Jed cursed under his breath.
Her heart tightened and she tugged on his hand. “Jed?”
He turned his head to look at her, his eyes bleak. “I’ve felt your power. Jerome is right. If you’re allowed to change . . . it will potentially destroy the world.”
“Well, crap.” Paige pushed to her feet and paced away from the couch. “This sucks. It sucks!” She whirled toward them. “This is so unfair! I didn’t ask to be the key to the end of the world!”
“No, but you did embrace your dark side,” Jerome said.
“Not like this!” She flared up a fireball and hurled it at Jerome, who barely ducked in time. “Dammit! I’m not ready to die! I will not give up!”
Jerome stood up. “Which is why you have to be killed. If you won’t do it, then I’m going to have to let the Men in White take care of you.”
Jed jumped up and slammed Jerome in the chest hard enough to throw him into the coffee table with a loud crack. “You stay away from her,” Jed snapped as Jerome groaned and rolled onto his stomach in the pile of splintered boards.
Then Jed turned to Paige and headed toward her, his voice softening. “You need to calm down, love. Jerome isn’t worth it.” He grabbed her hands. “I’m not going to let him kill you, okay?”
There was a noise at the window, then a man’s voice said, “Jerome’s not going to kill you. I am.”
Paige’s heart stuttered and she spun around to see Rafi standing by the window, in a shadowy human form, nearly transparent. She immediately started backing up, throwing all her energy into her shields, even as a feeling of dread seized her.
His eyes were black, blacker than Jed’s had ever been. There was no humanity in there. Nothing left of Rafi. No sanity. No mercy. Just pure, killing evil.
And he was there for her.
Twenty-seven
It’s the way it has to be,” Jerome groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. “I know this will destroy any chance I have with Dani, but I’m willing to sacrifice my love for the greater good.” He staggered toward the front door and opened it. “You should do the same and accept your fate.” Then he disappeared through it and was gone.
Paige couldn’t spare more than a split second to think about how much she hated him and how she wanted to go after him and harvest him for hell, and then Jed moved in front of her, blocking Rafi’s path toward her heart. “Rafi. You don’t want to kill her.”
“She dies.”
“No, I don’t!” Paige stepped out from behind Jed and hurled a fireball at Rafi. It sizzled right through him and burned a hole in Jed’s wall. “Oh, hell.” She backpedaled, tripping over the couch, her heart pounding.
“Wait.” Jed grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. “Rafi. It’s Jed. Come back to human form.”
The image that was Rafi became even more faint, and Jed cursed. “Raphael! This isn’t you! Find yourself and come back, dammit!”
Rafi became nothing but a gray cloud, then whirled and speared right for them.
Paige yelped and sent them to hell. They popped up in the middle of Satan’s torture chamber, which was fortunately not occupied.
Jed sat down heavily on the king-sized bed, nicely accessorized with handcuffs and heavy chains at the footboard and the headboard. They clanged as he sat down. “Fuck.”
She hugged herself. “I don’t want to die. And I don’t want to turn wraith. But I also don’t want to destroy the world. I really don’t.” She couldn’t keep the tremble out of her voice.
He looked up, then held out his arms.
She immediately crawled onto his lap, pulling her feet up under her, curling into the smallest ball she could. He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her close, resting his chin on the top of her head.
“Do you really think I need to die? Am I that bad?”
His arms tightened, and he didn’t answer.
A lump formed in her throat at his response. “That’s a ‘yes,’” she whispered. Then she closed her eyes and tried to think. “How do we know Jerome’s right? Maybe Rita’s the one who is telling the truth. Who do we believe? Try Rita’s suggestion first?”
Jed said nothing.
She pressed her face into his chest. “But is it worth risking the entire world on the word of one woman with a secret?” She lifted her head suddenly, bumping Jed’s chin. “What was her secret?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I couldn’t get in the room.”
“But—”
“I bluffed.”
“So, maybe she knew you were bluffing and bluffed back? A double bluff?”
