Lethal Rider ( Lords of Deliverance 3)

She was serious. Dear… God, she really wanted him to kill her. “It won’t come to that,” he croaked. “Just hold on, Regan. Damn you, hold on.” He raced out of the room and into the kitchen, a black, inky fury pumping out of his very pores.

The vampires scattered before the storm cloud of souls billowing around him. “Who made the chocolate mousse?” When several vamps exchanged wary glances, he f**king lost it, grabbing two of them by the throats and slamming them so hard into the wall that bits of stone rained down to the floor. “Who?”

“Dariq,” one of them gasped.

Than dropped them, whirling to Dariq, who had gone sheet-white and was slinking toward the door. Before Than could pounce, Dariq darted out of the kitchen.

Snarling, Than produced his scythe and in one smooth movement, hurled it across the great room. Dariq dove for the front door, but the weapon caught him between the shoulder blades and pinned him to the wood.

“What was in the mousse, Dariq?” Than crossed the room, aware that every vampire eye in the house was on him. He caught the scythe handle, but instead of yanking the blade free, he twisted it, reveling in the vampire’s scream. “Tell me, or the next thing I do with this blade is castrate you.” Actually, that was going to happen anyway, at some point.

Dariq hissed, spitting blood. “Neethul mucosa.”

Thanatos’s chest went cold. That shit was fatal within minutes for most creatures. Than whipped his head around to Artur. “Tell Eidolon. Hurry!” Artur took off in a blur, and Than returned his attention to Dariq. “Why? Who else is involved?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Than watched for a reaction from the spectators, but so far, no one seemed unduly concerned that they’d be outted.

“Not…saying anything…else,” Dariq growled, and he was so wrong about that.

Than shoved his fist right through the male’s back and palmed a wet, smooth kidney. The organ no longer worked in the capacity it had when Dariq was human, but it still was a massive source of pain.

“You will tell me, vampire. If I have to spend the next month doing nothing but making you scream, I will.” Thanatos squeezed the organ so hard his fingers punctured the slippery surface.

Dariq’s shriek echoed off the castle walls, and the scent of his blood had Than’s fangs punching down like knives.

“Tell me.”

“F-uck…you.”

Than leaned in close, so close his breath condensed on the vampire’s ear. “That’s f**k you, Bludrexe.” He ripped out the organ, relishing Dariq’s agonized bleats. Before the male even stopped making noise, Than dragged him down to the dungeon and hurled him into the cell Than had once intended for Regan. Now to get some answers—

“Thanatos!” Artur leaped down the steps, landing in a lithe crouch at the base. “The doctor needs you. Hurry.”

Shit. He slammed the cell shut and jabbed his finger at Dariq. “I’ll be back, and I promise you’ll spill your guts. Or I’ll do it for you.”

Leaving the vampire sprawled on the floor in a pool of his own blood, Than sprinted to his bedroom, where Eidolon was filling a syringe. The doctor looked up as Than skidded to a halt at Regan’s side. She was pale, so pale. Even her lips were winter white, tinged with ice blue.

“Just in time. This antidote, when it works, works in seconds. When it doesn’t work, it prolongs the inevitable.” Eidolon thrust the syringe and a rubber tourniquet in Than’s hand. “Inject this into her cubital vein. I’ll show you where and how.”

When it works? Than’s heart pounded so hard against his ribs it hurt. Regan was motionless, her chest barely rising with her breaths. “This usually works, right?”

“Usually,” Eidolon said, but Than didn’t like the doubt in his voice. He also didn’t like that the doctor lowered his voice to say the rest. “That’s a nasty toxin she was dosed with. The good news is that its effects on the baby should be minimal, so if…the worst happens…we have a good chance of saving him if we can deliver him quickly.”

Meaning that if Regan’s agony and life was prolonged by the antidote, Than might still have to kill her to save the baby. “It won’t come to that.” Holy shit, it had better not come to that. “Tell me how to do this.” Than followed the doctor’s instructions, and as he pulled the needle free of Regan’s vein, she moaned.

