The man was fierce. Heavy eyebrows furrowed into an expression that left no doubt as to how he was feeling. With teeth bared he swung his gaze to Lilith.
Logan heard Lilith gasp. She should be scared. She should be scared shitless. No matter that she was the queen bitch of hell, she knew as well as anyone not to cross the Overlord. Logan had been stupid enough to do it many times.
He thought of the pit. Of his banishment. Of the endless suffering made so much worse at this man’s orders.
The man walked into the light, his clear, nearly white eyes glittering, the coldness inside them hard to miss. His head was shaved, the eerie light in Lilith’s chambers emphasizing the lines on his forehead. It only added more menace. He didn’t glance at Logan but kept his eyes on Lilith and stopped a few feet away. When he spoke, his words were controlled and to the point.
“I heard you have something that belongs to me.” The voice was like crushed glass beneath a boot. Harsh. Unforgiving.
“Bad news travels fast,” Lilith murmured. She knew she was in the wrong. Hell was a hard place in which to exist—sure, it was fast and loose, but it was also governed by certain rules. Logan was a hellhound. He was not a demon. She had no claim to him and she knew it. Any punishment for his actions, or non-actions, were doled out by his overlord. By the man standing a few feet from him.
His father.
Chapter Eight
* * *
KIRA WOKE SUDDENLY, the lazy aftermath of loving on her lips. It was inside her mouth, at the tips of her fingers, and nestled deep within the folds of her sex, where she was still wet. Where she still ached.
“Logan?” she whispered huskily as she groaned and tried to wipe sleep from her eyes. She ached everywhere. Her neck. Her back. Even her legs.
She frowned. “What happened?”
“She’s awake.”
The male voice cut into her thoughts and her eyes flew open, sleep no longer a problem. For a moment she was confused, but then, slowly, she became aware. The hum of a motor rumbled beneath her. She was wrapped in a blanket, inside a truck with two men she barely knew. Men whom Logan had warned her about. Men he didn’t trust.
Her hand brushed a strand of hair from her face and she sat up, wincing as something sharp poked into her side. She realized it was her charmed dagger. “I’m thirsty.”
The man called Priest tossed her a water bottle from the front seat. Slowly she drank, eyes gazing out into darkness. Her heart heavy, her mind confused. Had her time with Logan been real? Or was it just a dream and nothing more?
Kira swallowed, aware of Priest’s eyes on her, and she turned to the side, glad that the darkened interior kept her in shadow. Beneath the blanket her fingers ran along her neck and grabbed hold of her T-shirt. She paused. It was sliced cleanly down the middle.
Logan had done that, anxious to make love.
Warmth flushed through her and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember, trying to capture the feeling she’d had earlier, in that paradise with her hellhound. But it was no use. In its place was a cold, hard, lump of dread. Logan was alive but he was in pain and in danger. She knew this. She also knew that he would come for her. She had to believe that because the alternative wasn’t something she would consider. Not now. Not after everything they’d been through.
Logan would come for her and she would do whatever it took to help make it happen. She’d abide by his wishes, because in her mind he was used to this game—whereas Kira? She was a newbie and the whole trust thing would have to suffice. She had to believe that he knew what he was doing.
She exhaled and sat up straighter, the empty bottle in her hand as she bent forward. Up ahead she saw lights on the side of the road. Nervously, she licked her lips and glanced at the driver. The man scared her more than the demons back in Waterford. There was something about him, something that set him apart from Priest … from Logan even.
“So,” she said. “The Pines?”
Priest looked over his shoulder and nodded. “Yes. It’s a safe haven for … my friends … and we can keep you safe there.”
“What about Logan?” she asked carefully.
Priest glanced at the driver, Cale, and shrugged. “He’s on his own at the moment.”
“Do you know where he is?” She watched them both, not liking their silence. It was Cale who eventually answered.
“Logan is gone and he might not be coming back. So sit tight and let us look after
you.”
His words scared her, but they also pissed her off. The man underestimated her hellhound.
“Is that what Bill said to do?” She watched them carefully.