15. No Friend of Lux
Chapter 15
No Friend of Lux
T he man we planned to meet greeted us at a door a short walk into the facility, after we made it through a security check. It was luckily as smooth as we hoped it would be.
I eyed the brown-eyed, blonde-haired man who, on any other day, I might never pay a second glance—slim, casually dressed with nothing remarkable to separate him from the rest. Honestly, nothing about his appearance suggested he was a Hunter.
He was so forgettable.
My gaze slipped from a forgettable face to his hands, noticing quickly he didn’t have any calluses at all. Either Eddie had a great skin care regimen, or he’d never fought a day in his life. Which made me wonder what purpose he served at this facility. But the way Eddie stared at me, openly, brazenly, made me uncomfortable.
Phillip’s hand touched my lower back before it spirited away and my pulse thrummed, sadly not for the reasons it should.
I was still thinking about the other day and our little quickie romp session. We hadn’t discussed it, and Sloan came right at the five-minute mark like promised. Guilt hit. I chased the arriving Hunter with my eyes, sure he could see it all on my face, but Sloan only smiled and greeted me like he always did. After that, it was business as usual. We discussed the plan, went to bed, and despite sharing one, Phillip didn’t touch me again.
Talk about mixed messages.
Then again, Phillip was the king of mixed messages. The nonchalant Austrian spent the morning getting ready for our mission, and I decided it was best to keep on task and spend my time worrying about how we’d get what we needed, and then get the fuck out. And while my gaze followed Phillip everywhere, it also strayed quite a lot to the beautiful and beyond kind Hunter who I’d also taken to pound town only a short time ago.
The Devil called, V. He wants his Hell back.
Eddie turned, sniffing and rubbing his nose after one look from Phillip forced him into action. He keyed a code into the door and the many locks keeping the door securely shut clicked before Eddie yanked it open. Sneering for the briefest moment, he motioned for us to go inside.
One look told me it was an archive of some sort, and the lines of boxes on endless shelves were as long as any large warehouse.
Paper documents in this day and age? Weird.
Eddie joined our group before the door closed behind us with a huge clanking sound, and I stiffened. Alarm rang in the back of my head for some reason, but I dispelled the feeling, knowing we’d planned this out perfectly and there wasn’t any reason to be wary. Even should something go awry, Phillip and Sloan were here.
Yeah, we got this.
Someone’s hand brushed against my back again. But when I reacted, Sloan leaned in and whispered to me. Right away I knew it wasn’t Phillip but the Brit who touched me this time. “Breathe, love.”
I sucked in a breath, flushing slightly. “Sorry. ”
I could practically feel Phillip’s gaze when Sloan leaned in closer, smiling the way he always did with me. “You’re fine. This won’t take long, and I’ll be with you the whole way through.”
The Brit’s gentle words calmed a part of me I hadn’t even realized was bothered by this walk through a place that created me. Created monsters. I may put on a brave face most days, but these were the same people who killed my parents and genetically designed me from the very same blood as the creatures I was forced to hunt. It put me on edge just to travel through a place that my parent’s murderers likely wandered, too. And maybe I’d discover even worse secrets today.
Not sure what could be worse than my parents dying because of this fucking place or being a literal Frankenstein, but I’m sure life will figure it out for me. Just my luck these days.
Sloan’s hand wrapped around mine, squeezing tightly. Looking down and then back up at beaming sky-blue eyes, I was reminded of why my head and my heart yearned for him. Sloan cared, and it was blatantly obvious in every action he took and every word he spoke.
Being the immature budding woman that I was, one look at Sloan’s full lips reminded me of the kisses we’d shared, the hot breaths we exchanged, the way our bodies moved together, the perfect feel of him coming inside of me. It wasn’t long ago that his mouth and fingers had done the most tantalizing, pleasure-eliciting things to me, and I’d be lying if I said I never thought about it. Even with Phillip back.
Fuck.