“Than?”

He tossed the syringe aside and gripped her hand. “I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”

Her eyes clung to his, brighter than they had been. “I’m sorry.”

“Not this again,” he murmured. “Not now. We don’t need to talk about it—”

“Not that. About your vampires.” Color spread into her skin, and the cherry tint that made her lips so luscious infused them once again. “I’m sorry someone betrayed you.” The sincerity and pain in her voice put a lump in his throat. Dammit, he was softening toward her, wasn’t he?

Kill me. If I’m dead, you can get the baby out.

Yes, he was.

He couldn’t.

“I guess it’s no surprise that you recognized betrayal before I did.” The words were sharper than he’d intended, and pain flashed in her eyes before she closed them, effectively shutting him out and withdrawing into herself. And damn her for making him regret his harsh words. Damn him for saying them. And damn this entire f**king situation.

Eidolon stood. “Can I have a word with you outside?” The demon didn’t wait for an answer. He strode out of the bathroom and bedroom with the arrogance of someone who expected to be followed.

Once in the hallway, Than crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there a problem? Did the antidote work?”

“It did. The clearing of the discoloration under the fingernails indicates complete reversal of poisoning. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” Eidolon pegged him with serious black eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but that female in there is carrying your child, and she’s had a number of close calls. She’s fragile physically, and probably emotionally. Quit being a dick.”

Than clenched his fists at his sides to keep from knocking the demon’s teeth out. “You have no idea what she did to me.”

“And I don’t give a shit. As a doctor, my concern is her health, and the health of the baby. As a father, my concern is the health of the world. I’m not saying you have to forgive her, or make her your mate or put a crown on her and call her Stallion Queen. I’m saying you need to keep from stressing her out until the baby is born. After that, take your revenge, kill her, do whatever the f**k you Horsepeople do. But if you want a healthy baby, get your head out of your ass and don’t make things worse for her.”

“You Seminus demons have a hell of a lot of balls to talk to us the way you do,” he growled.

Eidolon smirked. “You have no idea.” The doctor nodded at the bedroom door behind him. “Regan should be fine after some rest. Do a better job keeping her safe, because from what I’ve seen and heard, you’re not so good at it. Tell Con I’m heading back to UG.”

Thanatos really did not like that doctor, and if he wasn’t the best hope for Regan and the baby when the time for the birth came, Than would kill him for what he’d just said. Asshole.

The fact that Eidolon was spot-on in his assessment only made it worse. Not so good at it. Yeah. Than’s own words came back at him as if they’d been launched from a slingshot. I’ll keep you safe. He’d promised Regan, and he’d failed. Then he’d compounded his failure by kicking her while she was down.

Down because of you, dickhead.

Than opened the bedroom door and was surprised to see Con walking toward him, medic bag slung over his shoulder. “E left?” When Than nodded, Con gestured to the bed, where Regan was curled up, the covers bunched around her feet. “She made it to the bed herself and conked out the second her head hit the pillow. Someone will call you in the morning to check on her.”

“Thanks, man.” Than grabbed Con’s arm as he prepared to leave. “Hey, do you have a vampire working at the hospital who can walk in the daylight?”

One blond eyebrow shot up. “Never even heard of one.”

“Bullshit.”

Con lowered his voice and shifted his silver gaze to the bed. “You really going to make a big deal of this right now?”

No, he wasn’t. Regan and the baby were more important than a random daywalker with UG connections. For now.

Taking Than’s silence as a no, Con clapped him on the back and strode out, leaving Than alone with Regan and his guilt. He moved to her, noting the steady rise and fall of her chest, the soft snores that fell from her parted lips.

One hand was tucked under the pillow, and the other rested over her belly as if she was trying to protect the baby even in her sleep. She was so adamant about giving the child up, but clearly, she cared. Goosebumps prickled her skin, and he drew the covers up to settle over her shoulders. With a soft sigh, she tucked them under her chin and curled into a tighter ball.

