MAKE ME QUEEN

RICH DEMONS OF DARKWOOD 5

C.R. JANE

MAY DAWSON

CONTENTS

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Rich Demons of Darkwood Series

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Epilogue

Rich Demons of Darkwood Bonus Scene

No Pucking Way

The Delilah Recipe

Prologue

Chapter 1

Forbidden Honor

Chapter 1

Author’s Note

Books by C.R. Jane

Books By May Dawson

About C.R. Jane

About May Dawson

Make Me Queen Copyright © 2023 by C. R. Jane and May Dawson

Cover by Eve Graphic Design

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review, and except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Throne

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Little Girl Gone

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RICH DEMONS OF DARKWOOD SERIES

FROM C.R. JANE AND MAY DAWSON

Make Me Lie

Make Me Beg

Make Me Wild

Make Me Burn

Make Me Queen

This is a college bully reverse harem series which means the main character will end up with multiple love interests. It may have triggers for some as this is a dark romance with scenes of intense bullying, murder and mayhem, and sexual scenes.

MAKE ME QUEEN

With my mother in the Demon’s clutches, I’ll do almost anything to buy her more time.

Like make a deal with the Demon.

I’ll pay him with an enemy’s death for my mother’s life.

Long ago, dear old dad took me on a camping trip with his serial killer bestie before he broke their pinkie promises. Now the Demon wants the man dead. But when I come face to face with Uncle Carnage, strange memories start to surface.

Who am I, really?

What have I done?

Was every sin solely to survive?

When I don’t know who I am, my men anchor me in reality. Cain’s daddy dom vibes, Stellan’s sweet way of seeing straight through me, Remington’s easygoing genius, Pax’s fierce protectiveness.

Then the Demon starts taking them away from me…

As the Demon unravels both my past and present, will I finally be able to bring him down?

Or will I always be daddy’s little girl?

PROLOGUE

DELILAH

D ad kissed the top of my head while I was grimly facing my spelling homework.

“I’ve got work to do today before we make dinner tonight,” he said. “Stay out of trouble, all right?”

“Of course,” I answered dutifully.

“You always do.” The scent of his cologne was heavy, mingled with some kind of chemical cleaning odor, but I didn’t mind.

I carefully set my colored pencils in rainbow order on the countertop and went to work. He always complimented me on how I was organized and methodical.

The lights flickered, then went off, leaving the kitchen still bright with afternoon light. The microwave clock had gone blank. The house was suddenly eerily silent.

The door to the basement, which was usually locked, clicked open. The LCD screen above the keypad had gone dark. I stared at it, chewing my lower lip, then went back to my math.

I was halfway through filling in my times tables when a groaning sound rose from the basement.

I got up and walked toward it, my heart pounding.

I wanted my dad so badly. I stopped at the door to the basement stairs, staring down there, and the groaning broke off. A woman’s voice rasped, “Help me.”

I turned and ran for the garage, hoping my father would be inside. But it was dark, with the lights off, and his car was gone. I stood there on the cement floor, breathing in the familiar strong cleaning scent—Dad was such a neat freak—and wishing the door would rumble to life and his headlights would split the dark in the garage.

But nothing happened. I stayed in the cold garage until I convinced myself to stop being a coward. It was time to go back.

I’d survived being left behind by my mom, then being tormented by my foster family until my father and I found our way back together again. I could be brave enough to go into the basement and keep my dad safe.

I got the big, heavy flashlight—big enough to be a weapon—from its place on the garage shelf, and then walked back into the house. My steps were faltering going down the stairs, but I still went, even if my legs shook.

A woman, strapped to a table, was frantically working one wrist free from the leather cuff.

She turned her head to me. Her dark hair was matted to her face with sweat and blood, her face twisted with pain. She was so ugly and yet…she looked familiar.

“Mom?”

My voice sounded weak. My mother had bought me a Coke and left me at that gas station, clear-eyed and sure of herself.

“Help me,” she begged, without a trace of recognition in her eyes.

“Do you remember me?”

She blinked hard. As I studied her face, her nose looked different, and her eyes…her eyes were brown. My mother’s violet eyes were just like mine.

I exhaled in relief. She wasn’t my mother.

“Help me,” she begged.

I stared at her, curious, as she went back to yanking desperately at her cuffed hand. Her joints seemed unusually bendy, the way her hand was folded to escape the cuff not quite natural. When I was an adult, I’d learn about hypermobility. It was rare, but inconvenient in a victim.

She finally got her hand loose and reached to undo the other buckle. Her fingers kept slipping. She made a desperate sound in the back of her throat, a sound that wasn’t quite human. In her desperation at the moment, it was easy to believe she wasn’t.

What was she going to do when she got loose? Kill my father? Call the police, which would be the same?

I couldn’t lose my dad.

Especially not to this woman who looked like my mom, who had betrayed us both.

She sat up, groaned, and tried to uncuff her ankle.

“You have to stay here and stay quiet. I’ll help you, okay? I promise.” I headed for the stairs. I’d get ahead of her and lock her down here. My father would have a plan.

“No.” She frantically undid the last strap as I ran up the stairs. Then she raced up behind me, right on my heels, and shoved me aside. For a second, I teetered on the step, about to fall, and I frantically grabbed at the railing.

Instead, I just slipped, banging my knee on the wooden step. Pain raced up my leg, and I got up awkwardly. The skin across my knee had split open, and blood trickled down my leg.

She’d almost pushed me down the stairs. She hadn’t cared if she hurt me.

I ran after her. She stopped in the brightly lit kitchen, turning around; there was no back door out from here. “The door!” she whispered in a desperate rasp, clearly thinking my father might be in the house. “Where’s the door?”

She was wild-eyed. She could barely think in her panic when she was so close to escape.

“That way!” I told her, pointing to the door to the garage.

As soon as her back was to me, I pulled a knife from the knife block.

She frantically threw the door open and flew through it.

I was right behind her.

The garage door was closed. Disappointment sank through me like a weight. I was on my own.

“How do I open it, how do I open it?” she asked frantically, her eyes moving so quickly around the room they skipped right over the button to open the garage door. She finally saw it and raced for it, reaching out her hand to slap the button by the steps, where I stood.

But I got there first.

I drove the knife into her side. She turned on me, letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

The garage door rumbled to life. She must have hit the button after all. Light spilled in at the base of the door.

She raced for the crack of light, stumbling, her hand clutching the bloody wound in her side.

I couldn’t let her escape. She was lurching away, so I grabbed the heavy flashlight that stood on my dad’s worktable and raced after her. My fingers were slick with blood, but that didn’t stop me. I wasn’t tall enough to hit her head, but she stumbled, trying to duck under the garage door.

So I hit her as hard as I could across the back of the head. She went to one knee, and I hit her again.

She grabbed for the flashlight, trying to get it from me. Because it was slippery, she was able to wrest it from my fingers. She tried to hit me with it, but she was wild, and I was able to duck her.

Rage boiled through my veins, burning away the fear. No one was ever going to hit me again.

My father’s car was nosing into the garage. He stopped abruptly. Then he was running to my side.

“Hi, Daddy,” I said.

She raced away, toward the house. She was stumbling, but she made it up the stairs and through the door.

He was on her in a second, grabbing the flashlight and clubbing her with it, over and over. She collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, blood freckling the white hallway that led to our garage.

Dad glanced up at me. He sounded amused when he asked, “You didn’t stay out of trouble, did you, Delilah?”

“The power went out.” I pointed down the hall to the basement door. “I had to stop her.”

He nodded. “You did. She was a bad person, Delilah. And you stopped her from hurting any other kids.”

“She looked like Mom. I thought she was Mom…”

“She’s not your mother,” he said. “Your mother was an awful person too, the way she abandoned you. But I would never hurt her. She’s your mom. You get to decide what happens to her. Alright?”

I nodded.

He stared down at the body, tilting his head to one side. “She’s not quite dead yet, Delilah. I’ll carry her downstairs, and then I’m going to tell you what she did. And you can help me finish her, to get revenge on her for all the little kids like you she hurt.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He wrapped his arm around me. “You look so pretty when you smile like that, Delilah.”

I grinned back, unable to help my delight when he was happy with me.

He carried her downstairs, and when he came back, he held his hand out to me. There was blood caked around his fingernails.

But there was blood on my hands too, so I didn’t hesitate to reach for his.

1

CAIN

A urora stared at the screen, reaching out her shaking fingers as if she could call back the Demon and save her mother.

She seemed distraught. I always wanted to fix things when Aurora was upset, to be her hero, but part of me studied her abstractly. It was the way I always had when people were in distress, seeking the best ways to mimic their emotions...or arouse them.

It was normal to be upset by a parent’s death or imminent dismemberment.

It wouldn’t have bothered me much, though. Alexander could rot in hell for all I cared after hurting Pax’s mom, and therefore Pax.

"I'm on it," Remington said, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "I'll track them down if it's possible."

Her lips parted, as if she were struggling to form words. Then she managed, "Thank you, Remy."

That asshole always made her happy.

But the solace was only for a moment.

Unless the Demon had conveniently set up his killing area within a twenty-mile radius of the lake house, there was no chance we'd get to Aurora's mother before she was killed.

Though, perhaps it was possible he was still close. The Demon was obsessed with her in his own way. He might kill her mother to punish her...but he didn't really care about anyone but her. He needed to hurt her. Needed to fix her. Needed her.

I could understand the sentiment.

"Aurora," I asked her. "Is there anything you could offer the Demon? Besides yourself?"

She looked up at me, her lips parting. For a second, her eyes were glassy and distant. Like a victim.

But that was never Aurora.

She blinked, and the sheen of tears in her eyes vanished, replaced with sudden clarity.

"Remington," she said, instead of answering me. "Can you get the connection reestablished? Make him talk to me?"

Remington looked thoughtful, raking his hand through his hair. Then he nodded. "Yeah. If he still has the webcam on, I can probably get into it. But that means diverting my attention..."

"Do it, please," Aurora said. "We're not going to get there in time anyway unless we have a miracle, and I don't think we've got any miracles coming to us."

Remington worked his magic, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard with lightning speed. It was almost impressive, the way he could manipulate technology.

But the way I could manipulate people was even more impressive.

As he worked, Aurora turned to me. "You asked if there was anything I could offer the Demon besides myself," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if I'm the only thing he'll accept?"

"Then your mother will die," I said bluntly. "I'll help you save her. More importantly, I'll help you gut the Demon. But all I care about is you, Aurora. Everyone else can bleed out for all I care."

"Love you too," Remington crooned without looking away from the keyboard.

"I know that's how you feel," Aurora said, "But if you care about me, you're stuck caring about the people I love."

"Still feeling left out," Remington said.

"Oh, you know Cain loves you as much as he loves me," Aurora said, though she cast a sidelong glance as if she didn't quite believe it. "In his own way."

I scoffed. "I tolerate Remington."

Why did she have to be so selfless all the time? I loved Aurora all the time, but the thought of having to protect her from herself forever was...exhausting. I loved the moments she showed me she was dangerous. Sometimes, like with her best friend Jenna or her mother, she seemed so sweet that I was afraid she couldn't survive in our world.

Remington let out a low whistle, and we turned to face the screen. "I'm in," he said, his voice tense. "The camera's on, but it looks like he's not there at the moment. Just a dark room."

"Can you activate the mic?" Aurora asked, leaning forward.

Remington nodded, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard. "Got it. The mic is on. Just give me a moment to...wait, what the hell?"

"What?" Aurora asked, her voice rising with urgency.

Remington's eyes darted back and forth across the screen. "Someone's coming into the room," he said. "It's not the Demon, though. It's a woman."

"A woman?" Aurora repeated, her eyes widening in confusion.

"Yeah, she's...oh, shit," Remington cut himself off. "Aurora, I think it's your mother."

She walked into view, her eyes wide and terrified. A noose was already around her neck, her hands bound in front of her.

"Aurora," she said desperately. "You have to stay away."

Well, I wasn’t too fond of the bitch for abandoning Aurora to the Demon, but I agreed with that sentiment.

The Demon stepped into view, a wicked smile on his face as he looked directly into the camera. "Is this what you wanted to see, Aurora? Do you want to watch her last moments? I should have known you couldn't resist checking on this pathetic woman...you've always longed so much for someone to love you."

Aurora's eyes were fixed on the screen, her face a mask of despair. I wasn’t used to seeing her look so…broken. Aurora was unbreakable.

"Please, let her go," she begged. "I'll do anything you want. Just let her live."

The Demon laughed, the sound echoing through the room. "Anything, Aurora? You know what I want. It's the same thing I've always wanted. You."

Aurora's eyes flickered to me, and for a moment, her expression was pure panic. She was desperate enough to sacrifice herself to the Demon to save her mother.

"There's not a chance in hell." I moved to cut the connection.

Aurora leapt forward, grabbing my wrist, though she was still staring at her father. "I have something else to offer you."

Her voice came out strong, no matter how terrified her eyes were.

"There's nothing else I want. I want you by my side or dead, my girl. There’s no middle ground."

"There's always something else you want," she said. "Carnage. I can offer you Carnage."

For a second, I was intrigued.

This was a side of Aurora I'd never seen before.

Then she added, "You've wanted to take him down for years. I'll get him for you."

"And then what will you do to him?"

So Carnage was another serial killer.

Remy and I traded glances. His fingers moved over the keys of his second laptop, and a second later, my phone chimed. Info about Carnage, an infamous serial killer.

"Whatever you want," Aurora said bleakly.

"I know what you're capable of," he said. "When you want to hurt someone."

She shuddered. "I don't want to hurt anyone. But to save my mother…"

"Don't," Aurora's mother spoke firmly, even though she was obviously terrified. "I'm ready to die, Aurora. But I don't want you to give in to darkness—to him. If I never see you again in this life, we'll find each other again in the next."

"Oh, forget the little angel on your shoulder," the Demon said, slapping a rag over her mouth. "That's not really you, Aurora. It never has been."

Aurora's mother struggled briefly against the chemical doused rag, then slumped helplessly in the Demon's arms.

“I’ve always seen your potential,” the Demon told Aurora. “You’re so much more interesting than the good girl you’ve tried to be. And it never really works, does it, Aurora? Do those men of yours know who you really are? What you’re really capable of?”

Aurora’s cheek ticked, as if she were on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown. “A life for a life. I give you Carnage, you give me back my mother.”

“You give me a death,” he corrected. “A beautiful, bloody one. And I’ll keep your mother alive until you come and find me, Aurora. And deep down…I know you will.”

Aurora shook her head, but he said, “That’s the best deal I can offer you, Aurora. You know we aren’t done with each other. And one more thing… to seal the deal.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I just want to hear you call me Dad one more time.”

Aurora stared at him. Then her eyes went hard and flat, a way I’d never seen them before. She was beautiful, her face a cold mask.

“Do you want Carnage flayed or buried alive, Dad?”

2

AURORA

I  knew one of the Demon's worst enemies too well. Carnage, a serial killer almost as notorious as my father. A former friend-—and hunting partner—turned rival.

My father had taken me on a hunting trip with his evil bestie. I'd been excited to go camping, and my father had made it magical...at first. I’d played DJ in the car on the way there, and my father sang along with me to my favorite songs on the radio. Those were the memories that hurt the most sometimes.

I’d been stupid to love him.

His friend had been waiting for us when we got there. It was drizzling slightly that gray spring afternoon, but he already had a fire going. I'd warmed my hands over the blazing campfire, excited to make s'mores. The Demon congratulated him on the fire, even in the rain. Carnage had said, with a wink, “I have my tricks.”

Now I realized it was probably human fat that made the fire burn so well.

He had helped us pitch a tent. I curled up inside with a blanket and the rain pattering on the canvas as I read my newest Nancy Drew book. The two men chatted outside.

Finally, Dad asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with them. I declined—I would always choose my book over exercise—and then I realized they were walking through the forest to a farmhouse nearby.

I couldn't read any more. I didn't want to think about what they were going to do to the people in that farmhouse.

"Aurora?" Remy prompted. When I looked at him, he had a worried look on his face, although he smiled, and I had a feeling I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t heard him speak to me. "Care to share the plan with the rest of the class?"

"I've got to kill Carnage. It's no great loss—he's not exactly one of the good guys, as you may have guessed from the name." My voice came out breezy.

"Why would you trust the Demon?" Cain's eyes were cold and flat, as if he were angry at me or disappointed. But I knew Cain, and he didn't exactly mind a little light murder.

"My father loves a game," I said simply. "Games only work if everyone plays by the rules—at least until the last round."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "And what are the rules of this little game?"

I shrugged. "Kill or be killed, I suppose."

Cain nodded slowly. "So you're planning on luring Carnage into a trap?"

"Something like that." I leaned back in my chair, feeling a thrill of excitement that almost drowned out my despair. I had something to focus on now besides my mother's face of agony. "Carnage is arrogant. He thinks he's unbeatable. I'm going to use that against him."

"How?" Remy leaned forward, his eyes bright.

"Carnage would love to take me out," I said. "Because of what I mean to the Demon."

"Because the Demon wants you dead or because you're the Demon's daughter?"

"Both." There were other reasons too, swirling at the back of my mind; Carnage hated me deeply. I remembered the horrible sneer on his face when he looked at me, deep in the forest, with the scent of blood hanging in the air.

I could barely remember some of the things that had happened to me, and sometimes it wasn’t worth trying.

"So instead of offering yourself up to the Demon," Cain drawled the words as if I were an idiot, "you plan to offer yourself up to Carnage."

"I'm not offering myself up to anyone. I'm setting a trap."

Remington glanced between Cain and me. The air seemed tinged with tension, though I wasn't sure why Cain was looking at me with that terrifying yet hot level of intensity.

"Aurora and I will find some weapons." Cain wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck and guided me out of the room ahead of him.

Remy threw up his hands. “What the…alright. Whatever.”

I usually liked Cain’s demanding touch on my body, but I shrugged his hand off–or rather, tried to–once we were in the hall. His fingers tightened on the nape of my neck in response, then he pulled me backward, his other hand dropping to my waist to steady me.

“What are you–”

His lips descended on mine, kissing me hard. His dark and expensive cologne, and the scent that was Cain’s alone, wrapped around me like a deep summer night. His hands were steel against my body, but his lips were soft even as he kissed me breathless. After a shocked second, my hand slid up his broad shoulders, his powerful neck, to tangle in his blond hair.

Then suddenly, he released me. He kept studying me as I tried to remember how to breathe. Focus. Sometimes that was hard around Cain.

"Why did you want to get me alone?"

His thumb glided over my lower lip, then dragged it down gently. He studied me as if he could look right through me to my soul, and sometimes Cain’s piercing gaze seemed like he really might. Quietly, he asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to keep my mother alive! To buy us time to rescue her."

Cain's gaze burned through me, as if he knew that wasn't the whole truth. That expression made me want to slap him, so I did–gently, because I wasn’t an idiot–reaching up to pat his clean-shaven, hard-angled cheek.

He gripped my wrist and gave me a look; Cain always had a dominant aura that made even strangers respond, but the stern look he gave me was all daddy dom for the first time.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been turned on, but I was."You're being too careless with your own life."

"I'm a giver."

He scoffed. "You're mine. And I don't appreciate anyone endangering my property."

"I'm not your property."

"Oh? Is that so? I want to remind you of something."

"What's that?"

