The Darkest Torment. Gena Showalter
in the middle of the building.
He wanted to give chase, to attack, but the urge to safeguard Katarina—the key to his point—proved stronger.
William had her draped over his shoulder. “Where do you want her?”
Torin and Cameo flanked his sides, weapons drawn and at the ready. Baden wanted to make their lives easier, and yet he kept adding complications.
“The couch,” he said. The scene of the crime.
“There’s no one to kill?” Torin pouted. “I always miss the fun.”
William tossed Katarina onto the couch cushions. When she finished bouncing, he noticed the large knot on her forehead. One he’d sported on several occasions. Pandora had head-butted her.
Scowling, he shoved William in the shoulder. “Be more careful with her. She could have a concussion.”
“That’s not exactly a me problem, now, is it?”
Cameo gave her semiautomatic a little toss, caught it by the barrel and pistol-whipped the shit out of William. As he cursed and rubbed the fresh wound, she said, “Consider it a you problem from now on. Any injury she sustains, I’ll make sure you sustain as well.”
Baden and Destruction shuddered in unison.
Note to self: Earplugs are my best friend. He had no idea how Cameo lived with her demon. Anytime she experienced a moment of happiness, the kind that would change her life for the better, the demon erased the memory, ensuring she remained forever surrounded by darkness.
Without light—hope—there was no desire to live. A fact he’d suffered firsthand.
“You’re worse than my children,” William muttered. “You know that, right, Cam?”
The male had four children. Three sons and a daughter. The daughter was murdered months ago, and the sons were now in the midst of a vicious war with her killer’s family. A war the killer’s family would not win. William had fathered the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Cameo—thankfully, blessedly—shrugged.
Torin holstered his gun and held up a shredded box. “Monopoly, anyone? Got the M&M’s edition. The stray dogs outside the hotel used it as a chew toy, but I think I managed to salvage most of the pieces.”
More stray dogs?
Katarina moaned before bolting upright. Panting, she gave the room a panicked scan. Her gaze met Baden’s, and she scrambled to the edge of the couch, holding out her hand to ward him off, as if she expected him to attack.
“The woman,” she said. Most of her hair had fallen from the topknot, long dark waves now framing her face. The sight of her in such disarray caused his gut to clench. So fragile—the weak died swiftly—but so damned beautiful.
Destruction snarled at her, but made no new demand to kill her.
“She is Pandora, the one I told you about,” he said. “She’s my enemy.”
“That’s who attacked you?” Torin laughed. “Wow. The chick has balls, that’s for sure.”
Baden frowned at him. “She plans to kill me, to take me out of the game, before coming after the rest of you.”
William nodded, impressed. “That’s not exactly a bad strategy.”
“And,” he added, wanting to punch something, “she’s already earned a point.”
“A point?” Katarina asked. “What game are you playing with her?”
With a scowl, he focused on her. Any other human would have cowered. This one lifted her chin, a now familiar action, refusing to back down. Brave, but foolish. Merely another weakness.
“A dark and dangerous one. At the end, the one with the most points lives and the other dies. As you might, very soon. You drugged me,” he snapped.
She flinched. “If you wanted a passive prisoner, you should have chosen someone else.”
He’d thrown similar words at Hades.
I’m nothing like the king. I have limits.
Easier said...
“The human drugged you?” Torin barked out another laugh. “Dude. Are you embarrassed? Because I’m embarrassed for you.”
“Like you have room to talk.” William poked him in the shoulder. “Your girlfriend has spanked you on a number of occasions.”
“Yeah, but I was a very naughty boy. I started worldwide plagues, and I needed to be taught a lesson.”
“Plagues?” Katarina gasped out.
William winked at her. “Don’t worry, petal. If he touches you skin-to-skin, you’ll sicken...but you can cure yourself by sucking on his—”
Baden punched him in the mouth, shutting him up. “She’s had enough of our world. And I have things to do.” A sense of urgency overtook him. He was still without a point. “I’m taking her back to her groom. Give me your gloves,” he said to Torin, already resenting the barriers that would prevent skin-to-skin contact with Katarina.
The few times they’d touched, the warmth of her flesh had tantalized him even as it had agonized him.
His friend understood his affliction better than most and pulled the leather from his arms without protest.
Baden claimed one then the other, encasing each of his arms before extending a hand to Katarina. “Come.”
She stood eagerly, curling her fingers around his.
“So determined to return to hell.” A dark tide of...something rolled through him. Not jealousy. It wasn’t!
She’s a means to an end, nothing more.
“I have my reasons,” she said quietly.
“Of course you do. Money, power and protection.”
Baden yanked her against him, wrapping his arm around her waist. An unbreakable shackle. She gasped, and he wondered what she’d sound like when she surrendered to her man, incomparable pleasure consuming her.
Destruction prowled through his mind, more restless with every second that passed. She peered up at him through the thick shield of her lashes...and both he and the beast lost their concentration. The faint scent of vanilla wafted from her. Delicious. Edible.
Must taste her...
With so much evil in the world, beautiful things should be cherished.
“This is way past awkward, right?” William asked, ruining the sensuality of the moment.
“Definitely,” Torin said as Katarina blushed.
Cameo did everyone a favor and merely shrugged.
Baden glared at the lot of them. “Patch the windows and doors and meet me at the fortress in Budapest. I’ll return as soon as I can.”
Torin got real serious real fast. “Going to visit Aleksander alone? I’m not sure that’s wise, my man. He’ll be armed, and he’ll have more guards, guaranteed.”
No human would ever be strong enough or fast enough to behead Baden and remove his arms. “I’ll be fine.”
William clasped his shoulder. “Your reasons for avoiding Budapest are still valid. Don’t forget. And if you decide to move, stay away from Fox. Bad for your health and all that.”
Why would he go around a fox?
He secured Katarina even more firmly against him, a pang in his chest, an ache in his groin. He ignored both. Can’t want her. Won’t want her. A seductress who used her man would ultimately betray him.
“Unless you’re planning to carry me,” she said, “you can let me go. I can walk.”