DX Page 7

  “You will do nothing to interfere, Jaden,” Milos said.

  Jaden’s hatred burned in her head. Hell leaned toward Milos. No more pretending. “Why not?” she asked. “Say, want to know what I found out about the DX? Oh, but here’s a better question. Why’d you sell me out? I trusted you, and all the time you were handing me over to a demon.”

  “So that’s how it is,” Milos said after a quick glance at Jaden.

  “That’s how it is.” She knew Milos wasn’t sure which demon she meant; Jaden or the Setonian.

  He shook his head. “Humans aren’t at the top of the food chain anymore. If we’re going to survive, we need allies who can protect us, and they aren’t dogs or fangs.”

  A few scattered pieces clicked into place. “What have you done?”

  “We’re giving them the Lower, Hell.” He smoothed his hair. “As soon as we get the portal working, and trust me, we will, we’ll have enough demons to pull this off. They get their own playground up here, and in return, they protect us humans from the dogs, fangs and rogues. It’s practically a done deal.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  Milos threw up his hands. “We lost control of the Lower years ago. Look at them. They live like animals. It’s anarchy. If we don’t do something, the whole damn city will be in chaos and the only people left will be prey for the monsters. Why not let the demons have the Lower while the rest of us save what we can of Crimson City?”

  “Sounds great,” she said. “Unless you happen to live in the Lower.”

  Milos slicked back his hair, then reached for the water. “There’s always collateral damage.”

  “That what I am? Collateral damage?”

  Milos stared at his hands. Perspiration trickled down his temples. “They wanted a gesture of good faith before we negotiate in earnest.”

  “In other words, me.”

  He bit his lower lip. “We can’t let them run loose, not without a solid contract. I’m sorry, Hell. You don’t know how sorry I am, but it had to be someone I care about. Someone I loved.” He looked at Elijah and trembled. “For God’s sake, this is killing me! Fucking take her, will you?”

  For once, Elijah went still. “No,” he said. Within the single word, the werewolf’s voice shifted from smooth to rough. His head jerked, then stilled.

  Milos paled. “She’s there. All yours, Elijah. I’ve wanted her for years. Years! You know it’s the truth.” His voice broke. “She’s exactly what I promised.”

  Elijah shook his head.

  Milos drew his sidearm. The click of the safety going off sounded like an explosion. “I’m sorry, Hell,” he said. He pointed the weapon at her forehead, aim steady. “We need to seal this deal, or pretty soon there won’t be any such thing as humanity.”

  She felt energy gathering in Jaden. He was still compelled to do nothing, but his obligation to protect her built to an unbearable pitch. “You’re insane, Milos.”

  “Hell, get your ass over there or I’ll shoot you. I swear I will.” He smiled. “I doubt Elijah wants to kill you. Not right away. I wouldn’t if I were him.” His voice lowered. “But if he does, isn’t it worth it to save the rest of us? Now move! Jaden. Get her over there.”

  Jaden morphed to his demon form and stepped in front of her. His refusal to do as Milos ordered was tearing him apart. With a shock that wrenched her soul, Hell realized Jaden had known this would happen. He expected to die.

  “Get out of the way, Jaden,” Milos shouted. “Do you hear me? What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  Energy boiled in him, malefic and searing hot. If she didn’t do something, this was going to kill him. She reached for their link, and it was like turning a faucet from a trickle to full blast. The air around him started to glow.

  “Take her!” Milos cried.

  “The Bak-Faru has bound her to him.” Elijah twitched again and Hell wondered if that meant the demon was having trouble controlling the werewolf. It was, after all, a full moon. “He will not allow me to take his mate without killing him first.”

  “Bullshit!” Milos shouted. “He isn’t going to interfere. He can’t. I told him he can’t.” His attention shot to Jaden. “Whatever the fuck you did, undo it. Now! Or I’ll kill you. And then it will be my pleasure to hand her over.”

  “You will not harm her, Milos Sanders.”

  Milos pulled the trigger just as Hell pushed every ounce of herself into Jaden. The surge of power from her to Jaden knocked her to her knees.

  The bullets melted in the air, raining down like metallic hail.

  Amber light boomed through the room, blowing Elijah off his chair. Milos tumbled backward, knocking over a chair. The pitcher of water exploded in a hiss of steam. Milos ejected his empty clip and scrambled for another. He shrieked as the gun melted in his hand and dropped to his knees, screaming. Hell felt the drain on her energy, but she refused to stop. The flow remained a torrent.