He peeled his t-shirt slowly over his head, his muscles rippling with the movement. My breath caught in my chest as it always did when I saw him; he looked like a god.

He unzipped his jeans.

"What are you doing?" I asked. And he thought I was acting like I'd lost my mind.

He dragged his jeans and boxers down to reveal the tattoo I'd given him, low on his chiseled abs. My art skills were pretty damn questionable, I had to admit.

Property of the Demon's Daughter

"You definitely are mine," he said. "Just like I'm yours. You better remember that, or I might just have to tattoo it on your body like you did to me."

I bit my lower lip, stepping close to him so my fingernails skimmed over the tattoo on his taut golden skin. "I don't have any intention of getting myself killed, Cain."

"You aren't acting like yourself." He wrapped his hands around my shoulders, his thumbs brushing over my throat. There was always an edge of danger in Cain's touch, as if he might grip my throat and squeeze, and it made my heart speed up, my core clench.

"Who am I, really?" I asked. "Aurora? Delilah?"

"I thought we covered that already," he said. "I am going to have to get the tattoo gun."

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Mine," he said in one word, before his lips claimed mine in a hard, punishing kiss.

As Cain broke the kiss, a shiver raced down my spine. He was a force of nature, and sometimes I felt powerless against him. Other times, I felt as if our power combined was a wild, relentless force no one could stand against.

"I won't do anything stupid," I promised him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here making you crazy. But I need to take out Carnage. It's the only way we can save my mother."

Cain's eyes darkened. "If it comes down to saving your life or anyone else's, Aurora, you had better come back to me."

He was suffocating sometimes, and yet somehow he also made me feel as if we were invincible as long as were together. "You know I will. How did I end up so lucky, to be so loved by the psychos?"

"Kindred souls," he said. "You know you're a psycho too, deep down."

He kissed me again. His words felt like they lingered on my skin, but it didn't stop me from kissing him back. The intensity of the kiss grew until we were both gasping for air. Cain's hands roamed over my body, tracing the curves of my hips and the swell of my breasts. I moaned into his mouth, my own hands fisting in his hair.

The kiss was a mix of passion and desperation, each of us hungry for the other's touch. There was an unspoken understanding between us that we were both willing to do whatever it took to keep each other safe. As we pulled away, intensity blazed in Cain's eyes, a fierce determination I'd seen before. It was determination that should terrify anyone who threatened his plans.

He pulled away, and his voice was rough when he said, "Now. Let's take stock of our arsenal and get to work on details. I'm going to need a hell of a lot more information before you sashay into Carnage's path."

"WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CARNAGE?" Cain demanded as we all gathered again in the living room.

Stellan pulled me into his lap, then ran his lips against the curve of my throat as his strong arms locked around my waist like he was trying to breathe me in. He seemed calmest of them all–Cain was all compressed fury, Pax paced like he couldn’t handle not having the chance to protect me, and Remy was bursting with information. I relaxed against Stellan’s chest, breathing in his fresh, clean scent.

"Carnage seems to be a meticulous planner," Remy explained. "Law enforcement's been powerless to catch him, although there are conspiracy theories floating around on the internet that he is law enforcement, or at least protected by them. This has been kept out of the news, but it seems like he has dead drops, where he stores supplies well ahead of time before taking his victims."

"What kind of supplies?"

"Ropes, handcuffs, duct tape," Remy listed. "It seems like he takes his time with his victims, sometimes keeping them for weeks before finally killing them. He sent a few videos of victims pleading for death to the news media."

"Lovely," Stellan muttered, looking sick, although I knew he didn't exactly shy away from danger. Still, he didn't seem thrilled about the thought that two serial killers wanted me.

"He seems to be carefully selecting his victims and stalking them. Entire families have disappeared in one night."

Like the one in the farmhouse.

A memory rose up like a ghost. The farmhouse. I was standing on the porch while the lights blazed out of the windows, like it was a welcoming home. There was a porch swing that creaked, and I'd pushed it back and forth so that its squeaks filled the night. They almost drowned out the sounds from inside.

I could just picture them inside—the way they had looked dressed in blood, Carnage over them with the dripping knife and the smile across his face—and then I shook my head, chasing away the memories. The imagination. I hadn't seen them...I had stayed outside.

I had just wanted to go camping with my father.

"He takes his time selecting and stalking his prey," I said. "So he might be reluctant to deviate from his usual M.O. After all, it's kept him free so far."

"But you think you can be a big enough lure to draw him out." Pax paced around the dining room, looking as if he would like to pummel someone.

"Yes," I said simply.

The voices of the Demon and Carnage arguing still rang in my memory.

Over me.

"The girl messed up my kill..."

"You'll have to forgive my little Demon."

I shook my head. I had tried to save those people. That was why Carnage still despised me, why he would have killed me then if the Demon hadn't protected me.

I had gotten ahead of them, running to the farmhouse.

It had been a nice old grandmother type who opened the door. I had been desperate, wild and afraid for them. She had let me in and tried to understand my wild babbling. But there were no phone lines out there on the mountain, no cell reception. Even when she was convinced they were in danger, there was no way to get help.

"Carnage will make an exception for me," I said. "He hates me."

"But you're so lovable," Cain drawled. He seemed to feel better after reminding me that he owned me. I couldn't hate him for it.

After all, I owned him first.

"You psychos happen to be the only ones who think so."

"The world is stupid." Remington shrugged.

"But we have to find him first," Pax said. "We're not doing this unless we can be sure we have a trap for Carnage. What if we lose you to him?"

"We'll be ahead of him," I promised.

"Give me a little longer, and I'll know where he is," Remington said. "At first glance, it looked as if there was no pattern to his attacks. But everything has a pattern. I've already got a program running to help us figure him out."

Pax groaned. "I thought we were just going to kill people, but you're going to bring this back to math."

Remington grinned. "Everything comes back to math."

It felt like there was no way I'd sleep that night. We had nowhere to go yet, and the clock was ticking down on my mother's life. As the guys wound down for the night, they glanced over at me, clearly needing me to be in the midst of a hot guy cuddle puddle in order for them to sleep.

I pretended not to notice, puttering around in the bathroom. I’d found a lot of beauty products in the bathroom vanity; I was trying out what it would be like to be one of those women with their lives together and a seventeen-step nightly regimen. I dangled a purple, freesia-scented mask between my fingers and debated which of the guys I could convince to play with me.

Then Cain came in.

“What is it?” I held the mask up toward his face, though I’d definitely vote Cain least likely to let me paint his nails.

His hands wrapped around my hips and he backed me up until he had trapped me up against the wall. "I think I need to leave my mark on you. In case we have to identify your body."

I scoffed. "You smooth talker."

But despite my teasing, my body responded to Cain the way it always did. His hand slid into my hair, winding it around his fingers so he could pull my head back. His lips were rough and punishing and perfect against my lips, my throat. I wrapped my leg around his lean waist, tilting my body back as his lips plundered mine.

He nipped my throat, his teeth stinging, and I let out a gasp as he began to suck a bruise. Cain was unforgiving and rough and took every bit of my attention.

Which was exactly what I needed at the moment.

He cupped my chin in his hand, pressing his thumb against my lips to keep me silent. He broke away from me to kiss his way down my body, tearing off my clothes as he went, leaving a trail of kisses and marks over my skin.

A moan slipped out of me as Cain's mouth found my breast through my bra, his teeth scraping over the nipple. Then he ripped off the bra. Cain's hands on my body were hot enough to leave me dizzy. He sucked my nipple into his mouth, and my hips rocked hungrily, seeking his hard muscled body.

I pulled at his shirt. I traced the sculpted muscles of his chest, and he groaned, his lips on my nipple again, tugging and sucking.

I traced the lines of his chest, his abs. I needed to feel the weight of him, his massive size weighing me down, holding me to this earth when the memories and fears threatened to overwhelm me.

He took my hands and pressed them against the wall above my head. The full length of our bodies pressed together. The fabric of his jeans was rough and hard against my thighs as he parted my legs with his own muscular thigh, and my wrists ached from his bruising touch in the best of ways.

Cain was everywhere, and it was exactly what I needed. There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to be in Cain's arms right now, to have a respite from the terrible world.

I arched into his mouth, his teeth, his tongue. He palmed my breast, his thumb teasing against my nipple, sending thrums of desire straight to my core. His other hand trailed down my body to the edge of my panties, then slid to cup me, hard and confident as if my body were his own. His hand worked against my clit, and I rocked greedily, riding his hand.

"There's something different about you lately," Cain murmured into my ear. "I think you need to be reminded just who you belong to."

"We covered this."

"And now I'm going to cover you in my cum." His hand twined in my hair again, and he drew me with him as we moved down the hall to his room. He gave me another claiming kiss as soon as we were in the door, then told me, "Bend over the bed."

It felt like a release to have Cain order me around. I slipped off my panties and bent over his bed.

"Lower," he said, his heavy palm pressing down on my lower back, grinding my nipples into the soft silky sheets. "I want to see that perfect pussy that belongs to me."

He kicked my legs apart. Cain paused to undress, then pressed a hand to my back.

My core clenched, expecting his hand against my aching pussy, but instead he slapped my ass. The noise was loud in the quiet of the room. It stung, but it was pleasure at the same time.

His palm slid against my flesh, tracing a line that was both pleasure and pain—two sides that should be opposite but seemed so right together.

"Cain," I murmured. "Stop playing around and fuck me until I forget."

"Oh no," he said. "I'm going to fuck you until you remember. You were ready to put yourself in danger today. I saw it in your eyes. Don't you ever give up, Aurora." His voice was unexpectedly raw as he added, "We all need you too much."

I turned my head over my shoulder, needing to see his expression, but the cruelly handsome lines of his face gave nothing away now.

"Who do you belong to?" Cain demanded in a growling voice.

"You," I moaned.

"You're mine, and I'm going to use you for my pleasure," he told me. "And I'm going to still be using you for my pleasure if it means the world fucking burns."

I spread my legs wider, begging him without words.

He pressed his cock against me. I spread my legs, trying to push him in. He smacked my ass again, his fingers burning as if each one had left an individual welt.

"Not yet," he told me with a dark laugh in his voice. "You're still getting what you deserve."

He traced a pattern between my cheeks, then smacked my pussy again. I almost snapped up, the slap sending molten fire and pleasure mixed together pulsing through my body, but his big hand pressed me down again.

My fists clenched against the sheets. Cain thrust two fingers into me, slow and deep. "I'm going to fuck you now. I'm going to fuck you all night until you can't think of anything but my cock between your legs. Until you know you're always going to come back to me, not give yourself up, because I," he pulled his fingers out, only to slap my wet pussy. I clenched as if I were going to come, but I couldn't resist him as he went on, "I," slap, "own," slap, "this," slap, "pussy."

He plunged his cock into me, hard and hot until it made my knees shake. I had to put my forehead on the bed to stay upright. My hips rocked, driving him deep into me, and I moaned again. My arousal was slippery between my thighs, his cock rubbing against my clit with every thrust.

His hand slipped around to my front to cup my breast, rough and possessive, and his mouth was against my ear. He drove harder and deeper, and my hips rocked, moving in sync with him as if we were one being, as if we were made to fit together like this.

With every thrust, he slid over my clit, sending heat and bliss through me until it seemed that nothing existed but his hands on my body and his cock inside me and his breath against my throat.

Slowly, he moved until I was on my knees, my head on the pillows. He pressed down on my back, the weight of his body pinning me to the bed. I cried out as he slammed his massive cock into me, hard enough to rock me forward. His thrusts became shorter and harder. He kissed down my neck, his hot tongue leaving a wet trail over my skin until he pulled my hair and told me, "I'm going to cum in you now."

Between my legs, I clenched around him as if I could hold him inside me, if only for a moment longer.

He pounded into me a last time, and I threw my head back as I came, the bliss tearing through my body, sharp and sweet.

Cain gave one last thrust and filled me with cum, his cock twitching and pulsing with each jet. The white-hot heat of him inside me made me shudder from the force of my own orgasm. He gave a dark chuckle as if he knew what he was doing to me, and I moaned, unable to stop.

When Cain withdrew, I whimpered from the loss, but he came back with a cloth to clean me up. His hand wiping the rough, warm washcloth through my folds and over my swollen, sensitive clit made me moan all over again, and he gave me a look that was distinctly self-satisfied.

He lay next to me and pulled me into his arms, and I curled against him. I felt heavy and tired, as if sleep were pulling against me.

"I'm here," he murmured. "I'll protect you."

I knew he would.

But given how little Cain cared about anyone else in this world…I worried what he would do to protect me.

3

AURORA

I n the morning, I woke up to find myself too warm. Cain's muscular arm was draped over me, tucking me into his side, but Stellan had come in sometime during the night and was laying with his forehead against mine. The three of us were intimately close, and I just lay there for a few heartbeats, feeling warm and content in a way I knew wouldn't last. When I glanced beyond Stellan's broad, bare shoulder, I glimpsed Pax sleeping just beyond him. After all, Pax and I needed each other at night.

Stellan's eyes blinked open, his deep blue eyes meeting mine.

"Good morning," he whispered, before kissing between my eyebrows.

"Good morning." I threw my leg over his, enjoying the comfort of his body against mine. I hadn't thought I'd be able to sleep, but I'd slept deeply after Cain.

He pressed a gentle kiss to the side of my mouth, and I returned it, kissing him more deeply, as I slid over him to straddle him. He groaned as I kept going, climbing over Paxton too so I could leave the bed.

"I know," I whispered, reluctant to leave the three muscular forms sleeping in the early morning light. "But I need to talk to Remy."

"I try not to do that before nine am," Stellan said, but his eyes said he understood no matter how glib he sounded. "I'll go with you. I can't sleep if you can't."

Stellan eased off the end of the bed, leaving Cain and Pax—I wondered if they might snuggle—and in just his boxers, he padded ahead of me to open the door.

Down the hall, Remington's door was open. When we walked in, he obviously hadn't been to bed yet, and he looked exhausted and rumpled. But he held out his arm to me, and I went and sat on his lap. He wrapped one arm around my waist as he pointed at his screens.

"I think I triangulated Carnage's location to within a twenty-mile radius," he said. "He tries to avoid leaving an obvious pattern, but no matter how superhuman he thinks he is...he's not."

"If we have a twenty mile radius, I'm sure he'll find me," I said.

Stellan looked grim. He and Remington exchanged a look.

"That's not happening," Stellan said. "Unless we have eyes on him first, you're not playing bait."

"We don't have a lot of time." I couldn't stop thinking of my mother's face. When would the Demon get tired of keeping her alive to keep me dancing?

Maybe never. I knew how much he wanted to control me. But he was never tolerant of my weaknesses, either.

A sudden jolt of fear ran through me as I studied Stellan and Remington and realized... they were my weaknesses. Along with Jenna and my mother, they were the only human connections in the world I cared about.

I'd kill Carnage for my mom. That would buy us time, and then I'd find the Demon and kill him. For them. Then I would be free, and I'd never need to kill again. The thought sent a shiver of relief through me.

"Here's what we have working for us," Remington said, pulling up a map on screen. "There are only so many plots of land in this area. I've been cross checking ownership, trying to eliminate people who aren't potential suspects. Aurora, you know Carnage's face, right?"

"Yes." One little word with so much weight behind it.

"Then once we've narrowed it down, we just need to get close."

"Without him seeing us. Especially Aurora," Stellan said, and when I gave him a look, he said, "We need to be able to spring the trap. We can't tip him off."

"And here I was afraid you might be all overprotective."

Stellan scoffed. "I kidnapped you before, remember? I wouldn't underestimate you. I know just how dangerous you are."

I sighed. "Life was simpler back then. Just you, me, and a knife."

Remington brought up the digital trails of the people who owned land in that area. We clicked through photo after photo, eliminating people who didn't seem to be linked to Carnage.

"It never fails to amaze me how much information people leave about themselves on the internet," Remington muttered.

"Meanwhile, I just have to worry about what oversharing other people do on the internet to break me," I teased him, remembering the hell he had unleashed to bring me under control. Not that it had worked for them.

I pressed a kiss to his stubbled cheek. He'd been working too hard all night to shave.

"Just don't run away from me, and you never have to worry about what I'll do to get you back." He returned the kiss, although he claimed my lips, his touch surprisingly gentle given the depraved things he’d said.

I wanted to keep going with Remy—and draw in Stellan too—but I forced myself to shift, straddling one of Remy's muscular thighs as I kept clicking through the photos. "What if someone else owns Carnage's house?"

"We'll figure something out," Remy said. "It's too bad you never heard his real name."

I shook my head. "I called him Uncle Carn. He and the Demon thought it was amusing. But I don't think even the Demon knew his real name."

Stellan had pulled up Remy's extra desk chair—since I certainly didn’t need it when I could perch on these men instead—and he drummed his fingers absently on the desktop. "Do you think Carnage is keeping tabs on you?"

I nodded. "I've never worried about him because I have plenty of other things to worry about, but...now that my name is out there..."

"Sorry," Remy said, though he never sounded particularly apologetic about anything.

"That can work for us, though," Stellan said. "If he's got a Google alert set on your name or something, and we can make it seem like you're running..."

"I like it," I said. "I've already been expelled. But that hasn't hit the news yet..."

"I can fix that," Remy promised.

"But we still have to make sure we're two steps ahead of him."

"You're a lot smarter than Carnage," I said.

"Well, obviously." Remy was always the soul of modesty.

"Let's get some breakfast while Remy works on that," Stellan said, and Remy's hands were on my hips, guiding me up, though they lingered on my body as if he didn't want to let me go.

Still, these men were trying to take care of me, so he pushed me off into Stellan's arms. Stellan looped an arm casually around my neck as the two of us sauntered down the hall.

The Demon and Carnage had taken me camping. Wholesome fun with two serial killers. I remembered the scent of barbecue rising into the air. The way I'd covered my mouth and nose, unable to bear the smell, once Carnage explained where he'd gotten it. I'd choked on the scent.

The Demon and Carnage had laughed about my reaction. Carnage had been nice enough to give me the whole bag of marshmallows to eat instead.

"He's a cannibal," I said quietly. "But at least he takes his time killing his victims because of it. So if you did lose me, there would be time...he'd want to taunt my father, I bet. To make it clear he won in the end."

"He's not getting his hands on you." Stellan's eyes had gone steely, obviously angry about the very idea, but then he softened as he looked down at me. He wrapped his arms around me as one of the staff came in to take our order. "I know I was a huge dick to you, Aurora. But I'm going to take good care of you. I'm going to make it up to you."

"You already have."

He cocked one eyebrow at me, as if he were skeptical, but we weren't going to talk about our sordid history in front of anyone else. Instead, we ordered creme brulee french toast and eggs and coffee.

"Might as well make it for five," Stellan said. "You know I won't have you to myself for long."

"But we can make the most of it," I said, and he had his hands on my hips and had sat me on the edge of the table practically before I could finish.

I grinned. The private dining room was so elegant, with its view of the sparkling lake and fine china and the smooth cool mahogany of the table...under my ass.

Stellan kissed me hungrily. I moaned into his mouth, lost in the heat of the moment. His hands roamed over my body, tracing the curves of my hips and the slope of my back. I pulled him closer, pressing my body against his as I deepened the kiss.

"Get a room," a familiar deep voice interrupted, as Pax appeared in the doorway.

