The Darkest Secret

He made her feel special. A little more of the ice inside her melted. Until she realized her final target was only a few steps away. More. Deserved. Destruction within her reach.



Haidee, sweetheart. Look at me. Please.



Again the ice melted, and this time Amun’s plea reached even her hatred, muting the coldest threads.



Slowly she turned to face him. “What do you want?” The frosty rage in her voice stunned her. Upset her.



It shouldn’t be directed at Amun.



The last man is gone, sweetheart. You can come back to me now.



Come back to him? What did he mean by that? She was right here, right in front of him. Frowning, she stepped toward him. She would shake him, make him realize.



Like the enemy had done, he backed away. Sweetheart.



Your eyes are pure white, and even being near you is painful to me. I need you to come back to me.



Sweetheart again. More of the ice melted, and the hate muted yet another degree, then another, until the emotion was at a low simmer. She hurt him? She didn’t want to hurt Amun. Ever. She just wanted to love…him.



Her knees almost gave out. Love? Did she love him?



As the question echoed through her mind, she swayed, a wave of dizziness sweeping her. Just before she hit the ground, strong arms banded around her and kept her upright.



There you are, sweetheart. I knew you’d come back to me.



Amun held her tightly to his side, and to her relief, he didn’t freeze. In fact, his heat wrapped around her, melting the rest of the ice.



“I’m sorry,” she said, voice shaking. “I didn’t mean to—”



Don’t be sorry. You saved our asses. Now come on. We need to get out of here before reinforcements show up.



“Ye seek the Horsemen, do ye? Don’t deny. I heard,” a smal voice suddenly said behind them. “Come, come. I show ye.”



Amun turned them both, and when she focused she saw a tiny female with the lower half of a bul and the top half of a human. Smal hands waved them forward.



“This be fun,” the female said with a shady giggle. “Come, come, I show ye.” She darted away before they could reply.



We’re going to go with her. We don’t have any other choice.



“Yes, we do. We can choose not to go with her.” With Haidee’s luck, the creature would lead them into a nest of vipers, piranha and rape-minded giants. Oh, wait. Been there, done that. What came next would probably be worse.



My demon went silent the moment you— He stopped himself. The moment she’d…what? Become consumed by the cold? My demon is stil silent, which means I can’t figure out where the Horsemen are located. That little female is our only shot. Just don’t let anything happen to me, okay?



Amun said with what seemed to be…humor?



No, surely not. She didn’t think she’d ever heard him joke with her before. And real y, not many men could tease their woman about being stronger than they were. “I, uh, won’t.”



Thank you. The semblance of a smile curled the corners of his lips as he ushered her forward, quickly closing the distance to reach Bul Girl. The almost-grin stunned her more than his teasing. He was just so beautiful, and as amused as he clearly was, he was also distracting.



Love, she thought again.



She couldn’t love him. She was careful, always careful, to guard her heart. Yes, she lusted for Amun, cared for him, wanted him safe and happy. That didn’t mean she loved him, though. Love weakened, made you vulnerable.



Especial y love that wasn’t returned.



“Here, here,” the now-bouncing creature said. She stopped in front of the biggest tent in the area, laughter and smoke drifting from the seams in the front flap. “They be here. This be fun.”



Only then did Haidee recal the old woman’s earlier warning. Death. Pain. Screaming.



Soon.



CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO



THEY WERE SMOKING CIGARS and playing poker.



Amun had never seen the four horsemen of the Apocalypse before, but despite the crowd of demons hovering around them, he recognized them instantly. They sat around a table comprised of barbed wire, enveloped in a tobacco-scented haze. Three males, one female, and al four were physical y perfect beings. Even more so than Zacharel. Or Wil iam.



He studied them. Friend or foe? The female had flaxen hair that waved to her waist, iridescent sparkles woven through the strands, and eyes of the deepest purple. The males were a colorful mix, one raven-haired, one sandy-locked, and one completely bald, his scalp tanned to a golden glow.



They wore clothes very similar to Amun’s. Black shirts, black pants. They were relaxed, laughing seductively as they revealed their cards, then ribbing the losers unmerciful y. What gave them away was the color of their auras. Amun had never noticed anyone’s aura before, but these were undeniable. The shades enveloped them like a second skin, the female’s white, one of the males’ red, one black and one a pale green.



The Rainbow Brigade, he thought.



