CHAPTER TWENTY
Typhon
Ipulled the soaked rag from the girl’s face, and she coughed up water, her face blotchy as she sucked down oxygen. It was mildly impressive how much torture she could take. The British girl, Tibby or whatever, barely told us anything, and I’d had her locked up for a good eight hours. I was going easier on her than most because I knew Sara had a soft spot for her. And she did bring our girl back to us, after all.
Our girl. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I thought about what she’d done. Sara left us. Ran away. Again. At first it was funny, and the excitement of the chase heated my blood, but then I lost her scent at the train station. I couldn’t find her, and after about thirty minutes, the game took a sinister turn. When Andras got the call from some girl screaming about his father coming for Sara, time stopped and I nearly fell out of the sky.
Andras gave us an address, and Levi and I flew through the clouds to the apartment near Carson Beach. Levi broke the door down and almost killed the hysterical girl when he saw Sara passed out on the floor. I scooped up our pretty pet and placed her in Levi’s arms, the only thing I could think to do to calm him down. Sara was an anchor for him, something precious to focus on instead of the daemon snarling inside his mind. I didn’t trust him not to rip the pink-haired girl in half. Though, I did enjoy punching her in the face and knocking her out before we stole away into the night. The hair triggered several memories too. Tibby was at Noircoeur every night Sara performed. I was so wrapped up in my little vixen’s presence, I didn’t notice the sneaky little pixie hiding in plain sight.
Apparently, Laszlo Blackbyrn got to Tibby, blackmailing her to get to Sara. But why? Tibby wouldn’t say more than that. The girl was tough and not even seeing her own blood dripping down her wrists would make her talk. I patched up the wounds before she could bleed to death, though. Sara would thank me for my thoughtfulness, I’m sure.
Heavy footsteps announced their presence before the door opened. Sara’s heart beat rapidly, and I turned as she gasped at the sight her friend chained to the wall. The relief that filled me at seeing her warred with my need to strangle her for leaving us again. Levi set her on her feet, her wrists still cuffed together in front of her body.
She’s fine, brother. She heals fast,Levi’s words sounded in my head.
Without actually speaking, my brothers and I collectively dropped our barriers when we brought Sara and her friend back to The Towne House. The four of us needed to communicate discreetly while we interrogated the pink-haired spy. And sharing our thoughts on the situation was necessary. Dev didn’t fully drop his mental shields because he’s been a little prick recently, but he let us in enough to communicate.
Sara ran toward Tibby, and I caught her roughly around her pretty little throat. My thumb brushed against her racing pulse, and I tilted her head back, cutting off her oxygen as I stared her down. Her aquamarine eyes burned with defiance as she glared back at me.
“We need her to be coherent enough for questioning, Typhon,” Andras snapped. “Let her go.”
I snarled, dropping Sara. She doubled over, sucking in air, then quickly straightened and punched me square in the mouth with her cuffed fists. I was too shocked to make a sound for all of ten seconds before I laughed from deep in my chest, licking the blood from my busted lip. My dick hardened instantly for my naughty pet.
“If you wanted to play, pet, you just had to ask,” I teased her, my daemon shining through my eyes enough to make a normal human piss themselves.
She glared at me, and I could see the fire inside her writhing, itching for a fight. I wished she would. Instead, she turned her back and went to her friend.
Tibby’s voice was hoarse as she mumbled a few words in Sara’s ear.
I stepped toward them. “Now, now. No more secrets or I’ll have to get the rest of my toys out.”
I released Sara from the handcuffs, rubbing my thumb over her reddened knuckles. The marks on her hands pissed me off. No one was allowed to cause her harm, not even herself.
I brushed the sweaty strands of hair from her face, and she attempted to bite my fingers. “I’m going to have to punish you for hitting me, pet. You hurt your hand, and I’m the only one allowed to give you pain.”
Sara rolled her eyes at me and stepped in front of her friend protectively. “Fuck off, monster man.”
Andras cleared his throat. “Now, Sara, you’ve seen your backstabbing friend. She’s clearly alive. Speak plainly. If you lie, we will know, and Typhon will hurt your traitorous accomplice.”
“Let her down,” Sara demanded.
Andras crossed his arms, taking a seat in a metal folding chair. “No.”
Sara crossed her own arms, glaring at him, and fuck if I didn’t want to tie her up and fuck the brat right out of her. I prowled toward her, tracing my fingers down her throat.
She swatted me away, and I chuckled. “Let me tie her up, brother. She’d like it.”
Sara’s fist slammed into my gut, and I groaned, taking the pain and relishing it. I dodged her second punch, slipping behind her and bringing my knife to her throat while my free hand wrapped around her chest, pinning down her arms. She stiffened, but only for a moment. Her hand reached back and squeezed my balls, and my knife slid away enough for her to spin out of my grasp. I licked my lips, eyeing the line of blood on her pretty neck where the knife cut her.
