by Jenna Black
From my vantage point, pretty much all I could see was Adam, his body shielding Dom from view. I watched the muscles of his spectacular ass bunching and releasing, and heard the little sounds Dominic couldn’t seem to help making. No matter the public humiliation, no matter his discomfort, no matter his basic unwillingness, he couldn’t help enjoying what Adam was doing to him. I suspect only reluctance to give Shae any satisfaction kept him from letting loose completely.
For his part, Adam didn’t make a sound. He pounded away, fucking Dom as brutally as he’d beaten him. It had to hurt, but you wouldn’t have known it from Dominic’s sighs and moans.
I could tell when Adam came by the stiffening of his stance and by the change of rhythm. Still he made no sound, though his breath came in ragged gasps. Looking exhausted, he leaned over Dominic’s back, resting his hands on the table.
“Draw the fucking curtain,” he snarled at me over his shoulder.
Outside, the audience gave an enthusiastic round of applause. I hurried to the curtain on shaky knees, wobbling on my damned high heels. I drew the curtain as fast as possible, then kept my back turned on Adam and Dom to give them a belated moment of privacy.
It occurred to me that Shae wouldn’t have the same decency, so I moved to the door and pressed both hands against it. Sure enough, I felt someone trying to push it open.
“Give us a minute!” I said, not quite a shout but close to it.
Being a demon, she could have forced the door easily, but she didn’t, at least not yet. I kept leaning on it anyway, putting as much of my body weight into it as I could. Behind me, I heard Adam and Dom dressing.
“All right,” Dominic said a moment later. “You can let her in now.”
I didn’t want to, but I moved away from the door. Shae sauntered in, looking terribly pleased with herself. She sighed with contentment.
“And you thought you couldn’t put on a good show anymore!” she said.
Adam’s eyes glowed. “You don’t want to push me just now, Shae.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Is that a threat?”
“My self-control is not boundless. Give me the keys and get the fuck out of my face.” Dom put a hand on his shoulder as if to calm him, but Adam shrugged it off. “I mean it, Shae!”
She smiled. “I know you do. And I’m a woman of my word.”
I had to resist the urge to snort. If she was such a woman of her word, then why was she helping us, if that’s what she was doing?
Shae fished a couple of keys out of her pocket and held them up to Adam. “The big one is to the rack room. The smaller one is to the ‘fire escape.’” Yes, you could hear the quotation marks around the term. “You’ll wire the money to me as soon as the bank opens in the morning. Right?”
Adam nodded. “Assuming I live that long and that none of the people under my protection dies, yeah.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t part of our arrangement.”
“It is now.”
Apparently, she wasn’t entirely insane, after all. She took one look at the expression on Adam’s face, then shrugged and handed over the keys.
“Fine.” She looked at her watch. “It’s one twenty-five. At one thirty-five, I’m going to make the call. I suggest you move your glorious ass.”
For a moment, I thought we were going to have to waste precious minutes prying Adam off Shae, but he managed to control his obviously brittle temper. With one last goading smile, Shae left the room. The rest of us followed.
In the hallway, the crowd had gathered in front of another window, closer to the stairway leading out of Hell. Shae waggled her fingers at us as she climbed the stairs, but the rest of the crowd ignored us completely, enjoying whatever sick perversion was taking place behind that window.
We reached the room with the black curtain, and Adam made to slip the key into the lock. I stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“We don’t even know if there are guards,” I said.
He batted my hand away. “We will in a minute.”
Before I could utter another protest, he turned the key and pushed the door open.
CHAPTER 25
There weren’t any guards. I think all three of us took that as something of a bad sign, but it wasn’t like we were just going to run away. If this was a trap, then we’d already stepped into it, so what the hell.
Brian was still chained to the wall, the gag still stuffed in his mouth. Blood crusted his abdomen and soaked the front of his underwear. His head lolled, and my heart constricted to see a pair of burns, one under each armpit.
