Defeat practically rubbed his hands together in glee. Strider frowned. No, no, hell, no. We aren’t going there. She’s a Harpy. We can’t win against her. We’ll suffer. Constantly.
A growl. A whimper. Anger and fear, wrapped tightly together and sprinkled with Oh, please, gods, no.
That was more like it. Even if some part of Strider liked the idea of constantly sparring with Kaia, ’cause yeah, matching wits and daggers could be fun and peace was sometimes overrated, he still couldn’t allow himself to be with her. Unlike the other warriors, he had never been able to sleep with a woman who had already tasted one of his friends. It was that possessive streak of his. There was simply no way around it.
Although…for Ex, Haidee, he’d been willing to make an exception. Which meant his competitive nature was stronger than his possessiveness. Kaia, though, wouldn’t be extended the same willingness.
Defeat gave another growl, this one laced with…disappointment? No way. I’m just tired. Imagining things. His demon only cared about battles, not a specific woman.
Kaia finally gave up on Strider and turned back around. William maneuvered onto the highway, the caddy gobbling up the miles. Of course, he resumed his flirtation with the Harpy.
For a little over an hour, Strider ate his candy and fumed. Yes, vacations sucked. At the next rest stop, he might just ditch his companions and head off on his own. Except, when Kaia giggled at something William said, Strider decided waiting to reach a rest stop was dumb. He’d get out now and hitchhike. That kind of feminine delight was grating to his nerves. Yes, grating. Not enchanting.
He definitely needed distance between him and Kaia. Then he’d stop thinking about her. Stop reacting to her. Stop caring about her past. After all, he’d just gotten out of a bad “relationship” and didn’t need to endure another. Plus, that’s what had happened the last time he’d left her. He’d left, and all the torment had stopped. Granted, his reactions hadn’t been quite as strong back then, but there was no reason to think this time would be any different.
“So where are we going?” Kaia asked no one in particular.
“Nowhere,” Strider replied.
“To kill Gilly’s family,” William answered easily.
Strider needed to have a chat with the man. You didn’t undermine your friends. It was worse than cock-blocking.
Kaia tossed Strider a shut-your-mouth frown before bouncing in her seat. “Do I get to help? Please! Can I? You may not know this, but I’m very handy with a blade of any kind, a hacksaw, a whip, a—”
“Hey! Someone went through my bag,” William said.
“So?” Kaia continued, as if William hadn’t spoken. “Whatever the weapon, I’m good with it.”
He would not be impressed. “We won’t be using weapons. We’ll be smashing jugulars.”
“Oh, oh! We can play Who Can Smash More!”
“No, we can’t because you can’t help,” Strider said at the same time William blurted out, “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t help.”
Kaia hmphed at him.
“Just try not to destroy the entire neighborhood,” he snapped. Nobody listened to him anymore.
Slitted eyes returned to him. There was no hint of black in the whites, so he knew her Harpy was under control. “Why are you so grouchy?”
“I’m not grouchy. Only women are grouchy.”
“You’re grouchy,” William said.
“You’re grouchy,” Strider said. Realizing he sounded like a child, he leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees, his face in his upraised hands. What the hell was wrong with him?
William snickered at him. Kaia simply continued to watch him, her expression unreadable.
“Well, grouchy or not, Stridey,” she said, “I have news that will cheer you up.”
Leaning forward had been a dumb move. The scent of cinnamon and sugar was stronger now, enveloping him, making his mouth water. Would Kaia taste as delicious as she smelled?
Suddenly she stiffened. “You smell like a woman’s peach-flavored body oil.”
Did he? He thought back to the stripper he’d had on his lap at Paris’s ranch, and yep, he remembered smelling peaches. Kaia must have hated peaches, though, because she was obviously planning to murder the maker of that oil.
“I. Will. Destroy. You.” And yep, black now bled into the white of her eyes. Her nails had already lengthened and sharpened into claws, and those claws were embedded in the plastic console between the driver and passenger seat. Hello, raging beast.
