The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(96)

"Danika?"

Another scream.

"Danika, baby, run. Get out of here!"

She ran, not away but forward. A moment later she was standing inside a bedroom, panting, sweating. Her mother and sister were chained to the heating unit. Her grandmother was chained to a bed, both of her legs in a cast.

Reyes was in the process of breaking those chains, his face still skeletal. He was shaking, bleeding. She should not have doubted him and would not again. Even in this form, he wanted her happy. The women were trembling and kicking at him, but still he persisted. Finally, all three were free.

Danika rushed to them and fell to her knees, gathering her mother and sister in her arms. Hot tears were flowing down her cheeks, blending with theirs.

"Danika, he's - he's - " her sister stuttered.

"I know, I know. Don't worry. He's not going to hurt you. He's a good guy." Her family was alive. She was with them again, holding them. Shock and pleasure and relief all tumbled through her.

"I thought you were dead," her mother said through her sobs. "They told me you were dead."

"I'm here now. I'm here." Wiping her face, she let go of them and pushed to her feet. "We will not be parted again. I swear it. I'm just sorry it took me so long to get here."

They stood weakly, and together they walked to the bed where her grandmother lay. Tears were falling down her weathered cheeks, as well. Danika clutched the woman's trembling hand in her own.

"What happened to you?" she whispered, using her free hand to run her fingers over one of the casts.

"The monster with wings." Grandma Mallory sniffled. "He found me, threw me down and...and..." Her chin quaked.

Danika almost made her granny stop, but she had to know. She covered her mouth, cutting off any words that might try and escape. She nodded to prove she was listening.

"He could have killed me after I fell, but he didn't. He picked me up and carried me to this building. I think I used to dream of him. I've tried to block those dreams so long they're only mist in a storm now, but I think maybe he saw me during those dark terrors, because he looked at me as if he knew me. I don't know why, but I told him not to relive his past mistakes. He backed away and then he left me."

Tears splashed down her face. Dear God. They'd always dreamed for a reason. What could she have avoided if she'd studied her dreams rather than feared them? Didn't matter, she supposed. In the end, Grandma Mallory's dreams had saved her. And there was still time for Danika's to save Reyes, once and for all.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," her grandmother said. "Now isn't the time for that. You want to know how I got here. I couldn't move, was stuck in this building. The bastards with guns had been following me, I guess, because they found me later that day. They already had your mother and sister."

Her hand fell, her gaze circling the still crying group. They were pale, with bruises under their eyes. "Were any of you - "

"No," Ginger, her sister, said. "No, we're fine. For the most part, they left us alone. They fed us, kept us healthy. Apparently they planned to use us to draw out our former kidnappers."

Like they tried to use me, she thought angrily. Thank God Reyes had - her gaze circled the room again, not seeing him. Give him a moment to calm down. Enjoy your family. Because in that moment Danika knew, all the way to her bones, that she was going to help Reyes bring down the Hunters once and for all.

No one threatened her family and lived. And Reyes was her family.

REYES HAD ALREADY COME DOWN from his demon-high, had caged the beast even now drenched in agonizing physical pain and sated bloodlust. A beast currently purring with satisfaction. Now, Reyes feared the thoughts that must be running through Danika's mind. He trembled, weakened from his injuries, knowing he couldn't reassure her yet.

She was currently wrapped in the loving arms of her family - gods, how she glowed. If she knew he was in the room, she gave no indication. Quietly, he stepped into the hall and withdrew his cell phone.

He'd wanted to do this all night, all day, but hadn't wanted Danika to overhear and hadn't been able to reach Lucien when he'd been collecting their haphazard breakfast. With Danika preoccupied with her family, there was no better time.

As he dialed Lucien's cell, his knees gave out and he sank to the ground. Once again, his friend failed to answer. This time, however, the keeper of Death simply appeared in front of him, mismatched eyes bright, face tight with fatigue. The fragrance of roses drifted from him, stronger than Reyes had ever smelled it.

Reyes wiped at his face with one hand and used the other to pocket the phone. He didn't bother standing. "Here to collect souls?"

"Not yet, but I feel the tug." Lucien's gaze slid past him, past the cracked open door. "What happened to you, my friend? You have more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese."

"Hunters happened. They were here, waiting, holding Danika's family hostage to use against us later."

Those unusual eyes jerked back to Reyes, shock in their depths, before once again peering past the doorway. "Bastards. And they call themselves the good guys."

The sound of feminine laughter, then silence, then urgent female warnings drifted to them.

"You have to kill him, Dani."

"No, no. You don't understand."