The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld #1)(69)

Once again Maddox jerked on the thick chains, using all of his might. He didn't shatter the impossibly strong links - the gods themselves had made these chains - but he did bend the metal headboard. Rage exploded through him, so fervent and sinister he couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Had to get to Ashlyn. Had to protect her. She was innocent, fragile, would never survive if a fight broke out.

And if the enemy captured her...

He bucked and roared and bucked some more. "Ashlyn!" he screamed. "Ashlyn!"

"I don't understand how he can be this fierce over one woman," he faintly heard Lucien say.

"Such devotion is dangerous," Reyes replied.

He blocked the sound of their chatter. "Ashlyn!" If she heard him, she could run to him, unlock him, and he could protect her. He could - no. She was trapped inside Lucien's room, and he had put her there. He had made sure she couldn't escape. And even if she did make it here, would the two men he'd once considered friends attack her?

He pressed his lips together and bit down on his tongue. For hours - minutes? seconds? - he fought silently but failed to free himself. Lucien and Reyes watched without a word, never relenting. He cursed them with his eyes, promising retribution.

Help Ashlyn hide, he prayed. Let her remain hidden until I come for her.

A sharp pain stabbed his side.

Midnight had finally arrived.

He groaned. The spirit churned inside of him, a poisoned hailstorm, a bundle of lightning, a tempest of destruction. Man and demon melded with a common goal. Surviving this, so that they could defend their woman.

But Reyes rose over him, sword in hand. His face was devoid of emotion. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

When the blade cut into Maddox's stomach, slicing through skin, organ, bone, he couldn't hold back his screams any longer.

The door to the bedroom creaked open slowly, and all but Ashlyn and Danika shrank as far away as possible. They grabbed each other's hands. All evening, Ashlyn had been seething with the need to confront Maddox. Danika had wanted to confront Reyes. Instead they had ended up sharing their life stories.

Rather than freaking Danika out, Ashlyn's past seemed to ease the girl's suspicions. In turn, Ashlyn had been outraged at Danika's kidnapping. How strange to think that in this place of death and fear, Ashlyn had found not only her first would-be lover but also her first real friend.

An angel stepped inside the room.

Silver hair produced a halo around his head; his green eyes sparkled like emeralds. A demon should not be so beautiful. But he was covered in black, as Ashlyn would have expected, with a black shirt, black pants and black gloves. Worse, he held a gun in one of his outstretched hands.

She'd seen him before, in Maddox's room. Last night - was it only last night? - when Maddox had been stabbed. This man hadn't participated, but he had watched. And he hadn't tried to help.

"Ashlyn," he said, eyes searching for her.

Fear tightened her throat. He knew her name? Why hadn't Maddox come? Had he washed his hands of her already? Did he now want her dead?

Trying not to whimper, she pushed Danika behind her. "I'm here," she managed to squeeze out. Part of her expected to be shot that very second.

She wasn't.

The man remained in place, though his gaze moved across the room, past the bed and dresser until it collided with hers. "Come with me."

She felt rooted to the floor, frozen. "Why?"

He cast a harried glance over his shoulder. "I'll explain on the way. Now hurry. If they see you, I won't be able to save you."

Danika was suddenly in front of her, a bundle of fury. "She's not going with you. None of us are, no matter how many guns you point at us. You and your buddies can go f*ck yourselves."

"Maybe later," he replied dryly, keeping his sights on Ashlyn. "Please. We don't have much time. Do you want to see Maddox again or not?"

Maddox. Just hearing his name caused her heart rate to spike. I must be the stupidest girl in the world. She gave Danika a hug and whispered, "I'll be okay." She hoped.

"But - "

"Trust me." She pulled from the girl's hold and trudged forward. The white-haired angel backed away from her as if she were a stick of dynamite.

"No one else move," he said, practically cartwheeling in his haste to keep distance between them. "I'll shoot first and ask questions later." Still watching her, he stopped in the hall.

When Ashlyn stood in front of him, he added, "Don't touch me. Bad things happen when people touch me. Don't even get close enough to fall into me if you trip." His tone was deadly serious, his eyes now flat.

"Okay," she said, confused. Still, she tucked her hands behind her back, just in case she forgot, and waited for him to lead the way.

He moved a wide circle around her, keeping the gun trained straight ahead, and shut and locked the door. Ashlyn didn't try to rush him. Fear once again held her bolted in place.

"What bad things?" she couldn't help but ask when he turned back to her.

He leapt into motion, throwing over his shoulder, "Disease. Agony. Death." He sheathed the gun at his waist. "My skin cannot touch another living thing without causing a plague."

Dear Lord. Whether it was true or not, the idea alone was enough to keep her away from him. She suspected he spoke true, however. Each time she'd seen him, he'd done his best to remain out of the way, removed from everyone around him. Not the actions of an evil man, but a man who cared more about others than he did himself. Her heart softened toward him. Stupid idiot.