“Good,” he paused. Exhaled. “Slip away from them. They don’t know you like I do so they won’t expect it. You have our cash?”
She nodded.
“Use it to get transportation. Get to Hill Valley and find the lady in blue.” His body trembled as the pain increased tenfold and he heard Lilith’s voice in his ear—poison whispers and promises of darkness. “I have to go.” His hand touched her jaw and he drew her close. “I will come for you. Don’t ever forget that.”
Tears slid down her face and he kissed them away before claiming her mouth one last time. He tasted salt, sweetness, and, yes, strength. “Stay alive, little Dove,” he whispered, and then he pulled away. Logan made no effort to hide the pain he felt, the love and desire this small slip of a woman pulled from inside him. Logan Winters, a hellhound. And she a human. He’d never thought to see the day.
White flashes of light danced in front of his eyes and he knew his time was up. He stepped back, every cell in agony, but nothing close to the pain he felt at the thought of never seeing Kira again.
Her hand cradled her belly and just before he disappeared, back to Hell and District Three, he knew. He saw the confirmation in her eyes. She carried his babe. The child that both Heaven and Hell would destroy if given the chance.
The agony in his heart was crus
hing. He held it close. He would use it to fuel the fire and he would find his way back to her.
When Logan opened his eyes moments later and stared up into the crystalline blue of Lilith’s, something cold shifted inside him. It was different from the anger and animalistic response to pain he’d experienced in the past. This was calculated. Determined. Controlled.
He would escape District Three. He would do whatever the hell he had to do to make it happen.
For Kira. And for his child.
With slow movements, Logan rolled to the side and fell off Lilith’s bed. She watched him from the bloodied tangle of white sheets, her blonde hair rippling around her like golden waves of water. Shadows moved several feet from him and he knew they weren’t alone. The smell of rotting meat and overripe fruit filled his nostrils. Mixed with the metallic scent of his own blood, it was hard to take, and he nearly gagged.
“You’re awake,” Lilith said, a wide smile on her face as she stretched and rolled in his blood like an animal. Crimson swatches of shiny liquid glistened upon her alabaster skin and he watched, disgusted, as she slid from the bed and moved toward him. Still naked. Still horny as hell—that she couldn’t hide from him, the scent was much too strong. And still bent on breaking him.
“Did you dream of me?” she asked languidly, her finger tracing a fresh swash of blood as it seeped from a wound near his pectoral. She suckled her finger and stared up at him.
“No,” he answered. “That wouldn’t exactly be a dream now, would it?”
“Always so sarcastic.” Her eyes narrowed—for a second—before her smile widened. “You’ve never been like your brothers or any of those other horrid beasts. You never played the game.” She leaned forward and he clenched his hands. “It’s why I’ve always wanted you.” Her tongue raked over his chest and she made a throaty sound as she licked his blood and sweat. “Tell me why you were banished all those years ago. Something about a child, wasn’t it?”
He stared straight ahead and said nothing, though his ears perked up at the sound of footsteps. The shadows moved quicker now, swirling around them crazily.
Both of her hands were on him now, fingernails digging deep and drawing more blood. She pressed her breasts against him and ground her hips between his legs.
“I will break you,” she whispered.
“You can try.”
She laughed. “Were you in the gray realm?”
He remained silent.
“Who is the girl? The one who disappeared?” She paused, nails digging even deeper. “I have demons on her trail, you know this …”
Still he remained silent, though inside, fear began to seep into his soul. Fear for Kira. Fear for the unborn child. How were they going to survive without Logan?
Lilith stepped back, already bored with her game. “You will answer me.”
Logan squared his shoulders.
She arched a brow. “Who is the girl?”
Logan refused to answer and stared straight ahead. The shadows swirled ever closer and he was man enough to admit trepidation. What did they hide? What new horror had Lilith conjured up?
Just then, the door to her chambers slammed open and they both turned—Lilith cursing loudly, Logan silent as he gathered strength. His mind worked furiously, looking for a way out.
A man stood in the doorway, and when he stepped into the light, Logan’s entire body tightened. Cloaked in leather with a powerful build, he easily topped six feet by several inches. From his waist dangled three skulls, and from his hip hung a long scabbard, swaying slowly.