Chapter Eleven

“I can’t wait to explore this time. Damon has been watching over me like I’ll disappear.”

“I know; Mick has been doing the same. I think it’s because Lucca met Tempest.”

“I agree; they think that maybe The Darkness or another force will come after us like we’re conciliation prizes.”

“Did someone try to keep you from mating?”

“Yes. It’s like every time one of the A’rouk brothers finds his mate, something or someone tries to kill her.”

“Oh, someone is trying to kill me, but it doesn’t have anything to do with Lucca.”

“Are you sure? Whatever wanted to kill me was also trying to kill Damon.”

“If you left would he have been safe?”

“No, there was no stopping what was coming after me. It almost killed both of us. I’m not sure what happened to make it stop.”

Would it matter if she left Lucca? Would whatever was coming after her still come after him? How could she leave him alone to fight her enemy? How could she leave him? Already she could feel her desire to be with him. Her heart was beating faster, and it was harder to breathe without him in the room. She had never felt this way before like a male was that important to her, but he was.

“Deep breath,” Dee told her quietly. “I felt like this in the beginning. The further I got away from Niko the harder it was for me to breathe or think. That changed over time after we mated. It’s different for each couple. I think your heart and your body are so connected that being apart is painful.”

She nodded she had felt that way when she ran from him the first day, but this was much worse.

“I think… Stop! Rena stop!”

She pulled to the side of the road burning rubber in her need to put on the brakes.

“I need to go there.” She was pointing at a small bar that was far enough away they could barely see it.

“No, you need to go to the mall. That’s why we got together.” Rena’s voice was sharp as she looked at the bar.

“I can’t pass by it without being torn apart. I have to go in there.”

“You can call Lucca,” Dee was taking out her phone. “This way you can tell him.”

“No.” She was already shaking her head. “He’ll try to stop me, and I have to go in there.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“I understand.” She reached for the handle.

“Stop, I’ll take you back, but we’re all coming in with you.”

She slumped back against the seat with her hands wrapped around her abdomen. It was starting to seep blood, and she didn’t want them to notice.

Rena cut across traffic to get into the lane going in the opposite direction. Good thing she was an excellent driver, or they would all be dead.

“Where’s Lorali when you need her?” Dee muttered under her breath.

“Good question next time we go to the mall she’s coming.”

Rena pulled up in front of the bar and did a donut before she came to a stop just because she could.

“Tempest, I don’t like this. The bar is shady looking from the outside. It may be great on the inside, but that’s not the vibe I’m picking up. The bikes look like they belong to a gang.” The symbol for Satan on each bike was a dead giveaway. “I think we should wait for the guys.”

“You’re right Dee.” She got out of the vehicle. “But I don’t have that kind of time.” She lifted her hand to show them it was covered with blood.

“We’re coming.”

“No, you’re not.” She lifted both hands and closed them into tight fists. The doors that were trying to open were slammed shut.

“I’m so sorry, but I can’t allow you to die trying to protect me.” She called the wind to her hoping she still had the ability to do that. It swirled around her lifting and pulling on her hair. Raising her arms, she commanded it to still. Then she threw her hands out aiming at the SUV. The wind began to push it. She stood there with her eyes closed imagining the mall they were headed towards. When she opened her eyes, she was swaying with tiredness.

Now it was time to find out what had summoned her to the bar.

She knew she wouldn’t survive this. There was no way she was going to call Lucca so that he could die with her. The only thing that made her sad was that she didn’t have more time with him. She swayed on her feet before catching herself. Making sure that Rena and the rest were out of harm’s way had weakened her, but it was worth it to know that they were safe.

The bar was run down and dirty on the outside, but the door was painted a beautiful light blue. The juxtaposing of colors made her twitch until she remembered that something in there wanted her dead. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before she opened the door.

“Hi boys,” she sauntered across the room. The entire bar was filled with nothing but men. That fact alone either screamed gay bar or possessed by the devil. Unfortunately, her money was on the second thought.

“Mama’s home,” she said as she took a seat on the bar stool that was shaky it looked like it needed to be replaced.

“Hey hot stuff, glad you didn’t make us track you down.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“I can smell your blood.”

She turned to look at the giant talking to her. Couldn’t she get a break? Maybe the next person who tried to kill her would be shorter than her and thinner than her.