"We have a room," Stellan gestured around the dining room, not bothered in the slightest, as he kissed me again.

Pax strode into the room, looking sexy and dangerous in a t-shirt that clung to his muscular body and a pair of gray sweatpants. He dragged me off the table and onto his lap as he sat down in a chair.

"Rude," Stellan chastised.

"I'll fight you for her," Pax said without missing a beat.

But just then, the staff came in carrying our breakfast, and the two of them stopped fighting over me and watched me eat instead as if they needed to know I was all right. The delicious scent of the food filled the air and the french toast melted on my tongue. I didn't really need coffee when I had the two of them, though.

Remington sauntered in. "I think I found our man."

"How?” Stellan asked.

"Who lives in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have a driver's license? It has to be a fake name."

"Well done," Stellan said, his admiration for Remy evident on his face. "What's the name?"

"Gregory Johnson," Remy replied. "No social media, no online presence, no driver's license. He's a ghost."

"Highly suspicious in this day and age," Pax agreed.

I couldn’t wait, so we abandoned breakfast and headed out right away.

4

AURORA

P ax and Remy took one side of Carnage’s property, and Cain, Stellan, and I took the other.

I was trying to focus on a murder, but my best friend kept texting me.

Jenna:

Did I tell you I got a new roommate? Did I tell you she’s a pain in the ass?

Aurora:

Does she wake up screaming? Your last roommate was pretty annoying too.

Jenna:

Nooo. I love you. I think I need to see you in person to tell you about her MANY TRANSGRESSIONS. Can you do dinner tonight?

Cain took the phone out of my hand. “Focus.”

Cain, Stellan, and I sat in one car and watched the edge of the property, but Gregory-slash-Carnage wasn’t moving. We needed to get a look at him to know if it was truly him.

“Don’t be a dick,” I said, holding my hand out to him. “Give me back my phone. I’ve barely been around for Jenna, and I need to keep our friendship alive.”

“Jenna knows how special you are,” Stellan said from the backseat. “She’s one of the rare ones who can see it. She’ll understand.”

“I like him,” I mouthed at Cain, who looked distinctly unimpressed.

Cain scoffed. “You don’t need girlfriends. You have us.”

“Oh, you four are part of why I desperately need girlfriends,” I said. “You’re all insane. You’d drag me down into your insanity and I wouldn’t even realize what was happening without some little spots of normal.”

“You’re the most insane of all of us,” Cain said.

I frowned at him, and he leaned over and caught my hair in his hand, dragging my face to his so he could kiss me. He kissed me hard, his lips caressing mine open until his tongue thrust against mine. When he pulled away, his hand still in my hair, his eyes were dark with desire and I was breathless.

“I love your insanity,” he told me. “It’s not an insult.”

I was far too turned-on at the moment for someone with an urgent mission, and I squeezed my knees together, pushing away the desire to fuck two of my favorite people in the backseat on the road outside a potential serial killer’s house. Common sense could only cause that flame of desire to flicker…a little.

“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “I could pretend that I need his help… because the Demon is coming after me. And since they’re enemies, I thought maybe the enemy of my enemy could be my friend…”

Cain raised an eyebrow at me, his powerful arms spread to either side, one slung behind my passenger seat. “That’s a stupid idea. He’d have to believe you’re stupid.”

“In my experience, lots of men are strongly inclined to believe women are stupid. It might as well serve us sometimes.”

"I'm not sure you can fake stupid very convincingly, Aurora," Stellan said.

"Try me," I responded, twirling a strand of hair around my fingers. "He hasn't seen me–that I know of, at least–since I was eleven years old."

"What if he tries to take you?"

"Then we'll know just who he is, and you white knights will come riding to my defense."

Cain gave me a long look.

"Please," I said. "The clock is ticking. I have to help my mom."

Cain shrugged. "Alright. I'm all for moving the timeline up on dealing with your father and mine. I'd like to get back to peace and quiet."

"Peace and quiet?"

"Yeah. Fucking you with a gag in your mouth. Making you scream but not letting you. That kind of quiet." He touched his thumb to my lip.

"That's your idea of peace?"

"My idea of peace is taking your ass with my hand on your throat while my friends watch," he said, and his dirty words sent a shiver of desire down my spine. "Hey, we're all fighting for something."

The reminder that we'd have to face his father—who had tried to kill me once—would've weighed on me if I hadn't had far more pressing dangers to deal with.

Stellan called Pax and Remy to tell them what the plan was. Remy told us that he'd found surveillance set up around the perimeter of the property—enough that it seemed highly suspicious.

He had, of course, already taken care of it.

"Does that mean he's tipped off that we're here?" Stellan demanded.

"Of course not," Remy said over speakerphone. "You insult me. It's all looped video and audio. He's not going to realize there's anything wrong."

"Aurora's counting on you," Cain warned him.

I didn’t need to see Remy to picture his beatific smile as he said, “You all always are.”

"Would he be able to see our car?" I asked.

"Nope," Remy said. He texted us over an image of how the cameras were wired and what areas they observed. He had cameras stationed all through the woods around his house, which gave me a creeping feeling up my spine.

"Well, drop the loop along the driveway. I'm going in and he needs to know I'm coming."

"I hate this," Pax said, his voice a rumble in the background.

Cain shrugged. His muscles were coiled, ready for a fight, but he still had that careless, flat affect. "We'll get this over with fast. Either he's our man and he'll try to take Aurora and she can get to killing him, or he's not and we can move on."

Cain and Stellan got out of the car.

I slid into the driver's seat, then drove the car slowly up the mile-long driveway. There were cameras watching me from the trees, and it sent a chilling feeling through my insides.

I parked the car and stepped out into the yard in front of a squat little farmhouse. There was a faint scent of rotting meat that brought with it a rush of bad memories and a rise of goosebumps on my arms.

I didn't expect Carnage to just open the door if I rang the bell. I was suddenly very sure it was his house.

That smell...

I opened the driver's side door, ready to escape again. I'd tell my men about my intuition, and we'd set a trap.

But the front door was already opening.

A tall man stepped out onto the front porch. "Can I help you, young lady?"

His face looked different—so did mine—but his voice was familiar. His face mostly looked different because not only was he ten years older, but there was a scar across his face, and his nose had obviously been broken.

"Hey there, Uncle Carnage," I said, because there was no point in pretending. He'd no doubt seen my updated photo in the news. "Do you remember me?"

“Of course I remember you, my bloodthirsty little friend.” Carnage studied me with a malicious glint in his eye. “How did you find me?”

"Dad told me where to find you a while back." We could pretend the Demon was the smart one.

"Is that so? What does your dad want?"

"He doesn't want anything." I chewed my lower lip, trying to look afraid. My phone chimed in my pocket, and Carnage's gaze sharpened.

Then it chimed again, and again.

Jenna had some fast fingers.

"I need some help," I said. "I know you've been mad at me the last few years..."

"Mad at you?" he asked skeptically. "You were just a kid. You can't be blamed."

I stared at him. Carnage had been furious after I tried to save those people in the farmhouse. I remembered him ranting to my father. She's out of control...

"I've grown up since then," I said. "I understand more about the world. But my father..."

"He wants you to still be his little murdery girl?" Carnage let out a laugh. "Jesus, it's like Dawson's Creek meets Dexter."

"You know he's loose, right?"

"Of course. The two of us always keep track of each other."

"He's got my mom," I admitted. "He wants me to come back to him."

"I know," Carnage said. "I already talked to him."

My blood curdled.

My phone chimed yet again.

"You talked to him?"

"He told me he was sending me a present," Carnage answered, flashing me a dangerous smile.

My dickhead father. He might want Carnage dead, but he would never make anything easier for me.

I was ready for Carnage to make a move, but he didn't. I was sure if I leapt at him, it would be some kind of trap.

Someone lunged out of the shadows toward me. I spun just in time to see a woman racing my way. She slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.

Carnage dropped on top of me, holding a chemical-soaked rag over my mouth and nose. It burned against my skin.

"I found my own girl to help me hunt," he said. "Just like you used to do for your dad."

I struggled against his weight, against the chemical that made the edges of my vision darken, against that accusation. I'd done everything I could to keep my father from actually catching his victims.

But as the world started to fade to dark, a memory sank in. The farmhouse. A woman's scream. And me standing there with the door open, welcoming Carnage and the Demon in.

In my memory, that room was already soaked in blood.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the memory and the rag. That had never happened. It was the drugs playing tricks on me.

I pulled the knife loose from the holster on my thigh. The woman screamed a warning, but it was too late.

I plunged it into Carnage's side.

I pushed him off me as he screamed, leaping to my feet. It wouldn't kill him, but then I couldn't let him die yet.

She was thin, alarmingly so, her eyes bugging out of her face. Carnage had called her a girl, but he must have a real loose definition.

She grabbed an ax that had been leaning up by the woodpile. Then she charged at me, letting out a wild shrill scream.

I went for the gun hidden under my jacket, at the small of my back.

My phone dinged insistently.

She swung the ax toward me. Her face was a mask of terror and fury.

A gun went off. I was still pulling mine out.

She let go of the ax and tumbled to her knees in front of me.

Cain strode out of the woods. His gun was gripped confidently in two hands. The other guys emerged a split second later.

"Nice shot," I said shakily. No one likes being rushed by an ax murderer. No matter how shitty your life has been, there are some things one never gets used to. Ax murderers make the list.

"What did you do?" Carnage screamed, trying to gather the bleeding woman into his arms.

"Would you look at that," Stellan said, stopping beside me and looping his arm over his shoulders. "There really is someone for everyone, no matter how pathetic."

Carnage raised wild eyes to mine and went for the ax.

"Nah," Stellan said, stepping forward and kicking Carnage in the face.

Carnage flew through the air and landed heavily on his back before his demented–and dead–bride.

"Time to get to work," Cain said cheerfully.

"That's right," I said, as the guys gathered a weeping, raging Carnage up and roughly searched him for weapons. "Daddy wants a video."

5

CAIN

W atching Aurora work was magical.

The Demon had asked her to flay Carnage alive. She handed me the video camera. We didn't want any trace of this on our own phones. "I know you've got steady hands."

She meant, she knew I was the biggest psycho in this crowd and the one who wouldn't flinch when skin was peeled away.

"Tell me about Carnage," I suggested as she moved toward his bound body, which was on his own table now. We'd found his play room in the basement. There were rows of videotapes from his own victims. I’d popped one into the VCR and caught a minute of a woman screaming desperately while he inserted a drill into her ear.

Which made the way he was blubbering now feel quite satisfying.

"God, I hate having to cut his clothes off." Aurora wrinkled her nose as she began. To him, she said, "You could have killed a few less people and spent a little more time at the gym. More Weight Watchers, less human flesh?"

"Aurora, I can help you with your father," he babbled.

"You are," she promised with a smile.

"You killed her..."

"Yes." She finished sawing through his shirt and paused, the tip of the enormous hunting knife she held lightly resting on her chiseled cheekbone. "Who was she, anyway?"

He started to babble a story, doing anything he could to prevent the torture from beginning. This guy had probably thought he was quite the badass when he was hurting other people.

"She was supposed to be one of my victims."

"That explains the missing hand," Aurora said. "She would have been able to swing that axe a lot better if you'd left her with two hands. Then you might not be here, hmm? I might be the one on the table."

Aurora made sympathetic noises in response to his wailing, then went on,"But you two overcame that little misunderstanding where you ate part of her and you found true love?"

"She wasn't the only one I had down here then," he panted. "She...promised to help me."

"Dark," Aurora said. "Doesn't make me feel worse about peeling you like an overripe banana." She glanced up at me. "Does anyone ever remember to make banana bread?"

He made a desperate sobbing sound. I thought the way she was random was cute. Others apparently found it even more terrifying.

"Aurora...come on," he pleaded. "We were good friends when you were a kid."

"You've hated me since I tried to protect that family from you at the farmhouse," she said.

He looked lost for a second. "I was mad at you then, yes. But you were just a kid. They must have attacked you and you went a little crazy. It wasn't your—"

He let out a scream as she slid the tip of the blade under his skin and began to slice it away.

"What was he saying?" I asked Aurora.

"Some made up story," she said with a shrug, which made her knife slip a little; the point rose up through his skin. He let out a shrill, piercing scream that almost went out of the register for human hearing. "I tried to save this family when Carnage and the Demon took me with them when they were hunting. They were furious."

"You were just supposed to go in and open the door for us," he managed, looking as if he were about to lose consciousness.

"Get the shot ready in case he passes out, okay?" Aurora asked. "The Demon wanted him awake for it all."

"You don't have to do this," he begged.

"I do," Aurora said. "And the truth is, I don't really feel bad about it."

Aurora

I felt mixed up about what Carnage was saying. I was sure he was lying, but it felt almost like I had two overlapping memories about what happened at the farmhouse.

And they couldn't both be true.

How did I know which one was real?

He was trying to confuse me. He was trying to get me to doubt myself.

I pushed all that out of my mind as I focused on the task at hand. His eyes fluttered shut and I gave him a hard smack across the face.

"No passing out," I said. "We've barely gotten started. I don't want to waste your meds yet."

Drool poured out the corner of his mouth because his mouth kept opening and closing. Sometimes people in so much pain barely looked human. God, this was disgusting. My father had assigned me what was quite possibly my worst punishment when I was a kid, forcing me to skin corpses he'd already killed. For practice, he'd said. But the assignment had always come after I defied him.

Still, I went on doing my work. I used to disassociate from it, and so I let Carnage's voice fade and I just cut.

There was a pile of bloody ribbons at my feet when Cain's voice broke through my dissociation. "Aurora?"

"Mm?"

"He's dead. But we've got the video."

I hadn't even noticed when he stopped screaming.

"Oh."

"Stay with me." Cain's strong fingers took the knife from my hand. "What's going on?"

"Sometimes I don't know who I am," I said in a voice that was a whisper, because otherwise it would break.

"You're mine, of course." His hands cupped my chin.

"Sometimes I'm scared of what I can do..."

"I'm not."

He gathered me into his arms and carried me up to the bathroom in the house. Stellan waited on the first floor with Remington and Paxton, who must have just arrived, and they rose to their feet, but Cain shook his head quickly at them. He carried me into the bathroom.

"You are so fierce, Aurora. So fucking sexy. So dark, so perfect."

His voice grounded me in the moment.

Those two strange, conflicting memories slid away, and there was nothing but Cain.

I rested my hands on his chest, then realized I'd covered him in blood. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry," he ordered, taking my bloody hands and cupping them to his cheeks. "You and I are never sorry."

He turned his face to press a kiss to my palm."You're beautiful dressed in blood. He deserved it, Aurora. You stopped him from hurting anyone else. You protected your mother."

I stared up at this icy-eyed man who looked like a god, and I let myself believe.

For a few moments when I was killing Carnage, I'd...liked it. I didn't know what to make of that. I was supposed to be afraid.

But Cain told me I had done the right thing and I let myself believe him. It didn't matter if I'd liked it for a moment.

The world was a better place without Carnage.

Just like it would be a better place without the Demon.

I looked up at Cain, and he was watching me, with something careful in his gaze. There was always a little psychopathic edge to Cain's gaze, though strangers didn't seem to see it until it was too late. He was always assessing. Analyzing. Adjusting how he responded to maximize his effect.

But when he looked at me, his gaze softened. It was real.

His lips met mine in a hot, passionate kiss. His hands slid along my body, removing the blood soaked clothes. He bent and kissed my throat, his teeth nipping my skin hard enough to hurt, and I rocked hungrily against him.

Heat licked between my thighs. Cain's hands were rough as they roamed over my skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. I reveled in his touch, craving more of him with each passing moment.

As our kisses grew more feverish, Cain's hands found their way to my breasts, caressing them with a roughness that sent shivers down my spine. For a moment, I forgot about all the shadows. All that mattered was Cain's touch, the way he squeezed my breast, his palm hot against my nipple, as his mouth captured mine. He kissed me until I could barely breathe, could barely think.

It was perfect.

I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer.

He growled, his hands gripping my waist tightly as he lifted me up and pressed me against the wall. His lips were on mine again, his teeth biting down on my lower lip, hard enough to sting. I kissed him back with a bite, too, nipping at his lower lip. Then I tried to push him away, though Cain was a stone wall and didn't move an inch. He gathered both my wrists in one of his big hands and pinned them to the wall above me. Then he resumed kissing me hard, his tongue thrusting against mine, his kisses demanding every ounce of my attention. I couldn't think. My mind was almost blank, save for Cain, and his mouth, and his hands, and the way his body pressed against mine.

I was floating, barely grounded in reality, except for his muscular body pressed against me, holding me to the wall. I felt trapped and cherished, and I didn't want it to stop.

Cain's breath was hot against my skin as he kissed my neck. He wasn't deterred at all by seeing me at my most monstrous.

If anything, watching me kill a man in cold-blood had made Cain hard for me.

And I wasn't going to waste that erection. It would be a crime. Two very-deserving murder victims had died for that erection.

"Cain," I murmured.

He nipped my throat with his teeth, then straightened as my back arched at the bite. He stared down at my nipples as they thrust against his tattooed pecs as if he wanted to move his mouth there, but he paused. "Aurora?"

"I want you to fuck me."

"Oh, you do? I couldn't guess when you dropped your panties and rubbed yourself against my cock."

His sarcasm didn't piss me off at the moment, because after he finished, he dropped his head and took my nipple into his mouth. My hips bucked against him as the sensation seemed to flow like electricity straight to my aching core.

But when he paused, licking a line up my clavicle, I remembered what he'd said. I accused, "Asshole."

"Sure, we can do that if you want," he said, his hands slipping down my thighs to change his grip as he lowered me to the ground.

Before I could respond, he had spun me around and pressed me against the wall. My cheek and palms met the cool wall. One of his hands hooked my hip, and the other rubbed the tip of his cock against the curve of my ass.

"What do you say, Aurora?" His breath was warm just under my ear. "Do you want me to fuck this pretty little asshole tonight?"

His cock rubbed another circle between my cheeks, and I bit my lower lip.

"Yes," I whispered.

Cain gripped his cock in one hand and pressed his tip against my clit. He rubbed himself against my clit until I was desperate for more, pressing back against him.

"God, you're so wet," he said. "I wish you could see how wet you are for me. How pretty your pussy looks." He teased his thumb against my ass, and I jumped at first before my body settled into the tempo of his fingers there. "How inviting your asshole looks."

The combination of sensation on my clit and against my asshole had my body igniting. I moaned as Cain's pace increased, my hips rocking back toward him. I wanted him inside me.

"Please..." I didn't know if I was begging him to fuck me or to stop teasing me.

"Please what?" One of his hands withdrew from my hips and he gripped my hair, pulling tight. "What do you want?"

"I want you to fuck me."

"You want me inside you?" he asked, his lips against my ear. "In your pussy?"

"Yes!"

"And you want me to fuck your ass?"

"Yes!" I moaned.

He pushed the tip of his cock against my ass and I pushed back against him.

"Hold still," he ordered. I struggled to obey as he held his cock there, not moving. He placed his other hand on my hip and used that to hold me still. His fingers dug into my flesh.

He teased my asshole with the head of his cock. I tried to push back, but he didn't let me.

"You're not taking control. You're my toy." His grip tightened on my hips as I tried to move again. "Who's in control here?"

"You," I said, my voice a little desperate.

