Iniquitous: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Book 3)

by Bianca Scardoni

  The sound of it empowered me.

  I continued to stare silently, my eyes taking in each of them, judging their abilities, calculating their distance to me. Looking for any hidden weapons. My gaze locked on a short black handle sticking out sideways from the back of Maz's pants. I quickly veered my eyes away from it so as not to draw any attention to what I'd just seen.

  “Why’s she just standing there?” Maz turned to Damon.

  Damon didn't answer him. “Start moving. I'm not going to tell you twice.”

  “Alright, alright. Don’t have a cow.” I took a slow step towards them, and then another one. Each one causing my skin to prickle with anticipation.

  Both of them stepped back, presumably to clear the path, though maybe just to keep their distance. I smiled, and then, like a savage prisoner with a tiny taste of freedom, I barreled forward, rushing into Maz and then pounding my fist into the bridge of his nose. He immediately folded inward, covering his broken nose and leaving himself wide open to my waiting hands. Before he could figure out what was happening, I pulled his weapon from his back pocket and then spun him around, pulling him in against my chest and using his body to shield me from Damon.

  I didn't waste time with idle threats. I raised the knife and promptly slid it across Maz's neck, easy as slicing through butter. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

  I didn’t move. I just stood there, air swooshing in and out of my lungs as remnants of adrenaline settled in my blood.

  “You're going to regret that in a minute,” warned Damon as he kicked Maz's motionless body. “You can't kill a Revenant with a knife. Even a youngster like Maz.”

  “Oh, I know.” I wiped the blood-stained blade against my dress and then flipped the knife around in my palm, handing it back to him handle-first. “But it felt really good doing it.”

  The truth was, I was testing them—testing myself. I wanted to see how easy it would be to overtake one of them. I wanted to be ready when the time was right. Taking down Maz had proven to be easy, but something told me the other one would be a whole different story. Either way, my confidence and strength were increasing every day.

  It was only a matter of time now…

  “I hope it was worth it,” he said as he took a backwards step through the door. His arm came up and reached for something that appeared to be hanging on the wall outside my cell.

  “It was,” I answered and then swallowed the last of my moxie as he produced a rusty, nail-spiked bat.

  His dark, soulless eyes met mine and a wicked grin curled across his face. “Good,” he said, gently swaying the bat back and forth as he moved in closer to me. “Because it's time to pay the piper.”

  And I did.

  With flesh and blood aplenty.

  I was taken to Engel in a near unconscious state. I couldn't see my face or my back but I knew from the agonizing pain shooting from both of them that Damon and his medieval bat had done a number on me. I could barely see through my left eye and I was almost certain my ribs had been broken.

  “You're late,” said Engel as my two guards dragged me into the atrium where Engel had been expecting me twenty minutes earlier.

  I lifted my head to speak, but groaned from the throbbing ache that was pounding the back of my head.

  “What the hell is the meaning of this?” asked Engel, rising from his chair as he inspected me. His brows were pulled together in a point and his eyes were hard and narrowed. He didn't look pleased.

  “She attacked us, boss. Pulled my knife right out of my pocket. Damon took care of her.”

  Dominic shifted his weight, almost like a twitch, but he caught himself before Engel could notice.

  “You did this?” asked Engel, his eyes snapping to Damon.

  “Yes, Sire.” That smug, pleased expression he had earlier when he was beating me three licks away from my death had all but disappeared. Now, he was just a little lackey, cowering before his boss. Sire. Whatever.

  My gaze shifted back to Dominic as I clutched my ribs and struggled to breath. His expression was taut, mouth pinched as though he were working hard to keep himself contained.

  My eyes settled on his mouth, his fangs, and I longed for him with every fiber of my broken being. I wasn't sure I'd ever longed for anything more in my entire life. The pain in my body was insufferable, vomit-inducing, but I knew he could make it all go away with just one touch…one moment…one kiss of death.

  And I needed it. Now more than ever.