“Or maybe she didn’t and she was telling the truth.”
The hackles on the back of her neck suddenly popped up and she jumped up and spun around as Jed stood up next to her. Rafi was inside the door, barely visible again.
“How’d you find us so fast?” Jed asked.
“The Council gave me extra powers. Still learning how to use them.” Rafi fluttered into focus slightly, his voice shadowed and dark.
“Rafi.” Jed was across the floor and in front of his brother in an instant. “If you kill Paige before she shifts, you’ll return to Junior’s dungeon, because I won’t be able to meet my obligations to Junior. Do you realize that? This is your future.”
Rafi flickered out of sight, then back again, and that’s when Paige saw the torment in his eyes. “I can’t help it. I have to do it.”
“No.” Jed started to fade. “I won’t let you kill her. You’ll never survive it.”
Rafi began to fade as well. “I’ll kill you to get to her. But you won’t kill me to stop me. That’s why they chose me.”
“Jed!”
He glanced over his shoulder at her, and his face was full of such anguish, she couldn’t stop herself. She lunged at him, grabbed his arm, and took them back to the mortal world.
They formed inside Central Park, near the skating rink, but before Jed had even taken full form, Rafi appeared behind him, his eyes black, so black. He said nothing, but Paige began to feel a pressure around her heart . . . even though he was twenty feet away. “Jed—”
He grabbed her arm as she dropped to the grass, gasping.
“Rafi!” he shouted. “Stop it! Not this way!”
“It’s the only way.”
Then there was flash of gold bubbles and Satan leapt between them. “No! You will not kill my weapon!” He threw a blue firebolt at Rafi, slamming him into a tree trunk, his solid human form hitting with a loud crash.
Then Satan whirled on Paige as she coughed air back into her lungs. “You will turn now, wraith! Now!” He was holding the arm of a hot tamale who’d apparently won girlfriend-of-the-week honors and thrust her at Paige. “One more death will be enough.”
The girl shrieked and Paige scrambled backward. “No, no, no! Don’t touch me!”
Jed lunged for Satan, who threw a firebolt into his chest, and Jed fell to the ground next to his brother, gasping for breath.
“No more protectors.” Satan stood before her, holding the girl’s arm. His eyes were glowing red, and there was a black aura surrounding him. Black smoke was billowing out of his head, and the ends of his hair were actually on fire. His face was dark and contorted, and he’d ditched his custom Italian suit and white shirt for a solid black leather ensemble. Even his lips were black.
He looked every bit like the scary-as-shit leader of hell that he’d never been before.
“Wait!” Paige threw a trash can between them, and jumped over a park bench. “What about Iris? You’ll lose all chance with her if you turn me wraith. She wouldn’t approve! Do you really want to give up like that? I mean, you lose her forever, and there’s no hope! What’s life without hope?”
Satan paused, hanging onto the now screaming girl by her left arm. “There is no hope! Hope is gone! I must avenge her destruction to my ego by destroying the world! There is no other way!”
“Love transcends all,” Paige shouted as she reached Jed and touched him with her
toe. He groaned and rolled onto his side. Still alive. She nearly sagged with relief. “You haven’t lost her yet. She loves you, for hell’s sake. All relationships take work. You just have to put some effort into it, but destroying the world will be one of those deal breakers.”
Satan stood still, staring at her. “She does love me. I know she does. But she wants me to be other than I am. There is no solution.”
“Of course there is. Don’t give up.” She grabbed Jed by the ankles and hauled him behind the tree that Rafi had crashed into, out of direct line of another firebolt. “You can always destroy the world later, right? It’s not going anywhere.”
Satan frowned, and his black aura began to fade. “Perhaps you are correct. Perhaps I have been too hasty. Perhaps if I kidnap her and lock her in my bedroom, I will be able to show her that I am perfect as I am. Do you think?”
“Definitely. Go kidnap her.”
“Excellent idea.” He looked at the girl. “I break up with you now. It is not me. It is you. Farewell.” And then he was gone, leaving the girl behind.
