by T. F. Walsh
“Captain, oh God.”
Teeth nicked the edge of his cock. Cary was playing dirty. He opened his eyes, but his heart froze.
He jerked backward from the horned beast with yellow eyes giving him a blowjob. Every part of him tensed up.
On his next breath, the demon morphed back into Cary.
“What’s wrong?” she asked sweetly. “It’s just me.”
Chapter 25
Cary found Levi collapsed on the ground, rolled him over, and pulled off her shirt to use as a compress against his bloody arm. She couldn’t have Levi out of commission or injured. It wasn’t like they could bunk in this warehouse for too long. Sooner or later, the demons would track them down.
But so much blood coated his arm that it had bled into his shirt and was soaking through hers now. Waiting for him to heal was out of the question.
Maybe a bit of supernatural intervention was in order? She cringed. Levi would hate her for it, but time was against them and going to a hospital made them sitting ducks. She stared down at his ashen face.
Behind her, Blinkie was dragging a mattress off the bed and hauling it backward. Well, someone was on top of things. When he got the mattress to her, Cary rolled Levi onto it. “Shit.” He had to be over 200 pounds of solid muscle.
The garage walls rattled as if someone shook them from outside.
She glanced at the doors, expecting the demon bikers to burst inside at any second. A sound like a freight train thundered outside; with the gust of air whistling, and the way the doors were shaking on their hinges, she wondered for a second if there wasn’t a real train headed right for them. After a minute, though, nothing happened. Cary released the breath she’d been holding. Just the wind.
To be safe, she stood, grabbed a container, salted the inside perimeter for extra protection, then thoroughly washed her hands at the sink in the kitchen. She rummaged around in the cupboards until she found a First Aid kit, too. Back with Levi, she knelt next to him and reached inside her boot, pulling out a blade. She’d once seen her dad help one of his injured friends with his blood. No idea if this would work, but she had to make a call, and fast: Help Levi or sit until he heals, which could take days. And with demons on their tail, that just wasn’t an option.
Just get it done.
She made a quick slash across her palm, deep enough that her blood bubbled instantly. Then, she squeezed her cut until blood dripped directly into Levi’s wound.
Please let this help him.
With her free hand, she dug through the First Aid kit and pulled out what she needed to wrap his wound: antiseptic wipes, clean gauze bandages, and butterfly bandages.
The clattering and banging around her continued outside, and her hands shook. “It’s just the fucking weather,” she told herself. “Chill.”
The demon at the diner had done a number on Levi—the slice ran from his elbow to halfway down his forearm. It would scar. But, the massive bruise on his forehead from planting face first into the cement could hurt worse, and there was nothing she could do about that.
She checked his pupils—they weren’t dilated. No sign of concussion, so she shook him slightly. “Levi, can you hear me?” Her voice rose. Another tap to his cheek and he made a grumbling sound.
Okay, he was responsive. A good sign. Besides, once her demon blood kicked in, he should be all right in no time.
Another round of shattering gales hit the garage. Sounded like a damned tornado out there, except… She froze and glanced over to the door. There were no trees nearby, so what the hell was that sound?
Blinkie’s claws clicked against the concrete as he lunged toward the door. His growls had the hairs on Cary’s arms on end. He scratched the floor near the entrance, his snarls blending with the deathly-sounding squall outside. Cary jumped up on her feet, seized the lasso from her back pocket, and hurried toward Blinkie.
She pressed her ear to the door for any sounds, anything that sounded like a gang of demonic bikers. Only the wind howled. She reached for the door handle. Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip on her weapon and figured she’d surprise whatever was out there, rather than let it come for her and Levi.
She snapped the door open, sending it out in a wild swing. Blinkie bolted outside, and Cary was right behind him.
Blinkie ran left, chasing after a black furry critter. A raccoon. Cary dashed after him, but the ring-tailed bandit scrambled free though a hole under the fence and the hellhound followed it.
