The Darkest Torment

by Gena Showalter

  “You don’t want to finish that sentence,” she told him.

  The pups echoed her sentiment with a snarl. A sound unlike any they’d released before, deep and hungry, absolutely menacing, as if the warrior had just been placed on the dinner menu. An all-you-can-eat buffet.

  “I don’t think they like you,” Baden remarked, his tone easy, almost amused.

  The color drained from Galen’s face as he held up his hands, palms out, and took a step back. “They are...”

  “Going to tear off your face if you insult them? Yes. Or were you going to say they are angels? Because they are. Now zip your foolish mouth and help Baden.” She motioned to the patient with a regal wave of her arm. “And you,” she said, smiling at the dogs. “Guard my pekný.”

  The dogs jumped on the bed, taking up posts beside Baden. And okay, all right, not even she was this good, this fast. They were hellhounds, weren’t they?

  Hellhounds must be eradicated.

  Over her dead body!

  “All right. On that note...” Galen tentatively approached the bed and raked his gaze over Baden. “Here’s my official diagnosis. With a little rest and a shower, he’ll be fine. Just offer to screw his brains out as soon as he’s on his feet. You’ll have a healthy, happy boy by the end of the day.” Galen winked at her before marching out of the room.

  The words were both liberating and worrisome at once. She’d learned a few things about the warrior. As the keeper of False Hope, he enjoyed—and perhaps needed—to build people up only to tear them down. Even himself!

  This could be a trick of the demon.

  Well, she would make sure Baden did rest and recover. She gathered all the supplies she thought she might need: a bowl of hot water—which was always used in books and movies—rags, antibiotic ointment and bandages. Baden remained quiet, even pensive as she removed his shirt and got to work.

  Finally he said, “I want to keep you. I will keep you.”

  Her heart kicked into a hard rhythm against her ribs. “Until the novelty wears off or until I’m old and gray?”

  Angry, brooding eyes met hers, sending a shiver dancing through her. “I don’t like the thought of you aging.”

  Well, that made two of them. This virile man didn’t need a granny in a diaper clinging to his arm like a crutch. Not for a girlfriend. “No silver fox fantasies?” Half tease, half hope. Half plea for help.

  And yes, she knew her math was off. Such an impossible topic called for skewed numbers.

  “If I had sex with eighty-year-old Katarina, I would break her hip.”

  The deadpanned response broke through her growing upset, and she burst out laughing. “Most men would claim age doesn’t matter.”

  He reached up and caressed her cheek. A touch he would not have initiated weeks before. A touch she thrilled to receive. “I’m not most men. I know how quickly the human body withers, have seen it happen too many times. And as I’ve mentioned, staying with me places you in danger. If someone were to hurt you...to injure you beyond repair...”

  She struggled to maintain her composure amidst such a sensitive topic. “How about I stay with you until I get my first gray hair?” A little time together was better than no time at all.

  “No.” He shook his head with a determination that promised a battle if she dared disagree. “We’ll find a way to make you immortal.”

  Tell him about the dogs.

  No! She couldn’t. Not outright. He wasn’t just Baden, he was Destruction, too. She had to proceed with caution.

  She petted his chest the way she knew he—they—liked. “Let’s back away from the immortal thing for a bit. I’d rather talk about hellhounds and the people who survived their bite.”

  Baden gazed at her as if he’d give her anything she asked—and how heady was that? “I know of only two such cases. Zeus ordered his army to capture the males who’d been bitten, and we did. But they were stronger than before, with claws arcing from their fingers and toes. They were also crazy, constantly pulling at their hair and hitting their temples. On the way to Mount Olympus, a pack of hellhounds ambushed us. Many men died, including the bitten males. They were the main targets, the first killed.”

  “But why? The bloodlust alone?”

  “I think the hellhounds wanted no outside tie. So many had tried to control them. Some, like Hades’s tormentor, had even succeeded...for a time.”

  Now she withered. Was she soon to go crazed? Crave living beings for her meals? Would the pups begin to eye her as a meal-on-heels?

  “Were the hounds immortal?” she asked.

  “No. They had the life span of a human. To my knowledge, a hundred and twenty years is the longest one ever lived.”

  “What happened to them?”

  “Hades took control of two underworld realms. His mother’s and his tormentor’s. He led his armies into battle against all the packs, eradicating the entire race.”

  A spark of anger burned her chest—some of those hounds had been innocent, surely. A spark she ignored. For now.

  Where had Biscuit and Gravy come from? Were there more?

  “About the immortal thing. I don’t know if I want to live forever.” Their relationship was so new. What if things ended in a month...a year...five years? She’d be stuck—alone—in a world she wasn’t sure she liked. “And I’m not worried about the danger that comes with you.”

  “Because I am—”

  “Because there will always be danger in the world. Making decisions based on fear only leads to regrets.”

  “You need me,” he snapped. “With me at your side, you won’t have to be afraid.”

  Oops. She’d poked the bear. Well, why not keep poking?

  She stood, gathered cleaning supplies, stripped him of his soiled clothing and thoroughly washed him. “You want me to need you. There’s a difference. I don’t need you, and I’ll never need you. Dependency isn’t my thing. But I do desire you as fervently as you desire me.”

