Knight's Dominion (Knights of Hell Book 4)

by Sherilee Gray

  "Chaos..."

  Chaos cut Gunner off with a hard look. "She needs to hear this for her own safety.”

  Jesus, he really was a giant, egotistical asshole. “I didn't know you cared?”

  "The only thing I care about right now is that you're wasting my time."

  "Then please, by all means spread your wings and fly…preferably into the sun, but I’m not picky, a concrete wall would be okay as well. I can handle things from here." She shoved past him and stepped over the ashy remains of the creep who’d attacked her. Couldn't get much deader. "I really wish you hadn't killed him. I would’ve liked the chance to question him."

  To ask why he’d paused, why it looked like he’d changed his mind and was about to help her back up.

  "Did he say anything?” Gunner asked.

  “Nothing important.” She picked up the wallet and did a quick search. Nothing. Inwardly cringing, she slid her hand deep into his jeans pocket, then unable to help herself, glanced back at Chaos and winked. "Don't panic, I’m not searching for tips. I can't exactly use my feminine wiles on him in this condition." The male growled, and she shook her head. “You really are a humorless bastard."

  "You have no idea," Gunner muttered, lips twitching again.

  "How do you live with him?"

  "It's not easy, but getting to beat on him during training helps."

  A shiver came out of nowhere and traveled over her skin, raising goose bumps. That was some mental image. But instead of Gunner, it was her. She'd love to have a go at him, maybe make him lose some of that tightly held control, get him all sweaty and pissed off. Maybe he’d pin her to the floor.

  She quickly shook the images from her head. The very idea had guilt twisting her insides. After what he’d done, how he’d let her people down, he was the last male on earth she should be lusting after.

  She spotted something among the ashes and picked it up. A ring with a weird dragon birdlike creature engraved into black stone. The same symbol as the one on the cuff link she found in Tina's apartment.

  "What is it?” Chaos moved beside her, and the hum of all that tightly leashed power radiated from his big body, calling to her on a purely instinctive level, making her want to rub against him, to take some of it for herself.

  “Not sure." Not a lie. She had no reason to go into Tina's disappearance with the knight, not yet anyway. It could mean nothing, they could be members of the same lonely-hearts club or bought them from the same store.

  "Have you seen this before?" she asked anyway.

  He shook his head, ran a hand down his beard, then glanced up at her. "You can leave now. We'll clean this up."

  She rolled her eyes again. “You sweet talker, you. Admit it. With charm like that, you’re beating the females off with a stick.” Then for some messed-up reason, she held her breath, waiting for his answer.

  "I don't have time for females," he said without breaking eye contact. Was he sending her some kind of message? Like she might be desperate to get him between the sheets.

  Wow. Grab a guy’s dick once and he gets all kinds of ridiculous ideas. Arrogant jerk.

  “Aww, even self-centered meatheads deserve to get off occasionally, big guy." She didn't know why she was pushing him, it wasn’t like his sex life was of interest to her. Because it wasn’t. She was just messing with him. Grace didn’t care who he fucked. Nope.

  Then why are you holding your breath again?

  His gaze darkened and his tongue darted out to lick his lower lip, leaving behind a sheen that made it look even fuller than before. He leaned closer. “I wouldn’t worry yourself about it. I assure you, I get off when I need to.”

  An image came unbidden, Chaos naked and wet in the shower, his fist wrapped around his cock, pumping the hard flesh with sure, firm strokes. She swallowed. "Well...good for you."

  Good for you?

  What the hell was wrong with her? Her face heated, and she crouched back down, pretending to look through the dead guy’s stuff again. Gunner’s amused grunt didn’t help her fight her embarrassment, either.

  She got to her feet. "Can't find anything else."

  "No," Chaos said. "And I can't see how that would have magically changed since you checked two minutes ago."

  Bastard. "I'll head off, then." She hated that Chaos thought he’d saved her, that in his mind, she’d just proven all the unflattering shit he thought about her and her ability to fight.