I ran to him, tears stinging my eyes. “Brian!” I cried, touching my hands to his chest, relieved to feel the beat of his heart. But he was out cold.
Dom and I held him up while Adam freed him from the shackles. His body was a dead weight.
“Oh my God, what’s the matter with him?” I was reduced to a quivering mess, my whole body shaking, my brain hardly functioning.
Dom traced his finger over the crook of Brian’s elbow, finding a small bruise. “They drugged him,” he said. “Let’s get the hell out of here. We’ll figure out what they gave him later.”
Adam bent and picked Brian up, slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. He moved as if the weight were nothing, heading toward the door.
I saw Brian’s clothes lying in a heap in the corner, and I snatched them up. We were going to look very conspicuous carrying an unconscious, half-naked, bloody man, though I didn’t suppose we had the time to get him dressed.
When we exited the room, Adam led us to the left, rather than toward the stairway leading back into the club. I supposed we were heading for the “fire escape.” A couple of the perverts watching the show noticed us and made surprised noises, but no one followed.
Adam shoved the small key Shae had given him at me, and I took it. We rounded a corner and burst into another of the rooms, this one designed to look like a doctor’s office, only the stirrups on the exam table came complete with restraints. I shuddered and forced my mind not to go there.
“Here!” Adam said, pointing at what looked like a locked cabinet.
I didn’t question him. I rammed the key in the lock, and Dominic grabbed the edge of the cabinet and pulled.
I gave Adam a questioning look as the cabinet pulled away from the wall to reveal a doorway. He shrugged-an awkward gesture with Brian lying limply over his shoulder.
“Illegal things happen here,” he explained. “Sometimes the patrons need a secret escape route.”
I was definitely going to have a talk with Adam about the wisdom of letting Shae continue to operate when this was all over.
We piled into the secret hallway and pulled the door shut behind us. The screams and other unwholesome sounds cut off, though honestly, I’d been blocking them out so thoroughly it wasn’t until the door closed that my mind acknowledged what it had been hearing.
We hesitated, looking at each other with identical concerned expressions, I’m sure.
“This has been too easy,” I said, deciding to state the obvious.
Adam and Dominic both nodded their agreement. Then Adam took his turn stating the obvious.
“We’re committed now. There’s nothing we can do but move forward.” He took a step down the hall, then looked over his shoulder at me. “Stay behind us.”
I let them take the lead. My heart was pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else. How much time had passed? Had Shae made her phone call yet? Was that even an issue?
The questions buzzed through my head one by one, but I had no answers.
The hallway went on for what felt like a mile, but finally we reached a stairway leading up. I hoped to God it was the exit.
Adam took the lead, taking the steps two at a time despite Brian’s dead weight. Dominic followed close behind, and I brought up the rear.
I hadn’t even set foot on the first step yet when I heard a familiar, awful sound. A Taser shot.
Adam made a grunting noise,
then Dominic yelped. I leapt backward as the two of them and Brian came tumbling down the stairs. My leap wasn’t fast enough. When Dominic crashed into my legs, I went down hard, the impact on my tailbone causing me to bite my tongue.
Dominic struggled to roll off me and get to his feet. I heard a muffled hiccup, then Dom screamed and clutched his leg as blood fountained from his thigh.
I looked up and saw a hooded, masked figure pointing a silenced pistol directly at Dominic’s head. Two more masked figures descended behind him. One of those held the Taser.
Adam lay in a helpless bundle on the floor. Brian lay half on top of him, still unconscious. And Dom was in too much pain to do more than moan.
“Make any attempt to run away,” the gun-wielding masked man said, and I recognized Andrew’s voice, “and I’ll kill both the humans.” He moved his aim to Brian, and I almost screamed. But I didn’t want to startle him into anything.
His eyes bored into mine, and I realized he was wearing green contact lenses for some reason. But there was no doubt in my mind that it was Andrew behind that mask, despite the difference in eye color.