He pushed, just slightly, against my asshole and I moaned. I wanted him inside so badly.

The pressure built as he pushed against my tight opening. I bit my lower lip, wanting more even with the slight burn as he pushed inside. Then the burn was over. He was in, sliding so deeply into me that it felt like he filled both my ass and my pussy. I let out a cry as one of his hands cupped my breast and the other fell between my thighs, working my clit as he slowly pulled out, then thrust in again. I bit my lip to hold in a scream.

I couldn't keep still. Every time his cock slid against my sensitive walls, my body jerked. My hips rocked back against him.

I gasped as he pulled out of me just a little before pushing back in.

"You're wild, and people walk past you and don't really see you," he said, his voice low. "I love it."

My pussy clenched with each thrust of his cock. The friction built as he took me in long, slow strokes, pulling out of me just a little before pushing back in. My breath came in gasps.

His thrusts came quicker and quicker as he pushed me closer and closer to my orgasm.

I wanted to come. I needed to come. My body tightened around his cock.

"Cain!" I screamed as the orgasm swept over me.

My hands clutched at the wall as I rocked back against him and ground my hips against his hand, his cock. The orgasm went on and on, my whole body tingling as Cain thrust into me. Then he groaned behind me and his hand tightened on my hip as he came inside me.

I pressed my forehead against the wall, my body shaking as Cain emptied himself. I tried to catch my breath.

When he pulled out of me and turned me around, I was still dazed with pleasure. I was a limp ragdoll as he carried me to a bed and lay down with me in his arms. I pressed my face against his chest, breathing in the scent of his expensive cologne. He stroked my hair.

"That was amazing," I admitted to him. "But I want to be in charge..."

I pushed him down onto the bed.

Cain's lips curled up, his eyes dark with desire. Or challenge. Or both.

And my lips met his in a hot, intense kiss as I straddled him.

6

CAIN

A urora felt better after making contact with the Demon and verifying that Carnage was dead—and that he wasn’t going to murder her mom. Today. We still needed to get her back, ASAP.

Aurora also felt better after the ass-fucking.

I lived to serve.

“You're a real selfish bastard, do you know that?” Pax asked as we drove back. It was just Pax and Aurora in the car as I drove, so apparently Pax felt comfortable openly speaking about his jealousy.

I was always comfortable and ready to talk about his jealousy, so I was fine with him initiating this conversation. “Is this because I fucked Aurora and didn't invite you?”

“We were just on the next floor. It would have been polite.”

I wasn't sure I'd ever heard Pax talk about being polite before. Aurora snickered, and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Well, get used to it. I’m going to be a selfish bastard any chance I get.” I reached over and ran my fingers through Aurora's hair. Her back arched, her head pressing my hand between her and the smooth leather seatback, as if she liked it. I knotted my hand through her hair. “And if you bitch about it, I'm going to drag Aurora over the gear shift to suck my cock and make you watch.”

Pax rolled his eyes and gave me a disgusted look before sitting back. “Fine. Then don't be surprised when you get left out of all the orgies around the house.”

“I'm not going to get left out.”

“We're not gonna invite you when you're being a dick.”

“I don't need you to invite me. Aurora will.”

“We do need to talk about how this relationship is going to work,” Aurora said.

“You’re mine, obviously,” I said. “And I'll share you with them.”

Aurora let out a laugh. “That is not how this is going to happen. If anything, you're mine, Cain. ”

“I bet your asshole’s still throbbing from my cock,” I reminded her, and her knees squeezed together subtly. She certainly was.

“It is. Because I wanted you,” she said. “And I’m actually the one who is in charge.”

“Yes, definitely going over the gear shift—” I reached for her, but paused as my phone rang. Aurora and I exchanged a look, since it was my mom’s number. My thumb hovered over the button on the steering wheel to answer. “Try not to say anything weird.”

“Us?” Aurora asked, looking skeptical, which was rich. I eyed her as I answered, and she mouthed at me, “You’re just making me want to do absurd things. Like pretend to be sucking Paxton’s cock?”

Paxton, in the backseat, visibly brightened. Why pretend, when she could have the real thing?

“Hi Mom,” I said, my voice coming out even flatter than usual. “I’m busy, what is it?”

“Hey, honey.”

There was a long pause. It dragged on so long that it started to irritate me. “What?”

“I just feel sick about the fact that you and your father are having an argument,” she said. “Remember, life is too short to hold grudges.”

“He killed Paxton 's mom,” I reminded her.

“Ohhh,” she said, her sigh a long breath out as if she could make enough white noise to block out the truth. “But Cain, he’s your father. You only have one father.”

“What do you want, Mom?” Life is too short not to hold grudges. I cared too much about myself and the ones close to me to ‘forgive and forget’, which I would bet would be her third platitude.

“Can you come to dinner?” she asked. “We can talk things out?”

“Tonight?”

I sighed. I wanted to spend the rest of the day either dismantling the Demon or buried deep in Aurora. “Fine.”

As soon as I hung up, Aurora asked, “Did she sound distressed to you?”

“She always sounds distressed if you disturb the cozy little world she knit herself by hardly ever leaving our compound except to shop with an armed guard.” Despite what I said, I knew what Aurora meant. Aurora was so attentive. She saw and heard everything, just like me.

“Do you think Alexander forced her to call you? Do you think he might be dangerous to her?”

The question made sense, given the particular kind of monster Aurora had grown up with, but I shook my head. “My fucked up family is different than your fucked up family. My parents would never hurt each other. They would choose each other over me.”

I pulled into the driveway of the house. Aurora looked shocked. “Do you really feel that way?”

“It doesn't bother me.” I reached over and grabbed the back of her neck to pull her face toward me. Those big luminous purple eyes met mine. “I would choose you over everyone else.”

We met up inside with Remy and Stellan to talk about whether it was worth going to see what my parents had to say. “I'm sure this meeting is my father's idea. I think it's worth trying to gauge his plans. You know I can do that.” I glanced around at the other guys, who knew how good I was at reading people. When I cared to. They nodded an agreement.

That general agreement vanished the second I said, “But I'm going to go alone.”

“That's stupid,” Aurora said.

“No, you all distract me, and you slow me down. And I put the odds at 50/50 that things really go to shit with my dad today.”

“You just love us,” Remy said. “You want to protect us.”

“I want the three of you protecting Aurora,” I said. “I know how much my father cares about protecting his wife. He'll assume Aurora is my weak spot.”

It was a correct assumption.

“Do you want us to go in and get his wife? Extract her so that we can use her to negotiate?” Pax demanded.

Stellan leaned over to him, and in a stage whisper, said, “That’s his mom.”

“Let's save the acts of open war for now,” I said. “I want to go and see what they say.”

My father used to always say that chess might be lost by the king, but it was won by the queen. Knowing how he felt about the importance of a woman to motivate a man, he might come after Aurora.

He must have been thinking of the same philosophy, because my mother called me again a few moments later. “And I forgot to mention, honey. Please bring your girlfriend. Aurora. She was so sweet. I would love to see her again.”

“I'm not going to do that.”

“Oh, honey, you have to! Your father won't agree to the meeting otherwise.”

He didn't want his queen on the table unless I had mine.

AURORA MIGHT BE GOING in with me, but Stellan and Remy and Pax were standing guard just outside.

Stellan eyed the goons on the other side of the driveway. “So we're having a goon standoff.”

“I'm glad you're accepting your natural place as one of my minions.”

“I'm only your goon for the day,” Remy said. Then he winked at Aurora. “I’m always her goon.”

I offered Aurora my arm, and then she took it, her fingers delicately resting over my forearm. She said, “You’re unusually gallant today.”

“I just want to keep you close.” I’d forced Aurora into a discreet bulletproof denim jacket that Stellan had ordered for her from a body armor company that I had ties with. But it wouldn't do nearly as much as the tailored bulletproof suit that I wore, so I wanted to be ready to put my body between her and any attackers while I mowed them down.

We might be going to brunch, but we're still heavily armed.

My mother teared up as she hugged me hello when we walked into the expensive Italian tiles lobby. My father watched me with hard eyes.

“Hi Dad.”

Aurora

All I really wanted to do was participate in the conversation with Cain and his father. They were trying to negotiate for peace or a duel or something. I couldn't hear, because Cain’s mother was so intent on having a conversation with me.

“Do you have a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens basic book? I really think that's the gold standard in cookbooks,” she told me.

On the other side of the table, Alexander was saying, “You must think I'm an idiot if—”

“Do you, dear?” she prompted.

“Oh, no.”

Overheard: “The only way we’d have peace is if—”

“They have Cain’s absolute favorite brownie recipe. He doesn’t like them too sweet. Oh! And you should have his favorite granola bar recipe. You should really make him homemade granola bars, they’re so much better for you both—”

Overheard: “—too fucking bad, then—”

“I don’t care about the best brownie recipe!” I admitted, perhaps louder than I intended. Even Cain and his father stopped talking and looked at me, and she looked absolutely shocked. Slightly more quietly, I said, “I mean, I do. I love brownies. But what I want to talk about is what comes next for us.”

“Oh, you want to focus on the future?”

I knew Pax very much wanted to focus on the past. I had seen the way he'd looked toward the house, as if he were thinking about storming inside and shooting Cain’s father. But Pax understood the terrible ripple effects that would have.

“I want to discuss it.”

“The only future you two should worry about is the next five minutes.”

Cain tensed.

His mother said, “Oh, dear.”

Cain didn't look away from his father. “This merits a full-on oh shit, Mom.”

“You have five minutes to get out of here,” Alexander said. “You and I are done, Cain. I'm willing to let you live out of respect for your mom, but you're cut off. You'll never go near any of my business, and if you do, I will track you down. All five of you. And I'll burn you alive. Understand?”

“You don't want to start a war with me, Dad.”

“I wouldn't start a war with you. I'd fucking nuke you.”

The two of them stared each other down, just for a second, but we were in his house, and we had to get to ground where we had control.

Cain shielded me with his body as we moved toward the doorway, and as soon as he was behind me, he pulled up the hood on my jacket. It slid over the back of my hair, offering what meager protection the jacket could from a bullet.

But we made it to meet Pax, Remy, and Stellan. They took one look at us and no one needed to say a word before all five of us were moving, quickly and smoothly entering the car. Pax had it in gear before we even had the doors closed.

Cain

As we drove home, Remy said, “Well, it sucks that you're cut off, but at least we won't starve. I've put some money away.”

I rolled my eyes. We all knew Remy had made himself rich.

“If we needed it, I could do a fight too. I've gotten a few offers lately. Lots of money on the table,” Pax said.

“I would be surprised if my father could leave it at cut off and not murdered.” My hands flexed. It made sense for Pax to be our wheelman, so I could focus on things, but I hated that I wasn't the one driving right now. “I got the vibe that he was planning something else.”

I tried to manipulate him into showing me his hand. Unfortunately I had learned a good amount of what I knew about manipulating people from him.

Remy swore abruptly. He was looking down on his phone, but that was not exactly an unusual thing. “Like emptying my bank account? Or something...I can't access my bank account.”

My hands flexed again. “He was planning something, and this was part of his plan. He wanted us out of the lake house and focused on him–”

In front of us, the lake house exploded.

7

AURORA

F unny thing, when someone takes your money and blows up your house, you have to get creative.

Which is what we were doing tonight.

The city lights shimmered in the distance as we approached the warehouse park, drawn by the promise of the high-stakes fight Remy had found out about online. A fight that could solve our temporary financial woes.

It would also keep Cain off the warpath while we plotted a somewhat more cool-headed plan to get back at his dad.

And I meant somewhat with all the sarcasm I possessed.

The warehouse park was a shithole, its desolate appearance casting a shadow over the area. Rows of dilapidated structures, their weathered walls marked by time and neglect, stretched out around us. The once vibrant colors of the buildings had faded, now a muted reflection of their former glory. The atmosphere was heavy with an air of abandonment, as if the ghosts of forgotten industry still lingered within the cracked concrete and rusted metal.

As we ventured deeper into the warehouse park, the signs of illicit activities became more evident. In the dimly lit corners, shadowy figures moved with a sense of urgency, their hushed whispers punctuated by the occasional exchange of small packages. The unmistakable scent of narcotics hung in the air, mingling with the dampness and decay, a reminder of the darkness that thrived in this forgotten place. Graffiti adorned the walls, an art form born from rebellion and desperation.

My senses were heightened as we walked, attuned to the edginess of the environment. The occasional flickering streetlight cast eerie shadows, heightening the sense of danger and intrigue. The ground beneath my feet was littered with debris and discarded remnants, a testament to the forgotten tales of the past.

This place was even shittier than the locations of Pax’s other fights.

But maybe its raw, gritty allure fit us now. Maybe we’d never belonged in the sparkling hallways of college. Maybe we belonged in places where secrets whispered in the wind and desperation bred an undercurrent of survival.

Fuck. I was a bit messed up after that Carnage kill. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and Stellan cast me an inquiring glance. Always seeing me, as usual.

I’d loved that about him. But now…

Now I wasn’t sure how much I wanted him to see.

We turned the corner and there was the entrance. A bouncer, a hulking figure trying and failing at exuding an aura of authority, stood sentinel at the door. His stern gaze swept over us for a moment, before his face dropped into a hesitant smile.

“Paxton Jones, fuck. They didn’t tell us you would be here tonight.” He and Paxton did one of those weird handshakes that guys did with each other, and I held in my snort. Beyond the doors he was guarding, a thumping bass reverberated out, wading through the cool night air.

“Good luck tonight; my money’s on you,” the bouncer finally said, granting us passage after Cain huffed in annoyance. It was the first time there was fear in his eyes—staring at Cain. His eyes slid right past me.

Rookie mistake.

The door swung open, revealing a cavernous space teeming with life. Hundreds of people packed the warehouse, their voices blending into a deafening symphony of anticipation and excitement. The air crackled with energy, carrying the scent of sweat, adrenaline, and the promise of untold fortunes.

We wandered through the warehouse, our gazes centered on the fight already unfolding in the center ring. The pounding bass of the music swirled around us, melding with the murmurs of the crowd that had gathered around the makeshift arena.

The ring itself was better than most of Paxton’s other fights. A raised platform, encircled by flickering lights, drew everyone’s attention like moths to a flame. The crowd pressed against the metal barricades, their hands reaching through the bars, desperate to feel a part of it all.

The fighters going at it right then looked vicious. One was lean and sinewy, his muscles honed for speed and agility, while the other one seemed twice as wide, brawn and sheer strength clearly his weapons of choice. Beads of sweat glistened on their taut, slick skin as they danced around each other. Each punch landed with bone-crushing force, eliciting gasps and roars from the enthralled sheep around us.

They hadn’t seen anything yet. I glanced over at Paxton and saw the same small smirk on Paxton’s face that I was sure was on mine.

The fight escalated in front of us, drawing my attention away from Pax, the announcer's voice rising above the chaos, his words dripping with a frenzied enthusiasm that matched the fervor of the crowd.

The smaller fighter unleashed a flurry of relentless attacks. Blood splattered, bodies slammed against the mat, and the air vibrated with the sheer force of the fighters’ collisions.

And then, in a climactic crescendo, the fight reached its conclusion. One last strike, followed by a collective gasp that seemed to hold the entire room in suspended animation. Time stood still as the big lug crumpled to the ground like a tree, the echoes of his fall resonating throughout the warehouse.

The crowd erupted, and I winced at how fucking loud it was. The fighter left standing had clearly sustained some head trauma, his previously sharp and focused gaze now appearing hazy and distant, and he was swaying in place as if he’d lost the ability to stay upright.

“Don’t let that happen to you,” I tossed at Paxton, nervous energy running through me.

He just winked at me, because he was an asshole like that.

“I’m going to go to the locker room and get ready,” he said, smacking a kiss against my lips before sauntering away.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea, and whispers spread out in the crowd as they realized who he was.

“Stop looking like a kicked puppy; you can fuck him in the locker room later,” Cain drawled.

“I would never!” I said sarcastically, and all three of them grinned.

“Do you know who he’s fighting?” I asked Remy since he was the one who set it all up.

He smiled excitedly and leaned forward. “Damien 'The Viper' Vega.”

“That’s really his name?” I responded incredulously.

“What’s wrong with his name?” Stellan asked, a small smile on his lips.

“Fighter names are just weird. I mean…what would your fighter name be?” I asked them.

Remy snorted. “Remington “The Thunderbolt’ Taylor,” he answered quickly…as if he’d spent a lot of time thinking about it already.

We all stared at him incredulously for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“What?” he snapped defensively. “It’s a good name.”

“Okay, ‘Thunderbolt’,” said Stellan. “You keep telling yourself that.”

Remington stuck his tongue out as Cain let out a heavy sigh as if he was fucking above it all.

Which we all knew he wasn’t.

Just then, the music changed, a heavy club remix of Nine Inch Nails filling the warehouse, signaling that Paxton was walking in.

The screams of the crowd grew deafening. The girl in front of me literally slumped to the ground, passed out, like the adrenaline from Paxton entering the room was too much for her.

“Remember when we used to have cheese fries at these things,” I complained, my stomach rumbling.

“Best I can offer you is a cold beer, sweetheart,” Stellan murmured, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me closer. I snuggled in closer to him, trying to calm my heartbeat that wouldn’t stop trying to race out of my chest. “He’s going to be fine.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “Why does it feel like you can see inside my brain?”

He stared at me, the look on his face…undecipherable. “I wish I could.”

Before I could question him on what he was thinking, the crowd somehow got even louder, to the point that the walls of the warehouse were actually rattling.

Paxton had stepped into the ring.

He leaned against the metal barrier, his body relaxed and his expression seemingly detached. His gaze wandered lazily across the crowd, his eyes half-lidded with a hint of disinterest. It was as if he were in a world of his own, unaffected by the surrounding chaos and the pulsating energy of the warehouse. Paxton seemed almost bored, as if this fight held no real significance to him. The anticipation of the crowd and the fervor of the moment appeared to be nothing more than background noise, failing to ignite any spark of excitement within him.

Combined with those tiny black shorts of his…that displayed everything.

I was literally frothing at the mouth, my panties wet, my body primed for this perfect specimen of a man.

“Down girl,” smirked Remington in my ear.

I was about to snark back when the music rolled to a remix of “Welcome to the Jungle.” “The Viper,” I presumed.

The guy definitely had a…formidable presence. He was a beast, seeming to fill all the space around him, his muscles rippling beneath a tapestry of intricate tattoos. By the looks of them, he was a big fan of the devil. His body was adorned with piercings, glinting in the dim light of the warehouse. Silver rings were in his eyebrows, his nose…his lips, adding an edginess to his already menacing appearance.

But it was the tattoo across his forehead that drew the most attention—a word etched in bold, indelible ink: "Murder." The letters stood out starkly against his skin, quite the declaration to the world.

“I’m sure he has lots of friends. He looks like a really greaaat guy,” I drawled, watching as he jumped over the metal bars of the ring with a predatory grace, his eyes locked on Paxton with an unwavering intensity.

The madness of the room grew quieter, the atmosphere heavy with anticipation as spectators leaned in, drawn to the volatile energy emanating from him.

“It’s the fight you’ve all been waiting for. Paxton Jones vs. Damien 'The Viiiiper' Vega,” the announcer screamed, which was really unnecessary because the crowd was already pumped. “It’s tiiiime!”

