looking him directly in the eye to convey just how serious I am.

  "That can be arranged. Of course, it'll be after you have my children." He says it so nonchalantly, like this was a completely normal conversation to be having. Fucking psycho.

  I glare at him, saying nothing. There's nothing I can say that will dissuade him from this stupidity.

  He runs the pad of his index finger over my lips and I jerk back, out of reach. He pins me in place with the intensity of his stare. "You will submit to me, Mercy. If you're a good girl, I may just let you live to take care of my children and be my consort."

  My jaw drops. "Are you serious?" Apparently he was living in a dream world because that is definitely not the future I want or see for myself.

  "Definitely." He stops and looks at the door behind me as it creaks open.

  "Master, your father is here and he wants to speak with you," Jerome says.

  Payne looks at me for a split second before turning his gaze back to Jerome. "Fine. Take Mercy to get acquainted with her new room."

  "Of course, My Lord." Jerome comes forward and grabs my arm. He starts to drag me from the room with Payne's eyes glued to my back the entire time, making me shiver.

  "Room?" I ask when it's just the two of us walking down the long corridor. I attempt to shake off Jerome's hand, determined to walk on my own and not be dragged to my prison but he doesn't let up. "Not a dungeon this time, huh? I can honestly say that I'm shocked. Will you let me the fuck go?" I snap after several failed attempts of loosening his hold. "I can walk myself you fucking jackass."

  Jerome scowls at me. "Shut up. I'm not letting you go and taking the chance of you running. Payne would have my damn head. Unfortunately for you, I value my life, much more than I do yours."

  I snort but decide not to comment, instead something he said before flashes in my memory. "You really expect Payne to hand me over to you when he's done with me?" I ask curiously.

  "Of course. He said he would." He speaks with such surety that I almost believe it. Since I was in the room with Payne when he announced that I'd either be dead or his own consort, the chances of me being given to Jerome are pretty damn slim.

  I don't inform him of that little tidbit just yet though. Maybe I can see if that'll get him to help me out in the future if he learns that his master isn't going to keep his promise. Though, he is a very high level demon, so no one can really expect them to keep their promises.

  Especially when you consider who his father is.

  "So what does daddy dearest want with his little boy?" I ask, deliberately trying to piss him off. Jerome and I are fairly evenly matched now, though he's still slightly better but I'm sick of encouraging this bullshit. I'm sick of being here, I want to go back to the guys and I want to be done with all of this shit. I want away from Payne's sick and demented self, away from Jerome's delusions.

  "That is of no concern to you," Jerome replies as he comes to a stop in front of a large door with two male demons standing guard outside. "This will be your room."

  One of the guards pushes the door open and I narrow my eyes at Jerome after getting an eyeful of my "room", not at all believing what I'm seeing.

  "Are you fu-" I don't get the rest of my sentence out because Jerome catches me off guard by backhanding me so hard I stumble back a few steps.

  Fuck that hurt.

  I bring my hand up to cup my cheek and glare up at Jerome as he invades my personal space, exuding danger.

  "It would seem that you need to learn your place all over again, my pet," he sneers.

  "I'm not your pet," I growl.

  His mouth turns up in an evil smirk as he grabs my upper arm and shoves me into the room. "Mmm, maybe not yet, but you will be. Very, very soon."

  "Delusional bastard," I mutter to the closed door and rub my sore cheek while absently looking around my room.

  The place looks like it's fit for a damn queen. Large bed placed in the center of the room with gorgeous red silk bedding across it. There's a fireplace, a chair, a bookshelf that's full of different kinds of books. Making my way to one of the closed doors in the room I open it to reveal a huge ass bathroom. My jaw drops and I shudder as I take in the mirrored walls.

  Freaking perverts these demons are, apparently.

  I leave the bathroom and head towards the only other door in the room that I'm guessing is a closet, since I was pushed inside the third door. A groan slips out of my mouth as my eyes travel across the dresses, shoes and jewelry throughout the closet. Seriously?

  I guess I went from kickass half-demon to Payne’s whore in the matter of an hour. Judging from all the shit in this closet th
ere’s no way in hell Payne had even thought of giving me to Jerome. Jerome is just too much of a fucking dumbass to see it. Or he just doesn’t want to see it. Either way, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind that was going to happen when I traded myself over.