Mental note: never eat peaches in front of Kaia.
Win? Defeat said on a trembling breath, the question having nothing to do with uncertainty this time, and everything to do with being cowed.
Yeah. Good luck with that, buddy. She’ll eat you for lunch and spit out your scales. “I’ll wash, okay.” Strider jerked upright, as far away from her heavenly aroma as he could get. “And just so you know, I don’t care about your news.”
“I cannot kill him,” she muttered to herself. “I cannot kill him. I promised Bianka I’d stop at ten bodies a day, and I’ve already surpassed my quota for the fifth day in a row. I cannot kill him.”
As far as pep talks went, that one kind of blew. But it calmed her, the black in her eyes fading and those claws receding.
Strider peered out the window, willing to count the trees that whizzed by rather than peer at that too-pretty face. “Now listen up, buttercup. Stri-Stri is going to take a little nappie-poo. Everyone hush their big, fat mouths.” Better to be bored pretending to snooze than accidentally piss Kaia off again.
“Fine. Sleep.” All kinds of irritation layered her husky voice. She wasn’t squawking, though, which was another excellent sign that the danger had passed. “Just know that while you’re catching up on your much needed beauty rest, you’ll miss my story about how many Hunters I bagged and tagged this week.”
“Good.” She’d bagged and tagged a few? He tried not to look intrigued, even as he rethought his strategy. “Go ahead and start your story. I’m sure I’ll be so bored I’ll nod right off.”
“No. You’ve been a bad boy and don’t deserve a reward. Therefore, I won’t tell you that there’s a certain Hunter on your trail and he’s closing in.”
“Someone always is.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “I also won’t tell you—”
He snored as loud as he could, just to be contrary, and almost laughed when she uttered a quiet shriek. Part of him liked this verbal sparring. Liked annoying her and feeling the sparks that nearly sizzled from that petite body.
“That’s it! Do you hear me, Strider? That’s it! I challenge you to listen to me. Now.”
That he didn’t like.
As his demon jumped up and down in his head, now desperate to win, Strider glared at Kaia, pretty face be damned. And he didn’t give a shit if he pissed her off, either. “I knew you’d do this. I knew you’d challenge me. You’re just like every other female I’ve ever known. No, wait. You’re worse. You know what happens to me when I lose, but you challenge me anyway.”
Hurt flashed over her features, there one moment, gone the next. Surely he was mistaken. Harpies—especially this infuriating Harpy—didn’t do hurt. Ever. “You know you can win this.”
“So go on, then,” he snapped. “Talk. I’m literally dying to hear what you have to say.”
Kaia ran the pink tip of her tongue over her teeth, and his stomach clenched in reaction. She could have refused him and sent him to his knees in gut-wrenching pain. Instead, she finished her little speech. “You captured Haidee. Her boyfriend and his followers have been chasing you. There. Done. You listened and won.”
He didn’t feel like he’d won. And neither did his demon. There was no rush of pleasure, only a need for a real challenge. Something he’d have to work for. I don’t wanna work for anything, remember? Still. Everything inside him froze. His heartbeat, his lungs. The rush of blood in his veins. “There’s more. Tell me the rest.”
&
nbsp; “Fine. Here it is. While you’ve been playing around, I’ve been chasing the boyfriend and those followers of his. There’s something odd about each of them, by the way, but the boyfriend most of all. They’re…I don’t know, darker than other humans I’ve been around. They made me feel…icky, which is why I made them hurt real bad before I disposed of them. You should have seen them. After I took my blade and—”
“You’re digressing, Kaia.”
“Am not! Now where was I? Oh, yeah. The boyfriend. I couldn’t get close enough to him to figure out what bothered me. He’s dark and wily and like I said, he managed to evade me, which means he’s good, very, very good at evading because I’m very, very good at tracking. Did I ever tell you about the time I—”
“Kaia!”
“Anyway, you haven’t been able to evade him. He’s close, he’s filled with piss and vinegar and he wants to make you his bitch.”
“How close is he?”