The bell rang and the Viper struck first, launching a flurry of lightning-fast jabs that seemed to blur in the air. Paxton's defensive reflexes kicked in, his muscular frame moving with uncanny agility to evade the onslaught. But The Viper was relentless, his punches raining down like a storm, each strike threatening to find its mark.

I shifted in place, trying not to get worried as I watched Paxton. No matter what The Viper did, Paxton remained unfazed. The only sign he was even trying was the way his muscles tensed, and his eyes narrowed with an unwavering focus. Paxton skillfully blocked and parried, narrowly dodging devastating blows that could have sent him sprawling to the mats.

The Viper's attacks grew more ferocious, his strikes fueled by a dark, savage energy. A crimson stain mingled with the sweat on Paxton’s brow after one particularly brutal hit.

“Why does he insist on playing with his food?” complained Remington, somehow sounding bored with it all.

I elbowed him in the gut, never taking my eyes off the fight. The Viper's blows seemed relentless, each one packing a bone-crushing force that threatened to shatter Paxton's defenses.

As the fight progressed, the tide began to turn. Paxton's blows grew in intensity, each strike landing in the perfect place, designed to inflict the maximum pain. With just a couple of hits, The Viper’s face was marred with bruises and blood. His steps faltered under the relentless assault, and his movements slowed, his once-confident stance wavering.

“I want cheese fries!” I called out, and Paxton shot me a grin and then winked at me.

I was surprised I didn’t get pregnant at that very second.

Paxton obviously heeded my words, because his next hit was so hard that the whole warehouse could hear The Viper’s ribs cracking. Blood shot out of his mouth and he staggered forward. The crowd erupted in a chorus of bloodthirsty frenzied cheers, not giving a fuck that The Viper was obviously very, very injured.

I was actually impressed when The Viper didn’t immediately surrender. He gritted his teeth, summoning what must have been the last remnants of his strength, launching a final desperate, pathetic punch.

Paxton grinned, a bit psycho-like, I could admit, and unleashed a devastating uppercut that connected with a sickening thud. The Viper's body arched backward, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he crumpled to the floor, out for the count…and possibly dead.

The sound barrier was threatened as the crowd erupted, so loud I was sure my eardrum was about to burst. Paxton threw up one fist, his chest heaving, as he grinned at the crowd.

The announcer was trying to get his attention, but he jumped out of the ring and strode right towards me. I threw myself in his arms, not caring about the sweat…or the blood at all as I wrapped myself around him.

“Good fucking job,” I told him breathlessly, wanting to mount him right then and there. Before I could do what I wanted, a couple of goon-like men tapped on his shoulder.

Paxton groaned. “Got to go collect the winnings, sign some autographs. Meet me in the locker room so we can…finish this?”

“Definitely,” I practically whimpered as he slid me down his body, the hard ridge of his enormous dick hitting all the right spots. I watched as he walked away.

“You better look at me that way when I walk away,” growled Cain suddenly, scattering my lusty thoughts.

“Win a fight for me and maybe I will.” I stuck out my tongue at him and he snapped his teeth at me.

“You guys flirt really weird,” commented Remy, waving a huge stack of bills in my face—his winnings for the night from all the bets he’d made. And those were just the one’s he’d done in person. I had no doubt we were much better off than we had been before stepping into this warehouse.

We watched as The Viper was dragged off the mats like a carcass of meat, leaving a trail of blood behind him. It was really nice how they treated their participants in these fights.

I noticed, at least, that his chest was moving up and down. So he was still alive—for now.

He probably should do something about the whole ‘murder’ tattoo thing though. I wasn’t sure that was good for his life expectancy.

After waiting for another half hour, I decided even if Paxton wasn’t done signing autographs, he was going to be done signing autographs.

A girl had needs, after all.

“I’m going to go hang out with Paxton,” I told them before walking away and leaving them to the bullshit they were currently throwing at each other.

I quickly made my way through the crowd, who in fact did not part for me as they had for Paxton earlier. Along the way, I tried to channel my inner peace, which was very lacking at the moment.

I hadn’t said anything, but I was a little unhinged about the situation. We were fighting wars on multiple fronts, and if we didn’t need this money, I would have never been okay with a fight tonight—we were dealing with too much to handle Paxton potentially getting hurt. At least it was over. Everything was fine. I could breathe—I pushed open the heavy locker room door, and my eyes widened in shock at the scene before me. There, standing in the center of the room, was a woman clad in nothing but a barely there bra and underwear–the areola of her boobs clearly visible. There were a couple of other fighters getting ready in the room, but her attention was fixed on just one of them. Paxton. Who was unwrapping his hands, an annoyed look on his face, and his gaze carefully averted.

Good boy. Wouldn’t want to have to stab him in the dick right after he’d just won, when I was in need of that dick.

I lost it at that point. Without a second thought, I instinctively reached for the weapon concealed in my pocket as I strode towards the girl, grabbing her hair and dragging her to the wall where I slammed her against it. The cold steel of the knife met my fingers as I brandished it, my grip tight and determined as I held it against her neck. I watched, like I was having an out of body experience, as a drop of blood beaded and then trailed down her neck from where I’d pressed too hard in the skin.

My gaze was fixed on her wide-eyed terror, how the color drained from her cheeks…how her lips were quivering with a mix of shock and fear.

My voice was laced with venom as I hissed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The room fell silent as my words hung in the air, punctuating the tension that had gripped the space. Paxton was mine. And no low level fighter groupie was going to touch him. I didn’t care if he wasn’t interested. It wasn’t allowed.

Whimpers were streaming from her mouth as I pressed the knife in harder, another trickle of blood caressing her skin. It was amazing how fragile we were as humans. One inch more and her artery would be severed. And she’d be gone…just like that.

“Aurora,” Paxton murmured from behind me. “Put the knife down, baby. No need to murder someone on my behalf.”

“No need? She was going to touch you.”

His body rumbled against my back, my nipples hardening into points. “Love when you get jealous, sweetheart…but the sheep are getting scared.”

I tore my gaze away from her neck, to the other fighters in the room who did indeed look like they were about to shit their pants.

“Just let her go,” he whispered soothingly, his breath on the back of my neck sending goosebumps spiraling across my skin. Paxton started humming, and it took me a second to focus on the tune long enough to realize it was our song. “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.

I took a deep shuddering breath as I finally calmed down.

“The knife,” he reminded me gently.

Oh right, it was still pressed against her quivering skin.

I slowly removed it, keeping my gaze locked on hers the whole time as I glared at her, so the threat was clear.

“Run,” I finally commanded.

She screamed. Literally screamed. Before she scurried towards the exit. “You’re a psycho,” she tossed behind her, not brave enough to say that to my face. I was faintly aware of Paxton groaning.

Wrong move. I darted forward, grabbing that long hair again, and swinging her towards the wall.

“Holy shit,” someone muttered. “I’m so turned on…and terrified.”

Paxton growled, but I paid them no mind, turning around so I was facing him.

“I’m very turned on right now,” he sulked. “Are you going to do anything about it?”

“Most definitely.”

The other fighters were keeping to the far side of the room in a group now, like that could protect them from the crazy woman.

News flash.

It couldn’t.

“Out,” I growled, still keeping a tight hold of the squirming, squirreling worm in my hands.

The fighters dashed out of the locker room like their balls were on fire.

“Are you going to let her go so we can fuck?” mused Paxton, his hand gripping his length through his briefs as he leaned sexily against the lockers that had definitely seen better days.

I was about to…but then I had a better…weirder idea.

“Odd question, but you don’t happen to have any handcuffs, do you?”

“This is getting kinky, but I’m ready,” he responded, digging into the black jeans he’d been wearing earlier and pulling out…a pair of handcuffs.

We’d have to talk about why exactly he was carrying a pair of those around with him at a later date. Right now, I just wanted him.

I gave the girl’s head a vicious yank and pushed her towards a rusted, thick pipe in the corner.

“Get off of me, you freaking psycho,” she pleaded, obviously not well-versed in the notion that you got more flies with honey than vinegar.

She would have already been out of here if she’d learned that lesson at some point in her life.

I let go of her hair and grabbed her hands, heaving them over her head in a painful angle so she wouldn’t be able to move…and then I handcuffed her to the pole. Facing the other direction, obviously. She could hear…but she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the view. That view was just for me.

The girl screamed, not realizing…or too stupid to understand…that no one would hear her in the pandemonium happening outside.

And even if they did…no one would care.

“Here,” said Paxton, tossing me one of his dirty socks that he’d probably had in that gym bag for way too long, along with some duct tape that I also needed to ask him about. Maybe Jenna had given him advice about proper bag contents.

“Excellent.” I gripped the girl around the neck and forced the dirty sock in her mouth before taping it.

This was definitely going to be a night she would never, ever forget.

I swung around to lock eyes with Paxton, his eyes heavy lidded, a faint blush to his cheeks. “Come here, baby,” he ordered in a lust-drunk voice. I was a little aware of the girl’s faint moans behind me…but I also decidedly did not give one fuck about them.

A guttural noise erupted from his chest as he reached out and grabbed me, turning us and thrusting me against the lockers. They rattled with the impact, the cool metal feeling like a caress against my skin in the suddenly steamy room.

“Did you wear this skirt intentionally to fuck with me?” he growled, his fingers thrusting under the skirt in question, dancing across my soaked underwear before he deftly slipped under my thong and expertly rubbed at my clit. His other hand kneaded my ass possessively as I writhed against him, my immediate moans filling the room.

“You’re soaked, princess. You’re such a fucking dream.”

“It’s your fault. Give me what I want,” I murmured right before his lips crashed against mine. He ate at my mouth like a starving man and I opened up willingly to the deep thrusts of his tongue.

“Fuck,” he growled. “I can’t wait.”

He ripped my thong off like it was nothing—good thing we had some cash now to buy me more. And then he thrust my skirt up so that my ass was bared to the empty room.

“Spread your legs,” he ordered before reaching down between us and pulling the band of his briefs under his rock hard length.

I was desperate for it.

He pressed his hard dick against my clit, the tip of it gliding back and forth through my folds. I let out a strangled noise and he laughed.

"I can't wait any longer," he growled before slamming into me until the backs of my thighs were flush against his.

I lost the ability to breathe for a moment, my brain completely blank.

When I came to, I realized I was chanting, "yes, yes, yes," over and over again as I fluttered around him.

"That's my girl," he purred, lifting my hips slightly and thrusting up inside of me so that my ass slammed against the lockers, the sound rattling around the room.

I was so full, it was impossible to think about anything other than this moment.

Fuck," he groaned. His grip on my hips tightened as he held me against the locker and started fucking into me with desperate, hard, rough moves.

"This has to go," he muttered, his gaze pulling from my face down to my chest where I was wearing a tight black spaghetti strap shirt.

He yanked on the front, and one of my straps snapped as my breasts were exposed. His mouth immediately closed over one of my nipples, sucking hard.

I cried out as he bit down. I was lost in the sensations of his mouth on me, and his thick cock moving in and out. I was a writhing mess as I gripped onto his shoulders, so hard that my nails bit into his flesh.

He made a deep, hungry sound as he moved to the other nipple, and his thrusts slowed down, like he was intent on trying to torture me. The glide of his hips was suddenly lazy and smooth, ripping apart the orgasm that had been building from his previous hard rhythm.

"Paxton," I complained, trying to move my hips faster. But he kept a hard grip on my hips, pushing them against the locker so I couldn't move at all. His tongue licked and sucked at my sensitive tips and he laughed against my skin.

"You could learn some patience, princess," he purred as his teeth grazed my nipple once more.

"Please," I begged again, feeling like I might cry if he didn't go faster.

He chuckled lowly, and I had the urge to stab him.

Paxton continued the excruciatingly slow movements for another minute or so before he moved me to the bench, laying me down against the hard, cold wood.

He hovered over me, his cock still somehow all the way inside me. He braced one hand above my head and the other one around my neck so I was once again pinned into place.

"Do you want hard, Aurora? Need me to fuck this tight pussy until you scream?" he snarled.

All I could do was whimper in response, and when he slammed into me, my body went limp with relief.

His lips melted against mine, his tongue sliding in deep in the same rhythm as his cock that was now hammering into me.

"You are so fucking perfect," he growled as he stretched me wide. "You take me so good.” Arousal spiked through my insides at his praise.

I clung to him as he moved in and out of me expertly.

"Rub your clit. Make yourself come on my cock," he whispered in my ear, the tip of his tongue coming out to lick against my skin.

My hand immediately jerked down and I rubbed feverishly, so happy that I'd have some level of control over my orgasm now.

"That's it, baby. Come for me," he ordered.

At his command, an orgasm bloomed inside me and I came so hard that I temporarily blacked out. When I came to, his hands had stretched my legs up to my shoulders and he was slamming into me, watching his cock move in and out with a feverish glint to his gaze.

"Yes. Fuck. You’re perfect," he growled as his biceps flexed and bulged with his movements. There was a bead of sweat falling down his gorgeous face and I wanted to lick it off.

"More," I begged, and his thrusts somehow became faster, until I was moving up the bench with every thrust.

"I’m about to come. You better come with me," he said in a pained, gravelly voice. I went to work on my clit again, and a few thrusts later, I was once again falling over the edge as he shuddered against my skin, his cock pulsing inside of me.

His groans filled the room as he buried his face in my neck. “So fucking good every time," he muttered, sounding surprised.

My tongue darted out and I finally licked up the bead of sweat I’d been watching before, unable to help myself. He pressed a soft kiss against my trembling pulse in response.

“Congratulations, Pax,” I whispered, and his grip on me tightened.

Cain pushed through the door just then, raising a quizzical eyebrow as he took in the scene of Paxton balls deep inside me on a bench while a lingerie clad woman writhed desperately against a pole—and not in a sexy way.

“This looks…fun.”

Paxton snorted, pulling out of me with a low groan. He pulled his briefs up without cleaning himself up at all.

“I’m ready to get out of here,” Cain said grumpily, obviously wanting to know what happened without having to ask us to tell him.

I made a point of ignoring him as I attempted to clean myself up with one of Paxton’s towels and then pulled down my skirt like I was a fucking lady—and hadn’t just been thoroughly fucked in a dirty locker room.

Paxton wrapped one arm around me and grabbed his bag with the other.

“Are you leaving her like that?” Cain asked interestedly.

I shrugged and Paxton pulled the key out of his pocket, tossing it behind his shoulder…not even close to where she was handcuffed.

“Someone will eventually let her out,” he said carelessly.

We walked out then to where Stellan and Remington were waiting for us, and we headed out of the warehouse into the night.

Another successful fight night under our belts.

8

AURORA

L ate that night, we gathered around the table in our new hotel suite. I finally scrolled through Jenna’s texts, feeling guilt wash over me. I’d been so busy that I hadn’t had time for my best friend. I’d been slaying Carnage while she was in crisis, and even though I had good reasons for being so far away…I still felt guilt tighten my stomach as I scrolled through the texts.

JENNA:

Aurora! Where are you? I need my bestie!

Oh my god, can you murder my roommate for me?

Well, you’re probably the wrong person to suggest that to, huh?

She is the absolute worst.

Did I tell you how much we look alike? Same hair color, build, similar faces. Like she could be my long lost sister.

Except for the fact she is ANNOYING AS FUCK.

I wish you were my long lost sister!

Okay, it’s been long enough that we are clearly not doing dinner. Don’t tell me you’re abandoning me, Aurora. I will keep my faith in you! I love you!

I glanced at the clock. It was after midnight. I doubted Jenna wanted me to call her right now.

AURORA:

Let’s meet up tomorrow! Tell me all about it!

God, I couldn’t even have a normal best friend situation. I wanted to be there for her so badly.

Then Paxton served me up cheese fries and a smug smile. I set my phone down on the table and smiled at him. I’d fix things with Jenna when she woke up.

I perched in his lap, his muscular arm circling my waist as I ate my snack.

My cheese fries were hot and melty and delicious, but Pax was even more tasty.

“To another win,” Remy said, holding up his glass, “not that we ever had any doubts.”

“And to not being homeless,” Stellan added.

“I’m not sure it counts as being homeless,” Pax said, “if you’re sleeping in a $100,000 car.”

Their banter washed over me, warm and comforting. There was something about the way my men talked to each other.

Cain kicked back and watched us all, idly toying with the heavy crystal glass full of amber liquid. He tapped the glass with one long finger, looking like some dissolute king. “Once we’ve taken care of one fucked-up father, we have to take care of mine.”

“We don’t have to wait,” I said. I was feeling generous after the evening. As long as I didn’t have to share my men, which obviously brought out my worst inclinations, I could share my time and my knife work. “After all, your father definitely deserves to pay for what he just did to us. I had all my makeup in the lake house.”

“I do have an idea,” Cain said. “We could use some new guns anyway.”

“What are you thinking?” Remy asked. “I love it when you’re naughty.”

Cain ignored him, but I was pretty sure that Cain ignoring him so studiously was part of the fun for Remington. “We could take control of a shipment of my father’s goods and make it look like he never delivered.”

“We’d have to get it while it was in transit,” Stellan said.

Remington cracked his knuckles and gave us all a beatific smile. “That sounds fun.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Stellan disagreed. “It sounds like a second battle in a war. And we don’t need a war right now.”

“My father did start it,” Cain drawled. “He has to know that there will be consequences.”

Pax’s body had tensed, his arm tightened around my waist. “There has to be bigger consequences for what he did to my mother.”

“There will be,” Cain promised.

“Once he knows that we’re going to bite back, he’ll come after us with everything that he has. If he thinks that we’re scared, he’s got no reason to come after us. We can buy some time while we deal with the Demon,” Stellan disagreed.

Cain set the glass down on the table. The thump of the crystal on the mahogany was a sharper sound then I was sure he intended. Cain didn’t like to give anything away.

“Stellan’s right,” Remy said. “Egos aside, the most important thing is getting Aurora’s mom back. We have the rest of our lives to plan how to end Alexander for the most drama and gore. We need to focus.”

Cain’s lips tightened as if patience was beyond him, but he nodded. “I’m not sure my dad will buy that we’re scared. He knows me too well. But we can bide our time a little. We need to be ready for another attack. I doubt the lake house was the end of it.”

“And we will be ready,” Pax said. “Someone’s with Aurora all the time.”

“You all need to be careful too,” I said.

Remington scoffed. “We’re always careful. We’ve been unpopular for a long time.”

“But Alexander knows Cain doesn’t care about anyone but you. You’re the one he’d go after.” Pax squeezed my waist, nuzzling his face into my throat.

“A girl feels so special, having not one, but two complete psychopaths trying to chase her down.”

“You are so special.” Pax nipped my ear. "Good enough to eat."

"You just ate two dinners," I pointed out. He was always starving after a fight.

"And now I want dessert."

"You have to share this time," Remington chastised. "You're such a greedy bastard sometimes."

Before I knew what was happening, Cain had cleared the table with a dramatic sweep of his tattooed arm. As Pax boosted me off his lap and onto the table, Stellan grabbed me beneath my arms and dragged me back across the table so I was spread in front of them.

Remington and Pax playfully struggled for who would plant themselves between my thighs. The two of them went crashing to the floor–accompanied with a lot of cursing from Remington–and while they were busy, Stellan grinned and leaned over the table to kiss me.