Sloan was the farthest thing from Phillip. Polar opposites in literally every sense. Two ends of the spectrum. He gave me things Phillip never could, filled places Phillip never touched. Probably most notable was that nothing the Brit did made me second-guess myself. A part of me knew Sloan was what I needed, and if I was smart, I’d let the thing I shared with Phillip fizzle out to nothing. Because no matter how I spun it, Phillip and I wanted different things—were different fucking people.
My throat was tight as I squeezed Sloan’s hand back, smiling and silently thanking him again. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat and I jerked my head over to find Phillip’s eyes narrowed on the two of us. I stole my hand back and crossed my arms over my chest, as if it’d somehow mask the attachment I felt towards Sloan from the Austrian now burning holes into my face. My throat constricted with guilt, something I noticed it was doing a hell of a lot these days.
Maybe rage, guilt, and frustration were the only things my teenage Hunter brain knew how to do anymore.
“This way,” Eddie called out, breaking through the silence. “I want this over, so don’t dilly-dally.”
Who even says dilly-dally these days?
Covering a smile, I trailed after our guide and tried to stay focused on our mission; the entire reason we were even skulking around in enemy territory. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find what we needed.
Phillip took all the files marked with my name and then, eyes shifting from left to right, he found the corners where the security cameras were placed. After confirming we were in a blind spot, he held out a tattooed hand covered in the usual rings.
Eddie sighed loudly, then dropped a small USB into the Austrian’s hand. In the same breath, Eddie held out his own hand, probably for whatever they discussed as payment. “They’ll know it was you. Your little science experiment doesn’t work on security cameras, and there’s no way to access the feed, so they’ll know soon enough.”
I kept my face expressionless, but my heart did a few extra beats. The asshole had uttered the very thing I’d tried not to worry about the entire stroll through this facility, and the unsettling feeling in my stomach was back.
Phillip’s lips lifted devilishly as he dropped another USB onto Eddie’s awaiting palm. “I think you’re better off worrying about what story you’re going to tell them when they see you lead us directly to the information.”
Groaning, Eddie brushed back his dense blonde locks, absently looking over to one of the cameras. “I’m leaving now. You know which exit to use, and remember, I’ve done my part.”
With a parting sneer, our shifty-eyed tour guide quickly escaped the archive room. We were left alone with a messenger bag full of the Organization’s secrets. Not wasting time, we exited the same way we came in. And as we made our way to the exit, the ominous sensation from earlier came crawling back into my chest.
It felt too easy.
As if manifesting trouble with my thoughts, several Hunters suddenly blocked our way out. Their outfits bore signs of high-level Hunter by the mere equipment they had, much like Phillip, but each one had outfitted a mask with only their eyes visible, which was rarely a good sign.
Shady shit, those masks.
The two men beside me stalled, already sensing dangerous intentions the same way I did .
“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting you lot to brazenly walk into my facility , but here you are,” a voice said from behind the line of Hunters. “Then again, I’d expect nothing less of you, Phillip.”
Shit.
Like drawing curtains away from himself, the Hunters pivoted, clearing space, and a man dressed in a chic, well-tailored suit stepped through the line of masked Hunters, his expensive shiny shoes clicking over the floor.
Startling silver eyes the color of a bright full moon immediately found me first, and something about the way this massive, over six-foot newcomer looked at me made my stomach twist into knots.
The man’s short, stylish black hair framed a handsome face, even though everything about his presence put a threat into the air I hadn’t felt with anyone outside of my enemies. He was beefed up like every dude I’d seen on the payroll, so that didn’t really set him apart. What did was how he wore it; how he walked and talked. The way the Hunters around him followed his every move with their eyes.
It didn’t take long to figure out this dude called all the shots. And if that wasn’t enough, then the way this arrogant asshole carried himself and addressed the men beside me suggested he was nothing but bad news.
If villain had a look, it would be this silver-eyed boss dude.
One glance at Phillip told me that whoever this guy was, it was someone he knew— intimately . I’d wager someone Phillip worked under at some stage by the familiarity in the new guy’s tone. If I was right, this might be the suspected guy at the top; the one we’d been looking to put a face to.