“I’m sorry I’m such a dick,” he muttered. “You just … you piss me off sometimes. I want to hate you, but I can’t.” He didn’t know what he wanted to do with her. Well, scratch that. Right this minute he wanted to climb into bed with her. To tuck her against him and protect her the way he should have been doing.

No doubt she’d hate him more than she already did if she woke up in his arms. And dammit, why was he thinking like this? He couldn’t let himself grow attached. What if she betrayed him again? His temper was too volatile, his fuse too short. And honestly, the anger he was holding onto was starting to worry him. He’d never been a load of laughs, but he’d also never been intentionally cruel … especially not to women.

So yeah, he didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him, but one thing was certain: Until he found out the extent of who was involved with wanting Regan dead and why, he wasn’t leaving her alone. As much as he wanted to release some fury by paying a visit to Dariq, he couldn’t do it until he got some extra protection for Regan.

Which included protection from himself.

So instead of climbing into bed with her or torturing the vampire who’d betrayed him, he texted Ares and Limos and fetched the dagger he’d relieved her of on the day he’d brought her here. Then he settled himself in the corner chair, crossed his legs at the ankles, and closed his eyes. He’d slept in worse places. He’d survive.

Whether or not he’d survive Regan … that was the question.

Fifteen

The screams reached Reaver’s ears first. Then, as he got closer to the closed door at the very center of the abandoned nuclear power plant, he heard the moans.

Gethel was behind that door, torturing who knew how many demons for who knew what reasons. Right now, Reaver didn’t give a crap what she was doing or why. The three realms—Heaven, human, and Sheoul—were at war, and Reaver had never been above doing what was necessary to win.

He threw open the metal door, and Gethel, standing in the center of the gym-sized room, turned to him. Her white tunic was splattered with blood, and in her hand was a treclan, a glowing spike that was effective only against other angels, including those of the fallen variety.

Which meant that the na**d female on the table, her face and body partially hidden by Gethel, was some sort of angel.

“Reaver.” Gethel’s wings flared out before folding against her back, a show of dominance. Angels had hierarchies, and the high-level ones liked to flaunt their status whenever possible. The high-ranking pricks also rarely tucked their wings away, as if they needed to remind everyone that they had them.

Reaver generally kept his hidden, but he flapped them in defiance, letting the sapphire-tipped white feathers whisper against the air.

Gethel’s mouth ruffled in amusement. “I wonder if you were so rebellious before you fell.”

He tucked his wings away. “I’m going to throw out a wild guess and say yes.” And it was a guess, given that he didn’t remember anything before the event that caused his fall thirty years ago, and the weird thing was that no one else remembered him, either.

His lack of a past left him at a distinct disadvantage when it came to the political maneuverings of his angelic brethren, but ultimately, it didn’t matter. He’d earn a place at the top of his Order, but he’d do it without resorting to games.

“I’m not here to chat. I want to know if you have any information on Wormwood.”

She arched an eyebrow. “The star?”

“The dagger. Pestilence wants it.”

She waved her hand. “It’s a silly relic that’s been attributed to angels and devils, saints and sinners. It’s just a dagger. If Pestilence wants it, he must think it has power. It doesn’t.”

Damn. “You sure?”

Gethel shot him an arrogant of-course-I’m-sure-you-peon look. “How is Regan?” Gethel ran a long finger over the smooth surface of the spike she was holding. “And the child?”

As the Horsemen’s former Watcher, Gethel kept up on Horsemen business, and as an angel invested in the fate of the world, she kept up on prophecy and minor things like a baby who could bring about the end of human existence. Sometimes Reaver thought she was a little too involved, but then, he supposed he wouldn’t be able to easily step back from people he’d known for thousands of years either.

“They’re both fine. And since Aegis Headquarters has been compromised, they’ll be staying with Thanatos until the baby is born.”