“It’s impolite to tell a female you can smell her blood. I’m sure your demon mother taught you some manners.”

“She was killed after she had me. My dad didn’t want children and after giving birth was her only time of weakness.”

“That would hinder learning manners.”

“Can I get a drink?” She turned back to look at the bartender.

He looked at the demon behind her who nodded.

“Everyone deserves a last request. Especially when they are as pretty as she is. Too bad she’s feeding the enemy.” He stroked her hair and touched her neck.

“You really need lessons in manners. Don’t touch a female without her permission.”

“No problem, I’ll touch you when you’re dead.”

“And that statement just made you ickier than you already are.”

The bartender laughed until the demon caught him by the throat.

“If you kill him, I don’t get my drink and then where will you be?”

He dropped him. “Get her a drink.”

“What do you want?” His eyes sparked, but he brought them down to half-mast to hide it.

“Strawberry lemonade vodka.”

“I still like you. One drink coming up.”

He handed her a tumbler of vodka.

“Where are the strawberries or the lemonade?”

“Look around do they look like the strawberry lemonade type?”

“Nope.” She tilted her head and downed the vodka. “Well, that had a kick.” She swayed. “I’m not a big drinker I think I see two of you.”

She walked a little away from the demon. “Well come on don’t keep me waiting. I hear dying is overrated and waiting for it sucks.” Her voice was slurred.

“I really need to drink more to build up a tolerance to liquor.”

He threw a web at her which she sidestepped.

“You got to be quicker than that.”

His hand flew out never touching her, but she fell to her knees screaming. When he brought his hand up, it was bloody.

“I hate humans. You’re so ignorant of the other world. You treat us like we don’t exist, and then you let one of them do this to you.”

“Ram,” the bartender called his name.

“If you want to live stay out of it.”

He picked her up and threw her at the wall before his claws came out.

“You must have a death wish. I thought it was only humans and mid-level demons. However, it seems that all demons have the same wish.”

“I tried to warn you,” the bartender said going back to washing glasses.

“Stay still I’ll take care of you after I’m done with her.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Lucca threw his symphor and nailed his hand to the wall when he tried to take her neck.

“You know what you need in here? Females, they make you nicer.” He pulled Tempest into his arms before he called his weapon back.

“Why are you trying to kill her?”

“She’s feeding the enemy.”

“What?”

“You’re as ignorant as she is.”

“Ignorant is not something I’m usually accused of being.”

“For your sake, my sake and the sake of the planet, she has to die.” He flew at Lucca.

Lucca placed her in a shield that couldn’t be broken and turned to face Ram. The fought each clawing at the other neither getting the upper hand.

“You can’t leave with her alive.” Ram was panting as he spoke.

Lucca called his symphor to him and shoved it into his heart.

“That won’t kill me.” He laughed blood dripping out of his mouth.

“It’ll make you weak, and each time I hit your heart; you'll get weaker until the last time when your body dies because your heart no longer beats.”

Lucca stabbed him again.

“You’re protecting the enemy.” He was already getting weak. “Ask her, make her tell you the truth.”

Lucca raised his hand.

“Stop. I won’t go after her, but you’re going to be sorry. She’s not what she looks like. She’s pure evil.”

He dropped to the floor waiting to see if he would die today. Lucca put away his symphor and picked up Tempest.

“If any of you even breathe around her, I promise I will kill you. He gave a subtle nod to the bartender and walked out.

“Kill me, please.” She whispered when he placed her in the car.

“No. What was he talking about Tempest?”

“I don’t know; I'm not evil. What if I’m evil Lucca, and I don’t know it? Maybe something lives inside of me, and that’s why I can’t be healed. He said something was feeding off of me. Do you know how nasty that is? Please kill me.”

Her words drifted off as she closed her eyes.

What the hell was he going to do? There was no way he was killing her, but every time they turned around there was a new part of a puzzle, and he still couldn’t get one piece to fit. Where were the corners he’d start with them?

She cried out; her face scrunched up with pain.

He placed a hand on her leg.

“Hold on menace we’ll figure this out together.” He wasn’t letting her go. It wasn’t love or kindness or the desire to keep a female safe. It was plain ole possessiveness. It almost made him feel better to know he was a possessive A hole like all of his brothers.

His cynical laughter filled the car.