So. Only Sent Ones could enter the cells? Must, must, must find out how they negate our abilities.
On Alana’s third attempt, she ricocheted backward with more force, crying out in pain.
Do not smile. The corners of her mouth twitched. Seriously! Don’t you dare.
Ultimately, Alana gave up and stomped her foot like a child. “This isn’t over,” she grated.
“Please, don’t hurt me,” Fox repeated. “I’m just a poor nobody with—”
The woman vanished as quickly as she’d appeared, no sign of her remaining.
“—a lady boner for your demise,” she finished with a harder tone. No wonder Bjorn hated the woman. A one-minute conversation revealed a trash bag hidden beneath skin and smoke. Spoiled, selfish, without shame or guilt.
Killing Alana would be a privilege and a favor to Bjorn. Although, why hadn’t he killed Alana?
Whatever the reason, a four-part plan took shape in Fox’s head. Act charming to seduce Bjorn. Make him fall in love with me. Kill his wife. Get pardoned by the Sent Ones.
Despite the obstacles littering her path, Fox caught herself smiling with excitement. No part would be simple, or easy, but damn if they weren’t going to be fun.
* * * *
The door to Axel’s cloud was open.
Bjorn did his best to push Fox from his mind as he entered, Thane at his right side, Xerxes at his left. Like them, Axel was a former Warrior who’d received a promotion soon after a demon-possessed male set off a magical bomb in the heavens, killing most of the original seven as well as hundreds of others.
Axel reminded Bjorn of, well, him and his boys. Utterly untamed.
If you are so untamed, why are you playing it safe with Fox?
Not thinking of her. Not now.
He focused more surely on Axel. The male had black hair, electric-blue eyes, and a powerful build. He loved practical and impractical jokes with equal intensity, never took anything seriously, and enjoyed a new lover—or two—every night.
Unlike the other Elite, Axel wasn’t a full-blooded Sent One. No, not true. He might be. No one knew his parents. As a child, he had been found wandering around the heavens with a mind as blank as an unpainted canvas. He’d grown up to resemble another warrior Bjorn knew. William the Ever Randy, a powerful enforcer of mysterious origins, who was just as likely to stab a friend as an enemy.
No one knew William’s origins, either. Long ago, Hades had adopted him, making him a prince of darkness. One of only a dozen. There was no worse enemy to have.
If—when—Bjorn killed Fox, he would be declaring war with William, who allied with all Lords of the Underworld, including Galen, who allied with Fox. The Ever Randy had a No Harm, No Exceptions policy for his allies. A strike against any member of William’s crew equaled a strike against William himself, something Bjorn greatly admired. If anyone were to harm Thane and Xerxes, Bjorn would retaliate. No mercy.
Bjorn was only surprised William and Galen hadn’t teamed up to work together. Galen wanted his Fox back, and texted a new threat to Bjorn every day, claiming he would sneak into the Downfall and murder Bjorn in his sleep.
He balled his hands into hard fists. Not his Fox. Mine!
Why can’t I get her out of my head? No doubt the newly mated supervillain would try to make good on his threats soon. And if not Galen, any of the Lords and Ladies of the Underworld.
So why do I still crave Fox?
Tone low and quiet, Thane said, “I see no sign of the others.”
“Nor do I.” Since Bjorn had never been here before, he cast his gaze throughout the ten- thousand-square-foot structure. Luxury at its finest, with ornate furnishings. All gloriously preserved antiques. Countless crystal vases filled with roses. Portraits framed with solid gold. Plush rugs.
This did not fit the irreverent Axel in the slightest. Where was the stuffed roadkill wearing baby clothes? The posters of half-naked women? The blow-up dolls, or conversation starters?
The money-loving Fox would probably adore this place. No doubt Bjorn’s minimalistic approach to decorating struck her as sad. He popped his jaw. Not going to think about her anymore. Or their kiss. Or the long, long list of things he yearned to do to her exquisite body as her moans of rapture filled his ears, her sweet scent teased his nose, and her amazing taste tantalized his tongue.