“False alarm,” Cary told him.
Blinkie scratched the ground near the fence, trying to get into a tiny hole that would barely fit his head.
“Hey, it’s gone. Come back inside.”
Blinkie kept digging for a minute, but finally gave up. He trotted toward her, and then past her, and headed straight for Levi. Cary shut the door behind them both.
With the place locked back up—and free of invading raccoons—she sat back on her heels and stared at Levi, lying there. She yearned to reach over and run her fingers across his stubbled jawline. And those lips were asking to be kissed. She tingled for a touch, for his sexual fierceness, for his mouth on every inch of her body. The way he’d fought alongside her, the numerous messages on her phone seeing if she was okay after their times together were all a sign of him caring for her... a lot. This was a guy who actually liked her, maybe even beyond friendship. It wasn’t just about the melt-your-knees sex, but so much deeper, and she wanted it back. All of it.
“Here I am, Blinkie,” she told the hound, “torturing myself about what could have been. It’s foolish. He made it clear where he stood. Nothing I could do to change the situation.” Another pitfall to being born a cambion—discrimination and losing everything that once shaped her as a normal person. First her father, then her apartment, her job, and now Levi. “I was obviously born under the moon called Murphy’s Law.”
Blinkie didn’t seem to appreciate the joke.
Sure, her heritage had always been there, in the back of her mind, the possibility of someone finding out her secret. But she hoped it wouldn’t actually happen with everything else in her life going well. So much for living a lie. Reality always bites you in the ass.
The muscles in Levi’s neck tensed, and his eyes flickered behind his eyelids. Probably having a nightmare. He moaned in his sleep.
Cary placed her hand on his forehead. He was burning up worse than before. Shit. Was it the demon blood? She scrambled over to the sink and moistened a towel with cold water before returning and setting it across his brow. Maybe she made a mistake.
He thrashed around for what seemed like hours, and Cary never left her spot except to refresh the towel to keep him cool.
Blinkie lay across Levi’s legs. The hellhound hadn’t left Levi’s side either since he fell out of the car, except when that raccoon was involved.
Cary reached across and ruffled the black fur on Blinkie’s head. “Thanks for helping us back in the diner.”
His ears straightened, but he didn’t move.
A mix of wet dog fur smell and sulfur mingled in the air. She sniffed her hand. “Eww,” she said. “Your stink’s worsening. Is that because you haven’t returned to Hell in a few days?”
He made a strangled whining sound. She took it as his agreement.
Another dash to the sink and she wrung out the towel, then wet it again with cold water.
“Take your time, Levi,” she whispered to him. “I can do this all night.”
A couple of hours later, Levi’s fever broke, and she had re-salted the perimeter with the stash in the garage in case they had a surprise attack. The place was already warded, but there was no harm in extra security. She tidied the back of the SUV from hellhound fur, put on a clear shirt, and now sat, cross-legged next to Levi, eating cold baked beans from a can. Anything to get her mind off the damage she could have caused him with sharing her blood.
As if he sensed her watching him, his eyes snapped open and he turned her way. “What are you eating?” His
voice was gruff and croaky.
Her muscles eased. Levi seemed normal after her blood transfusion. “Beans. Want some?”
“I’ll pass.” He pushed himself to a sitting position, wincing. “Why does it feel like I’ve been run over by a truck?”
“You hit your head pretty hard. Was worried you might have a concussion.” Cary stuffed more beans into her mouth so she wouldn’t accidentally blurt out that she gave him her blood.
“Why’s your hand bandaged up?” he asked.
“Happened back at the diner. But it’s nothing.” Her gaze landed on the knife she’d used to cut herself with. She’d left it right next to Levi’s mattress. Inches from his shoulder. Blood coated the blade. How could she have forgotten to clean it and get rid of the evidence?
She stirred her beans, feigning calmness, even with the tidal-wave of nervousness crashing through her insides like lava. She needed him distracted.