Paige dropped to her knees, grabbing Jed’s shoulders and ignoring the shrieking of the girl as she streaked across the park. “Jed? You okay?”
“That hurt like shit.” He groaned and rolled onto his back. His shirt was charred, and there was an oozing red burn on his chest.
She let out a shaky breath. He was okay.
“Rafi?” Jed asked.
She looked up, then tensed. Rafi was on his hands and knees, trying to stand up, looking at her with the same black eyes he’d had before. She cursed, and Jed lifted his head to look at his brother. He groaned and struggled to sit up. “Dammit, Rafi, get out of that form and use your mind!”
“No.”
“Stop!” Satan Jr. appeared next to Rafi. “You must stop!”
Rafi’s head jerked toward Junior, then his entire body shuddered and his skin went white. “You,” he whispered, the terror and hate so deep in his voice that Paige felt her own skin crawl.
“Me.” Junior squatted next to Rafi and gazed at him. “You’re trying to take my prize.” He turned an assessing gaze on Paige and Jed, and Paige quickly took her hand off Jed’s shoulder. “The loyalty’s there, but not enough to transcend the wraith. And you don’t have much time. I’ll show you exactly how much you love him.”
Jed turned his head slightly, his mouth near her ear. “Run.”
She wrapped her hand around his arm to take him with her, and then suddenly there was an explosion of light, and then darkness, and then she couldn’t move. Couldn’t see. Couldn’t feel. She was trapped in darkness. Silent, oppressive, brutally hot darkness.
Twenty-eight
Jed?”
Silence.
Paige strained to see into the blackness, but there was nothing. “Rafi?”
Silence.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Hello?” Her voice cracked as sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades. She started to yank at her arms, at her legs, but she couldn’t move anything. She was immobile. Totally unable to move. “Jed!”
Her scream echoed around her like evil laughter, and she shuddered.
Then she tried to transport herself to hell, but nothing happened.
She was trapped, physically and metaphysically.
Her heart began to race, and she closed her eyes and took deep breaths. “I’m not trapped. I’m not in darkness. I can handle this.”
Then there was a flash of light, and she jerked her eyes open, blinking against the sudden brightness.
The first thing she saw was Jed, in irons, hanging from a wall directly across from her. He was in full human form, stripped naked, his muscles bulging as he fought the iron, trying to break free.
“Jed!”
He jerked his head in her direction, his gaze desperate until he found her. “Paige? Are you all right?”
She tried to nod, but couldn’t move her head. “I can’t move. What did he do to me?”
“You’re wrapped in chains. Nothing permanent.” His voice was calm, soothing. “You’re all right.”
Okay. I’m okay. “What about you? Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Fine, but we need to get out of here before he comes back.” He paused. “This is where Junior held Rafi.”
She suddenly got really cold. “Where Rafi went crazy?”
“Yeah . . .” His face darkened and he snapped his mouth shut as he looked over her shoulder.
Oh, God. What was behind her? She tried to twist around, but chains held her immobile.
“Good evening, darlings.” She jumped at the sound of Satan Jr.’s voice, but she didn’t see him anywhere. As far as she could tell, they were in a round stone room made of black rock. And it was just them.
“I feel your pain,” Junior said.
She felt a tickle of fingers over her cheek and she flinched, even as Junior chuckled. “It hurts to see Jed suffering, doesn’t it?” Suddenly Junior’s grinning face was right in front of hers. “You’ll realize exactly how much you love him when you see him suffer.”
She glared at him. “You don’t have the power to do this kind of thing. Your mom was your only source of power.”
“Is that so?” Junior smiled wider, revealing perfect white teeth. “Too bad so many people have underestimated me, don’t you think?” He moved next to her, resting his arm around her shoulders. “It took me a while to figure out how to tap into my powers, since they’re different than my dad’s. Didn’t quite know what I could do. Still learning.”
Jed had stopped fighting and was looking around the room, studying everything, but she knew he was listening to the exchange.