And here the bastard is, blocking our one way out of this shithole.
Most couldn’t read the Austrian with one glance, but the way he stared at the suit-wearing villain was the same way he looked at Eros. Phil’s eyes didn’t move away, wary of the man’s every move, never letting a single action go unnoticed. But this was Phillip we were talking about, and he was nothing if not a sarcastic bastard, so he recovered quickly.
“Lux, I should’ve guessed it’d be you,” Phillip commented, lips lifted but clever eyes dangerously honed in on Lux the same way they did with any enemy. My guess was Phillip already suspected Lux long before we stepped into this facility. “If anyone was going to sell their soul to the Devil, it’d be you.”
Whoop, there it is.
The man weirdly named Lux put a hand over his suited chest in mock compliment, the massive width of his upper torso dwarfing his hand in a way that would earn its fair share of small dick jokes from me if I weren’t figuring out an escape route. “That’s awful sweet of you to say, but I’m not the traitor here. You are.”
The silver-eyed villain stole a look at me.
“I must admit, the granddaughter of Rose is much more beautiful in person than I ever expected. I can see why you, the man who’s been infamously known to be allergic to love, would fall so head over heels. Pictures don’t do you justice, my sweets.”
Ew. Gross.
I kept my chin lifted and a hand on my weapon despite the urge to physically gag. Everything about him screamed evil bastard, and right now, we were at a disadvantage.
Phillip’s eyes blazed with rage, but he clicked his tongue and flipped a small device in his hand, one I recognized shut down magic. “I did think this was a little too easy. So you were waiting for us. Guess it was you who found Eros and sent him to recover V. ”
Lux shrugged, grinning a little to himself, acting like this were a meeting between colleagues and not the moment before a fight. “He was already after you, but I may have given him a little extra…hmm, direction and equipment.”
“Thought so. I doubt the other leaders sanctioned the use of a notorious Dark Fae to hunt down some of your best Hunters to recover an asset. Must’ve paid a hefty fee out of the Organization’s coffers—or your own,” Phillip went on conversationally.
Lux chuckled and crossed his arms, his strong jaw clenching and unclenching.
My Hunter training picked up on the growing agitation across our enemy’s body. The bastard might put on a good show, but the nervous ticks, the stress in his jaw and shoulders, the way his pupils thinned and muscles bulged suggested he was being riled up by the things Phil said. The calculating Austrian was getting to this dude, and bad.
“Not at all. His only wish was to see you dead and those around you.”
“You miscalculated, old friend. Eros won’t stop with kidnapping anymore, not after what she did to him on our last encounter.” Phillip didn’t elaborate, probably in hopes of leaving Lux frustrated by the mystery, and I counted on that being the aim. “He’ll come after her knowing that I care for her, and then you’ll lose your prized goose,” Phillip stated confidently, surprising me stupid for a second.
Did he just say he cared about me?
But it was clear by the way Lux reacted that he hadn’t realized Eros might want me dead, and his silver-eyes shifted uncomfortably before his jaw tautened .
My companion knew what buttons to press with this one, and it was painfully obvious how capable Phillip was when it came to undermining someone’s confidence. I’d never admit out loud how hot it made me, but if I hadn’t already been so into the arrogant Hunter, then this would’ve been the thing to do it.
I paused for a second, some of what Phillip said before finally registering, and I opened my mouth, brow knitting together.
Wait a fucking second. Did he just say I’m a goose? What a fucking asshole…
One look at Phillip’s amused smile and sparkly blue eyes, and I was sure he’d done it to fuck with me. Only he would be up against a final level boss with all of his lackeys and find the time to taunt me. I mouthed “asshole” at him, making the Austrian snicker cutely to himself.
God, I’m doomed. Why’s he so damn cute when he looks like he’s out committing crimes for a living?