“Get up slowly,” he instructed me as another masked man stepped out of the stairway, making a total of four.
I wasn’t entirely sure my legs would hold me, but I didn’t want to know what Andrew would do if I didn’t obey. I made it to my feet and stood facing my brother. Or Lugh’s brother, depending on your point of view.
“Cooperate,” he told me, “and no one gets hurt.”
I looked pointedly from my unconscious, wounded boyfriend to Dominic, who clutched his still-bleeding leg. “What do you call this?” I asked. My voice was a little shaky, but I still thought I sounded rather brave.
“They’ll live,” Andrew said with cold calculation. “All of them. If you behave.”
Why should I believe him? No reason whatsoever, except believing him was my only hope. And so I didn’t fight it when Masked Villain Number Three grabbed me and slapped handcuffs on me. As soon as the cuffs were on, Andrew put away his gun.
Honestly, I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could take out four men-at least one of whom was a demon-even if my hands hadn’t been cuffed behind my back, but at this point, I had nothing left to lose.
I managed to stomp his instep and incite a curse from the man who’d cuffed me, but then Andrew crossed the distance between us and grabbed me. My struggles were useless as he dragged me up the stairs.
CHAPTER 26
The stairway exited into a parking deck. My captors pulled off their hoods before venturing out, but the deck was deserted at this hour of the morning. I considered screaming for help, but Andrew was dragging me toward a black SUV only a couple of yards away. Even if someone heard me-unlikely-we’d be in the SUV and out of here before help could arrive.
We all piled in, with me sandwiched between Andrew and another of his minions. Andrew appropriated the Taser his flunky had used on Adam, pointing it at me and smiling pleasantly.
“In case Lugh has any ideas,” he said.
I tried not to think about their plans for me. And I tried not to think about what might be happening to Brian, and Adam, and Dominic. The goon squad here had let them live, but they were still in hostile territory.
A tear snaked down my cheek, and I couldn’t wipe it away. I ground my teeth, willing myself to stay strong. Pain gathered behind my right eye. Apparently, Lugh had ideas, but with Andrew’s Taser, he would be as helpless as I was. That didn’t stop him from trying, and I mentally cursed him. I was going to be in plenty of pain soon enough. I didn’t need this.
Another tear leaked out of my eye. This time Andrew noticed.
“We’ll make it as quick as possible,” he assured me.
“Fuck you!” was my incisive rejoinder. I would have sounded a lot tougher if I hadn’t sniffled like a baby afterward.
He continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “And your friends will be fine. They can’t identify us, so they’re no threat. We have no reason to kill them.”
Except that Adam, at least, would have recognized Andrew’s voice. Andrew seemed to read that thought on my face.
“Your policeman friend might recognize my voice, but that wouldn’t be enough evidence even to arrest me, let alone convict me. Not when the only thing he could see of my face was my lovely green eyes.”
“And what about Shae? They’ve all seen her up close and personal.”
Andrew shrugged. “She’s a mercenary bitch, but she’s not a killer. And, by the way, she didn’t know she was driving you straight into us. She was trying to uphold her end of whatever bargain you made. It’s just that you’re all so predictable, it was child’s play to intercept you.”
I didn’t dignify that with an answer. Instead, I huddled around my small hope that the boys would be okay. I reminded myself of Val’s fanatical ravings about how the demons were good for mankind, etc., etc. The humans, at least, believed they were fighting for a good cause, no matter how misguided they might be. I supposed it would be harder to hold on to the illusion that they were the good guys if they went around slaughtering people who were no threat to them.
We drove first south, then west, leaving the city behind. I didn’t know where they were taking me, but when we entered the Brandywine Valley, I figured we were probably nearing our destination. The Brandywine Valley is full of farms and vineyards. Quite scenic, and a great place for a peaceful Sunday drive. Unfortunately, the picturesque landscape also meant it was easy to find a place with the kind of isolation you’d need to burn someone alive without being interrupted.