  Dismissing the clothes I dig through the closet, hoping that someone was dumb enough to put some sort of weapon throughout this monstrosity of a closet. Seeing as before we even left my old house, Jerome confiscated all of my weapons.

  I let out a groan of frustration when my search comes up empty in, not only the closet, but also the bedroom and the bathroom.

  I guess these demons are slightly smarter than I gave them credit for.

  Footsteps echo outside my room, making me tense. I hear the guards talking and laughing through the door but can’t make out any of what they say.

  The footsteps start up again but they’re walking away so every step they take, the noise becomes fainter than before. Losing the tension in my shoulders I move to the bookshelf and I frown when I realize these are all the kind of books that I like to read.

  “Wasn’t aware he had spies that close to me,” I mutter to myself, attempting to push away the unease slithering through my body. “What other secrets are you keeping Payne?”

  I turn when I hear the click of the door in time to see it swish open.

  “What the fuck?” I ask and have to physically hold myself back from attacking the son of a bitch in front of me.

  Payne's mouth kicks up in the corner just a bit as I stare at him and Aiden beside him.

  "Mercy, I believe you've already met one of my spies," Payne says conversationally. Aiden just stares at me, like he’s not even paying any attention.

  "Was he a willing spy?" I ask.

  Payne tilts his head, as if to think about it. "Hmm. You know? I don't believe he was." He chuckles, the dark sound grating on my nerves as it echoes through the room. "At first."

  I narrow my eyes but don't speak, waiting for Payne to get to the point of his visit.

  "Just like your little friend, Ada." He snaps his fingers as if something occurred to him. "Oh, wait. She wasn't a friend was she? If I recall, you both got into a little scuffle your first night at the Order. Isn't that right, Mercy?"

  I don't respond.

  Payne raises a dark eyebrow at me before continuing. "Yes, that's right. How would you like to face both Aiden and Ada in a little duel?"

  "A duel?" I ask.

  "Yes!" He claps his hands together. "It will be so fun won't it? They'll try their absolute best to kill you together, but you mustn't let them. It can be the entertainment for the night before dinner!"

  Dude's seriously demented. He sounds so freaking excited at the prospect of me fighting someone.

  "Are you insane?" I ask rhetorically.

  He grins wickedly. "Oh no, definitely not. I'm just getting excited at the thought of seeing you all bloody and seeing what you can do." He licks his lips and my stomach rolls.

  He's getting turned on by the thought of this shit? What the hell?

  "Whatever Payne," I turn around, dismissing them. "Do what you will."

  "Oh I will," he whispers from directly behind me. He runs a finger slowly down my back. I fight back my shiver, but I can't stop tensing at his touch.

  "Get your damn hands off me," I grind out through gritted teeth.

  He chuckles and backs away. I don't bother turning around until I know him and Aiden have left the room.

  I slowly make my way to the bed and sink down on it to stare at the wall. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

  23

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Mercy

  "I'm not changing," I repeat for what has to be the fifteenth time in the last half hour. We've been doing this stupid dance the moment this chick came in.

  The she-demon Payne sent to help me "get ready" for tonight purses her lips as she glares at me. "Master Payne was very insistent."

  "Well, Payne can kiss my scrawny ass. I'm not fucking changing. I wear what I want to wear to this stupid ass duel. No one dictates what I wear. Especially when I know I'll be fighting and am going to need to be able to move. So, no, I will not wear that atrocious dress. It's not happening."

  She grinds her teeth so hard I can hear them crack. "It's Master Payne," she hisses.

  I roll my eyes. "Why don't you just go tattle on me like I just know you're going to do anyways."

  She huffs and turns to go to the door. She stops and glances at me from over her shoulder when I call out to her.

  "I will never call him Master. He is not and will never be my Master. You can go ahead and tell him that too." I wave her away and she scowls at me before leaving.

  Jerome enters moments after she leaves and has an almost identical scowl on his face as the she-demon.

  "What?" I snap.

  "You're not dressed."

  "The fuck ever, I'm not dressed. I'm not dressed the way your precious fucking master wanted me to be dressed. I'm wearing my own fucking clothes if I'm going to be forced to be a part of this stupid ass duel."