Sloan at least had the good sense not to smile. He was closer than before, his eyes tracking from left to right, figuring out the best way to overcome the odds. It was then that I noticed the thing in Phil’s other hand. A simple recording device. Clever. But I’d expect nothing less of the other Hunter, and by the look on Sloan’s face, he’d already figured out the best way to proceed.
Presently, we were up against a group of ten Hunters with powers unknown to us, not counting Lux. I sensed Lux wasn’t human like I expected the higher ups to be. He was clearly something altered, same as us, so it’d be dangerous to underestimate what he could do. Or any of these Hunters after finding out what was in my blood. And because we couldn’t openly talk or use our usual code since the other Hunters would understand it, we were forced to quietly and separately calculate a plan of attack on our own.
“I’m afraid I don’t have time to chit chat. The little lady and I have an appointment we can’t miss.” Lux snapped his fingers and the Hunters around him pulled out their respective weapons.
But what surprised me more was the sudden electricity in the air as several summoned magic and the space was suddenly charged with it. The reason Phillip held what he did finally clicked. He was already aware these were magic-users.
Throwing the device into the air, it crackled and sparked, shutting down their magical attacks before they could reach us. Then Phillip was instantly taking down three Hunters simultaneously all by himself. Just as quickly, Sloan joined him, subduing one while slashing another.
As more rushed in from several corridors behind us and in front of us, I moved into action. I promised my two Hunters I’d never be far from them, and the closer I was, the easier it was to work as a team. Swinging out at several Hunters who came running forward, I stabbed, dodged, kicked, and slammed my way through a line of them.
The corridor wasn’t very wide, but several corridors were connected to it, so I used them to my advantage. Kicking off walls, I landed, tumbled, and cut into several Hunter’s legs on the way to the other side. I blocked an attack to my chest, countering it with my fist, and the other Hunter grunted and hit the wall.
Then I pivoted, evading someone’s arm, and kicked their knees the direction they weren’t meant to go. The telling crack hit my ears before the masked Hunter collapsed onto the floor. Stabbing down, my blade impaled their chest and blood gushed like a lake from the wound. Hands took hold of my sword before I withdrew it, and the dying Hunter curled in on themselves, watery cries haunting me in an instant.
It wasn’t like killing a creature. This was human to some degree, and they were clearly suffering.
Staring down, it hit me a second later that by their shape, it was a woman, and reality was a real bitch. It was staggering to think I’d have to kill one of my own. It was the first time I fought my own kind like this, and my heart wasn’t okay. But I didn’t have any other choice. It was kill or be killed. If I didn’t get them first, they wouldn’t hesitate to get me.
Shaking off the uncomfortable reality of what I fought, I evaded another attack a new enemy aimed at me. Staggering my stance and cranking my arm back, I landed a blow on their stomach so hard it sent them lofting into the air. Then the attacking Hunter hit a window and crashed through glass.
Luckily, my close contact fighting skills were especially good, and with my superior speed, I easily navigated every Hunter around me. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. No Hunter who came swinging at me stood a chance.
Another crack echoed in the hall, subduing the magic users once more before the effects of the first wore off. Thank Buddha Phillip was a scientific genius.
As I defeated one after another, my confidence grew. I started to hope. But then something pierced my skin when I turned and suddenly found a pair of silver eyes in front of me. My neck burned, and I quickly slapped a hand over the place I’d been stabbed with a syringe.
A rush of sensation took hold of my body, sweeping out and numbing every limb with deadly quickness. I watched Lux toss the syringe to the ground with a lift to one side of his mouth. Lazily, I looked back to where my companions were still fighting. Phillip and Sloan were surrounded by so many Hunters I could barely see them.
“Fu…ck,” I slurred, a dizzying sensation striking my head as I teetered. The world blurred and wobbled. My vision swayed, making it difficult to stay upright. And then there were silver eyes again, staring down at me from where I’d collapsed on the floor. The world was warped and distorted, but I distinctly felt someone lifting me before my vision tunneled.
“That’s a good girl,” a faraway voice said before darkness closed in on me and stole my consciousness.