“Why can’t Jed go into shadow form and escape?”
“Magic, my dear. Magic.” Satan Jr. chuckled. “Same reason you can’t escape to hell. Did you really think I’d have brought the two of you to a place that couldn’t keep you?”
Paige grimaced, her brain whirling as she tried to think. Jed was calm, clearly assessing, and she tried to do the same. Satan Jr. was arrogant. Surely there was something he hadn’t thought of?
“Keep an eye on Jed.” Junior smiled, a nasty smile that made her stomach turn. “There’s nothing like seeing someone you love suffer to make you realize how much you love them.”
Jed looked right at her. “He won’t let you change until he knows you love me enough. Don’t watch.” Jed’s jaw suddenly clenched and his arms spasmed.
Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, God. Jed? Are you all right?”
His gaze went cold as he stared at her, his jaw flexing. “Close. Your. Eyes. We have time. Don’t give in. Close them. Do it for me.”
She hesitated, then shut her eyes.
“No, no, you must watch.” Junior tried to pull her eyelids open, and she slammed her darkness at him the way she’d done to Jed in the restaurant. He yelped and snatched his hands away. “Bitch.”
She scrunched her eyes shut, then there was a shout from Jed, followed by silence.
What was happening? Was he dead? Her heart started pounding, and she willed herself not to look. I can’t give Junior the power.
“No! You must scream with pain so she can hear you!” Junior yelled.
There was silence. Not even the sound of Jed breathing.
What was happening to him? Her breath got tight in her chest, and she started to feel dizzy, as images of Jed’s bloodied body flashed in her mind.
“Scream, you bastard!”
More silence.
She willed her eyes shut, just as she knew Jed was willing himself not to make a sound. She forced herself to think about when they’d made love. About what an amazing moment it was. How great the sex was. The sex. The orgasm. Don’t think about how much it meant to you emotionally.
She thought about how Jed had distanced himself from his body when they’d made love. He’s doing that now. He’s not feeling any pain. He’s gone. Relief made her body sag, even though she still couldn’t move. She focused on that thought, repea
ting it until that’s all that she could think of, all that she could focus on. Until it consumed her every thought, every fiber of her being, blocking everything else.
She had no idea how long she held the image, no concept of how much time had passed before Junior finally put her in another room, and released her body from the chains. She felt soft carpet beneath her feet, and crumbled to the floor, finally allowing her eyes to open.
And that’s when she saw what they’d done to Jed.
Twenty-nine
Jed became aware of warm hands on his face, of his name whispered, so soothing, so soft, of a cool cloth on his chest. “Paige?” His voice came out a gnarled mess, and he winced at the pain in his throat.
“Don’t talk. I’m here.” Her voice was broken, strained, and he forced his eyes to open, blinking at the bright light, at the stinging in his eyes.
She was bent over him, her hair brushing against his chest. Her face was streaked with tears, and she was biting her lower lip. Her eyes were focused on his chest, and he winced as she touched him.
“Paige.”
Her gaze flicked to his, and she gave him a tremulous smile. “You know, I thought you were more indestructible than this.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, fine. That’s why it’s taken me twenty minutes to wash off enough blood to be able to tell exactly what he did to you.”
He closed his eyes again, unable to deal with the pain of keeping them open. “What did he do?”
“Looks like he flayed all the skin off you . . .” She paused, and he opened his eyes again to see her pressing her hand over her mouth.
He dragged his hand off the floor, unable to keep from groaning. She immediately grabbed his hand and pressed it to her heart. “You’ll be okay, right?”
He winced at the pain in his wrist and hand where she held him, but he didn’t tell her to let go. Pain or not, he needed her touch. Badly. “Eventually. Hopefully. Depends.”
“Depends? On what?”
He kept looking at her face, at her bright blue eyes, not letting himself think about anything else, like the excruciating torment he was in. “It depends on whether Junior lets me heal or not. It depends what kind of power he used to hurt me.”
Sex & The Immortal Bad Boy Page 21