Stellan's kiss was soft and warm, yet full of a primal hunger that made my body shiver with desire. I opened my mouth to him, welcoming his tongue as it swept inside. His hands roamed over my body, exploring every curve and dip as he deepened the kiss. I moaned, my fingers tangling in his hair as the pleasure built inside me. Cain pulled down my dress roughly so he could run his hands over my breasts, his palms rough in all the right ways against my nipples. He bent and sucked my nipple, and my hips bucked toward him, full of need. The two of them took all my attention.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my thigh and gasped as Paxton joined in, his kisses hot and demanding. Remington was not far behind, his own hands wandering over my body with a sense of ownership. Four pairs of strong hands roamed over my skin, igniting a fire that consumed me.

"You're all too much," I breathed, lost in a haze of pleasure at the feel of their lips and hands on my body. For a moment, there was nothing else in the world but the five of us, lost in our own pleasure.

"We're never too much," Stellan murmured in my ear, before his lips found the sweet spot just under my ear on my throat that always made desire pulse between my thighs. "We were made for you, and you were made for us."

"To take our cocks," Pax added, because lord forbid we make things too sweet.

Remington grabbed my thighs and yanked me down to the edge of the table. The others' hands skimmed over my body for a second as they lost their grip on me. Remy gave me a triumphant smile just before he settled between my thighs, his face buried in my pussy. The unexpected rub of his whiskers on my skin made me cry out. Pax leaned over my body and licked one nipple before sucking it into his mouth and biting down. I moaned at the sensation, and at the way Remy's tongue slipped inside my pussy and curled around my clit. His mouth was warm and intense, and the pleasure built in waves as he devoured me. The two of them were relentless, making me feel every second of their combined attention.

Soon, my body was quivering with need, my hips bucking against Remy's face as he drove me higher and higher. The world spun and dissolved around me as the four of them worked me over. This was what it felt like to be in a tornado–everything around you disappearing while you were caught up in the storm. And it was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

I let out a cry as my orgasm tore through me. Remy kept lapping at my core, his hands circling my thighs so he could keep thrusting his tongue deep inside me. Stellan kissed me, his mouth swallowing my cries of ecstasy, while Cain toyed with my breasts, stroking them the way he did so well until I might come just from that, from the twinge of pain when he tweaked my nipples and the sweetness of his mouth.

My hands were everywhere, running over four different bodies, each muscled and tattooed and perfect in their own ways. I was so full of need that I didn't know where to touch first, didn't know where I belonged.

Stellan lifted my leg and wrapped it around his waist, his cock pressing against my entrance as he repositioned us so he was beneath me at the end of the table. I was still so sensitive from Remy sucking my pussy that I almost came again when he slid inside me.

Paxton moved behind me, and I felt the head of his cock teasing against my entrance. Desire throbbed inside me but also uncertainty.

"It'll feel so good," Cain said, his dark eyes filled with lust. "When all of us are inside you. When we can feel your heat against all of us at once. You'll feel so full, this tight little pussy will milk each of us dry. And nobody but us will know how good it feels."

"I want it." I did, but it was a scary thought. Four grown men, taking me at the same time. Feeling each of them inside me, filling every inch of my pussy. It was overwhelming, yet I wanted it. I wanted to be so full of them that I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything except feel them. "I don't know if I can take all of you. Not all at once."

"We'll go slow at first," Remington said, moving around us so he could stroke the head of his cock through my lips. "I don't want to hurt you, Aurora."

"I trust you." I kissed him, but only for a moment. I wanted him inside me, and I could see he was ready. I wanted him to fill me even as I knew there wouldn't be enough of me to take all of them at once. Not yet.

Paxton slid inside me, taking his time, inch by inch. The pleasure was delicious, and I couldn't hide my moan that rose into the air, my fingers digging into Stellan's shoulders as Paxton thrust into me, slow and steady. Paxton nuzzled my neck, his body pressed tightly against mine. I could feel his heart pounding, and I knew he could tell how close I was to coming.

Cain's fingers played in my hair, his touch sending electric tingles across my skin, as he drank his whiskey with his other hand. His eyes were dark and smoldering as he watched us. "You are so fucking perfect, Aurora. I want to watch my friends take every hole."

Remington covered my mouth with his, kissing me over and over, before he pulled out his cock and teased it against my lower lip.

"Suck me, Aurora," Remington said, his voice low and his eyes sending fire through me.

I opened my mouth and took the head inside, sucking hard as the pleasure built up inside me. Paxton and Stellan thrust into me harder and faster, and I was lost in a sea of tongues and cocks. Our bodies moved as one, pleasure taking us over as we lost ourselves to each other. This was like being caught in an impossible dream.

But it was real. These men were real, and so was the way they loved me, and the wild orgasm tingling through my muscles.

The three of them moved at the same time, working their cocks in and out of me, stretching me to the point of pain. But it didn't hurt. It felt so good, felt so right to have them inside me. Their bodies pressed against mine, and every inch of me was full of them. I shivered and shook with need, my hips bucking between Pax and Stellan's as they drove into me.

The moment Remington came I lost myself, my body clenching around them, convulsing before they could even join me. Pax slammed into me from behind and gripped my hips as he joined me, his cock filling me as he came. A second later, Stellan followed him over the edge, his lips parting in pleasure. As Remy pulled out of my mouth, Stellan grabbed my hair and yanked my face down to his, covering my mouth in a kiss so he could swallow my scream. The pleasure was overwhelming, and my body was shaking, my entire world spinning around me with the force of my orgasm. When I finally came down, I collapsed against Stellan, gasping for breath. I felt like I'd been running a marathon, my body still trembling.

Paxton lifted me off Stellan effortlessly and carried me across the room. He sat on a chair, his hand stroking my back as I curled up in his lap. I felt like a rag doll, still weak and quivering.

"I can't move," I said, as Pax pulled me closer.

"I'll carry you back to the bedroom. You need your rest."

I shook my head. "No, I can walk. I'm just...It was so much. I can't believe how good it felt. I didn't know it could be like that."

He smiled and kissed me, his fingers tracing my temple. "You were made for us, Aurora. You have no idea how good it's going to get."

"I think the four of you were made for me."

He twined his fingers with mine. “That too.”

We got up and went through the suite, back to the bedroom. The rest of the night passed in a blur as each of them made love to me. By the end of it, my entire body was sore and sated, but I knew I wanted more. I wanted all of them. I wanted them to touch me, and to love me, and to fill me with everything they had.

I wanted them to claim me. To make me theirs. To marry me. I wanted to belong with them. Just being with them was so perfect and so intense that I knew it would be impossible to live without them. I'd never been with a man before, never even considered it before, and now I was wrapped up in four of them.

And even though the world was a dark place...with all four of these men by my side, I'd never been happier.

9

PAXTON

T hat night when I couldn't sleep, still wound up from the fight–and probably the amazing sex too–I found myself slipping out of bed with her. I had to climb over Stellan and Remy, and as I climbed over Remy, he put his arm around my waist and tried to snuggle me. I was pretty sure he thought I was Aurora, but it was Remy so I wasn't one hundred percent certain. Even asleep, he might try to fuck with me.

I finally made it out, and walked into the living room in my boxers.

Cain was still up, leaning against the penthouse windows, still sipping his whiskey. I wasn't sure how he drank so much and yet never showed any impact; Cain never seemed to get drunk, never seemed to lose control.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"Yeah. You too?"

"There's something coming." He stared out moodily at the city lights spread at our feet, and the window reflected back his face. "Alexander will make another play soon."

"Do you think he'll come for Aurora?" Something inside me turned to ice at the words. I would dismantle Alexander one day for what he did to my mom. I wasn't against moving up my timeline.

I hoped Cain wasn't too attached to his father. I didn't want to fuck up the thing between the five of us, which was the most precious relationship I'd had since I was a kid.

But I couldn't let Alexander walk around with all his blood in his body for very long.

It was only Aurora's need that kept me under control.

Cain turned to me, his eyes icy blue and serious. "He might. But we'll be ready for him. We always have been. We knew this would come some day...my father was never going to pass control over to me."

I nodded, feeling the weight of his words. The four of us had always been there for each other, in every situation. We had each other's backs, no matter what.

But something about the way Cain said "we'll be ready" made me feel like he was plotting. Like he was planning something big.

He wasn't ready to talk about it, whatever it was. I'd keep an eye on him.

"I want to get something for Aurora," I said.

Cain snorted. "Good fucking luck. I bought her a car and the girl was distinctly unimpressed."

"You bought her something expensive and unemotional," I corrected. "Aurora doesn't give a fuck about expensive things."

"It's annoying." Cain turned back to the city below. "And it makes me want to buy her the world."

"We will," I said. "We'll make you the head of your father's crime syndicate. We'll get Remy's fortune back. I'll fight my way into being a multimillionaire. Stellan's being scouted for the pros."

Cain shook his head, and I knew what he was thinking: Stellan couldn't leave us. I couldn’t imagine the security would ever be tight enough given the target on his back. Not until we had taken care of Alexander.

Most of all, we couldn't have Stellan leave because of what it would do to Aurora. We hadn't talked about it yet, but sooner or later, we would have to.

"We won't just buy her the world," I added, knowing Cain worried about the same shit we did. "We'll make it safe for her."

"Damn right," Cain said.

"But for right now," I said. "I know what she wants."

"What's that?" Cain asked.

"Chocolate. She always wants chocolate." There was a fancy chocolatier in the city.

"You are not going out on a fucking errand to get her a gift right now," Cain warned. "We've got to stay together. You can try to outmaneuver us to win her over another day."

I scoffed. "I don't have to try to win her over. You're a closed-off asshole; I actually talk to her."

Cain quirked an eyebrow. "I think you and Remy and Stellan all overestimate how cute you are when you chatter."

"Anyway, I'm not going anywhere. I'm having it delivered. Is that alright with you, your majesty?"

"If you must," Cain said. "The only thing Aurora cares about having delivered to her right now is her father's head in a box, and I'll serve that up. But sure. Get her some truffles."

He shooed me off. Bastard.

A courier delivered the chocolate a little while later. I dressed in jeans and a hoodie, sliding my gun into the holster at the back of my waist. We couldn’t take any chances. Then I headed down to the lobby.

The courier was waiting for me. The doorman buzzed him in. I handed him a large tip for humoring rich fucks who needed sweets in the middle of the night–I'd never get entirely used to this, even after those years with Cain–and took the bag of chocolate. It would make Aurora smile, and my girl certainly deserved anything that could make her smile.

As I headed back toward the elevator, the doorman called, "Have a good night, sir!"

"You too, thank you."

I was almost to the elevator when the doorman headed toward it too, pushing a luggage cart. I glanced back at the lobby, which was now left unmanned and empty. The doors were locked at night, which had made us feel better about staying here.

The next thing I knew, something sharp pinched my neck. I reached for the pain as I looked around, simultaneously sprinting for the nearest corner. I turned it quickly–and came face to face with a man holding a rifle.

Tranq dart. My fingers pulled it away and I flung it to the ground, hoping it would take too long to take hold.

I grabbed the rifle, trying to take control of it from the guy since we were in too close of quarters now for me to grab my gun. I got it from him, slammed the butt of it into his temple, and he keeled over. I checked quickly to make sure he was out cold, then dragged him further back into an alcove full of potted plants. I wanted to bring him up with us for interrogation, but I wasn't sure we were alone. Getting back to Aurora mattered most.

My heart was pounding as I stood up and looked out into the lobby. The doorman was nowhere in sight. People were so fucking oblivious, it was unreal.

I took a deep breath and grabbed the man's rifle, slinging it over my shoulder. Then I headed for the elevators.

The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside, hitting the button for the penthouse. As the doors slid shut, I pulled out my phone and dialed Cain's number.

"Yes?" His voice was groggy, but alert.

"Cain, we've got a situation. I was attacked in the lobby." The words came out slurred. In the distance, I could hear Cain burst into motion through the phone, but everything was getting blurry. "I'm on my way up now. But watch out."

The elevator doors slid open on a random floor.

The doorman was there with the luggage cart.

As I slid to the ground, I realized that the tranq dart had finally taken effect. I tried to fight it, but my body felt like lead. I could hear the doorman's voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

The world faded black.

10

AURORA

"G et up, we need to move." Cain's voice, soaked in urgency, jolted me awake. Remy, Stellan, and I were moving immediately, sleep fading as we scrambled out of bed.

"What happened?" I asked, my heart racing as I threw on jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers.

"Paxton was attacked in the lobby," Cain replied, his eyes scanning the room. "We need to get out of here now."

We followed Cain out of the penthouse and into the hallway, our footsteps echoing off the marble floors. I could feel the fear rising in my chest as we made our way towards the stairs, the guys sandwiching me between them.

As we moved swiftly down the stairs, a change came over my men, and they seemed to move in unison, each of them carrying their guns in a serious, intentional way, covering every avenue.

But when we burst into the lobby, it was empty. My men quickly fanned across the room, searching it. We found a body. Someone else's.

There was no sign of Paxton.

My heart sank as I looked around frantically, panic choking my throat. "Was it your father or mine?"

"I don't know," Cain said bleakly. "But either one will hold him for collateral, so we have time to find him."

"I'm checking the security feed," Remy said, already pulling out his phone. "Watch my back."

He focused on his phone as we kept an eye out on his behalf.

Then Stellan's gaze locked on something on the floor and he moved quickly away from us. He turned back carrying a small dart, dotted with blood.

"I'd bet our mystery man was the one who shot him and he wasn't prepared for Pax," Stellan said, nudging the man with his foot–not gently.

"We need to get out of here," Cain said. "We'll take him with us."

Stellan nodded and scooped to throw the man over his shoulders. The four of us moved swiftly out of the hotel to the car. The parking garage under the hotel felt dark and eerie, but we made it safely to the car. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I settled into the passenger seat and Stellan dumped the body into the trunk. The guys made short work of duct-taping his hands and mouth, then jumped into the car.

As we peeled out into the night, I couldn't stop feeling as if we were leaving Paxton behind.

It felt so wrong that there were only four of us.

MY FATHER TEXTED me a video of Paxton. Pax was also in the trunk of a car somewhere. He was unconscious, but whoever had taken the video had zoomed in to show how his chest fluttered. I was sure the Demon had given the man taking the video detailed instructions. The Demon always had detailed instructions.

I grimly held the phone out so everyone else could see. "It's the Demon. He's got Pax."

"What does he want?"

I was typing a response to the Demon when he messaged me again.

THE DEMON:

Your boy likes to get bloody.

How do you think he'll like being on the receiving end?

AURORA:

Don't hurt him. What do you want?

THE DEMON:

I want to hear your voice, daughter of mine. I'll call you in ten minutes. Get some privacy. You won't want your boys to hear this conversation.

My jaw tense, I stared down at the phone's screen.

I was not going to keep secrets from my men.

"What's going on?" Cain asked, glancing over at me.

"The Demon wants to talk to me. He says I can't have you guys around for the conversation," I replied, holding up the phone. “That I won’t want you to hear our conversation.”

"That's not happening," Cain said firmly.

Stellan nodded in agreement. "There's nothing that's going to change how we feel about you."

I smiled gratefully at them. "Thank you, but I'm not going to keep secrets from you. We'll put him on speakerphone."

A few minutes later, the phone buzzed, making me jump.

I answered it. Only one person could be calling me this late at night. "Hi, Dad."

"Ah, Delilah. So good to hear your voice." His voice was smooth and melodic, sending a shiver down my spine.

"What do you want, Dad?"

"You took care of an old friend of mine. Now I want you to take care of an old friend of yours."

"Who?"

"Victor Kravitz."

My heart sank.

Just to make sure there was no question, my father amended, "Agent Victor Kravitz."

"What do you want?"

"Bury him alive, my girl." My father's voice seemed to curl around the words like smoke, full of self-satisfaction. Then he raised his voice slightly, as if he were addressing a crowd. "Now the three of you will see what she really is. She'll always be mine...not yours."

NOTHING WAS MORE important than protecting my men.

Not even my soul.

Remington found Victor Kravitz's address. It took a while, given he was living under an assumed name.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that the Demon was loose, and he had to know the Demon would come for him.

I wished that was going to be enough to save him.

Victor was living two states over. The Demon had only given us 24 hours for me to text back that my part of the job was complete.

The drive was silent and tense. Even Remy didn't have anything to say for once. Every now and then, Stellan would glance over at me, looking as if he wanted to say something to comfort me...but there was nothing to say. I didn't say anything. I didn't want to think about what was going to happen once we arrived at Victor's address.

"So what's the plan?" Cain asked.

"You heard the Demon. He wants me to do this alone."

"And...can you handle that?" Cain asked. "I want you to do what it takes to save Pax, but not if we lose you."

His brusque, matter-of-fact tone grounded me in what we had to do.

Victor Kravitz didn't deserve to be one of the Demon's victims.

"Yeah," I said.

"Who is this guy?" Stellan asked. "Why does the Demon want him dead?"

"Agent Kravitz was my contact bringing my father down," I said. "If one agent is responsible for putting the Demon in prison...it's him."

And it had also felt like Agent Kravitz was my friend.

I knew that was probably just the agent manipulating me. But still.

"No wonder the Demon wants him dead."

"And no wonder he wants you to do it."

I nodded grimly. I needed to stop thinking about Agent Kravitz as a human and start thinking about him as a job.

When I was a scared teenager afraid to defy the Demon, Agent Kravitz had been patient and kind. He had met with me at various fast food locations, offering protection, guidance, and french fries as I tried to escape my father's clutches. He had been the one to convince me I could turn against my father and bring him down.

But now, I had to be the one to take away his life. "But yes," I said. "Yes, I can do it. For Pax."

It was mid-morning when we arrived at Victor Kravitz's home, a small log cabin deep in the woods. It was dark and quiet, the only sound coming from the rustling of leaves in the wind.

I stepped out of the car. My men obviously didn't want to let me walk away, but they did, reluctantly, though they were ready to move at any moment.

I walked up to the door, my hand shaking as I raised it to knock.

A few minutes after my knuckles rapped against the wood, the door swung open. And there he was, Agent Victor Kravitz, looking as calm and collected as I remembered.

"Delilah," he said, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Agent Kravitz," I replied, my voice steady despite the dread churning in my stomach. "I'm in trouble."

He glanced behind him–fuck, there was someone else in the house–and then stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind him. "What is it, Delilah? What do you need?" His eyes crinkled at the corners, just faintly. "I'd ask how you found me, but I know how resourceful you are."

My heart ached as I faced him. I took a deep breath to steady myself. "I need your help."

"Of course," he said, his voice warm and genuine. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to disappear," I said, feeling bile rise in my throat. "Permanently."

Kravitz's expression hardened, his eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"I can't tell you," I said, feeling sick to my stomach. There was no way the Demon would buy this. I'd lose Pax. But the thought of killing an innocent man tore at me. "Please, you have to trust me. I'm trying to protect you."

He hesitated, studying my face. "What's going on, Delilah? Tell me the truth."

I hesitated, my mind racing. Was there any way out? Was there any way to keep both Agent Kravitz and Paxton in this world?

Kravitz's expression softened, and he reached out to touch my arm. "Is this because the Demon is loose? What does he want from you?"

His sympathy was going to destroy me. It was going to make me confess everything to him in a rush the way I had to him while I clutched a sweating soda that I never touched in the park, watching kids play in the sunshine.

Worse, his sympathy–and my weakness–was going to destroy Pax.

