A Deal in Darkness (Dark and Devilish #2)

40

A FAIR ARRANGEMENT

ENZO

M y girl hasn’t made it home yet and she isn’t answering her phone. She should have been back a while ago and the unsettled feeling in my gut screams something’s wrong. My bones know there’s a fucking problem and my blood knows it’s a terrible one.

The only reason she isn’t back is because there’s a massive fucking problem. I knew Eva was up to something when I tried to summon Adriana home. I should have been firmer. I should have insisted. Instead, I let Adriana disobey me and it’s landed her in trouble.

I’m going to punish her so fucking badly whenever I get my hands on her. Adriana won’t know what hit her by the time I’m through with her. Quite fucking literally.

I told her it was a fucking stupid idea to go to work, but she insisted. I’m more than capable of smoothing any absence over and making things work out for her—and there was fuck all reason for her to go. I shouldn’t have indulged her and it’s a sign of how fucking weak I’ve become. My girl has me wrapped around her little fucking finger, and all it took to break my resolve was those beautiful blue eyes and a pout.

Fuck me, she’s got me under her fucking thumb.

I’m supposed to be the fucking dominant and she’s got me dancing to her fucking tune. We’re sorting this shit out just as soon as I get her home, and I don’t care if she likes it or not.

This is precisely why she needs to obey me.

Damn it .

Adriana’s too fucking delicate for this world. For my world. She’s too vulnerable and now something’s happened to her. I fucking know it’s happened to her and the dread that floods through me is a fucking nightmare.

I pace around the fucking loft, waiting for the call from Byron. We’ve sent every fucking demon we know is loyal and half of London’s dark creatures out to find her.

There’s been no news and that’s fucking bad.

I’ve poured magic into the world, and I cannot find her. I can’t sense her. Even with my collar on, I can’t fucking feel her. The Collar of Ichor should bind her to me and that tie has been severed.

She’s in deep fucking shit and I never should have let her go.

I’m going to fucking kill her when she gets back.

After I’ve finished punishing myself for being such a fucking idiot.

Elgios knocks and doesn’t wait for me to reply before entering. His pale features seem even paler now and he’s not bearing good news. I know the fucking expression that’s written all over his face, and he’s expecting an outburst of epic proportions.

“Tell me,” I growl.

“Eva turned your driver against you. She promised he’d be a Duke of Hell when she and Mordecai claimed the throne.”

I roar and the threat of violence burst into the world. Chandeliers shake and crystals sing out notes of fear as my anger rages through the air, decimating anything that stands in its way.

“We’ll get her back.”

I hurl a table at the wall and it smashes into a thousand pieces. “We’d better get her back. I swear on the ninth circle that there will be no end to my rage if we don’t. I’m going to fucking kill the lot of them, and then I’m going to resurrect the cunts, torture them, kill them, and bring them back so I can fucking torture the lot of them all over again.”

Elgios nods and purses his lips.

“You have something to say?”

“Your obsession is dangerous, Amaymon. For her. For you. For all of us.” He steps closer and I almost take a swing at him. “Are you sure she’s worth it?”

My eyes burn so fucking hot that he flinches and his question doesn’t need answering in words. Adriana is worth all my fucking effort and then some, and I’d give everything for her. For one second more with her. She’s more than I dreamed I’d find and everything I don’t deserve.

And I won’t give her up or abandon her.

Not now. Not ever.

If this is obsession then I willingly surrender to it.

“I suppose this isn’t about just the girl,” Elgios sighs. “Lucifer won’t be persuaded easily and every moment he delays gives Mordecai more time. Even if we convince him to act, I imagine it’ll take longer than the girl has—and you won’t want to wait that long, will you?”

I shake my head, answering his fucking stupid question.

“You realize the odds aren’t in our favor?”

I nod.

“And, strategically speaking, we’d be a fuck load better off to try to persuade Lucifer first. Even if it leads to delay or we act before he does. He’ll be less vengeful later.”

I nod. “I don’t give a shit, Elgios.”

“Noted,” he sighs. “I’m blaming all of this on you and that fucking girl. She’s the kind of trouble that causes men to do fucking stupid things.” He drops his hands to his hips. “Demons too, apparently.”

“Where are they?”

“At the Temple of the Damned. Presumably, Eva’s already trying to resurrect Mordecai.”

This is nothing short of a fucking disaster. The temple’s deep inside the barren wastelands of the eighth circle and the journey there is fucking perilous. Eva will have made that worse, no doubt. She’ll have made fucking sure that it’s damn near impossible to get through whatever defenses she’s put in place.

It's going to take an army to get into the temple, and probably a second one to fight their way to the altar. Eva needs to perform the rite of passage and it won’t be easy for her, even if she’s been preparing for it—and I’m fucking sure she’s got this planned out.

“She needs an angel’s blood.”

Elgios nods. “If she has it, then she’s got to have taken it by force or stolen it. Those assholes aren’t going to just give her a vial for free and they wouldn’t fall for her lies, no matter how convincing she is. Those fuckers have a habit of seeing right through us, and I doubt they’d give it up to make Lucifer fall when Mordecai’s the planned replacement.”

I clench my fist and stare out the window, watching boats sail down the river and wondering why the fuck we’re discussing this when we should be saving Adriana.

“My point is, she’s either fucking cunning or fucking powerful. Or she has a trick up her sleeve we don’t know about. Watch your back, Amaymon. There’s more to this than meets the eye, and I don’t think Adriana’s involvement is a coincidence.”

Shadows swirl through the air as my patience runs out.