“My pulse is pounding through my veins, in every inch of me,” Levi said. “God, how hard did I hit my head?” He rubbed his eyes, then froze, his cheeks turning white.
Cary didn’t take another breath. Had he spotted the knife?
“I can’t move my legs!”
“Oh right, Blinkie’s sleeping on your legs.”
He reached forward to pat his legs, only to have his hands land on Blinkie’s head. The hellhound licked Levi’s palms. He cut Cary a glare. “It weighs as much as a rhino.” His face scrunched as he attempted to move a leg. If there wasn’t a bloody knife right next to Levi that would lead into an interrogation, she might have laughed at his predicament with Blinkie.
The hellhound scuttled off Levi and trotted several paces away before sprawling on his side, returning to sleep.
“He was only protecting you.”
“Yeah, by cutting off my circulation.” Levi sat up and massaged his legs. “Told you he’s trying to kill me.”
“You sure are Mr. Grouchy when you wake up.” Cary reached over and snatched the blade, tucking it behind her back.
Levi proceeded to rub his palms down his shins. “How would you know? You never stayed around to find out.”
Touché. She got up and strolled across to the counter before disposing of the empty can and wiped clean her blade before returning it to her boot. Too close, and now Levi seemed like his old self. Thankfully, it seemed like there’d be no ill effects from giving him demon blood. “Let’s wait a while longer before we leave. It’ll be peak traffic out there right now, cars moving at five miles an hour, and it’ll be that way most of the day. We wait until it gets dark and thins out for an easy getaway. Then, Missoula here we come.”
“If I ever get sensation back in my legs, I’ll gladly join you.”
“Well, while you were just lying around, I dug up some grub. I suggest eating something to get your sugar levels up. I’ve left juice and cookies behind you.”
Cary packed the First Aid kit into the SUV (never know when they were going to need that again) and joined Levi as he gulped down the apple juice. Seated on the concrete floor near him, she hugged her bent knees.
Levi lay on his back, his face screwed up. “Thanks for cleaning my wound and bandaging it. Really appreciate it.”
“I dissolved a painkiller into your drink, so hopefully it’ll take the edge off.”
“It’s the blood flowing back into my legs that’s killing me. Hate the tickling sensation.”
“Know the feeling.”
He shifted up on the elbow of his good arm. “What happens to either of us if we die while marked?”
Cary shrugged because first, she truly had no idea, and second, she didn’t want to give voice to Levi’s concern. The same deadening thought had pummeled through her mind over and over—that his soul would end up in Hell for eternity. With no one to ask, she had nothing to go by but gut instinct. And that told her to protect Levi at any cost.
“I don’t really know,” she finally said, loathing the uncomfortable silence. She hated every sickly second. This wasn’t how it went down in the past. Around him, she always felt invincible, protected, and adored. But she’d lost those emotions somewhere in the last few days. “I’m going to check I’ve got everything in the car.”
She expected Levi to grab her wrist, to confess he’d struggled with his emotions too, how he still wanted her. He’d drag her down onto the mattress with him and make wild love to her. He’d whisper dirty secrets in her ear and bring her body to sizzling point. Stupid fantasy.
Demon ran in her blood, and for that reason, she doubted Levi would ever consider her anything but the enemy.
Chapter 26
Levi rolled down the passenger’s window of Cary’s SUV and listened for any sounds that resembled the flatulent pig grunt of a motorbike, but heard none.
Without a word, Cary turned the key in the ignition and the engine purred to life. She edged the truck along the facade of the warehouse.
Streetlights threw shadows across their surroundings.
She cranked the steering left, making the vehicle swing, not saying a word. Sure, it bugged him that she shut him out, but it wasn’t a surprise.
Back in the garage, he’d seen the torment in her eyes, heard the shakiness in her voice, but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. His insides were torn. Part of him yearned to accept Cary for what she was, but he knew what demons were capable of: the death of Marcos, the hole in Levi’s heart that refused to heal.