"He wants you," I said.

Kravitz's lips twisted. "I always figured he would come for me sometime."

Before I could say anything else, Kravitz pulled a gun. He held it on me as I raised my hands slightly.

"What do you need, Delilah?" he asked. "I want to help you."

Even with a gun trained at my head, he sounded sincere.

Tears stung my eyes at his kindness.

"I know you do," I said. "That's what makes this so hard."

"Delilah–" he began.

He never got the chance to finish. I stepped to one side of his grip. We were too close for him to get off a good shot unless he managed to get the gun between us, but I already had control of his arm.

I needed him alive. He didn't need to keep me alive. Which left me at a distinct disadvantage...except for the fact Agent Kravitz was a good man. Even as the two of us wrestled for control of the gun, he told me urgently, "Delilah, you don't have to do this."

It was jarring to hear my old name.

I gritted my teeth, twisting his arm behind his back, and the gun fell from his hand. "I have to," I said, my voice strained. "I'm sorry."

"I can help you," Kravitz said, his voice steady. "Just tell me what's going on."

"I can't," I said, feeling tears slide down my cheeks. "I wish I could."

Kravitz's eyes flickered to the gun on the ground, and then back to me. "I won't make this easy for you," he said, and then he lunged for the gun.

I moved quickly, grabbing the gun and aiming it at him. He froze, his eyes wide with shock. "I'm sorry," I said again.

Before he had the chance to respond, I whipped the gun across his temple. The crack of the gun across his head seemed to echo through the night air.

I watched as Kravitz's body crumpled to the ground. My stomach squeezed as if I were going to puke.

We had to get out of here before whoever else lived in this house came to investigate.

I couldn't take anyone else's life tonight.

We buried him alive, but after I took the video of him, we sedated him. He would just…sleep. And he would sleep forever.

11

AURORA

I t was time to go on the offensive. One thing the Demon had taught me was the importance of only having one enemy at a time.

That’s how he’d finally been caught after all, when I became a second enemy.

We were all seated around a table in the suite. Cain was leaned back in his chair, his eyes glinting with mischief. "You know this is my kind of fun."

Remy raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "Spoken like a true psychopath."

“Remy, you’re the only psychopath I see since you’ve been dangling whatever the fuck you found for the entire day,” snapped Stellan as he fiddled with a pen. There were dark circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep we’d been getting.

I’m sure I looked the same way.

Victor’s face had been haunting me.

And Paxton’s absence was like a sharp knife in my chest.

Remy stared around at all of us. He was the one who didn’t seem to actually need sleep to survive. His gaze stopped on the empty chair next to me, a hole that all of us felt deeply.

“Right, ok, so ole Pops—”

“Pops?” Cain drawled.

“Papa? Yes Man? Daddy Popkins? Give me feedback because I’m workshopping titles at the moment.”

“Remy!” Stellan threw his cup at him and Remington ducked.

“Okay, okay. Geez. Alright. So I was talking to one of my contacts, and apparently Cain’s dad just recently entered into a partnership with a cartel that’s been growing like a weed in the South. The contract calls for a certain amount of guns, but Daddy got a little greedy and has decided it makes sense to deliver them all at once to finish the deal. The head of the cartel is supposedly a huge nut job and is known for gutting his partners. Apparently Daddy-O didn’t do his research on this one and just wants the deal to be over.”

“So we intercept the delivery,” Cain said, leaning forward, a bloodthirsty glint in his gaze.

Remington looked really proud of himself. “Oh, we not only intercept the delivery, we also make some new friends.”

Stellan chuckled darkly. “Alright. Keep going.”

Remington leaned forward. “The Jackal Company.”

“The Jackal Company?” I asked, snorting.

Cain's grin widened, becoming sharklike. "That’s perfect. My dad fucking hates them. He used to be best friends with Malik, their former leader back in the day. And then Malik stabbed him in the back…literally. And they’ve been rivals ever since. Malik’s son has taken over most of the operations now. They call whoever’s in charge “the Jackal.”

Remington sat back in his chair cockily, his expression smug. “Go ahead and say it.”

“Say what?” Stellan asked.

“Remington, you’re a genius. Aurora should suck your dick,” Remington answered in a high pitched voice.

“Your dick has been sucked enough,” Cain snarked, and Remington’s face turned affronted.

“Okay, focus,” I chided before they could go any further, nervous energy throbbing through me…to get started. To do something.

Everyone straightened up, and we began to plan.

“The weapons are waiting on a ship just off the coast, about three hours from here. Alexander thought it was more theft proof than locking it all in a warehouse. But I traced one of his texts to his underlings, and the boat will be docking at 12:45pm. The weapons will then be loaded into armored eighteen wheelers, and taken to the meeting point thirty minutes away.”

“How many weapons are we talking?” asked Stellan.

“Enough to fill half a container ship.”

“Fuck.”

“Can we have a plan to then blow up the weapons at some point?” I asked, hating that the nature of the game was always exchanging one evil for another. I’m sure this Jackal Company wasn’t full of saints.

“Problem for future us,” said Cain, not sounding fazed at all as he stared at the chat Remington had brought up with some of the info.

“Alright, Remy, since you’re on a roll…how do we get the weapons?” I asked.

Remington rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain. “I thought you’d never ask.”

IT WAS AMAZING the kind of connections Cain had…even without his dad. Within an hour, all the drivers for the semi trucks that would be used to transport the weapons from the dock had been replaced with Cain’s guys…and us.

Cain had reached out to Malik and brokered a deal to deliver the weapons. He was very eager to make trouble for Alexander.

My kind of people.

The tricky part would be losing the security team Alexander would have plastered all over the trucks on the trip to deliver the goods.

That part was probably going to have to involve explosives.

We put everything into place for the rest of the day.

And then it was time to head out.

“This is a weird life,” Stellan commented as we loaded up into the car.

“The weirdest,” I agreed.

We were mostly quiet as we drove through the night. Cain and Remington were murmuring softly to each other in the front, but Stellan and I both just stared out the window, his hand softly caressing my thigh.

“Aurora,” Cain called from the front seat, jerking me out of my mostly morose thoughts.

I glanced at him through the rear view mirror.

“I’m going to get Paxton back for you. I promise,” he said fiercely, his face scrunched up as if my pain physically hurt him.

“I know,” I murmured, although I wasn’t sure if I believed him.

Stellan squeezed my hand tighter.

The moon hung high in the sky as we pulled our cars into a warehouse a row behind where the ship had just docked. Remington had hacked into the security cameras and was monitoring everything as box after box of weapons was loaded by—Cain’s—employees into the trucks.

I was pretty sure we were all holding in our collective breaths until the last box was placed on the trucks.

One of Alexander’s men gave a thumbs up to our drivers, and the trucks pulled out of the dock, one by one.

We did a loop and then trailed a few car lengths behind the last truck.

“How far is the exit where we’re pulling off?” I asked. The plan was to stay on Alexander’s intended route for a while, but still pull off on an exit far enough from the cartel that it would take them some time to provide any help.

“It’s about an hour and a half into the trip,” Cain commented. I nodded, tension thrumming through me. I hated when things went smoothly. It always gave me the creeps.

The calm before the storm was never a good thing.

“We’re ten miles out,” Remington commented what felt like a day later.

Stellan and I straightened up, and I grabbed my gun from the floor and double checked it was ready to go…just in case.

“Why does that make me hard to see you holding a gun?” Stellan asked…sounding horrified.

I winked at him and he groaned before shaking his head and turning his attention to his own weapon.

Remington glanced out the back window. “The others are here.”

The plan was that we would slip right behind the last truck, and then seven other cars would also force their way in so there was a buffer between most of Alexander’s security who were following behind…and the trucks.

The security riding in front of the trucks would pass the exit automatically, not anticipating what was going to happen, of course.

Cain glanced back at me. “Ready?”

I nodded and gave him a grin that was all teeth. “Let’s do this.”

The trucks floored it, turning onto the exit ramp at the last minute, Alexander’s men heading down the highway without thought. Tires screeched when they realized what was happening, but some more of our men filled in gaps in traffic, making it impossible for them to turn around.

Cain darted through an opening, pulling ahead of Alexander’s other men so that we were right behind the trucks. We all made it off the exit, but so did the rest of Alexander’s men.

The line of vehicles tore through the city streets. We’d arranged the drop off with the Jackal Company in warehouses on the other side of this city, a maze of streets between here and there to hopefully lose Alexander’s men. The drivers of the trucks had a list of streets to try in order to confuse them.

But there were four armored vans on our tail we needed to lose.

This was going to be an experience.

My heartbeat was pounding in my ears, Cain's hands gripped the steering wheel, his eyes tracking everyone. The city lights blurred into streaks of color as we weaved through traffic, narrowly avoiding collisions with each passing second. Alexander’s men were still behind us, having difficulty getting past the cars Cain had enlisted to help out tonight.

“Send out the text for everyone to start using their side streets,” Cain snapped, and Remington typed something into his computer, presumably sending out texts through his high tech program. I was gripping my knees so hard my knuckles were turning white. My gaze flickered between Cain's focused expression and the pursuing vehicles in our rearview mirror.

“Incoming,” Stellan growled as gunshots suddenly hit the driver’s side window. Cain cursed and swerved into the next lane.

Thank fuck the glass was bulletproof or we would have been dead.

Bullets whizzed past us again, shattering glass on the cars parked on the sides of the road and certainly leaving their mark on our car's exterior.

"Hold on," Cain's voice rang out, and Remington cursed as he almost lost hold of his laptop as Cain made a hairpin turn. Two of the vans couldn’t make the turn, but the others did.

“Shooting back would be good,” Remington commented.

Stellan cursed at him but we both lowered the windows, stuck our guns out, and started shooting.

Stellan whooped when I hit one of the van’s tires and it went crashing into a building.

“The Po Pos are coming,” sing-songed Remy. He punched some buttons and I heard the sound of a large crash from nearby. “Whoops,” he commented innocently.

Another barrage of bullets hit the back window, and Stellan and I both pulled back behind the glass. Cain took a sharp left turn and one of the vans crashed against a dumpster.

“Three of the trucks have made it to the warehouse,” said Remington excitedly. There were still three more that needed to make it, but at least that was a start.

The dance of evasion continued, each twist and turn sending my adrenaline spiraling.

The van behind us was good. He swerved just right every time we made a shot. I was getting fucking annoyed.

Another shot rang out and glass on my window fractured into a web of cracks.

“We might need our money back on this window,” I commented as the guys cursed viciously.

“Switch sides with me,” ordered Stellan.

“Listen to him,” snapped Cain.

“Just drive,” I growled, sticking my gun out and firing another round of shots. I wasn’t getting the right angle though. I needed to move just a little further out.

“Aurora! Get the fuck inside,” snarled Cain, but I ignored him as I inched out. A bullet whizzed by my head but I barely flinched. “Aurora!”

A little further out and I was where I needed to be. I fired, whooping in excitement as I hit his right tire and the van went into a tailspin, eventually ending up over a sidewalk and into a glass storefront.

“Okay. I’m hard,” drawled Remington, and Cain punched him in the shoulder.

“You proved your point, now get your perfect fucking head back in the car.”

I slid back into my seat, feeling tingly from all the adrenaline, but also feeling good.

That had been the last van.

“Our men stopped the others. There’s just one van unaccounted for…but I can’t find it anywhere on the cameras,” muttered Remington, staring hard at his screen as he switched cameras. “But the other trucks made it to the meeting area. We’re only five minutes away.”

Cain growled as he made another turn and headed down a mostly deserted street.

Five minutes later we'd made it to the warehouse where the trucks were waiting for us, no sign of the missing van or anyone else.

"What time is The Jackal Company planning on stopping by?" Stellan asked, his eyes darting around the street like he was expecting someone to pop out at any moment.

It was similar to what I was doing. I’d learned very early on in life that you should never trust anything that seemed too easy, and one measly shootout had definitely been…too easy.

Cain had his men spread out, weapons ready as they prowled the empty streets.

Nothing seemed amiss…

A moment later, I changed my mind; we were a driver short. I counted again, and yep, he definitely wasn't there.

"Cain," I murmured, sliding closer to him. “I think something's wrong."

His alert gaze darted around and I gestured to his men. He counted, just like I had, and cursed softly when he realized what I had.

Someone was missing.

"You two stay out here. We're going to check inside," Cain said softly to Stellan and Remington. They sent us questioning, uneasy glances but then nodded. Remington was still on his laptop, checking angles from all around the neighboring streets. I was pretty sure he must've hacked into some kind of satellite to get those angles. I'd have to reward him for his cleverness later.

Cain opened the heavy, rusted door to the warehouse, just a crack, and gazed inside into the inky black darkness. After a moment, he opened it wider and took a step inside, his gun raised as he entered the enormous space.

It certainly seemed empty. There wasn't a single sound emanating from inside except for Cain's footsteps as he walked. I followed him, my gun also raising as I took in the warehouse.

I don't know if it was my imagination or not, but something in the air felt off. Sometimes you could just feel danger. And this was one of those times.

We started down a row of stacked shelves that extended four stories tall into the air. Unlike some of the other warehouses I’d been in, this one was all one level with aisles and aisles of metal shelving breaking up the space.

We started down one of the aisles, and Cain cursed when his foot hit something and it clattered loudly as it rolled away.

"I can't see anything," he growled.

I pulled out my penlight, but it didn't do much to illuminate the darkness surrounding us. There weren’t any windows in the place, just occasional cracks around the doors where there was light coming in from the street lamps outside. But that didn't help with much.

"Fuck this," Cain finally snapped, pulling out a small flashlight and turning it on.

He slowly raised it so we could see farther down the aisle, and we both cursed as the light hit the end…

And hit a pair of someone's shoes.

There was a low familiar chuckle that filled the air as Cain yanked the flashlight up to Alexander's face, a cold, cruel smile written all over it.

Cain swung the flashlight all along the back where Alexander was standing, and there was the crumpled body of the missing driver.

Alexander was good, I’d definitely give him that.

"Hello, Father," Cain said in a calm, collected voice.

"I'm surprised that you didn't burst into flames when you said that, son," Alexander spit back coolly.

"Do you have more men hiding somewhere? Because you're a bit outnumbered."

Alexander chuckled softly again, and took a calculated step forward. "You know, Cain. It didn't take long after you were born to realize that something was off about you. You never cried. You never seemed to like any affection that your mother and I gave you. You just sat there, even as a baby, taking in the room. As you got older, we took you in for testing, thinking you might be autistic or something, but all the tests came back negative. And you had plenty of friends at school. You were always popular even though the children knew they should be scared of you, even then. That at least gave your mother and I some hope."

"Interesting time for a walk down memory lane," Cain drawled.

There was a tic in Alexander's cheek at that comment. He was obviously not a fan of Cain's tone. But he continued on.

“It wasn't until you were about thirteen or so that we realized we might have a son with a different kind of disorder. Maybe not a sociopath per se, but definitely something close to it. We hoped in time that you would grow out of it. That we could fix you…" He shook his head, the weight of his disappointment a tangible taste in the room.

"Yes, we thought we could fix you, and what fools we were to think that." He shook his head again. "My only son. What a disappointment you've turned out to be."

Cain lifted his gun, aiming at his father.

Alexander threw back his head and laughed, the sound echoing around the room. "You going to kill me? Stand in front of me and shoot me in cold blood?"

"Oh, I doubt there's much cold blood in there."

Just as Cain was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly lurched forward with a growl. I glanced over, shock coursing through my veins as I saw a small knife sticking out of his shoulder. There was his mother, standing there in a white linen dress, like some kind of demonic housewife. I hadn't heard her approach at all.

She patted Cain on the shoulder and darted around his other side so she was out of reach to me. I lunged towards her but Cain reached out and grabbed my arm before I could get anywhere.

"Pull the fucking thing out of me," he snapped. I glanced over to where Cain's mom was now standing next to Alexander, my eyes narrowing at the two of them. I was still quite sure that the Demon would win any award for worst parent of the year, but they were making gains.

"Why the fuck did you just do that?" I snapped as I pulled the knife out. The blade shouldn't be close to anything important. I'd be able to stitch him up after this, but there was nothing quite like being stabbed in the back…by your mother.

"Oh, Aurora, you know what they say. Your marriage should be the foundation of your life. There is nothing more important. Your kids will grow up and leave and it’ll just be you and your husband." Her gaze hardened. "I certainly didn't anticipate Cain leaving the nest so soon, but as a mother, I can adjust accordingly.”

I gave her a disgusted look. "Sorry, but is leave the nest a fancy way to say die?”

Cain chuckled, not sounding pissed off at all about the fact that there was blood currently trickling out of the wound in his back…a wound put there by his own mother.

"It's a mother's duty to teach her children that there are consequences in life, Aurora. I'm sure you’ll understand that someday." Alexander put an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into him like we weren't all holding guns and standing in a derelict warehouse with a major arms deal about to go down outside. "And there are consequences for not having respect for your parents. There's nothing more important than that."

I was still gaping at the woman, but Cain was evidently done, because he raised his arm again and shot. His father crumpled to the ground as his mom started screaming hysterically. She pulled the gun out of Alexander's hand as he groaned on the ground and she shot at us. I ducked, nearly missing being hit in the head.

"Fuck. Come on," Cain growled as he grabbed my hand and wrenched us towards the exit to the right of us.

"I knew you wouldn't have the guts," Alexander spat after us.

"Unfortunately, I just missed," Cain snarled back as he pulled me through the door right as another shot ricocheted off the doorway. “This time.”

Everything was quiet outside.

We jogged around the side of the building right as the few dozen cars pulled in from the opposite direction. I stutter-stepped, thinking that Alexander had called in for reinforcements. But then the car opened and a gorgeous young man, looking just a few years older than us and exuding big dick authority, stepped out.

Cain nodded respectfully. "Jackal," he murmured. "I believe Alexander is still inside. Please blow the place up. And look out…my parents are both armed."

The Jackal nodded and five of his men ran inside.

Cain and the Jackal walked around to one of the trucks, and one of Cain's men lifted the door to the back, showcasing crates upon crates. The Jackal jumped up into the truck, perfectly at ease, not even bothering to watch his back, and popped open one of the crates. He lifted a gun and examined it closely for a moment, pulling out his phone and laying it over the gun for some reason. After a moment, he nodded. "Very nice. But tell me, Cain, why exactly have you decided to start working together?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Jackal. You of all people know about that."

It was a little distracting that they were both so incredibly good looking. They also were both murderers, which, depending on how you looked at it, was a detractor, but right now it was doing it for me. Maybe I could add to my little harem.

"Don't even think about it," Remington growled, yanking me close to him and wrapping his arm tightly around my waist. He bit down on my earlobe just for good measure, and I shivered.

"Stop looking at the Jackal like you want to eat him or I'm going to ruin this entire deal," Remington snarled fiercely.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him. Remy was usually the least jealous of them all. "Sir, yes sir," I taunted, and his eyes darkened.

A second later, the door to the warehouse flew open, and the men the Jackal had sent in filed outside.

"There's no one inside, sir," one of them told Cain, and he nodded, not appearing surprised at all.

"I assumed that would be the case," he drawled.

Cain surveyed the cars that Jackal brought with him.

"There will probably be some heat for you on the way out of town."

Jackal's smile was blindingly beautiful…but also insane.

