The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(98)

"Reyes!" She grinned when their gazes met, but that grin quickly faded. "You're hurt!" She moved from her family, rushing toward him...soon so close he could smell her stormy fragrance.

Heart pounding in his chest, he shut the door in her face. Turned the lock.

He heard her gasp. Her fists banged against the wood. "Reyes!" she growled.

He'd seen her, knew she was unharmed. It was time to walk away from her. For good. Last night she'd wanted to hurt him during sex. Had been eager to do so. Being gentle hadn't stopped the dark cravings as he'd hoped. And even though he hadn't allowed her to hurt him, his demon must have affected her already, propelling her toward the life Reyes had endured for too long. Pain, always pain.

What if she wanted to hurt her family next? She'd fought so diligently to save them. He wouldn't jeopardize that.

"Reyes! Let me out."

"Dani," the grandmother called unexpectedly. "Leave him be."

The pounding continued.

Reyes ran a fingertip along the wood. Then, slowly, he stepped away from the door. Only when he reached the end of the hallway did he pivot. Some of the home's furnishings were missing, he realized as he limped. A few tables, all of the knickknacks Ashlyn had added. There was no blood on the walls, so the warriors must have been hard at work, cleaning. Thankfully, he didn't see any of the warriors in question. He wasn't sure how he would have reacted if they'd asked him about Danika.

Danika, Pain suddenly shouted.

"Hush," he replied.

But the more distance he put between him and Danika, the more the demon growled inside his mind.

Danika, Pain shouted again.

"I'm riddled with bullet holes. What more do you want?" Reyes growled back.

Her.

"Why?" She was the epitome of pleasure. "She is not for us."

Mine.

"No!" Down the stairs he pounded, his steps long and furious, eating up the distance to the dungeon. He found Lucien in front of Aeron's cell, gripping the bars, silent.

Reyes stopped beside him and looked into the holding. Aeron was still chained to the wall, his eyes bright red, his fangs long and sharp. His nails were elongated into claws. The demon, Legion, slithered around his neck, down his arms and then across his ankles.

"It is able to flash," Lucien said. "It popped itself into the middle of the cell and now is refusing to talk to me."

"I talk," the demon said.

"Then tell me where you went."

"Hell."

"Why?"

"You get why, my friend get free," Legion said, forked tongue flicking out. "He isss sssad. Me not like sssad. Ssso we trade."

Actually Aeron appeared enraged, his gaze tracking Reyes's every move, but Reyes wasn't going to argue the point. "I'm afraid I can't trade with you. If Aeron goes free, he will try and kill my woman. And Aeron," he said to the warrior, "I thought you'd like to know you didn't kill Danika's grandmother. You walked away before rendering that final blow."

There was a hitch in the warrior's breath, a slight tensing of his large form. "I failed."

"Reason to rejoice."

"I failed," Aeron repeated stiffly.

Reyes sighed.

"Uh-oh. You make him mad." Legion crouched, moving into an attack stance. "You pay."

Would no one cooperate with him?

"Settle down, boy," Lucien told the little demon. "We only want the best for Aeron."

Legion hissed like a startled cat, the noise scraping at Reyes's skin. "Me no boy. You think me a boy?"

Everyone stopped, stared. Even Aeron.

Reyes was the first to find his voice. "You're a...girl?"

A nod. "Me pretty."

"Yes, you are." Reyes exchanged a glance with Lucien. "Beautiful."

Aeron had yet to recover from the shock.

"I need your help...sweetheart. There is a demon in hell who was asking a damned soul about a woman," Reyes said to the she-demon, getting them back on track. "My woman. I think he means to hurt her. Is there anything you can tell me?"

"Oh, oh. Big newsss in hell," Legion said, lips lifting in a proud, happy smile. He - she - turned to Aeron. "Everyone talking 'bout it. Visssiting demon told them. Can I tell, can I, can I?"

Still silent, Aeron nodded.

"Ssshe ticket to heaven. Whichever demonsss find her, get to ussse her to essscape."

SABIN LIMPED TO THE CENTER of the entertainment room and turned - swayed, damn it - to face the people who were scattered throughout. Some were playing pool, others watching TV. Some were drinking. Ashlyn was sitting in Maddox's lap.

"What are we going to do with the girl?" he rasped. His throat was still raw, still healing from the bomb smoke he'd inhaled.

All eyes anchored on him.

"Study her paintings," Lucien said, cue in hand. "That's all we can do."

"That, and treat her well," Ashlyn interjected.

Softhearted women were the bane of the universe. "Now that they know what she is, Hunters will come after us more fervently now."

"I'd think that would delight you," Paris said, glancing up from the flesh-fest playing out on the television screen.