  He didn’t erupt again, as part of her expected. He softened, saying, “For the first time in forever, I have hope for the future. At least, I think I have hope. It’s been so long since I felt the emotion, I can’t be sure.” He rubbed his chest. “Whatever it is, you are at the center.”

  How sad was that? And how freaking sweet? She pointed to the wall, saying, “Biscuit, Gravy. To your own beds now, my loves.”

  They hopped off the mattress without pause and trotted to the pillows she’d stacked against the wall. After praising them for their obedience, she shimmied under the covers and stretched out beside Baden, careful of his injuries.

  “We’re talking about staying together, being together, but we’ve only ever been on one date. Which isn’t fair—to me! I deserve to be wooed.”

  He draped his arm over her middle, pulling her closer. “I’ve never wooed a woman.”

  “Has a woman ever wooed you?”

  “Many have tried.”

  “Okay. I’ll bite.” Perhaps literally, if she wasn’t careful. “How did they try to woo you?”

  “By sneaking into my home and waiting for me...naked in my bed.”

  Ha! “Please, pekný. I’m not that easy. Be naked in my living room, working a vacuum, and then we’ll talk.”

  His raspy chuckle fanned warm, minty breath over her temples.

  Screw being gentle because of his injuries. He was tough, and such toughness should come with a perk.

  She traced her tongue around his nipple. “I’m in your bed... Perhaps I should get naked now.”

  His eyes flared with want. “You should,” he said. The phone vibrated in his pocket, against her belly, but he paid it no heed. “Right now.”

  “First...” She took possession of the cell and checked the screen. Well, well. “Torin says William is demanding every dem
on-possessed warrior strike at Puck, without actually hurting Puck.” A pause. “Who’s Puck?” Would she ever learn all the players in this game?

  “Puck married William’s...potential soul mate? He’s a satyr. Half goat,” he added when she stared in confusion.

  Goat? Seriously? “Could be worse for the girl, I suppose.” But not by much, and suddenly Katarina was very glad her man simply shared his body with another presence.

  “Gilly isn’t the problem with this situation. William’s focus is divided, making him an easy target. Lucifer will see this as the perfect opportunity to strike.”

  “William seems like the kind of guy who can handle himself, whatever the obstacles.”

  “If he’s hurt... Hades loves his son. He will—” Baden frowned, suddenly pensive. Then he shook his head, as if dislodging the thought that had given him pause. “William’s own sons will be distracted, too, putting many of my allies in jeopardy at once.”

  “William, who looks about thirty years old, has kids old enough to fight in a war?”

  The smile he directed at her held a touch of indulgence. “They’re old enough to destroy the world. They are the horsemen of the apocalypse.”

  Mind scramble! “Forget about naked vacuuming. If you want to woo me, write a book detailing who our enemies are, who our allies are, every immortal race, their strengths and weaknesses.”

  He nodded. “This I will do. For your protection.”

  “Because I need you, blah, blah, blah.”

  He ignored her, adding, “I’m afraid I can’t forget about naked vacuuming. Anything that brings you pleasure, I will do.”

  A waterfall of warmth...so sweet... She leaned into him—only to halt when his phone buzzed a second time. A warrior was always on call. Sighing, she checked the screen. “Torin the cock blocker says you haven’t checked in today, and he’s seconds away from sending in the cavalry.”

  “I’ve been busy.” Baden’s hot gaze stroked her with delicious intent. “I’d like to be even busier.”

  Her nipples tightened, and her stomach clenched. “I’d like that, too, but not until we’ve sent him proof-of-life photos. I won’t risk pop-in visitors while I’m rocking your world.” She stood and snapped a few thousand pictures of him. “Make nice with the camera...good, good...now make hate with the camera. Yes! Just like that. Now make babies with the camera...”

  He regarded her with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

  She selected her favorite photo—one of him making hate with the camera—and texted it to Torin with a message: Baden is ATD (at the doctor’s) and if he’s feeling better later he might throw a BYOT party (bring your own teeth) TTYL (talk to you louder)

  Send.

  “What did you tell him?” Baden demanded.

  “The truth.”

  The phone rang a second later, and Torin’s picture popped up on the screen. Gorgeous white-haired immortal! Baden reached for the phone, but she backed away from the bed and answered for him, saying, “This better be important. You’re interrupting my good time at Baden’s expense.”

  Torin’s chuckle crackled over the line. “You might be worse than my Keeley.”

  The Red Queen. Katarina missed the silly woman. “How is she?”

  “All healed up. I’m calling to tell Baden we’re going to help William. We owe him.”

  She repeated the words to Baden while twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “I don’t understand how you can war with the goat-man...thing without actually hurting him.”

  “Easy,” Torin said. “We go through his closest friends and family.”

  What! “That’s horrible. They’re innocent and—”

  Baden snatched the phone away from her. “You have too much to do already, Tor. The box, the Morning Star. Lucifer.”

  Katarina reclaimed the phone and placed it on Speaker.