Damn this! He wanted to think about her, so, he would think about her. The cherries on top of her attributes? Her intelligence and her dry sense of humor. The woman had a talent for reading each person and situation she encountered, and she possessed a merriment Bjorn did not recall experiencing himself in…ever.
He’d always been the serious one, even before his imprisonment and torture. But every time Fox spoke, he fought a smile. Boner garage. Seriously? Not to mention her love of reality TV. Even thinking about those things intensified his hunger for her, desire rolling through him like an avalanche, growing in strength and speed. His blood heated, and his muscles bulged with tension.
His friends must have taken his body language as a sign of distress, because Thane and Xerxes placed a hand on Bjorn’s shoulders. A gesture of comfort. Of reassurance. They could face anything, as long as they remained together.
Some of the tension seeped out of him.
Axel materialized in the living room, frowning when he spotted them. “There you are. Come.” He waved them over before vanishing.
Confused but unconcerned, Bjorn and his boys crossed the distance…
As soon as they passed an invisible threshold, the living room faded from sight. Instead, a dome with walls of energy surrounded them, the other Elites already there, standing in a circle. Every member of the Elite 7 owned wings of the purest gold. They wore white robes trimmed with topaz, a color representative of the Most High. But that was where their similarities ended. Together, they were an assortment of hair, eye and skin colors, sizes and heights, from all over the universe.
There was the uber-stubborn Zacharel…brilliant Calypso, known as Caly…and hot-tempered Ravensara. Also present, by-the-book Lysander, who used to be an Elite. Now, he was something more. He would be overseeing their meetings until he believed everyone understood their new position and the responsibilities that came with it.
Axel stepped into the center, saying, “I called this meeting because we have been tasked with a mission. Each of us is to recruit an army of one hundred Warriors and move to the Underworld, where we will team up with the Lords of the Underworld to slay Lucifer and his demons. Lucifer is the ultimate blame for the bombing that killed our friends. He has been building his army, and the number of soldiers grows daily—his demons, other immortals, allies, and even spirits of the dead.”
Move to the Underworld, the a
sshole of the immortal world? Icy fingers of dread crept up Bjorn’s spine, while white-hot fingers of fury slid down his sternum. “When is this move to take place?” One way or another, the Fox situation had to be dealt with beforehand. One way or another. He couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t cart her to Hell, where she would grow in power, thanks to Distrust. Where other Sent Ones might not resist the urge to tear her to shreds.
Unless taking her to Hell was the way to save her life?
An idea formed, not yet complete but worth mulling over.
“Ten days,” Zacharel replied, and Bjorn reeled.
Ten days to perfect his idea and save Fox. Ten days to do everything he longed to do to her body. Only ten. Not nearly enough.
As if he’d read Bjorn’s mind, Lysander said, “I’m assuming Fox the Executioner is dead, as ordered.” His tone was as dry as the desert.
While the strict male had lightened up since his marriage to a beautiful Harpy, one of the bloodthirstiest species in mythology, he still erupted over any hint of disobedience.
“She is imprisoned,” he admitted, earning a chorus of disappointed rumblings from everyone but Thane and Xerxes. “She is a resource. A rare Gatekeeper,” he added, unable to stop the words from leaving his tongue. Though the idea wasn’t fully fleshed out, he had to run with it. What other options did he have? “We can use her to get our armies in and out of Hell in seconds.” Most Sent Ones could not flash. Usually forced to fly, they wasted precious time in do-or-die situations. “We can even portal in and out of Lucifer’s home. Gatekeepers do not need to see a location before they can portal there. They only need coordinates. What’s more, we can portal our wounded to safety during battle.” If he could gain Fox’s cooperation. Could he? And could he trust her to follow through with any kind of bargain?
The chorus went quiet at least, everyone mulling over his words.