Prologue #2
“We have to get him to the hospital now,” one of the medics said as they pulled a wad of gauze from their bag and hopped onto the gurney with Merrick, deftly switching it with the jacket with practiced ease.
“I’ll go with him.” Zane nodded, already helping the other medic back down the hallway.
I glanced between my friend and the elevators, already knowing what Merrick would want me to do, already knowing what every muscle in my body begged me to do from the moment I lost sight of her.
“Kellan,” Spade said in warning, a cold fury blazing in his tone.
We both couldn’t go. One of us had to go with Merrick despite his own wishes, or she’d never forgive us.
I could live with her hating me, though. Just as long as I got to know that the world wouldn’t lose her precious light.
“I’m sorry.”
My fist flew toward him in the next second, pain searing across my knuckles as they slammed into his jaw.
“Fuck,” Spade snarled, but I was already moving, already sprinting for the elevators, knowing he’d be only steps behind me.
I knew it was selfish; I knew it was wrong.
We promised that we would trust her, yet both of us were ready to brawl to be the one to go back up there and make sure our angel was still breathing.
“Kellan.” Desperation clung to Spade’s voice, yet I couldn’t stop as I hurtled past Sophia, and I threw myself into the waiting elevator.
“I’m sorry.” I slammed my hand on the button for the penthouse. Violence sparked in his violet eyes as he barely pulled himself to a stop before the closing doors. “Make sure we don’t give her a reason to hate us.”
I knew he would. The three of us had grown as close as brothers, and if he couldn’t be with Giana, I knew he’d be by Merrick’s side, making sure the stubborn bastard stayed with us.
I blinked the image of his haunted eyes and the red spot blooming on his jaw away and pulled in a shuddering breath, trying not to imagine the worst.
I’d put myself second so often, but something within me snapped at the thought of leaving Giana up there with that monster.
Not knowing what was happening was tearing me apart, shredding the mask of civility I so often chose to don, pretending to be less of a demon than Merrick and Spade.
But the truth was, I was scared that if I let the bloodthirsty, depraved part of me loose, I’d never be able to leash it again.
My pulse beat in a heady staccato, a war drum in my ears, summoning the monster lurking beneath my skin.
If Tommaso hurt a single hair on her head, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back. Her claim on my withered soul wouldn’t be enough to quell the death knell that would ring through my mind, blocking everything else out.
The seconds passed far easier than the trip down as lethal violence boiled in my veins. As the doors opened to the penthouse, I could have sworn it licked against my skin like a flaming inferno.
Wait. It wasn’t in my head.
A ball of flames exploded from the fireplace, sending a shockwave through the condo as fire climbed up the walls and spread across every piece of furniture or fabric in the living room.
The acrid taste of smoke filled my mouth.
The accelerant he used had no odor, or at least none discernible over the burned paper scent searing my nostrils.
Icy tendrils of fear spiked through my veins despite the crackling flames eating their way through everything in their path.
“Giana.” I could barely even hear myself over the inferno blazing before me, the flickering lights hiding everything that wasn’t in their path in stark shadows.
My hand crashed against the door, keeping the elevator open as I frantically scanned the floor. “Please.”
There.
My little devil always exuded so much power that she took up an entire room with her fiery passion.
I had to do a double-take at the form sprawled on the floor.
Her fingers desperately clawed at the floor as if she was fighting for every inch.
Behind her lay the lifeless form of Tommaso, crimson pooling beneath his body from the patches of blood littering his chest.
“Fuck.” I sucked in another breath and pulled my shirt up over my mouth and nose, hoping the feeble filtration would work long enough to get us both out of this hellish scene. Ignoring the itching dryness that clawed its way down my throat, I ducked beneath the worst of the smoke.
I could barely make out her small form through the thick black smoke now permeating the room, her lean, toned body slumping lifelessly to the marble.
My mind filled with curses as I closed the distance between us and gripped under her arms, pulling her still form across the marble floor. Every step I took was a battle, one I refused to lose.
I just got her back. I wouldn’t let her go again. Not like this. Not in such a permanent way.
“You’d better stay with me, Giana, or I’ll never forgive you,” I growled as I reached the elevator and smashed my fist against the button.
Thank fuck for private elevators. I almost worried Spade would have called it back down to the lobby, but I should’ve known better.
I bit back my sigh of relief when the doors rolled open.
Without wasting time, I pulled Giana in and hit the lobby button.
The doors stuck for a moment, and I frantically tapped the door-closed button as I slumped to the floor beside my devil.
With trembling fingers, I checked for a pulse.
It was weak, but it was there. Her wheezing breaths filled her chest with air like she was fighting for every lungful in the hazy elevator.
Thankfully, there was an air filtration unit in the small compartment as it steadily made its way back down.
But it was working too slowly for me to relieve any of the panic holding me rigidly at her side, watching intently for any sign she might need help.
My focus was so glued to her chest, I almost missed the blood steadily seeping from her thigh, soaking into her pants.
I whipped the shirt off my back and pressed it to the wound just as a ding chimed through the small space and the doors creaked open, revealing Sebastian and Sophia’s worried faces as they rushed in.
“We need another transport,” I wheezed out, every word scraping roughly against my throat. Spots of black clouded my vision, but I blinked them away, fighting against the pull of unconsciousness as we lifted Giana out of the elevator.
“Fuck.” Sebastian batted me away from Giana. “I have her. Can you walk?”
I jerked my head down tersely, fighting against the leaden weight trying to drag me back down to the floor.
With Giana securely tucked into Sebastian’s arms, he strode to the same exit we had brought Merrick through only minutes ago.
My legs moved sluggishly, every step pressing me closer and closer to the ground, like the devil himself was trying to suck me down to the depths of Hell in penance for escaping the inferno blazing on the floors above.
“Kellan.” The sound of my name wasn’t right, though. It didn’t carry the hypnotic, sultry tones of my little devil’s voice. Arms clasped around me, attempting to take my weight.
Sophia. It was Sophia’s red locks filling my vision as the world around me shrank to a pinpoint.
Giana was the only thing propelling my weakening body forward. Panic spiked my adrenaline and pushed me the last few feet to the door. The cool autumn air swept into the building; the flashing lights of the ambulances and fire engines filled my vision.
“Giana.” Her name slipped past my lips on a reverent sigh, like her name was a prayer to the universe to keep her safe.
Paramedics rushed toward us. Their hands grasping me and shifting me from Sophia’s grip was the last thing I registered as panic gripped my throat in its burning claws, cutting off my air supply along with the smoke coating my lungs.
Despite myself, I gave in to the seductive lull of unconsciousness.