  "You sure you're all right, Grace? You want me to drop you home?" Gunner’s wings snapped into place, the bronze feathers were stunning, gold flecks threaded through each one, picking up the light.

  "What, you mean...fly?"

  "Yeah."

  "No," Chaos said.

  She spun to face him. "Why not?"

  He opened his mouth, then closed it. "We have shit to do. That's why."

  As much as she would love to feel what flying was like, and pissing off Chaos would be an added bonus, something about going with Gunner didn't feel right. "I'm fine, thanks anyway."

  Being this close to Chaos muddled her gray matter.

  Made her crave things she knew she didn’t actually want.

  Needing to escape Chaos’s burning gaze, she strode to the edge of the building, right where she’d been dangling a short time ago.

  She turned to face him, and Chaos’s eyes narrowed.

  Grace gave him a one-fingered salute and dropped off the side, catching the lip with the tips of her fingers. Chaos yelled, followed by the sound of his boots pounding toward her. Before he could reach her, she kicked off the wall, propelling herself into the air and twisting on her way across the short distance to the fire escape on the other side of the alley. Grabbing on, she swung through the bars and started climbing.

  She turned back when she reached the rooftop, unable to hide the fuck-you smile on her face. Chaos stood across from her, the space she’d just jumped now between them. His expression could have been carved in stone. Grace laughed, spun, and ran for the shadows.

  Underestimate me again, I fucking dare you.

  She refused to think about him again tonight. She had more important things to worry about.

  Chapter 6

  Chaos turned away as Laz gently pulled Eve into his arms and said something against her ear before kissing her.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful?" she said.

  “Always am.”

  Zenon and Kryos had walked into the control room without a second to spare, no doubt because they'd been dragging out the goodbyes to their own females. Chaos didn't want to intrude, but they needed to get going. When he looked back at them, Laz had Eve’s dark, curly hair fisted in his big hand, looking into her eyes. "Love you.”

  She pulled him in close, and he leaned down so she could whisper something to him that made Lazarus pull her in tighter before he finally let her go. Chaos felt like a voyeur, but for some fucked-up reason he couldn’t look away, swallowing thickly when his brother took his mate’s mouth for one last deep kiss. When she walked away, Lazarus watched until she was gone.

  Chaos cleared his throat, a weird feeling gripping his gut. “You ready?”

  Lazarus rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah."

  “Everything okay?" Gunner asked Laz.

  “Let’s just go.”

  Gunner crossed his arms. "It's not like I haven’t seen how loved up my brothers are before,” he said gruffly. “I mean, I can feel puberty hitting all over again when I’m around Zen and Mia, and let’s not get started on Kryos and Meredith.”

  Kryos grinned, and Zenon chuckled quietly. The sound was rusty, but it was genuine and something none of them had ever thought to hear from the Hell-born knight. They'd nearly lost him not long ago and Chaos thanked the fates every day that Zen found Mia, that she’d been able to save him with her power. Chaos never would’ve forgiven himself if they’d lost him as well.

  Tobias’s absence would always be felt. Always. And made Rocco’s absence now all the more cutting. Zenon had talked to hi
m, but he was staying close to the alley where he’d last seen Kyler, and refused to come home.

  “Talk to us, Laz,” Gunner added.

  Laz gripped the back of his neck. “Eve’s worried, scared every time I leave at night. It’s gotten worse lately.”

  The grins dropped from Kryos’s and Zenon’s faces, and by the hollow looks in their eyes, Chaos guessed they’d had similar conversations with their own females.

  Chaos rubbed at the sudden ache behind his ribs. But there was nothing he could say or do, to change any of it. “Right, let’s head out.” He hated how rough his voice sounded.

  He lifted his chin at Gunner, who was staying behind, and strode to the balcony jutting from the control room. They unfurled their wings and took to the skies.

  Splitting up, Kryos and Zenon branched off, heading for the center of the city, while Chaos and Laz made their way to the outer perimeter on the east side, where a lot of upmarket bars and clubs were located—including Revelry. But under no circumstances was he going in.