Her chin lifted stubbornly. “Close enough that you’re lucky you weren’t shot down inside that little gas station.”
Yet she hadn’t said anything while they were there. Hadn’t given him a chance to set a trap. She’d laughed and stolen food and let him take his time. Then she’d carried on a conversation with William, mile after mile, as if there were no pressing issues. To punish him for not welcoming her to their group, he knew. Harpies were as vindictive as they were destructive.
Most. Frustrating. Female. Ever.
His fingers dug into his thighs to keep from strangling her, and he knew he’d have long-lasting bruises. “Why were you following him?”
One delicate shoulder, bared because of the lacy pink top she wore, lifted in a shrug. “When everyone left the fortress, going their separate ways to hide artifacts and stash their women safely away blah, blah, blah, I followed you. I figured you’d see the most action, and I was right.”
Fuck. He must be losing his touch. He’d never even sensed her.
“You’re welcome, by the way,” she continued. “You grabbed Haidee and carted her off, but you left a blood trail straight to your motel room door. They were set to raid the entire building when I took all but the leader down. That little bastard escaped, and you should have taken him out when you had the chance, because he gathered more men. I’ve been hot on his heels ever since.”
“You’re hot, all right. But seriously, how’d you meet up with Lucien?” William asked, inserting himself into the conversation.
“Anya and I keep in touch. I told her I needed to borrow her gentleman friend and she agreed. For a price,” Kaia added with a tinge of anger. “And someone in this car is going to reimburse me.”
“Gentleman friend. Nice.” William opened his mouth to add something else, probably to tell her he would gladly pay.
Strider beat him to it. “Whatever it was, I’ll take care of it.” He owed her. He guessed. But he didn’t like it, and didn’t want to be indebted to anyone.
“Good. Then you owe me a ten-minute Frencher.”
He blinked, certain he’d misheard. He’d expected Hunter hearts or severed limbs. “Anya made you kiss her?”
“Yeah. And at our next stop, I’ll expect you to deliver.”
“I’ll pay,” William piped up. “After you describe everything about that kiss you two shared. Did you cop a feel? You did, didn’t you, you little hussy. I bet you moaned a lot, too.”
“Too late for you to pay,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Strider already offered, and I already accepted. And no, I won’t do any describing. You can just imagine how sexy it was. Oh, and Willie. Just so you know, your imagination won’t do it justice.”
She was lying. She had to be lying. But why would she lie about a kiss? What could she possibly hope to gain by forcing him to kiss her? Strider leaned back in his seat and stared up at the roof. No answers were forthcoming, and he doubted they ever would be.
Besides, he had more pressing matters to deal with. Like Haidee’s psycho boyfriend. How close was the son of a bitch?
Win, Defeat said inside his head. Win, win. It wasn’t a question this time. On any level.
Great. The boyfriend wasn’t even here, but the challenge had been heard, accepted and must now be met.
“Pull over,” he told William for the second time that night.
“Why? There’s no store.”
Kaia flicked Strider another glance and grinned. “Now there’s the demon warrior I’ve come to know and love. He wants to set a trap, Willie, and we’re going to help him.”
“Nope. I’m getting out and doing this solo,” Strider announced. William had people of his own to kill, and Strider didn’t want to spend any more time with Kaia than necessary.
Her grin remained in place, though the edges darkened with an emotion he couldn’t name. “Oh, really? Well, I seem to recall you telling me I’m worse than a stomach virus, and I think it’s time I proved that. I’m challenging you to let me help you, Strider. I’m challenging you to hurt the bastard more than I do, and I’m challenging you to kill more of his men than I do.”
Fuck! he thought, even as his demon started jumping around again. Nervous, excited. Okay, mostly nervous.
Win, win, win. Please, win.
Suddenly hating Kaia with every fiber of his being, Strider gave her a stiff nod. Game on, then. “When this is over,” he said softly, “I will make you pay.”
