No Mercy (Dark-Hunter 18)

Chapter 13

Dev paused in the doorway of Sanctuary's office. His stomach clenched as it always did whenever he walked in and saw his mother's empty desk. No one had moved anything on it. They hadn't had the heart. Even the last pen his mother had used was right where she'd laid it by the phone. It was so eerie and as long as it stayed that way, he kept expecting to see her there, looking at him over the rim of her glasses as she waited for him to say something.

He had such mixed emotions where she was concerned. He'd loved her more than anything and yet...

She hadn't been all that lovable. A true mother bear in every sense of the word, she'd been fierce and stern. While she could show affection--especially toward those she favored, such as Griffe, Bastien, Kyle, and Aimee--it hadn't been easy for her. She'd expected only the best out of them and she'd been real quick to let them know when they failed her. Most of all, she'd never refrained from severely punishing any of them, including her favorites, when she thought they'd screwed up or jeopardized the family.

But that wasn't why he was here and he was in a hurry. The only thing that needed to be on his mind right now was Sam.

He'd come here seeking Aimee. She sat at her desk along the wall just like she did every day when she did the paperwork. Like their mother, she could be pretty nasty when crossed or interrupted, but there was an innate kindness to her that took the edge off even her worst moods.

"Hey, babe," she said with a smile as she looked up and saw him. Somehow she'd always been able to tell him apart from his identical brothers. "How are you guys doing over at Club Charonte?"

"We were doing great until a demon broke in and snatched Sam out."

She gasped.

"Have you seen Fang? I tried to call, but it keeps going straight to voice mail." Which was what had brought him back to Sanctuary. They needed to get Fang on the demon's trail as quickly as possible.

"He's with Remi helping to unload a shipment into the freezer. You need me to help look for her?"

That explained the crappy phone reception. The steel of the freezer was so thick, not even a nuke would be able to penetrate it. "Thanks, but I'd rather you sit on the sidelines with this one. I don't want to be pulling you out of another demon realm anytime soon and I'm pretty sure Fang feels the same way."

She made a sound of petty annoyance.

As he started to leave, she stopped him. "Dev?"

"Yeah?"

"You okay?" He saw the concern on her face as she studied him. "You look...strange."

Strange? He felt awful. He didn't know why but he kept reliving the night his brothers had died. He was eaten up with that same helpless feeling and he hated it. He couldn't stand the thought of someone he cared about being in harm's way.

Sam's nothing to you. Not really. They were barely more than strangers.

It didn't feel that way. There was a part of her that lived inside of him even though he knew they could never be anything more than friends.

Maybe the occasional booty call.

Don't go there. Especially not with his sister looking at him. That was just creepy as hell.

"I'm fine." He'd never let Aimee know the truth. Then again, he never let anyone know his emotions. He hid them behind wisecracks and sarcasm.

It was safer that way.

Closing the door, he flashed himself to the freezer where Remi and Fang were stocking meat.

Hefting a box onto a shelf, Remi curled his lip at Dev's unexpected appearance. "It figures you'd show up after all the hard work's done. You always had an uncanny knack for that."

Dev ignored him as he walked over to where Fang was standing on a stepladder. "Fang. I need your demon expertise."

Fang pulled back from the steak boxes he was rearranging to look down at him. "For what?"

Dev gave him a "duh" stare. "Demons, obviously."

Fang flipped him off as he came down the ladder. "Why do I live here with you people again?"

Remi snorted. "'Cause you love our sister and she won't leave. Believe me, I know. I've been trying to run her off for years."

Fang shook his head at him as he turned back to Dev. "What's going on?"

"One of the empusae took Sam and we can't find her. I need you to tell me where to look."

Fang let out a low whistle. "An empusa isn't an easy thing to track. Are you sure that's what got her?"

"That's what Chi said."

"She would know." Fang scratched his chin. "Damn. This isn't good. Give me a minute to consult with my people and I'll get back to you."

"Could you kind of rush it? I have a bad feeling that the empusa who took her is the same one who came here disguised as Nick. If I'm right, then he's working with Stryker, and if he is, you can bet Sam's not being treated well at Hotel Daimon Central."

Lazaros roared through Kalosis in his dragon form. Fury burned deep inside him as he used his powers to find Stryker, who was alone in his study in the main hall. He flew at the building's wall without slowing. Right as he would have slammed into it, he used his powers to go through it.

The Daimon lord arched a brow as Lazaros manifested in his true demon form in front of his ornately carved desk. But other than that, he had no real reaction.

Because Lazaros, like all of the empusae who were descended from the goddess Empusa, Lazaros only had one leg in his demon form. But one leg was all he needed to kick the ass of his enemies.

And right now he wanted to drive his foot straight up Stryker's sphincter. "Why didn't you tell me Nick Gautier was the Malachai?"

Stryker let out a long-suffering sigh as he cupped his head in his hands and leaned back in his padded black leather chair. "What is it with all of you pansies that that one word sends you to me with your tail tucked between your legs whining about how you pissed your pants because you saw him? Yes, he's the Malachai, so la di fucking da what?"

Lazaros moved to blast him.

Stryker caught the blast and sent it back to him tenfold with a counterblast so powerful it pinned the demon to the wall above his marble fireplace. He squeezed the power down, letting the demon squirm in agony. "Gautier isn't the only one with talents. You'd do well to remember that I, too, have the powers of a god. And I'm really not afraid to use them."

Lazaros bellowed in rage.