We eventually arrived at what seemed to be an industrial-sized farm. We entered the farm via a gravel road. When we got to the end of the road, there was a small cluster of other parked vehicles waiting for us.
The drive had lasted long enough to slow my adrenaline rush, but now it was back full force. My heart pounded frantically, and my mouth was so dry I couldn’t swallow. Lugh started pounding on the inside of my skull again, making me wince. But even if I knew how to let him take control, what could he possibly do when Andrew could Taser him into a mass of Jell-O?
My high heels and the gravel parking area didn’t like each other much. The moment my feet hit the ground, I tottered, and would have fallen if Andrew hadn’t held me up.
“I like your new look, by the way,” he said as he steered me around a couple of the parked cars. “But you need to practice walking in high heels. You’re pretty clumsy.”
I tried to stab his foot with my stiletto heel, but missed. He retaliated by backhanding me. I fell on my butt on the gravel, seeing stars. I tasted blood, and gathered what moisture I could to spit at him. It was a feeble attempt, and didn’t even annoy him.
He dragged me back to my feet. “I was hoping that would convince Lugh to come out and play,” he said as we resumed walking.
I could see our destination now. We were heading behind a huge barn, where seven or eight people stood clustered around what I presumed was the modern version of a classic witch-burning stake-a basketball hoop set into a concrete base and surrounded by hay, kindling sticks, and fireplace logs. My footsteps faltered. Pain stabbed through my eye, and I gasped.
“You should let him in, Morgan dear,” Andrew said, still dragging me where I most definitely did not want to go. “He can’t save you, but he can protect you from the pain.”
One of the men gathered around the stake broke off from the crowd and approached us. At first, it was so dark I couldn’t see his face, but when he came closer, I got a good look.
I must have looked comically surprised, because Jeremy Wyatt-founder and head fanatic of God’s Wrath-laughed at me. I shook my head, trying, but failing, to make sense of things.
Why would a man who advocated burning all demons alive have anything to do with a plot to overthrow Lugh and allow demons to take over unwilling humans at will? True, God’s Wrath believed that hosts couldn’t be taken over unless they were somehow unworthy, unclean people, but sti
ll…
“Surprised to see me, Ms. Kingsley?” he asked, still laughing at me.
His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, and suddenly pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. “Have you been living in Jeremy Wyatt since the beginning, or are you a new arrival?” I asked. I didn’t suppose it much mattered, but if I could get him talking, that would put off the whole being-burned-at-the-stake thing I wasn’t looking forward to.
He smiled as if delighted with me. “Jeremy and I joined forces almost two years ago now.”
Long after the fanatical bastard had started his little hate group. “I guess Jeremy is just another sinner like the rest of us,” I said. Apparently, these demons were really into irony, possessing the people who would most hate to host them.
“What better way to tilt the scales in our favor?”
I didn’t get that at first-fear wasn’t the best catalyst for clear thinking. Then I understood. “God’s Wrath isn’t just targeting random demon hosts. You’re targeting people who host demons who support Lugh!” Like Dominic.
“Indeed. That is, in fact, why I chose Jeremy to host me.” He laughed. “His true believers would be so thrilled to know the cause I’ve been using them to fight for. But perhaps once Lugh himself is no longer agitating, these killings will become unnecessary. It breaks my heart to have to destroy my fellow demons, but it has to be done.”
Apparently, Lugh really, really objected to that. The pain in my head brought me to my knees.
“Is he trying to come out?” Wyatt asked Andrew as I gritted my teeth and tried to remember how to breathe.
“I’d say so. But Morgan’s too much of an idiot to let him.”
I glared up at him, at the Taser he held steadily pointed at me. Maybe it would be better to let Lugh take over, to be a passenger in my own body while they burned me to death. Andrew’s Taser meant Lugh couldn’t save me, but like Andrew had said, he could take the pain away. I was pretty sure he’d do that for me.
But I didn’t know how to let him in, even if I wanted to.