  “Who gave you permission?” bellowed Engel, pulling my attention back to the scene unfolding before me. He was walking towards us now, heading straight for Damon.

  “Sire, I—”

  “You were told to bring her to me, nothing more and nothing less. You dare defy me in my own home? To take it upon yourself to punish my guests?”

  Did he just call me his guest? Oh my God, he really was demented.

  “Sire, I just thought—”

  “You’re not here to think, you fool. You’re here to do as you’re told!” roared Engel as his arm swooshed by my right ear in a near undetectable blur, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in its wake.

  I had no idea what had happened until Damon's decapitated body slumped to the floor beside me, his head tumbling down next to it a second later as blood sprayed out at me from the tangle of severed arteries.

  Holy freaking shit!

  A deafening shrill tore from my body as I scrambled back into Maz. He moved right along with me, still squeezing my arm like a vise as we scrambled away from the line of fire. He seemed to be hiding behind me—probably terrified that he was going to be next.

  “Settle down, child,” said Engel, his tone flat and uninspired as though annoyed by my outburst. Apart from the slight irritation in his voice, he was as calm as a freaking clam—obviously the makings of a total psychopath. “It's all over now.”

  Oh yeah, sure. Unfortunately, my pounding heart didn’t get the memo.

  “As for the rest of you,” he continued, facing his hive of undead as he casually walked back to his seat like he hadn't just beheaded someone with his bare hands. “Let this be a lesson to you. There is only room for one king in this castle.”

  His minions were awestruck and silent. The sound of it, or lack thereof, seemed to invigorate Engel.

  “Bring her to me,” said Engel to Maz as he began unbuttoning his blood-soaked jacket.

  Horrified, my eyes shot back to Dominic, pleading with him to do something.

  “Boss,” interrupted Dominic as Engel carefully removed his jacket and lay it over the armrest of his chair.

  “What is it, Dominic?”

  “I was just thinking that it might be beneficial to give the girl a night of rest. Some sort of...peace offering.”

  “And why would I do that?” he asked, curiosity coloring his eyes.

  “May I?” asked Dominic, motioning that he wanted to approach him.

  Engel nodded and Dominic quickly knelt down to whisper something privately in his ear.

  At that point, I was sure the entire room of Revs could hear my heart slamming against my ribcage as I wondered what the heck Dominic was saying to him. After a short stint of silence, Engel nodded again.

  Okay. A nod. That had to be good thing, right?

  “I knew there was a reason I liked you,” grinned Engel.

  Oh, God. So NOT a good thing. What kind of diabolical idea had Dominic just put in his head? I was so going to kill him when this was all over and done with.

  “Maz, resume your post. Dominic will take over for Damon.” His eyes shifted back to Dominic. “Accompany her and do not let her out of your sight under any circumstance.”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  “And I’m sure I don't have to remind you about the rules regarding my property?” added Engel over his shoulder.

  “Certainly not. I heard you loud and clear, boss,” nodded Dominic before crossing the room to me.

  My body quickly responded with heat
and anticipation.

  “Good.” Engel's eyes crawled back to mine. “Enjoy your night off, Princess.”

  My night off?

  Okay. What the heck just happened?

  6. TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCE

  To my surprise, Dominic and Maz didn't take me back to my cell in the dungeons. Instead, Dominic led us upstairs to the second floor. His hand was wrapped firmly around my upper arm and even though it appeared to be just another security measure, he was actually using it to support most of my weight. I wanted to ask him where he was taking me and what the hell he had said to Engel, but I didn't want to raise any suspicion in Maz so I kept my mouth shut and followed along in silence. Frankly, I was better off not talking anyway since it hurt to even speak.

  We moved through a number of passageways until Dominic finally came to a stop in front of a black, leather chair pushed back against the corridor wall.

  “Wait here,” he said, turning to Maz. “No one comes past this point.”