Haidee stepped to his side and was given her first ful look at them. She gasped.



Amun’s jaw clenched—me, only want me—but the sound prodded Secrets from his hiding place as effectively as her coldness had driven him there earlier. While Amun had battled the six men who’d wanted to “borrow” her, she’d turned into ice walking. Her hair had morphed into icicles, her skin had looked like crystal and her eyes…her eyes had lost al hint of color.



He’d been riveted by the beauty of her, queen of the winter storm, and awed by the strength of her. His demon had been terrified, retreating as deep into his mind as possible.



The others had felt the pul of her again, even though she hadn’t touched Amun. They’d fought, screamed. Yeah, they’d done that before, but never that quickly or that determinedly.



He just didn’t know what to do about it.



Whatever kept Haidee from dying eternal y, whatever brought her back to life again and again, had to be responsible for her change. No mere human could do that.



What that made her, what that was, though, he stil didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure Secrets had the bal s to try and find out. Stil . They were going to have to merge with her mind again.



Amun had to know the truth. And maybe, with the answer, he could find a way to save her from the torture of being reanimated. Of course, that meant she would die permanently one day, and he couldn’t even contemplate that without sickening.



She was his.



And he was going to have her. Al of her. Yes, the cold he felt while they pleasured each other could hurt him. He realized that now. But he wasn’t going to let something as minor as freezing to death stop him from being with her.



He’d already lost the war with his resolve to stay away from her. While they were down here, at least.



Up there, they would part, and that knowledge only increased his urgency to have her. Tonight. Tonight, he wiped her former boyfriend from her mind and claimed every inch of her.



At least Secrets wasn’t whimpering, or the others screaming, because she stood at his side. That was a start. Secrets was too focused on the Horsemen and their thoughts—or rather, what consisted of their thoughts—



enjoying the puzzle of them. There was a strange buzzing noise inside White’s head, shrieks inside Red’s, moans inside Black’s and utter silence inside Green’s.



“She the one who iced the congo?” Red asked no one in particular. A cigar hung from the side of his mouth.



The crowd final y noticed Amun and Haidee. Some snarled and flashed their teeth, some licked their lips in glee, but al left the tent as if their feet were on fire. Only the Horsemen remained.



The congo. The men who’d thought to beat him to pulp, al owing them to rape and dismember Haidee without interference? Most likely. Guys had been as big as apes, with a mind-set to match, so the name fit.



“I believe I asked you a question, warrior.” Red tossed the cards atop the tabletop and turned, eyes of the cruelest blue leveling on Amun. The shrieks inside the being’s head increased in volume. Secrets burrowed through them, stil seeking thoughts and intentions. “I’l hear your answer now.”



“Yes,” Haidee said, answering for him. She sounded confident, unafraid. But for once, Amun could feel the emotions pouring off her. His brave girl was terrified but determined. “I did. I iced them.”



If the Horsemen thought to punish her… Amun curled his fingers around a blade the congo hadn’t managed to steal from him, ready, almost eager.



“Very cool,” Black said, waving them over with a smile that did little to soothe Amun’s dark mood. “Sit, sit. We’ve been expecting you.”



They had, had they?



Amun needed a better read on them, and suspected Secrets would have an easier time sorting through the noise if Haidee wasn’t there. Yet he couldn’t be without her.



Not just to guard her—not that she needed guarding, because damn, he was stil in shock over her ability—but because the other demons inside him might use her absence to overtake him. He would lose focus, returning to that mindless state of horror and pain.



Stand behind me and press your back into the tent flap, he told her as he moved forward. He gave her a gentle push in that direction. You’ve got a weapon?



“Yes,” she whispered.



She didn’t question him, but he knew she wanted to. Once again, he wished the connection went both ways, that she could push her voice into his head. Why the hel couldn’t she? Just then he wouldn’t have minded if she heard every thought he had, knew every urge he experienced. Her safety came before everything else.



He eased into the only empty seat at the table, the horsemen encasing him from every angle. He studied their faces more intently, noting the flawlessness of their skin, the purity of their eyes, the utter amusement in their expressions.



Amusement? Why?



Amusement? Why?



Amun knew the moment Haidee did as he’d ordered and increased the distance between them, because Secrets sighed in relief and homed in on the three males and the female, at last digging past the buzzing, shrieking, moaning and silence.



—so damn bored…