The Fire Inside: A Heated Bad Boy Romance

by Alice Ashes

  Another smug smile...fantastic.

  "I'm Olivia. Perhaps next time, learn someone's name before you attempt to murder them." I shrugged as much as I could in my current predicament. "Just a small constructive criticism."

  Raphael dismissed me with a casual wave of his hand. "Now, now, no one was murdering. That little jolt would have knocked you out for a day, two tops."

  Before I could tell him exactly how I felt about his little 1 or 2 days comment, a voice sounded from the hallway. Mason was at the door. "Olivia, it's me."

  Raphael sighed. "Oh Dear, this does complicate things a bit."

  At the sound of a voice not belonging to me, the door came flying off it's hinges, exploding into the room. Honestly, he looked pissed, but seeing me in restraints took pissed to furious in a nanosecond. Before either of us could say anything, Raphael clapped and a cage of blue-ish energy snapped over my and Mason's head. Mason's fist quickly descended on the barrier, his glamour slipping as he fell head first into rage.

  Raphael ignored his snarls and smiled indulgently at me. "I suppose with this turn of events, the cords are a little superfluous."

  Another snap, and I was released and began to drop gracelessly to the floor. Mason caught me, his arm wrapping around my waist. His eyes never leaving Raphael as he gave me a gentle squeeze.

  Raphael looked between the two of us and smiled even wider. "VERY interesting."

  Making me startle a moment at the quick movement, Raphael jumped to his feet and gave a little stretch. "Well, I should be headed out now. I'll leave it to Jacob to explain our little impromptu drop in."

  He pulled something out of his wallet. "Olivia dear," Raphael drawled, Mason growling protectively beside me. "I'm going to place my card here on the desk, please peruse it at your leisure. After meeting you, I do feel myself rather disinclined to complete Jacob's request, but alas, a deal is a deal. Judging by the demon at your side, though, I suspect you might be able to offer me a very nice buyout option."

  He brushed invisible dirt from his pants, then snapped his fingers again, and all traces of him, save for Jacob, disappeared.

  Mason looked bewildered, "What the fuck was that?!?"

  I shrugged, leaning on him heavily. "Damned if I know."

  Mason nodded his head toward Jacob, looking altogether a bit too smug about his current state.

  "Did you do that?"

  "Yep."

  He growled and nuzzled into my hair. "That's my girl."

  Chapter 9: Burnt to the Third Degree

  Olivia looked dead on her feet, and though she tried to hide her absolute exhaustion, Mason was having none of it. He knelt down to pick her up and she didn't even squirm, snuggling into his chest. Mason smiled broadly and thought to himself how adorable she was like this, especially without the tension that comes from being nervous. It was like they had been together for the past two years, like they should have been, and this was simply second nature. 'And gods, he thought, please let me have her long enough that her in my arms is second nature.'

  But looking down on her curled form, Mason's head flashed back to walking down the halls of the Demon Lord's castle with her broken and bloodied body and he almost hit his knees right there. He willed himself not to falter and steadily climbed the stairs, careful not to shake or give away the scene in his head. That certainly wouldn't help anyone right now.

  Mason set her down on the bed and moved to kiss her before her nap, but she was already asleep. He kissed her anyway, and then returned downstairs to deal with the Jacob situation.

  It only took him about 30 seconds staring down at Jacob's unconscious form to realize he was ill-equipped to "deal with the Jacob situation." He doubted Olivia would approve of any of the ideas currently running through his head (still pretty stuck on the limb ripping) but before his sanity could slip, he decided on a simple hog tie and gag. Then he practically sprinted from the room so as not to risk using the ropes to strangle the man instead. He sent out a text, en masse, asking his brothers how soon they could come to the mansion and help him sort out what to do with Jacob and what the hell was up with this Raphael guy.

  Ethan, not being under any deadlines for a book at the moment, was able to come right away, as was Eric. Benjamin would be over in a few hours, and Daniel would stop by if reports didn't keep him too long. A quick call to his chief and Mason was able to take some of his banked up vacation time that he never touched, and now would be off for a week or two. He realized, belatedly, he should have done that to begin with so Olivia wasn't here alone until things calmed down. After berating himself for a half an hour until his brother's arrived, he resolved that no one would ever touch Olivia again. He would not fail her.

  ---

  Ethan and Eric arrived within minutes of each other. Mason handed them the card Raphael had left as they settled at the dining room table.

  "This is it?" Eric asked, waving the card in front of him. "It just says RAPHAEL in all gold lettering and a phone number. What a terrible business card." He huffed, looking incredulous.

  "Should we call?" asked Ethan.

  Mason shook his head. "I want to see what we can find out about him first. I put a call into the station, but it's pretty much nothing to go on." He leaned his chair back, crossing his arms on his chest. "The phone's a burner, so...nothing there."

  Eric leaned forward, picking up one the cookies Ethan had found hidden in the kitchen and nibbling on it. "Hmmm, I wonder..." Eric looked thoughtful. "I wonder if there would be any information on him in the demon underground."