“Of course, it’s not a fucking coincidence. She’s tied to me.”

Elgios sends ice cold mist to quell the darkness pouring from my being. “It’s about more than just you and Mordecai. There’s something about this I don’t understand. Watch your back. Hers too.”

He’s right. The asshole usually is.

Eva’s smart and so far she’s proved smarter than I thought. There’s no reason for her to take Adriana except to lure me there, but she could have resurrected Mordecai and come for me later. When he was strong again. When they had time to make me weak.

This is either personal or there’s a reason why they need Adriana. Neither is good. Neither bodes well for her. Or me.

And I haven’t got a fucking clue why they’d take her other than to get to me. She’s too weak to be useful and too stubborn to cooperate. She’s more of a burden than anything else and she doesn’t possess one single attribute that would make them stronger if they stole it from her.

The only reason to take her is to get to me—except it very clearly isn’t the only reason Eva took Adriana. My mind’s driving itself insane thinking of all the reasons for them to take her and imagining all the things Eva could be doing to her. Unpleasant things. Deeply unpleasant things.

Eva’s a fast learner and I’m an expert at torture. I’ve taken more than my fair share of pleasure from the screams of those I’ve mutilated and tormented, and now my sins return to haunt me. I’m inventive too, and Eva’s learned more than a trick or two from me over the years—and now Adriana’s at her mercy.

And there is no mercy in Hell.

I can heal her physical scars and Lucifer can repair any I cannot. I’ll damn well make him fix her perfect little body as payment for services rendered, and I’ll make fucking sure he delivers. But the mind is harder to fix and once that’s broken, it’s almost impossible for anything to be the same again. Some scars run deeper than the surface, and they’re the harshest ones of all.

I should know. I enjoyed inflicting anguish on the souls of the condemned as I brutalized their minds.

Elgios watches as I pace and I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing I am. This isn’t the time for self-indulgent wallowing or hedonistic self-pity. Adriana is suffering and we’ve got to get our shit together and we don’t have long.

“You good?” he asks.

“No,” I reply. “I’m fucking livid, and I’ve never been less fucking good in all my goddamn life.”

Elgios grins and the temperature drops, as he pulses enough ice into the world to send a shiver down my spine.

“I’ll gather all my warriors, Amaymon. We’re going to fucking need them if we’re going to get to the fucking Temple, let alone to the altar.”

My fist clenches as I stare out at the boats again, wondering what Adriana sees in the damn things. They’re too sedate and serene for my taste, but she fucking loves them, and when this is done, I’m going to buy her one. A fucking big one. Or a horse. Because girls love horses. Maybe I’ll buy her both if that’s what’s needed to make her happy.

“Focus, Amaymon. You won’t get her back unless you do,” Elgios snarls. “What the fuck’s gotten into you?”

“I was strategizing.”

I fucking wasn’t and we both know it.

“I’ll round up every demon at my disposal and call in all my favors. I’ll send Byron to try to persuade some of the others to ally with us, although Eva’s probably got there first.”

I bet the bitch has got there first, but Byron can be persuasive and it’s worth a shot. Anything’s worth a shot at this point because the odds of us getting through this look slim to fucking none.

“Do you still have an alliance with Morgana?”

“We’re about to find out.”

We’d better fucking do, or I’ll skin the bitch alive and then I’ll hunt down every single one of her coven and I’ll let Byron decide their fate. He’s been itching for an excuse to go on a witch hunt and my temper might provide him with the cover he needs to feed the earth their blood.

“I need to know you’re going to keep your shit together.”

I’m not.

“I’ve got this, Elgios.”

“I fucking mean it, Amaymon. I don’t care if your rage annihilates anything that stands in your way and I’ll revel in the bloodbath you’ll cause. I’ll be right behind you, if not in front of you, leading the way.” The asshole smirks and I let him score a cheap point, if only to keep him on side because I fucking need him. “But you’ve got to get your fucking head in the game, and I need to know you won’t do something fucking stupid.”

“Like what?”

My voice is a snarl of fury, and the world falls silent.

“Like sacrifice all of us to save the girl. No fucking heroics. I’m not going down in a blaze of glory for you and that girl.”

He fucking will if that’s what’s needed to save her.

“I know.” I lie.

“And there’s the matter of our agreement, Amaymon. I want the kill. I fucking mean it. I’m not having you steal my chance to take revenge and gain a throne under Lucifer.”

Elgios wants a fucking promotion. He’s tired of being a Duke of Hell and he wants to be a prince.

I smirk and walk toward the demon, who’s far too bold for his own good. Even my ambition has limits, and being a Prince of Hell is a curse that few endure long enough to reap any reward. I’m fucking sure that Lucifer tests the mettle of his most trusted underlings by giving them a poisoned chalice and seeing if they survive.

“If I’m going to risk everything, then I deserve a fucking reward when I pull it off and I’m not having you or any other fucker take it from me.” Elgios is ruthless enough to stand a chance and he stares at me with those ice-blue eyes, determined to make Hell freeze over. “I fucking mean it, Amaymon. I’ve waited too fucking long for this chance.”

“Mordecai is yours, Elgios, provided I’m not forced to act. If I am, then I’ll make sure Lucifer’s aware you need appropriate remuneration.”

We’re dividing the spoils of war and Adriana’s not got the time for this shit.

“I know,” I reply, grabbing his shoulder. “I get my girl and you get your throne. Seems like a fair arrangement.”

“Hardly,” Elgios sighs. “I’d rather have that girl of yours. We’d better go get her before Eva turns her into something that neither of us would want.”