Levi snuck up behind her and grabbed her wrists, shoving her arms to her sides. She reared back, headbutting him in the nose and dancing away when his grip eased. She ran toward her friend, ready to rip the chains from the walls, when in a blur of shadow, Andras shoved her to the wall, a lethal-looking blade resting over her heart.
Dev let out a strangled cry as the tip of the blade pierced her shirt and Sara hissed. I could feel Andras’s daemon rearing up, and I rested a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to us.
Take a breath, Andras.
“Don’t worry, brother.” I chuckled, keeping my voice light, trying to calm his daemon. “This is just foreplay. Isn’t it, pet?” I glared at Sara, daring her to move as her eyes darted between mine and the devil with a knife to her heart.
“My name is Seraphina Nuriela Voldis Bronwen,” she whispered.
Her sea glass eyes shined as she said the name. Was her skin glowing? The light disappeared so quickly, I wasn’t sure if I imagined it.
“The missing daughter,” Andras stated, his voice deadly calm. “And the skeleton key you were wearing?”
“My father gave it to me before he left me behind. Said it protected my mother’s family’s secrets. I came here for them. I know The Obscuritas have my father and my sister.”
“Sara…” Dev’s voice was broken as he stared at the girl with wide eyes.
She ignored him, her gaze locked on Andras.
Andras nodded, confirming her accusations. “And what was your endgame, Seraphina?”
Sara swallowed, but her face remained a hard mask, so unlike the sassy smiles and delightfully violent looks she gave us. “I’m going to destroy them all. Everyone who played a part in murdering my sister, my mother. Every. Single. One.”
I chuckled, leaning against the wall. “Well this is certainly an exciting twist of events.”
Sara’s eyes snapped to mine, and I grinned.
“Your endgame is not so different from ours.”
“Typhon,” Andras growled a warning.
He stared at our girl, uncertainty clouding his gaze. But I could sense her truth. I believed her.
I shrugged him off. “We’re all keeping similar secrets, brother. It doesn’t matter what she knows now. She’s part of this. She has been from the beginning.”
“No,” Dev cut in, his voice shaking with emotion. “I don’t give a fuck who she says she is. She is not part of this. Because we aren’t doing this.”
“That’s not your decision to make, Devon.” Andras pulled his blade back from Sara’s heart, finally in control again.
Sara stepped toward him, unafraid, and her boldness had my dick twitching. More than a siren, Seraphina had angel’s blood. Or Lumens, as they called themselves. The daemon in me ached to taste it. Would she taste like sunlight? I licked my lips and followed her movements like the predator I was.
Her eyes darted between the four of us, and she exhaled heavily. “At first…the plan was to take you all out. I wanted your father to suffer. I was going to kill you first. So he would know what it felt like to have his family ripped away. But…I don’t know if I can do that anymore.”
Sara’s gaze shifted downward, and Andras used the blade to tip her chin back up to face him.
“And why is that, sweetheart?” Andras whispered like a viper stalking its prey.
“Because,” she whispered, her words so quiet, I strained to hear them. I could feel the others holding their breaths as we waited for her answer. “I…want you. All of you. I don’t know what’s happening. But I can’t pretend anymore. I don’t want to pretend anymore.”
Andras dropped his arm, setting the blade on the table. “Unchain the girl. Lock her in the holding cell with food and water.”
“She’s not going to hurt any of you,” Sara protested as Andras walked toward the door.
He stopped, turning his head to the side without looking back. “I know that, sweetheart. I haven’t forgiven her for hurting you.”
He quickly left the room. Dev followed after him, and Sara frowned at their backs.
I knew the stubborn prick would come around, though. He was in love with her and just too afraid to admit it. Levi shuffled over to the Brit and unhooked her chains. Tibby’s legs gave out, so he carried her gently to an adjoining room. He set her on the bed before locking the steel door behind him.
Levi glanced at Sara and cocked his head, eyeing her like a hungry beast. “I’ll grab her some food.”
“Thank you,” Sara whispered with a small smile.
Levi’s lips turned up slightly, and he winked. He wasn’t the type to hold grudges and he’d move past this bump in the road, as would the others. I was already over it. Lumen or not, my blood burned for this woman.
I strode toward her, and she looked up, ready to speak, then gasped as my hands cupped her face and I crushed my lips to hers. Her soft mouth parted in submission, and I growled, twisting my tongue with hers in a possessive kiss. She moaned, folding her arms behind my neck and pulling me down to her. I lifted her off the ground, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. Sara’s body melted into mine, and I never wanted to let her go. She was a feral creature, sent down from another world to torment me. I shoved her against the wall, and her toned thighs squeezed my waist. I pulled my tongue from her mouth and trailed kisses down her neck, licking up the blood from the cut I’d given her. My dick throbbed at the taste of her, and my blood burned at the electricity shooting through my veins.
