The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(95)

Sometime soon, I have to let her go. It's for the best, safer. For all the reasons he'd named before and a thousand more. Being with her opened that portal into heaven - which meant he might very well cause her to open the one into hell, as well. Also stood to reason that, if he traveled to heaven, she would be the one to travel to hell. Already her nights were plagued with terrors. She did not need more evil in her life.

Letting her go, though...His hands tightened into fists. One day, would she fall in love with a human who would not hurt her, destroy her or ruin her? A man who would give her children and -

Roaring sounded in his head. His. The demon's. No man but him would touch her. Not without dying.

"Reyes, you're hurting me."

Instantly his arms fell away from her. He jerked a hand through his hair, no longer having to wonder how the demon felt about her. "I am sorry, so very sorry."

She gave him a weak smile, reaching up and tracing a finger down his nose. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

She seeks to comfort me. I am not worthy of this woman. Though he wanted to push her against the wall, claim her lips with his own, drown in her scent and her flavor, he motioned to the door. "Are you ready to go inside?"

Indecision played over her lovely features. She lowered her lids, spiky shadows tumbling down her cheeks.

"What is the matter?"

"Why didn't they want me here?"

"They - "

Reyes caught a glint of movement in the window just above them. Two boards covered two windows yet they didn't quite meet in the middle, allowing a crack of visibility.

The form he'd glimpsed had been too big to be a woman.

He'd thought that if the women were still alive, they were merely in hiding. He had not considered the fact that they might have been captured by Hunters. He'd assumed the Hunters would have contacted him and the other Lords if that had been the case, suggesting a trade. So foolish.

"Danika," he said, gaze searching the surrounding area with new intent. He had to hide her, had to keep her safe.

Too late.

The door swung open, revealing three men. Each had a weapon, and all three were pointed at Danika, as if they knew training a gun on Reyes would not have mattered.

Fury surged inside him, intensifying when Danika gasped in horror. "Oh, my God."

"Hands at your sides, demon," one of the men told him, "and step inside. Try anything, and I'll hurt the girl."

Hurt Danika? He chewed on the inside of his cheek, purposefully shredding his flesh. The demon stalked and prowled, growling. Ready, Pain?

Oh, yes. Evil laugh.

"Danika," Reyes said. "Close your eyes."

He didn't look to see if she had obeyed. He simply unleashed his demon.

THE BLOOD, the carnage, the screams.

At one point, Danika had to cover her ears with her hands. She couldn't stop trembling. Stupid girl that she was, she hadn't closed her eyes as Reyes had demanded; she'd wanted to help. War was something she'd prepared for - or thought she had.

Then Reyes had seemed to change from warrior to crazed skeleton in a blink. She'd no longer seen the skin she so loved to touch. She'd seen gnarled bones and teeth so long, sharp and thick they could have belonged to a shark.

The Hunters had fired their guns at Reyes, but he hadn't seemed to notice. He certainly hadn't slowed. He'd simply devoured them. Even now, he propelled from one Hunter to the other, claws ripping into flesh. Snarls and snaps sounded, eerie, like something out of a horror movie.

Wide-eyed, she continued to watch, afraid to get in his way. Afraid he wouldn't care who she was and would attack her, too. So badly she wanted to run and hide. Blood already splattered Reyes from head to boot, slicking his hair to his scalp and his clothes to his body. So badly - but she didn't. Her family was inside this building. Were they okay?

I should have come for them sooner.

Amid the terrible chaos, she grabbed a fallen gun and rushed past Reyes and through the building. Where were they? She checked the nearest room - empty. The next room - four Hunters were inside, cursing, loading bullets into weapons.

One of them saw her and aimed his gun at her, shouting, "Filthy demon whore! I don't care what they say you are." She raised hers, too. They fired at the same time. But the next thing she knew, she was being shoved to the ground, eating dirt, and Reyes was racing past her, a mere blur. A second later, the men were screaming.

Oh, God. Danika lumbered to her feet, legs nearly giving out. She stumbled forward, determined to continue her search. Reyes hadn't hurt her, had still managed to protect her. She rounded a corner, saw a flight of stairs. Weapon trained ahead, arm shaking, she climbed them two at a time. Another corner.

Three Hunters, all of them trembling and pale, waited at the end of the hall. They saw her and fired. Just like before, Reyes was there, shoving her down and taking the blows himself. Was he hurt? Oh, God, oh, God.

He likes pain, remember? He's fine. Her ears rang and her heart raced.

When she looked up, the men were already on the floor, unmoving. Reyes was nowhere to be seen. Danika scrambled up yet again, racing forward, tripping and falling twice. She knew she scraped her knees, but her adrenaline was so high she didn't feel a thing.

Down the hall, a woman screamed.

"Mom!" she shouted, recognizing the voice. "I'm here."