  Not after the way his hackles—his demon—had reared to the surface when Gunner had offered to fly Grace home. Not when he’d nearly come out of his damned skin when she’d stepped off the edge of that fucking building. Every instinct he possessed had come alive like some dormant part had been doused in ice water, coughing and spluttering to the surface. He didn’t understand it and had no intention of pursuing the feeling.

  “There." Laz pointed to a building below. An empty bar. The owner had gone broke and closed a few months back and no one had taken over the lease yet. A demon male was at the rear of the building, and went in though the back door, towing a female demon behind him.

  They could just be looking for a quiet place to fuck, and he sure as hell didn’t need to see that, but it could be something else as well.

  They landed a few feet away, and Laz motioned Chaos to go first. "After you, my liege.”

  Chaos shook his head, his brother had obviously had the same thought and would rather not have that shit burned into his retinas for all eternity. “So kind."

  Laz shrugged, his gaze still weighted, worried about his mate.

  Chaos pushed the door open as quietly as he could. Although they’d been joking around, he’d happily go ahead of any of his brothers, putting himself in danger first should things go wrong. They walked in and...nothing. They did a quick search and found the place completely empty.

  Chaos reached out with his senses, but the invisible imprint he always felt when demons were, or had been, near, came back with a big zero on the demon-o-meter. "I can't sense them."

  “Trap?" Laz said, alert, scanning the large open space.

  Something was definitely off.

  The sound of footsteps echoed around the room.

  "What the fuck?" Laz searched the room wildly.

  “Go.” Chaos turned to get the fuck out of there, but it was too late as whatever had been cloaking the demons lifted.

  At least twenty surrounded them, and the fuckers were rocking glazed no-one’s-home expressions. They hadn't had an encounter like this for several weeks, but he hadn't been stupid enough to believe they'd stopped altogether, just that whoever was controlling the demons in Roxburgh had taken a time-out to strengthen their forces.

  Laz being mated meant his powers were stronger, and he sent the ones directly in front of him flying against the unforgiving wall with a blast of power hard enough to leave a dent.

  Chaos's were limited, and as always, his sword arm was his best bet. He fought, cutting through the demons as they rushed forward. Lazarus continued to blast them back, but whoever had control over these demons had them getting right back up.

  Time and again, despite their screams of pain, broken bones, missing limbs, or the fact that several were gray from loss of blood, they kept coming.

  Chaos and Laz quickly got into a rhythm. Laz would knock them back and Chaos would remove their heads.

  He was panting and covered in blood when they finally cleared the room. Only one remained and Chaos closed in, grabbed the male by the throat, and pinned him to the wall. "Who did this to you?" The demon’s mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, like he wanted to tell him, but whatever force had hold of him had control of his damn vocal cords. "This is pointless."

  He pulled back and removed the demon’s head. It instantly disintegrated, turning to ash like the others.

  Lazarus planted his hands on his hips. “How did they know where we were? How do they keep finding us? Bigger numbers? We would've been screwed."

  He wanted to know the answer to that as well. How did these fuckers know where they were patrolling? Chaos pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text to Zenon warning them.

  “They're toying with us right now. Testing their power.” He ran his hands over his head. "Diemos is behind this somehow, but who the hell is pulling the strings here on Earth?"

  “Marcus might have some ideas."

  Marcus was a full demon, and for lack of a better term, Zenon’s “father in-law.” "I've already questioned him, he hasn’t heard anything. Since his daughter hooked up with a knight, he’s well and truly out of the loop.”

  Lazarus cursed.

  A wall-shaking crash echoed through the room, the sound coming from the rear of the building. Jesus, now what? They raced for the exit and burst out the door.

  Rocco.

  Fuck.

  He had his hand wrapped around a demon’s throat. The fucker was probably a lookout. Their brother’s eyes were flat black, his inner demon working with him as he held the smaller male in an unyielding grip.

  "I'll ask you again, and this time you'll tell me the truth.” Rocco grabbed the demon’s wrist and slammed it against the wall. Blood leaked from him in several places and his index finger was missing.