  Yeah, it's safe to say that I've lost my temper at this point.

  Jerome just shakes his head. "Fine. Come."

  "I am not a damn dog." I cross my arms across my chest and glare at him.

  "Are you seriously going to be this damn difficult all night?" Jerome finally snaps and I have to bite back a smirk. Good. Maybe I'll just piss them all off and make them leave me alone that way.

  Doubt that'll work though. My luck isn’t that good.

  "Damn fucking straight." His face turns an unnatural shade of red as he attempts to rein in his anger.

  He exhales heavily and makes a waving motion in front of him. I'm honestly shocked that he didn't hit me again. "Just try to tone it down, Mercy. Master Payne's father will be at dinner. As well as a special guest."

  "Special guest?" I raise an eyebrow at his knowing smirk. It makes me want to smack it off his face.

  "Well, guests would be a more appropriate word, I suppose. And you'll be providing the before dinner entertainment."

  "Yippee for me," I mutter irritably.

  Jerome flashes a dark look my way when we get to a set of large double doors. "You will be respectful when we enter this room. None of that attitude that you've been throwing around since you got here."

  I give him a brittle smile but otherwise don't respond. I know I won't be able to promise to behave. If something pisses me off I'll say something. I also don't plan on keeping my mouth shut if someone's being a dick. The sooner these assholes realize that the better.

  Jerome narrows his eyes at me for a second before turning to open the double doors.

  I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes when I see the extravagance of the dining room. Payne really likes the finer things, doesn't he?

  The dishes are all gold, the large table can seat at least twenty. If not more. The seats all resemble miniature thrones and are lined with gold and jewels. There's large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, lighting the room.

  I finally tear my gaze off the lights and other decorations and look around at the people that are standing around chatting, apparently waiting for the entertainment to start. My eyes catch on two males standing side by side, watching me and my jaw drops.

  “What are you guys doing here?” I send telepathically to Hunter. I knew they’d come for me, I just didn’t think they’d do it so… openly.

  He shakes his head slightly. “You need to act like you don't know us for now, Mercy. I'll explain everything soon.”

  I look at Talon standing beside him and he inclines his head slightly to me. “That's if I make it that long.”

  Hunter tenses slightly. If I weren't watching him and Talon so closely, I wouldn't have seen it. “What do you mean?”

  “I'm the before dinner entertainment.”

  His expression shutters and darkens as someone claps their hands together to get everyone's attention.

  "If I could hav
e everyone's attention please!" Payne's voice echoes throughout the room as he makes his way to me. "I have a little announcement to make." He stops at my side and wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him. "First, I'd like to thank our Lord, Satan and his sons, our Princes, as well as my father for joining us tonight."

  He gestures to a man who looks to be in his mid thirties who bears a striking resemblance to Hunter. The demon nods his head. "It's definitely my pleasure. My oldest sons Hunter and Torn are happy to accompany me."

  Wait, what?

  I meet Hunter's eyes from across the room and his expression is carefully blank, though his eyes tell a different story.

  “Hunter?” I send the thought to him, feeling extremely unsure.

  “It's not exactly a good idea to tell people right away that I'm the spawn of Satan,” Hunter replies not showing any emotion on his face.

  "Next, I have a special treat for everyone tonight," Payne continues. "Two of my warriors will be going against the lovely she-demon at my side in a duel, before we sit to feast."

  Someone snorts as a few chuckles flutter around the room.

  "I can smell the human on her," a woman scoffs. "She is not a full-demon. Yet, you expect her to be able to take on two warriors at once? It's just pathetic."

  I narrow my eyes to study the female as she sneers at me. I chuckle when I see the bitter gleam in her eyes as they continue to dart to the arm Payne has around my shoulders.

  Oh ho, someone's jealous.

  "Something funny half-demon?" she snarls.

  I smile sweetly at her. "Of course not. I don't know what you mean. I mean, other than that bitterness that is so clearly written all over your face. That’s actually quite hilarious." Mainly because this she-demon has nothing to worry about when it comes to me and Payne. Gag. Pretty sure I’d rather die first.

  She looks to Payne and says softly, "This child needs someone to teach her a lesson in manners. Are you sure your warriors will be able to do such a thing?"

  He smirks. "Of course not. That's why you will fight her first Damiana."