Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Blanching, Euan gaped. “You’d really put an outsider before me, a demon from your own lair? Your cousin?”
“A cousin who has invested a lot of time into undermining me so that he can take my place as Prime, pissing all over my trust and breaking his loyalty to me in the process. So tell me, Euan, why wouldn’t I put my anchor before you?”
Euan snapped his mouth shut.
Marcella, too, said nothing—she merely sat there, her face now deathly pale.
Again, Maddox spoke to the entire lair. “As I said, I’ll be in my office for the next hour if anyone wishes to request a transfer.”
Nobody did.
That evening, Raini opened the kitchen drawer and fished a spoon out of the cutlery organizer. Her father would tell her that having cereal for dinner wasn’t “healthy.” Her father would also tell her that crime kept the economy going and that, as such, he provided a positive service to society.
The man was a nut.
Which was why she didn’t quite trust that he wouldn’t turn all pyro on Maddox’s club. Sure, Lachlan had promised not to. But he’d also promised he’d stop breaking into fast-food restaurants to cook himself a burger—he didn’t always live up to that vow.
She used her hip to bump the drawer closed and then crossed to the fridge. She closed her fingers around the handle, intending to pull open the door and grab the milk jug. Her peripheral vision screamed a warning.
Raini turned to face the stranger standing a few feet away. His eyes were hard, bright, and shimmered slightly like two pure blue jewels. And above his head was a fucking halo. A halo so pretty and distracting that she didn’t react fast enough.
Raini’s heart jumped as a heavy weight abruptly fell over every inch of her body. No, clamped around it. Her bones felt like they would shatter from the sheer force of the power pinning her in place. The fuck?
The air wavered, and then two other halo-bearers materialized near him. Well, wasn’t she popular tonight? Angels generally didn’t fuck with demons, and vice versa. But these guys didn’t seem to have come for a simple chat.
“Telepath Maddox,” ordered the one who’d “trapped” her, moving closer. “Tell him you need him.”
Telepath Maddox? So, what, she was being used as bait? Why? And where was her freaking guard when Raini needed her?
She went to ask what he wanted with Maddox, but she couldn’t move her mouth. Couldn’t move anything—not her arms, not her legs, hell she couldn’t even flap her damn hands. And that was bad.
Her inner demon went ballistic, and the dark power that dwelled within Raini rushed to her palms, raring to attack and protect her. But since she was pretty much immobilized right now, she couldn’t release it.
“Telepath him,” the angel insisted.
Lure someone to their death? Nu-uh. Not Raini’s style. Of course, she could warn Maddox it was a trap so that he’d bring some of his fellow descendants, but the halo-bearers had to know that. For them to believe that they could handle whoever came, there had to be more of them around—maybe outside the house, maybe inside. She didn’t want to take the chance unless she had no other choice.
The halo-bearer in front of her narrowed his eyes. “Do it. Now.”
She glared daggers at him, letting him know with a single look that it wouldn’t happen.
The force subduing her tightened painfully around her head, putting so much pressure against her skull she was surprised her eyes didn’t pop out of their sockets. God it hurt. It felt as if her head was trapped in a red-hot vise that sought to crack every bone and burst every blood vessel. She’d have cried out in agony for sure if she could have moved.
“I don’t wish to hurt you,” he went on. “I simply need your cooperation. Call Maddox here.”
She gave him a look that said, “Go fuck yourself.”
The force tightened again. Her head pounded, her facial bones throbbed, her jaw ached, and her teeth rattled. Jesus fuck her skull was going to pop like a zit if he didn’t stop. Tears pooled in her eyes, which pissed her off—she hated that they could reduce her to this.
“You can make the pain end by doing what I asked. I hope you’re not counting on your bodyguard to come rescue you. She’s a little distracted at the moment.”
Raini had figured as much, and it confirmed that there were more halo-bearers close by.
“Call. Out. To. Maddox.”
Nope, but she would call someone. Raini reached out and touched Jolene’s mind. Need a little assistance. I’ve got three halo-bearers in my kitchen, and there are more hanging around. Don’t come alone. Round up some people. Lots and lots of people. The halo-bearers would be prepared for descendants, not for other breeds of demon. And no one could quite prepare for imps.