  “You got it.” nodded Maz as he took his seat on the chair and smiled happily. I guess I’d be smiling too if I just dodged the kind of decapitating bullet Maz just dodged.

  Dominic shifted his gaze to me and ticked his chin towards the end of the hallway. “Keep moving, Princess,” he said as he picked up my arm again.

  I followed without fight or complaint.

  When we reached the end of the hallway, Dominic turned to his right and opened one of the doors.

  A large, royal bathroom greeted me like a scene straight out of my latest dreams. Stone walls and dark, mahogany cabinets planked either side of the room, leading up to a beautiful Victorian bathtub at the center of it.

  Dominic pulled me into the bathroom and then promptly shut the door behind us.

  “What is this?” I asked, still clutching my ribs as I looked around, lusting over the cleanliness of it all.

  Even the shiny toilet made my heart flutter.

  “It's a bathroom.”

  I shot him a surly look. “I mean, what am I doing here?”

  “You're going to take a bath, love, and when you're done, you're going to sit down and eat a real meal for once. Courtesy of moi.”

  “You're joking, right?” My eyes were pinned on the tub. I couldn't even remember how clean, warm water felt. I imagined it would feel like heaven against my savage skin. “How did you pull this off? What did you say to him?”

  “Never you mind that. The clock is ticking,” he said as he strolled to the tub and turned on the water.

  As if that was happening. “Dominic.”

  “Must you always be so stubborn?”

  “Yes, I must.”

  He glanced over his shoulder and fixed me with a look. “I simply suggested that he try playing nice with you for a while. For the sake of encouraging the bloodbond.”

  “Oh.” I nodded, liking the sound of that. “Well, that was a good idea.”

  “I know. Now get undressed.”

  “Excuse me?” I stood there and gawked at him. “I'm not getting naked in front of you.”

  “Why not?” He didn't bother facing me as he dumped an entire bottle of bubble bath into the tub.

  “Dominic!”

  A sultry chuckle escaped him. “Very well, angel. I'll turn around if that makes you feel better.”

  “Sure. You can turn around and walk right out of the bathroom and give me some privacy like a descent man.”

  “I'm a lot of things, angel, but a decent man isn't one of them. Besides, I'm on strict orders not to leave your side, remember?” He straightened out and faced me and I could see that he wasn't going to waver. He pushed his hands into the pocket of his black slacks and waited for my inevitable compliance.

  I guess it wasn't so bad. At least I was with him, about to take a wonderful bath, and not alone in the dungeons with Maz and Damon standing guard outside.

  Ugh. Damon.

  I swallowed the lump at the back of my throat as I recalled how easily Engel had split him in two. If he could do that to a Revenant, I could only imagine what he could do to me. I shuddered at the thought of it.

  “It's nice and warm,” coaxed Dominic, mistaking my body tremble for a temperature issue.

  “Whatever. Fine,” I finally agreed, though it was a surprise to no one.

  Grinning, he strutted back over to me, his eyes flitting over my face as he stopped just inches from where I stood rooted. His hand came up and gently caressed my cheek with the back of his knuckles.

  I winced from the strange mixture of pleasure and pain.

  “He's quite lucky he's dead already,” said Dominic, speaking through what appeared to be a clenched jaw.

  “Is it that bad?” I asked and then looked over his shoulder to the mirror above the bathroom sink. I blinked into it, disbelieving my own eyes. I looked like a freaking monster! The entire side of my face was swollen twice its size and my right eye was sealed shut. “Oh, my God,” I cried out in horror.

  “It'll heal, angel.”

  “I'm disfigured.” I shook my head and stepped around him, moving closer to the mirror. The closer I got, the sicker I felt inside. I turned away, unable to face my own reflection. What had I become? I didn't even recognize myself anymore.

  Dominic came up behind me. He wasn't touching me, but somehow, I could still feel him there.

  “It'll heal,” he repeated, his breath tickling the top of my shoulder as he spoke.