  Ethan paled momentarily. "They did what to this Gustav?"

  Eric waved him off dismissively. "Now, now, just a few bad apples, not to worry. Most of them have very strong loyalties, to money that is. So long as the pay is good, they are more than happy to help."

  Mason grit his teeth. "Well, I know a good place to start with all these questions." He gestured behind him with his head.

  His brothers knew his anger was barely contained, bubbling just below the surface and threatening to spill over any moment. Ethan knew they had been together intimately now, and when a demon had sex with someone they loved, that cemented a bond even deeper. Mason was likely even more furious with Jacob now that he considered Olivia his and his alone.

  Ethan shrugged. "Maybe we should wait for Daniel, though. He can do the fear enthrallment best."

  Mason growled and rolled his eyes. "Or I could just hold him off the balcony by his neck..."

  Eric sighed. "Mason...

  "Whatever, he'd be downright fucking chatty." Mason cracked his neck and the sound echoed against the ceiling.

  Ethan chuckled at the image. "Well, we should at least go check on him." He glanced at Mason. "Well, Eric and I should go check on him."

  Mason glared at him. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!?!"

  Ethan just looked at him and Mason grunted, making a conscious effort to stop thinking about the sound of Jacob's neck breaking when he held him off the balcony. He couldn't help it though. He just kept seeing those bruises on Olivia's neck. For the millionth time, Mason was glad he didn't have the ability to read minds. He knew that if he actually saw the fear in her eyes when Jacob hurt her, Mason would have already killed him whether Olivia approved or not.

  Ethan acknowledged his thought with a small nod, then he and Eric stood to head back to the room. But before they made it into the foyer, Ethan stopped and held out his arm. "Daniel and Benjamin are here."

  'Oh Thank God,' Eric thought to his younger brother. 'Now Daniel can do the interrogation while the rest of us try to somehow keep Mason from going full demon form and beating Jacob to death with whatever blunt object is handy.'

  Ethan tried not to giggle.

  ---

  Soon thereafter, Jacob sat in an armchair in the study, balking under the scrutiny of 5 angry demons. His bonds had been removed but he was certainly not free to go. Mason was pacing and kept growling, his Aura rippling dangerously despite his best efforts. Etha
n was quiet, carefully scrutinizing Jacob for the truth in his statements, while shaking from the effort of holding in his rage. Benjamin gave the appearance of not paying attention while using a painting of some ancient human battle as a target for his daggers. It was certainly just an idle thing and not meant at all to scare the shit out of Jacob. Eric was in the corner, leaning against a table with both his arms and legs crossed, a grim expression set on his face. And Daniel sat in the armchair opposite Jacob, for all appearances calm and unbothered, with the exception of his eyes, which were black with hatred.

  "So tell me," began Daniel. "Who is Raphael?"

  Jacob hesitated, but seemed to decide that honesty was his best bet here. "He's a mutant."

  Daniel showed no sign of his thoughts in his expressions, but Ethan grimaced and Eric looked alarmed.

  "Mutants?!?!" cried Eric. His face was doubtful and it was obvious that the thought of this being the truth disturbed him greatly. "No, never. Mutants are outsiders. They refuse to get involved in the business of any but their own kind."

  Jacob barked a laugh. "Ask the mind reader if I'm lying." Eric looked to Ethan who confirmed that Jacob was, indeed, telling the truth.

  "But why would they want to come out of hiding all of the sudden?" asked Benjamin. He juggled his daggers, his tongue stuck through his teeth and out of the side of his mouth, in deep thought.

  "It's obvious, isn't it? THIS guy," said Jacob, pointing at Daniel, "dropped the Angel of Destiny into the pits of hell and stone destinies became really fucking hard to find." He smirked. "Did you even think about how that would play out when you decided Dessa was worth the complete disorder of the god damn heavens?!?"

  Daniel shrugged, his face betraying nothing. Iridessa was his wife and the love of his life. Much like his other brother's, Daniel was bonded to her for life and his heart was entirely hers. He would gladly burn the whole world if he had to in order to keep her safe. "What does that have to do with Mutants and Raphael?"

  Sighing, Jacob rubbed the bridge of his nose. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent on his face and it was clear he was completely worn down. "Well someone had to take the orders and make good on them."

  Benjamin snorted. "No way the angels gave a bunch of Mutants the power of Stone Destinies." He flung a new dagger at the painting, making Jacob flinch.

  "Well, yeah," said Jacob, shifting slightly away from Benjamin in his seat. "But that still leaves a rather large market of people unattended and the Angels are always too caught up in their own shit to hire a new guy. So some Mutants had decided it was time to expand their influence and reached out to seize a new client base. The angels haven't officially sanctioned it, but they don't really seem to give a damn."

  "And I assume Raphael is one of them then?" Daniel said, with a rub to his temple.

  Jacob nodded. "Yep."

  The brother's shared a few glances while they considered. A mutant handing out stone destinies seemed insane, but Ethan nodded silently, confirming the truth of Jacob's story. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, as each person tried to process this information.