“I know,” she replied, and her tone was oddly subdued. “Believe me, I know.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THOUGH TWO DAYS OF WALKING and monotony had passed since they’d left their cave, and all Amun had been able to do was think and guard Haidee the few times he’d allowed her to stop and rest, he hadn’t come to grips with what he’d once done to her. Or what had driven her to hate him and his friends, hate that led her to aid in Baden’s destruction. No matter how good Amun’s intentions had been, he’d still flung her right into an attacker’s blade.
Gods. The blood pouring from her…the agony in her expression…
His friends only remembered bits and pieces of their time in ancient Greece. They knew they’d burned, pillaged and destroyed, but not specifics. Like who and what. Amun, however, recalled every detail. Or rather, Secrets wouldn’t allow him to forget. Mysteries of that nature weren’t ever allowed to remain unsolved, even within himself.
Very clearly Amun remembered the rage he’d felt as he had followed the Hunters to the nobleman’s home. They’d had a particularly violent battle earlier that morning, before the Hunters had cut their losses and retreated. Having none of that, Amun and the others had followed them. The warriors had been sliced, diced and bleeding, and they’d been determined to annihilate those responsible.
What he hadn’t pieced together then—the information lost in the tangle of everything else—but what he determined now, was that they’d been herded, purposely led into that house. Not by the Hunters, but by the “he” who pulled their strings. Not the robed being Haidee had seen, but the “he” the Hunters had mentioned when they’d spotted the creature. “He” had known a demon would be there. “He” had wanted everyone inside that room to be slaughtered. Even his own people.
Galen, even then? Or the man who had “rescued” little Haidee and taught her to blame the Lords for her parents’ deaths? The Bad Man? Amun might never know, and really, just then, he didn’t care. No one’s actions had been as despicable as his own.
He didn’t deserve the woman behind him, the woman trudging without complaint through cavern after cavern simply to save him. He was responsible for the danger she now found herself in. He might be the cause of her next death.
A death she feared with every ounce of her being. Terror had filled those pearl-gray eyes when she’d spoken of her rebirths. Terror and residual pain, as if even speaking of the events had lanced her with an agony few in the world could even understand. She deserved peace and happiness, a family to cherish her.
Everything she’d ever loved had been taken from her. While hi
s mind had been merged with hers, he’d sensed thousands of hidden memories—the memories she thought had been wiped. They were buried deep, secrets even from herself. His demon had reacted rapturously and now viewed her head as the Holy Grail. Secrets wanted back inside. Amun wanted back on top of her strong little body.
But he wouldn’t touch her again, wouldn’t deepen the already sizzling awareness between them. Because…damn it! He hated this line of thought, but he didn’t allow himself to back away from it. This was part of his penance. He wouldn’t touch her again because he was going to give her back to Micah.
Amun’s fingers tightened around the blade hilts he held in both hands, and red dots flickered through his vision. Haidee wouldn’t come to hate herself for being with Micah, a Hunter. She wouldn’t wallow in guilt she shouldn’t feel. She wouldn’t lose the life she’d managed to build for herself.
With Amun, she would come to hate herself. How could she not? Giving herself to a Lord had to top her list of Things Never To Do. She would wallow in guilt, berating herself for choosing the very evil she’d fought against for so long. And she would lose the life she’d built. No way she could be with him and not cut ties with his enemy.
She must have sensed, or heard, the direction of his thoughts because she sighed, her cool breath wafting down his back. He’d removed his shirt, the heat too much, sweat constantly trickling over his flesh. If Haidee hadn’t been with him, that wonderfully cool breeze wafting from her, enveloping him, he might have actually burst into flames.
“Can we talk now?” she said. “About what happened?”
Amun was willing to do anything she wanted. Except that. If he told her of his guilt, his regret, she would do everything in her power to ease him. No matter what she did, she would only increase his guilt, because she would be acting against her nature. The woman could nurse a grudge as stubbornly as his friends. Except with Amun. Him, she wanted to forgive. Him, she wanted to absolve. Him, she wanted to…love. He’d sensed the need inside her.
The Darkest Secret (Lords of the Underworld Book 8) Page 23