  “And what about the rest of me, Dominic?” What about all the other broken pieces that were now a part of my being? All the scars there were visible to the naked eye, and the ones that weren’t? What would become of me if I ever got out of here? Would I ever be able to un-see the horrors I’ve seen? Would I ever be the same person again?

  “That'll heal too,” he said in steady voice. “In time, everything does. You either find a way to let it go or you learn to live with it.”

  I lowered my eyes to the ground and nodded, somehow accepting his words as gospel.

  “Come now, angel. Take off your dress and get in the tub.” His whispered command sent a warm sliver of heat down my back. It was a familiar feeling, but somehow, it felt completely new and foreign coming from him.

  I turned my cheek to the side and looked back at him over my shoulder, eager and willing to comply with his demands. “Would you mind unzipping me?”

  He blinked lazily as his hands came up over my waist and then along my back, tracing the zippered tracks as though he'd never seen such a contraption before. Ha. I bet he'd unzipped more than his fair share of dresses in his time. After getting a good lay of the land, he carefully pulled down the zipper with one hand, slow and even, as he ran his other hand along my bare flesh. I winced again.

  “You know I can make that go away,” he offered in a soothing whisper. “It wouldn’t take much.”

  “I know.”

  “You might even enjoy it.”

  “I know,” I said without thinking twice of it. And that was precisely what I was afraid of.

  My dress flopped open, exposing my entire back and then some. I cupped the front of my dress and held it firmly against my chest to stop it from slipping off and exposing me completely.

  “Thank you,” I said and then turned to face him. Strangely though, I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes. The moment was too intimate. Too revealing.

  He picked up my chin and pulled my face up. His eyes stared back at me with troubling intensity. Something was brewing deep inside those smoldering, dark eyes. Something like heat, or yearning.

  Maybe even something more.

  I suddenly had the urge to say something to him. To thank him, or forgive him, or…I wasn’t sure anymore. I wasn’t sure of anything. “Dominic, I—”

  “Tell me when,” he said softly and then turned around to give me some privacy.

  Nodding, I released the breath of air I’d been holding in and then walked over to the tub, still clutching the front of my dress. With a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure he wasn'
t peeking, I let it fall to the ground and stepped into the tub. The warm water and thick white foam immediately closed in around me, stinging my open wounds while warming my cold body at the same time.

  “You can turn now,” I said once I was settled in and positive that none of my parts were peeking out.

  He turned around and then smirked as he took in the sights. Apparently, he liked what he was seeing.

  My cheeks picked up heat in response. “Stop staring at me.”

  Another chuckle serenaded my ears. “Believe me, angel, I'm trying,” he said as he walked up to me and took a seat on the stool beside the tub. He picked up a sponge from the caddy and dunked it into the water. “Turn around.”

  “Uh, that's alright,” I said, shaking my head at his horrible idea. “I can wash my—”

  “Turn,” he ordered.

  I should have resisted a little harder; put up some kind of fight, but I didn’t. I swiveled around on my butt and gave him full access to my back. Pulling my knees up to my chest, an uneasy feeling clawed its way into my belly as I realized how comfortable I’d gotten around him.

  He squeezed the sponge, letting the excess water dribble down my weathered back. I tried not to flinch, to keep myself perfectly still, but the pain was too sharp to ignore. Damon and his nail-studded bat had done a number on me.

  Careful not to hurt me, Dominic picked up my hair in his hand and brought it over to one side, letting it fall in loose waves over my shoulder. He wasn't speaking or moving now so I could only assume he was staring at the welts on my back.

  “Let me heal you, angel,” he pleaded. His words were drenched in emotions I'd never heard from him before. And by heal me, he meant drink from him.

  “I don’t want that,” I said in a small voice.

  “You know I could just compel you to if I wanted to.”

  I spun back around and gaped at him, my heart galloping in my chest. “You're lying.”

  “I don't lie, angel.”

  “You can't compel me,” I said boldly, though I needed him to confirm it for me. To tell me he was lying.