Then there was that goddamn dream of Cary in a pirate outfit turning into a demon. His skin crawled.
His head still ached from face-planting the concrete floor, but to his relief, the blinding sting in his arm had vanished. Whatever painkillers Cary had given him hadn’t worked as his headache lingered. Though, his cut didn’t appear as deep as he first thought.
“How are you feeling?” She spared him half a glance while driving fast.
“Better,” he admitted. He noticed her rigid arms and how tight she gripped the wheel, but she didn’t seem to see him looking.
“Good.”
Levi stared out the window. Warm wind blew his hair across his face.
Inside the SUV, it was silent. Levi tried to pinpoint the hellhound’s whereabouts. No breaths, or growing, or licking to give him away. “Blinkie’s being awfully quiet.”
“If you could hear him snoring, you’d wouldn’t think so. Count yourself lucky.”
Dark clouds sprawled across the night sky from the west, promising a storm. She signaled and took the freeway exit, then headed down the side roads where there were fewer houses and widening woodland.
He shifted, trying to find a comfortable position in the tiny passenger’s seat, and turned toward the road and watched the scenery in the darkness, knowing they’d exchange few words tonight.
With sunrise hours away, the oaks flanking the two-lane road appeared somehow larger. Around the SUV was bumper to bumper traffic on both sides. Trailers, cars towing boats and cars with canoes strapped on their roofs were going at a snail’s pace.
He raised the seat backrest, unable to get comfortable, and kept scanning every car that drove past, expecting to see a silvery aura. God, how much farther until they reached this place?
“Tell me about this guy we’re visiting?” he asked. “Is he like you?”
She yawned. “No, he’s not like me.”
“How well do you know him?” Levi ran his hand through his hair, sliding the loose strands off this face.
“I don’t remember much. I was young. He was Dad’s friend.”
“As in your father the demon? You’re taking us to a guy who voluntarily pals around with demons.”
“Cambion.” She tensed her hands on the steering wheel. “My father’s a cambion.”
“And what about cousins who might have demon blood?”
“Do you really want to go into the whole demonic family tree right now? Can’t it wait?”
He exhaled loudly. “A few days ago, I thought demons simply possessed people o
r objects, breaking into our world to wreak havoc. But how does someone become a cambion in the first place?”
Her father had no answer to that question either, and she’d asked him hundreds of times. “Don’t know. I’m in the dark. Hopefully we’ll find a way to unmark you soon, and then you can return to your blissfully ignorant life.”
A twinge curled in his gut. “I won’t leave until you’re unmarked, too.”
“I can look after myself.” Her words were swift and piercing.
“Cary, I made a promise. I’ll get us both unmarked.” After that, he’d—
“Stop, Levi.” She kept her attention on the road and stuck an open palm between them.
His protest stuck to the roof of his mouth like tar, but this wasn’t the time or place for emotions or continuing their fight. Their lives were on the line. That meant keeping his head clear and his tongue in check. At least for now.
They passed lofty trees with branches heavy with broad leaves. A blue Mustang, driving in the opposite direction, grabbed his attention. The two guys in the car stared open-mouthed at Cary for a second, then swerved off the road.
“Fuck! Two hunters from Argos just passed us.”
“What…” Cary glanced behind her.
He looked back and spotted them doing a U-turn, forcing their car back into the traffic. Up ahead at a major intersection, the majority of cars swung right. They needed a quick getaway.
Cary’s posture stiffened, and her gaze shot to the mirror. “I hear bikes.”
The beat of his heart filled his ears. He scanned the road in the side mirror. “Clear… No, wait.” He turned around to stare out the back window. Behind the long line of cars, two bikes were burning up the road’s shoulder, the riders peering into every car they passed. The demon gang must have split up in their search.
“Fuckin’ hell. Demon bikers are closing in, and hunters are six cars back.” He scanned the GPS and studied the roads nearby. “Go now, Cary. Straight through the lights. Floor it.”