  Mason crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "How in the fuck did a little cockroach like you find a Mutant anyway?" asked Mason.

  Jacob smirked at Mason, a little triumph in his voice. "Well, one day, I drugged Olivia's coffee and just waited for her to fall asleep. She's not heavy, it was easy enough to carry her to the study for the retina scan that unlocked that secret desk compartment." Jacob snickered. "With Harold's magic books, what couldn't I do?"

  He pointedly met Mason's eyes, hatred brimming in his own. "Would you like to know what else I did to her while she was passed out?"

  Mason was ready to lunge, but Daniel was closer. His fist connected with Jacob's face, right above his left eye, nearly knocking the chair backwards. Daniel glowered over him, ramping up the fear enthrallment and making Jacob shiver.

  "You will never speak of her again, got it?" Daniel spat the words at him. "Your mouth is too filthy to have the privilege of saying her name."

  Jacob said nothing, his hand holding his bruised eye, and Daniel sat back in the chair. Mason's fists were clenched hard, blood leaking between his fingers from attempting to control it.

  Ethan spoke up, causing Jacob to jump. He'd forgotten all about him. "What did you ask for to be set with a stone destiny?"

  Jacob paled, his face still throbbing from the punch, knowing Ethan could see his thoughts before he had time to cover them. Ethan gave him a wicked grin, his eyes cold and dark. "Really now? That does not bode well for you."

  Mason looked at Ethan with suspicion. "What the hell is it?"

  "Shall I tell them Jacob or would you like to do the honors?" Ethan leaned in over his knees, as if he just couldn't wait to hear the answer. Jacob let out a little whimper.

  "Coward," scoffed Benjamin. All five brothers glowered at him. Finally, Ethan stood up.

  "I don't want to talk about this in front of him. Let's tie him up and go back to the dining room."

  "Aww, come on guys, I thought we were pas-" Jacob's voice was suddenly muffled by a clean (thank god) sock and bound to the chair. He looked surprised.

  Mason glared down at him. "Super speed? Remember?" He leaned in, making Jacob sink and try to disappear into the chair. "The only reason I haven't used that speed to rip your fucking face off and wear it like a god damn Halloween mask is because Olivia would be angry with me."

  Mason clamped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing hard enough that Jacob whimpered again. "But the night's still young, my friend." With a final squeeze, Mason sauntered off.

  Jacob said nothing, and the boys left him tied up to think about what he did and all of the things they could decide to do with him.

  Chapter 10: Singed Memories

  All five brothers filed in and reconvened in the entryway. Now that Jacob was not in the room, Ethan looked more like he had been struck than anything. Whatever this was, Mason had a feeling it was horrifying.

  Daniel sighed, his eyes looking apprehensive. "Okay Ethan," he said, "Tell us what it is."

  Ethan took a breath and seemed to be steadying himself. Mason felt ready to jump out of his skin, his anxiety clawing up his spine. Finally, Ethan spoke. "The lightening Olivia talked about, it would have knocked her out, not killed her."

  Benjamin's eyes darkened. "I don't like where this is going." Ethan looked up at the ceiling and Mason could see the unshed tears there.

  "What was he going to do to her?" Mason asked, his teeth grinding against each other. The youngest brother visibly struggled to find the words, and this was costing him a lot. Ethan was burdened not only with knowing things, but seeing them too, which meant sometimes the thoughts that invaded his head were traumatic and devastating.

  Finally, he spoke. "At first, Raphael was under the impression that Jacob intended to clean out the house and bank accounts. He told Raphael about us and how he would never get near any of it if he didn't act fast."

  Eric shook his head. "But that's not what he really wanted, was it?" It wasn't really a question, Eric already knew the answer.

  "No," said Ethan, "What he really wanted was an heir, and eventually he told Raphael that. He wanted her trapped with him, tied down to him. He wanted something that she wouldn't be willing to walk away from."

  Daniel shook his head. "You don't mean he was going to..." he began.

  Ethan met his eyes head on before answering. "That's exactly what I mean."

  Eric lifted his hand. "Wait a minute, what was the stone destiny for? If all he needed was to knock her out, why would he need anyone's help? He just admitted to drugging her before." Eric looked slightly hopeful. "Maybe there has been some mistake?"

  "No," said Ethan. "The stone destiny wasn't to knock her out, it was to ensure that there would be a pregnancy. Only Mason knows this, but their marriage wasn't consummated. If Jacob wanted a child to ensure his importance to Olivia, he needed to remedy that first."

  Nobody s
poke for awhile after that. What was there to say? Benjamin darted to the kitchen, barely making it in time, before retching and coughing, his head held over the sink. Eric backed against the wall and slid down it looking for all the world like his world had crashed before his eyes. Ethan disappeared into the upstairs. But Daniel and Mason stood in the foyer, saying nothing, each running through fantasies and solutions in equal measure. Eventually, Eric stood up to go check on Benjamin, leaving Mason and Daniel alone. Daniel spoke first.

  "Am I right in saying there is no recourse within the human legal system to provide justice for these crimes?"