  “No matter what Keeley tries,” Torin said, “she can’t find the box or the Star. And now she can’t even look for them.”

  “Why?” Baden demanded.

  “The artifacts are missing. Three of them, at least. Danika is still with Reyes, but the painting of the office is missing, too.”

  Artifacts? What artifacts? Painting of what office?

  The box, she could guess. Pandora’s box. Why did the men want it back? Hadn’t it caused enough trouble?

  “Who would—” Baden began, but Torin cut him off.

  “Cameo. Our girl kidnapped them. I’d say she planned to ransom them back to us just to mess with me, but the agonized look in her eyes the last time we chatted tells me otherwise.”

  The announcement enraged Baden. He punched the wall, cracking the stone and probably his knuckles. “Is no one going after her?”

  “Are you kidding? She’s a big girl. She texted to say this is something she has to do.”

  “The fool woman is going to get herself killed.”

  “You know better than anyone. We can’t help those who won’t help themselves.”

  Baden scrubbed his free hand through his hair, the strands proving stubborn and remaining in adorable spikes. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” He ended the call.

  Katarina petted his arm, offering comfort, but he shrugged her off. The rejection stung, even though she knew its source. Self-recrimination.

  Always end on a positive note.

  Hands on her hips, she said, “You heard Galen’s earlier orders. You need a shower...and I need to tease you sexually until you beg for mercy you’ll never receive.”

  Baden frowned at her. “He never told you to make me beg.”

  “Well, good news, big boy.” She winked at him. “I’m going to make you do it, anyway.”

  24

  “I am the one who put laughter in manslaughter.”

  —Fox, keeper of Distrust

  SEX IN THE SHOWER, sex on the floor, and all I want...is more, more, more.

  Katarina snickered as she snuggled deeper into Baden’s side. She couldn’t get enough of the man, and he obviously felt the same about her. He couldn’t go a few minutes without touching her, and she loved it. Just like she loved—

  Whoa. Slow down.

  “I’m never letting you go, Katarina.”

  His startling confession left her shivering with delight. “Maybe I’ll consider thinking about the possibility of maybe becoming immortal.”

  Once upon a time...

  A new story. A new chance for happily ever after. But—argh!—she still couldn’t get past the fact that this particular story would last for-freaking-ever. More time, more room for error.

  “That isn’t good enough. You will become immortal. One way or another.”

  An-n-nd goodbye happy mood.

  “Ask nicely,” she said, her nerves razed.

  “Not this time. I’d rather deal with your anger than your death.”

  “I’m a grown-ass woman, Baden, and you don’t get to make my decisions for me. My opinions matter. My wants matter. Whether you agree with me or not.”

  He wasn’t deterred. “One day, you’ll thank me for my insistence.”

  “I won’t.” I won’t reinforce his domineering tendencies. “Now back off before you push me too far.”

  “I won’t back off. I can’t. This is too important. You’re too young and too human to understand the—”

  An animalistic growl sprang from deep inside her—a sound she’d never before made—and he went quiet. Not because of her, she realized, but because of the pups, who’d risen from their mound of pillows, the hair on their backs standing up.

  Fury, a mirror to her own, pulsed off them.

  The dogs dove for the bed—for Baden. Their teeth were bared, as if they planned to rip out his throat.

  “No,” she rushed ou
t, and they twisted midair, soaring past Baden as he threw his body over hers.

  “No?” He anchored his weight on his palms to loom above her, his beautiful features dark with anger and determination. “Do you hope to protect me? Or them?”

  “Both. Though I can’t fathom why I’d save you right now.”

  “Because I’m willing to do anything to see to your safety. Even go against your wishes. You might not like it, but some part of you must appreciate it.”

  Was that what she’d reinforced?

  As the pups prowled around the bed, waiting for her signal this time, Katarina forced herself to calm through every means possible. Deep breathing, counting to ten, imagining herself in a happy place—a field of wildflowers where her former pups could play with her new pups.

  “How did we go from making love and cuddling to this?”

  “Very easily. Making love, cuddling...you showed me the desires of a heart I’d thought long dead. And one day you might decide to take that away from me? One day someone might kill you or old age might get the better of you? No.”

  The romance of his words was ruined by the harshness of his tone. “Might? One day? Oh, no, kretén. I’m taking the desires of your heart away from you today. You’re so hardheaded, my warning wasn’t able to get through. Action is needed.” He would learn a lesson, and she would calm down. “We’re going to spend some time apart.”

  She stood and nuzzled the dogs to assure them all was well before dressing in a T-shirt and jeans. “When you deny my right to choose, you don’t deserve me.” She strode to the closet, grabbed an empty duffel and began to fill it with her clothing. “So I’m leaving. Going somewhere far, far away from you.”

  “No.” He spat the denial as if it were poison. “You’re staying here.”

  “Another command.” She tsk-tsked. “You can’t stop me without harming me. Because I will fight you.”

  He jumped up, copper eyes hot on her, and ripped the bag from her grip. A bag he tossed across the room. He backed her into the wall, a mix of carnality and acrimony as he flattened his palms beside her temples, caging her in.