  With a smile of malign joy curving his mouth, Jaden whirled on the wolf. His ponytail arced through the air. He uttered a single word, and something foul gathered in him and shot toward the dog. Elijah convulsed and hit the wall, mouth open in a howl that shattered the air. The dog slid to the floor. A second shape appeared, standing on werewolf’s feet. In a blink, the form became the physical manifestation of the Setonian demon. From head to toe, the demon was the color of new blood; hair, eyebrows, skin and even his eyes were crimson.

  “You cannot survive,” the Setonian told Jaden. “Your female will be mine.”

  On the floor, Elijah’s body twitched. A wet, crackling sound rippled through the room. Cold fear rushed through her, but she continued to push herself into Jaden, letting him draw on her reserves. He couldn’t die. She would not allow it. Elijah’s transformation completed. Less than a foot from where Milos knelt, the werewolf quivered in a four-footed stance, head down, muzzle open, saliva dripping. The dog lunged.

  Shit. Jaden remained bound to protect Milos. Sooner or later there wouldn’t be anything more of her for Jaden to draw on, and she knew without a doubt that when they reached that point, he would either be killed by the Setonian or Milos or the strain of his competing promises would end his life. She launched herself at the other demon, toward the embrace of his scarlet arms. Jaden whirled, and the room exploded with amber heat. Milos screamed. Only once. When she opened her eyes, all that remained of the Setonian was reeking ash, and Elijah, in werewolf form, stood over Milos’s unmoving body.

  “Goddamn!” Jim West stood in the doorway, gun drawn. His eyes were wide on the smoking ashes of the Setonian. He swapped out his clip and aimed at the dog as he walked around the room to Milos’s body. His eyes shifted between Hell, Milos, Jaden and the werewolf. “Goddamn fuck me, Hell. I thought you were lying. Milos was behind it.”

  “Uh huh,” she said.

  “What the hell did you use on the DX, Lightfeather?” West asked, nodding toward the ashes. Hell didn’t correct his conclusion that the Setonian was the DX.

  Agent Jaden Lightfeather smiled. “Classified.”

  A shudder went through the werewolf. Hell closed her eyes when she heard the first wet pop. Elijah as a wolf was terrifying. Elijah as a fully clothed human was impressive. Elijah as a naked human was a plain uncomfortable sight. She stared at the werewolf’s bare feet, splattered with red droplets. With a nod at Jaden, Elijah said, “I owe you. You ever need help, you let me know.”

  West pressed two fingers to Milos’s neck. “Shit.” He hit his comms and called for a clean up team. When he’d given their location, he put his back to the wall and slid down, gun arm balanced on his upraised knee. “For the next five minutes, I don’t see anything. Anybody here when I get up takes the blame for this whole fucked up night.”

  Elijah wasted no time. But on her way out with Jaden, Hell paused at the door. “Thanks, West. Maybe you’re okay. For an asshole.”

  Hands clasped behind his neck, West stared at the floor. “Get the fuck out of here, Hell.”

  She
grabbed Jaden’s hand, and they headed for the street and her Murciélago. As she and Jaden approached the car, she stopped him with a hand to his arm. She pushed his chest, but he didn’t budge. “What?” he said.

  “You’re stuck with me now, you know.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, don’t you ever try to die like that again.” She ruined her big scene by breaking out in a sob. “I don’t think I could live if anything happened to you.”

  Jaden pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Hell. Tes. You are my heart.” She put her arms around him and held him close. He growled. “My place,” he said in a thick voice, “or yours?”

  “Mine.” She swiped at her nose. “Because I have furniture.” But once they were in the car, Jaden kept his hands on the ignition. “What?” Hell asked.

  He looked at her and said, “How about we go someplace else?”

  Hell stared back at him and thought of Bodega Bay and Aunt Lucy’s empty house and a sky full of stars. She remembered the mural in his apartment with its dark, open sky. “Like where?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged but she knew he wasn’t feeling as casual as that. “Someplace far away.”

  “Someplace we can see the stars at night.”

  “Yeah. Someplace like that.”

  “Is four hundred and fifty miles north far enough?”

  Jaden grinned. “Let’s go find out.”

  She said, “I’ve heard this place is so pretty, we might not want to come back.”

  Ten minutes later, Hell screamed as Jaden hit the gas and her Lamborghini Murciélago shot into traffic amid a screech of brakes and blaring horn

  THE END

  I hope you enjoyed DX. Thanks for reading!

  About Carolyn Jewel

  Carolyn Jewel was born on a moonless night. That darkness was seared into her soul and she became an award winning author of historical and paranormal romance. She has a very dusty car and a Master’s degree in English that proves useful at the oddest times. An avid fan of fine chocolate, finer heroines, Bollywood films, and heroism in all forms, she has three cats and a dog. Also a son. One of the cats is his. Visit her on the web at www.carolynjewel.com

  Paranormal Romance by Carolyn - The My Immortals Series

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