  The demon was fully alert and making a lot of noise, but not the kind of noise Roc wanted. Without hesitation, he sliced off another digit. The demon screamed.

  "Roc, fuck. Stop,” Lazarus said, coming up beside him.

  "He won't tell me if she's all right. He won't..." Rocco punched the wall by the demon’s head. "Fucking tell me!" he screamed in the male’s face.

  Chaos moved in, too. He’d never seen Rocco like this, this out of control.

  "I-I don't know who y-you're…ah, talking about…I-I…was given sanctuary…”

  "This isn't you, my brother. Step back." Chaos didn't miss the fear in his own voice. They’d all watched Tobias go through something similar, and they couldn’t let Roc slip away as well.

  Rocco reared back with a roar and took the demon’s head off. He stumbled back, breathing hard.

  Laz stepped up. "Roc…you need to come home, you…”

  "Stay the fuck back!” Roc yelled, covered in demon blood, eyes bloodshot and hollow, face drawn and pale. “I mean it,” he snarled, then he shifted and was gone.

  "We’re losing him," Laz croaked.

  He was right. Rocco was slipping away, and if they didn't come up with a way to bring him back, they wouldn’t only lose their brother, they'd more than likely lose the war as well.

  They needed every knight at full power, with their heads on straight. The way things were going, there wouldn't even be a war, they'd get their asses handed to them well before it even got to that point.

  If that happened, the Hell’s Gate would bust wide open, suffocating everything in its path with unrelenting darkness, and nothing would ever be the same again.

  Chapter 7

  “You have to talk to him,” Laney said.

  Mark leaned against the wall, arms folded, expression grim. “I’ll do it.”

  Laney shot him a dirty look before Grace could even answer.

  Grace and Mark had gone down the friends-with-benefits road several years ago. A serious mistake on her part. She’d been lonely, wanted some company. Unfortunately, they’d had zero chemistry. But ever since, he occasionally got the misguided urge to protect her. She could kick the guy’s ass from one end of th
e gym and back, but he’d had her under him a handful of times, so now he thought he needed to protect her.

  Insane.

  Infuriating.

  And one of the main reasons she now avoided romantic relationships.

  She fixed Mark with a hard stare. “No, you won’t.”

  He bristled but shrugged. “Fine. Whatever you want.”

  “That’s right.” She may not always love being their leader—the responsibility sometimes weighed heavily, especially when they lost someone in battle—but they’d needed someone, and for whatever reason, they’d chosen her.

  Maybe it had been her determination—her hatred had shone the brightest, and they hadn’t missed it. Someone needed to make the hard decisions, and that’s what she did. So if anyone was going to talk to Chaos, it would be her.

  As much as Grace hated…loathed the very idea, in the end, it was the best option, for everyone. There was a hellsgate demi in the hands of their enemy, who at any moment could gain her powers. Stopping that from happening was more important than her distrust and resentment toward Chaos.

  “Any word from Tina?” Just saying her name made Grace’s muscles tense. The sick feeling wouldn’t go away. Tina wouldn’t just run away and leave the city. Leave them.

  Heads shook and muttered noes filled the room.

  Something bad had happened to their friend. She knew it down to her bones. “If you can, question the demons before you kill them. Do whatever necessary to make them talk. Someone knows something. Right, let’s get back to work before Vince pops an artery.”

  “You sure about this?” Mark asked when the room had cleared.

  Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she glanced up at him. “No,” she answered honestly. “But as it is, we’re getting in each other’s way. We should be fighting together.”

  “He won’t go for it, and I don’t trust him, Grace. And after what happened to your family, how the hell can you even consider this?” Mark shot at her, then walked out.

  Grace stood stiff, the queasy feeling in her gut gripping tighter. Would Chaos even remember her parents? Had he been the one to train them when they were in the compound, young and new to their powers? Or were they just another face in a sea of faces he thought he was helping but instead sent out into the world to be slaughtered.