“Fuck, pet,” I moaned, unable to hold back as my daemon shivered with need. “Just as I thought. You taste like heaven, like sunlight. I could suck the blood right out of you.”
Sara coughed out a laugh between her moans, her hands in my hair pulling hard enough to sting. “You’re such a monster.”
“More than you know.” I chuckled. “Although, I suspect you’ll be finding out all our secrets soon.”
She pulled back, her chest heaving. “Andras doesn’t trust me.”
Her eyes searched my face as she spoke. They were hypnotic, an endless sea of blue and green.
I shook my head. “The problem isn’t that he doesn’t trust you, but that he does. You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger, pet. Just like the rest of us. And it scares him.”
“It doesn’t scare you?” She nipped at my bottom lip, and I growled.
“I told you before, if you were to be my death, so be it.” I fisted a hand in her hair, and she cried out as I tugged it back sharply, exposing her throat to me. “But if you ever, ever, run away from me again, little vixen. I will make it hurt.”
Sara grinned, and her eyes lit with desire. “Give me your worst, monster man.”
I chuckled, ready to devour her, just as Levi walked into the room with a tray of food. He arched an eyebrow and turned away, unlocking the steel door and delivering the sustenance to our prisoner. Sara unwrapped her legs and dropped to the floor, attempting to leave me behind, but I hounded after her. Levi came back out and locked the door.
“Is she…alright?” Sara asked, standing on her tiptoes to try to see her friend through the one small window.
Levi nodded, his expression distant. “She’s sleeping. She’ll survive.”
Sara nodded, stepping into his personal space. Levi held still, tracking her every move, and I rolled my eyes. “Get over yourself, brother. She’s not going to run.”
Levi snarled at me even as he stared at our girl, his eyes searching. “Why did you leave the club?”
I stilled, waiting for her answer. He wasn’t the only one pissed off about that.
Sara shrugged and refused to look either of us in the eye. “I just…I—” she stammered, before being interrupted.
“I made her feel guilty.” The pink-haired girl’s face peaked through the slot in the door, her voice still hoarse from my hours of torture time.
Sara shook her head in defiance. ”No, it was my choice to go.”
“No, Sara. You weren’t even thinking about it. I saw you at the club. The way you were with them, the way they hung on your every move. Like some invisible string connected you all. And you smiled, Sara, a real smile.” Tibby’s voice quieted as she cried. “My head was all screwed up, but I couldn’t take that from you.”
I stared at Sara. Seraphina. My gorgeous little vixen. The hurt from Tibby’s betrayal was plain to see on her face. Anger built inside me as I stared at her. It was probably a good thing the girl was locked behind a steel door. Tears welled in Sara’s eyes as she pressed her face to see her friend through the small window.
“Is your mom really dead, Tibby?” Sara whispered.
The girl nodded. “I’m not sure of anything anymore. But I think The Obscuritas are behind it.”
I stepped closer, resting my hand on Sara’s shoulder. “Why do you think that?”
“Because the news of it happening just appeared on my computer. I tried to trace the IP but there was nothing. Just a one-off article popping up in my feed. I think they did it to fuck with me. Laszlo contacted me right after. And my memories…they’re fucked up. Like I can’t place them all in the right order.”
Interesting.I sent the words to Levi. Our faces remained unbothered. You think Laszlo is using mind control on her?
Levi frowned. Possibly. We need to track the last few months of Tibby’s movements. See if we can find out how she actually connected with Laszlo. Something is definitely off.
Sara slipped her fingers through the window. “I’m so sorry, Tibby. I’m sorry I got you into all this.”
Tibby shook her head. “I’m the one who should be sorry. You’re the only person I really care about, and I fucked that up too.”
“I forgive you, Tibby. And those fuckers will pay for what they did to you.” Sara’s voice was low and menacing, and I fucking loved it. Our murderous little angel.
But I wasn’t sorry for torturing the traitor. She almost cost me my girl. Andras would look into her connections with his father. Sara might be willing to believe Tibby, but I wasn’t.
Sara turned to me, her eyes pleading. “Please. Does she have to stay in here? It’s just—”
Andras’s voice boomed over the intercom. “Bring Seraphina upstairs. Now. Leave the Brit.”
Sara snarled, turning to her friend. “I’ll be back, Tibby. I won’t let them keep you down here forever.”
The girl sighed. She looked exhausted. “It’s alright. I’m going to eat and rest.” She glanced toward me. “The big guy really took it out of me.”
Damn, right. I grinned as Sara turned and swung her fist directly into my junk. My knees buckled, and I fell to the floor, cupping my balls when her fist snapped out again, busting open my lip.
I groaned. “How can someone so tiny cause so much damage?”
Sara grinned, and my eyes narrowed on my prey.
“Oh fuck.” Levi laughed, scooping Sara over his shoulder and bolting for the stairs.