"Good," he commented with no inflection in his voice. He and his men spread out, checking the trucks.

"The money should already be in the account you sent me," Jackal said, nodding to Remington. Remington typed a few buttons and then nodded. "It's all there."

Cain nodded again and then Jackal started barking orders at his men. They hopped into the trucks and, one by one, the trucks pulled out into the street where they disappeared in the opposite direction from where we came in.

"Do let me know if you feel like stabbing your father in the back again." Jackal said smoothly, giving us a head nod before he strode back into the Bentley. Then he pulled out, joining his fleet of vehicles heading down the road.

"Well, you can't say that our lives are boring," Stellan said.

"Let’s get out of here," Cain snapped.

We got into the car and sped away.

"I have trackers on some of the guns so we can see where they end up," said Remington, but Cain just nodded.

I didn't know what he was thinking at that moment. His father's betrayal was one thing, but his mom's…I really hadn’t seen that coming, not after the dinner where she acted like the most devoted mother out of a Betty Crocker magazine. I wasn’t sure if that really existed or not.

"Cain," I said cautiously. "Do you want to talk about—"

"No, I definitely don't want to talk about my two good-for-nothing parents." There was no inflection in his voice, no sign that he was upset anywhere in his features.

A chill swept through my body. Thinking back to what Alexander had said, and my own observations that Cain was most likely a psychopath, I was suddenly on edge. Especially as I glanced at Stellan who was holding my hand in his lap like he was afraid I was going to jump out of the window, and Remington who was watching cameras on his computer screen.

And then, of course, there was Paxton. My beautiful Paxton, who was depending on us to save him from the Demon.

Cain really didn't seem to care about his parents at all. They were more like accessories to his life than people. Did he feel that way about the others?

I knew what he felt for me was a deep dark obsession that defied logic on either end, but if the situation arose, would he sacrifice them as easily as he had his parents?

I was torn up in knots the entire ride home, wondering what the answer to that question was.

12

CAIN

“W hat exactly are you mad about?” I asked calmly as I followed her into our latest hotel suite.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she answered in what she thought was her calm voice. Remington was striding ahead of us, and he glanced back, bemused, obviously able to hear the lie in her voice. Stellan’s mother had called as we walked into the lobby, and he’d gone ahead of us to talk to her. I could hear the faint murmur of his voice coming from one of the other bedrooms.

“Aurora,” I snapped.

She turned, her pretty lips upturned and her hands on her hips. “Cain,” she said sarcastically.

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to give you to the count of three to tell me what’s wrong.”

“What happens after three?”

“I put you over my knee.” I was hard just thinking about it, honestly. I remembered finding her on my bed after she’d blown up my car and spanking her perfect ass until it was a rosy pink color.

I couldn’t wait to do it again.

“You’ve got to be kidding me—”

“One,” I began, enjoying the flush to her cheeks and the way her gaze sparked with anger.

“Fuck you!”

“Two,” I continued.

“I think he’s serious,” snarked Remington, a wide, stupid smile on his face.

“CAIN!”

“Three.”

Remington picked her up and hauled her towards the bedroom as she ranted and threw out a whole bunch of interesting insults. I’d certainly never been called a “fucking meatball head” before.

Once we’d gotten to the edge of the bed, Remy threw her on it. I was immediately on top of her before she could move, pushing her to her stomach so her ass was in front of me.

“I kind of want to do the honors,” said Remy, his head cocked as he admired the perfection in front of him.

“I can share,” I drawled, and she yelled as Remington bounced on to the bed next to her, and then pulled her shorts down so one cheek was visible.

The resounding smack echoed around the room. My cock was so hard it felt like it could break my zipper at any moment.

“I hate both of you,” she said, but her voice was breathy…definitely her come fuck me voice.

She definitely liked being spanked. For a moment I thought about tying her up to the bedposts and spanking her with a flogger while Remington shoved a dildo in her ass.

But that sort of play could wait.

“Are you going to tell us why you’re so upset yet, beautiful?” chirped Remington.

She turned her head away from me, biting down on her bottom lip in a way that made me want to bite down harder.

Speaking of biting—instead of spanking her, Remington literally bit her ass cheek, and she screeched.

He laughed like a little psycho and she kicked out, hitting him right in the stomach as she struggled to get out of my grip. He groaned…but his smile didn’t fade.

“Aurora. I’m quite positive that Remington and I can do this all night.”

“And I’m sure Stellan would love to play too.” Remington offered.

She finally flopped to the bed.

“I’m afraid of what will happen if you don’t care about them,” she said in a tense, conflicted voice.

“Don’t care about who?”

“Them! Remington. Stellan. Paxton! Your mother just stabbed you in the back, and you could literally care less.”

“I do think Cain cares that he was stabbed,” Remington inserted.

“By his mother. He was stabbed in the back by his mother!” she snarled. I reluctantly let her sit up and she crossed her arms in front of her defensively as she stared at my face angrily.

“Your father isn’t going to win any awards for parent of the year either, little devil,” Remington offered while I just stared back at her, confused.

“And I’ve been devastated about that for my entire fucking life.” She gestured at me. “You don’t even care. I can tell.”

I shrugged. “Why would I care about someone who stabbed me?”

Remington slapped a hand over his eyes in mock exasperation, and I resisted the urge to punch him in his smug face.

“Because if you don’t care about your mother and father betraying you, I’m scared that you don’t care about them,” she pressed in a slightly hysterical voice, gesturing to Remington. “What if they become expendable too? I couldn’t take that!”

"I care enough about them to let them have you too," I said, trying to understand why this was so important to her. “I would never let anyone else have you. Anyone," I growled, just the thought making my blood hot with fury.

"That's pretty big, little devil," Remy teased, not caring nearly as much about this conversation as Aurora did.

"Can we fuck now?" he whined, and she shot him a halfhearted glare.

I pulled Aurora towards me, ignoring how hard I was for the time being.

"The only way I could ever share you…my obsession…my love," I murmured, watching as her eyes gleamed suspiciously as I said “love”, "is with my brothers," I finished.

She stared up at my face as if she could read my mind. And although she could try, I doubted that it would happen. I was a cold, blank, conniving slate for the most part. She was the only one that could make me feel. And they were the only ones I trusted enough to make up for my shortcomings with her. The only person I would die for was her, but I'd certainly do everything I could to prevent them from dying.

"Does that make you happy, Aurora?" I drawled as I pushed against her soft stomach with my cock.

"Yes," she whispered.

"If I share you with Remington right now, just to drive home the message, will that make you happy too?"

Her eyes went half lidded, and her breath came out in gasps, a red flush spreading over her chest.

"Yes," she murmured again.

"Thank fuck!" Remington growled, stripping off his shirt like his life depended on it.

She turned so that we were on either side of her and wrapped her arms around our necks, pulling us closer. She pressed her lips gently against me, her violet eyes watching me, moving over my face as her tongue danced with mine. I growled when she ripped away and moved to Remington, tangling her lips with his as I tried to patiently wait for my turn again.

Fuck that.

I ripped her away from Remington and turned her around, shoving off her clothes before she had time to protest. After she was completely, perfectly naked, I thrust her into Remington's waiting arms. His arms locked under her thighs, spreading her open so that I could stare at her gorgeous pussy.

Her head fell back against his shoulder and with the angle, her breasts jutted out.

She was a wet dream. Every man's wet dream come to life, in fact.

I knew from the first time I saw her I was going to make her mine. Even if the path was a little…rough for us at first, when you met someone that made you want to burn the world if they asked, you didn't let her go.

"Look at you," I praised, bending over and licking at her pert nipples. "You're such a perfect, good girl," I purred, watching the way her eyes dilated at my praise.

I shoved the waist of my shorts low, and then gripped my cock hard, slowly moving it up to the tip and then back down. She watched me with a fevered gleam in her eye.

"Do you want our dicks in that tight pussy of yours, Aurora?" Remington murmured. A helpless whimper spilled out of her.

I dragged two fingers through her sopping wet core, bringing them up to Remington's mouth for him to taste. He eagerly lapped up her juices, the closest taste to nirvana I'd ever experienced.

"Move over to that chair, Remington," I ordered. He eagerly walked over to it, settling down on the cushion, still keeping her legs spread so I could see everything.

"Now let's see what our girl wants. Do you want Remington to stick his dick in your ass while I fuck that tight pussy? Or do you want us to…share, since you're all about closeness today?”

I chuckled darkly at the expressions that flicked across her face. Remington had thrust two fingers into her core and was lazily fucking them in and out of her as I spoke.

"Definitely option two. She was choking my fingers at the thought," he said in a gravelly, lust drunk voice.

"Your wish is our command," I told her, pushing my sweatpants down all the way so that they dropped to the floor.

"Remington!” she cried out as he thrust abruptly into her. I crossed my arms in front of myself, watching as his cock spread her open.

"That's it, little devil. Take it like the good girl you are."

"Fuck," Remington growled, sounding pained. "Keep calling her that; she clenches around my dick every time you say it."

I sauntered towards her, fucking myself absentmindedly as I took in the erotic scene.

Although I was enjoying the show, it was time for me to get involved.

I knelt down in front of her as Remington continued to fuck in and out of her. Using my thumbs, I spread open the hood of her clit so it was ready and available to me. I sucked on it, moaning at the taste of her…as always. She could bring a man to his knees just because of that. The fact that she was also the most bloodthirsty, interesting, complicated woman I'd ever met…was just icing on the cake.

I watched her face as I continued to suck on her clit, my tongue occasionally grazing Remington’s dick. Not my favorite thing but sometimes things got a little messy when two were playing.

She had one arm wrapped around the back of Remington's neck and her expression was completely unguarded as she stared back at me.

"Come for me," I said thickly. "Come for me, like the good girl you are."

She screamed as an orgasm ripped through her, her gaze still locked on mine. Aurora didn’t listen to me very much. But she was very obedient in the bedroom.

I fucking loved that.

As she stared at me, I wondered what she saw. If she could see the possession, the jealousy, the desperation I had when it came to her. She was nothing but chaos, ripping apart my world in every fucking way, and yet I was always desperate for more.

I pulled away from her clit and sat back on my haunches, admiring the view as Remington continued to pound into her.

"Ready for him to join the party?” Remington rasped.

"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted. Her lips were parted, and the sexy little noises coming out of her mouth were driving me crazy.

"Better get my dick wet first. It's going to be a tight fit," I smirked, standing up and putting one hand on the top of the chair as I fed my cock to her gorgeous lips.

Watching her suck my dick was almost as good as me fucking her tight pussy.

Almost.

Her tongue danced over my tip, and she suckled on the sensitive flesh until I was growling and thrusting deep into her throat. Her body jolted and a helpless sound spilled out of her as she began to work my cock with her lips and her tongue…and occasionally her teeth, like she wanted to remind me how much power she held over me at every minute.

"Our dirty, dirty girl," I breathed as I slid my length even deeper down her throat. She made a choking sound, a tear sliding from her eyes as she worked to control her gag reflex.

I forced myself to stop after a couple more thrusts and pulled out, her lips popping as my cock left. She licked her lips, obviously ready for more.

"Ow!" she griped as Remington bit down on her neck…almost savagely.

"Just making sure you were aware of who was fucking you," Remy teased, his tongue lapping at the teeth indents he’d left in her skin.

She whimpered and tossed her head back as one of his hands moved to her breast, kneading and massaging it roughly.

Remington pushed in all the way until his balls were sitting up against her pussy, and I lined up my cock right above it. I pushed in, and a low keening sound escaped her throat, her eyes squeezing shut as I pushed and pushed some more.

Her head thrashed back and forth. "It's too much. Too much," she cried.

Remington's hand went to her clit and he played with it. Like the responsive goddess that she was, her body immediately started to relax under his touch.

"Just a little more," I growled. But I was finding it hard to breathe as well.

All of us were extremely well endowed, and it was the tightest fucking fit you could imagine.

"That's it, little devil," Remington praised. His own face scrunched up as we slid against each other.

He threw his head back. "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck."

Another inch and I made it all the way in. I stared down, watching as her swollen, red pussy lips gripped at our dicks.

I was already close to spilling into her greedy fucking cunt…and we couldn’t have that.

“Does it hurt?” Remington asked, actually sounding concerned.

I wanted it to hurt. I wanted her to feel us long after we were gone.

To remember who she belonged to.

“Yes. But it’s so good though,” she breathed, a glossy look capturing her eyes.

Remy groaned loudly as I pulled out. “Fuck. It is.”

I slammed my lips against hers as her arms wrapped around my neck as I pushed all the way to the base, thrusting deep in a pulsing rhythm in tandem to Remington pulling out.

Her nails dug into my neck as her body quivered between us.

“Who owns you, Aurora?” I growled.

She whimpered as Remington bit down on her shoulder again like a fucking vampire.

“Who. Owns. You?”

“You,” she whispered. “All of you.”

“That’s right,” I snarled, as Remington’s movements became erratic and off rhythm.

“Should I order both of you to come for me,” I taunted, even though my balls were ready to burst.

“Fuck you!” Remington growled as he slammed into her, and I felt his cum coating her insides.

Aurora cried out again as she came, her cunt literally milking me relentlessly. Fuck.

The strongest orgasm I’d ever experienced burst out of me then, the world going fuzzy around me as white hot pleasure tore through my insides.

I collapsed forward, squashing both of them as I came down from the biggest high of my life.

I nuzzled against Aurora’s head, enjoying the temporary moment of feeling that would freeze away as soon as I was away from her.

“I love you too,” commented Remington, his voice muffled with two people crunched against him.

Aurora giggled, and I was reminded again exactly why I shared her with them.

13

AURORA

"W ake up, wake up, wake up," Remington said exuberantly. The fact that the sun was just starting to rise meant that it was way too early for this level of excitement.

"Go back to bed," Stellan growled, throwing a pillow towards Remington that didn't even come close to hitting him.

"We've got a party to attend."

My eyes shot open at that announcement, because it definitely was not the time to party at all. We’d been working around the clock to plot out our next moves, and I’d been worried sick about Paxton. There was no one on this earth who knew better how bad things could get with the Demon, and it was killing me inside that I’d allowed this to happen.

Remy must've seen that look of distress on my face because he pressed a kiss against my forehead and pushed some of my hair out of my face.

"It's my little brother’s birthday party. The first since…my dad. I want to go be with him for support," he explained softly. I sat up immediately, practically jumping out of bed.

"Of course. We have to go. We have to get presents. Do you know what he likes? We need to get him a bunch of presents," I yammered until coming to a screeching halt in the middle of the room, a dark thought filling my head.

"I'm not sure that it's safe," I whispered.

It would totally go against the Demon’s M.O., hurting a little boy, but with how the game was escalating, I couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

"It'll be alright," Remington said confidently. “I have the best security money can buy with them. It's probably the safest place for us at the moment to be honest."

"Do you want Cain and I to go?" Stellan asked, still sounding very sleepy.

Remington looked a little shy then, and he shook his head. "I’d like it to just be Aurora and me if that's all right," he said hesitantly.

"Of course it's all right," I immediately said, knowing that it was hard for any of the guys to show any softness, and Remington clearly wanted some time alone with me. That was not something easy to get nowadays since we were holed up in a hotel.

I walked into the closet, wondering what you wore to a little kid’s birthday party as an adult. It's not like I had any experience with that sort of thing. I finally decided on a demure blue sundress, and then I tried to tame my hair.

When I came out, Remington was already ready, looking like the preppy frat boy he was in a blue striped button up and a pair of tailored khaki shorts.

And to complete the look, a pair of boat shoes.

Stellan was now sitting up, leaning back against the pillows as he stared at Remington, bemused. "You look like a tool," he commented.

"You mean I look great,” Remington corrected him confidently, right as Cain strode through the door. Cain was dressed in basketball shorts and a tank top, and he was sweaty, obviously having come from working out in the hotel gym. I was sorry that I had missed that. Seeing Cain work out among the sheep was probably interesting to watch.

"Don't let her out of your sight,” Cain snapped immediately. I rolled my eyes, because of course he would know what was going on. He probably had the room bugged and had just listened to the entire conversation we’d had the whole time he was working out.

"Sir, yes sir,” Remington drawled, only sounding a little bit annoyed at Cain's order.

I smiled to myself, knowing that Cain just couldn't help himself.

As I stared around the room, it was amazing how empty it felt without Paxton. It was like a piece of me, a piece of us, was missing. What were we going to do if—no, I couldn't think like that. Everything was going to be fine. There wasn’t any other option.

"Hey. Little Devil. No long faces. I'm sure Paxton's giving ole daddy hell," Remington said as he wrapped an arm around my waist. But his usual confidence was lacking. I leaned against him, relaxing into his touch.

After enduring another couple of minutes of Cain’s lecturing, we walked out into the carpeted hallway of the hotel and strode down to the elevator.

Remington was tapping against the railing inside the elevator the entire time, anxious energy threading through him.

"This is the first time you’ve seen him since everything happened, isn't it?" I asked softly. He nodded, biting down on his lip.

"I feel really badly about it. He's begged me to visit him every time I call, and with everything that's happened…It just wasn’t the right time." He sighed and rocked his head back against the elevator wall. "Doesn't it always feel like there's not enough time, not enough resources, not enough ways to fix everything?" Remington was usually the positive one of the bunch of us. He was always seeing a disaster and still picturing the glass half-full, no matter the circumstance.

"Yeah, it does," I answered, not knowing any words that would be sufficient enough to help him feel better. We would just have to be lost for a while and hope that there was light on the other side.

"What's that thing that you say to yourself sometimes?" Remington suddenly asked as the bell rang and the door opened into the underground parking garage beneath the hotel.

"Out of the darkness and into the light, to all that is good and all that is bright," I murmured, trying to channel the comfort that the words usually gave me.

He repeated the saying slowly. "Wow. I’m actually feeling a little bit better," he snarked sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and lightly socked him in the shoulder.

Remington pressed a kiss against my hair. "You’re shit at pep talks, sweetheart. Just letting you know that."

I sighed but didn't say anything in response.

He was right.

"So where does one go to get a little kids toy?" he asked as we slid into the car.

"Walmart?" I tossed out, snorting as his eyes widened comically…almost in panic.

"Why, Remington, are you that much of a snob, you can't go to Walmart? You know they have everything," I said mockingly.

"Well, I've never been. But I guess now's as good a time as any," he said slowly like I'd just announced that he should try drinking out of a toilet.

"Fucking rich boy," I snarked as he typed in ‘Walmart’ into his GPS.

All of a sudden, he pointed excitedly at the screen. "Target. Tar-Jay. How do the French pronounce it?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked.

"Target. That's where we’re going to go. I've heard that place is the fucking shit."

"I just want to know how you honestly have survived without ever having been to a normal store?"

We drove out of the parking garage, the sunlight momentarily blinding me.

"I mean, it's a rough life, what with the private yachts, and the house staff that took care of everything, but someone had to endure it," he said loftily as if he was actually the Prince of England.

Although I guess being a billionaire’s son was as close to that as you could get in America.

“This is going to be fun,” I said sarcastically as we made our way towards the nearest Target.

The parking lot was already filled despite it being first thing in the morning—the power of the bullseye brand.

Remington was eyeing it like I’d taken him to a junk yard instead of the best store on earth.

“Come on, Remy. I’ll hold your hand the entire time.”

He rolled his eyes, but did in fact grab my hand in a tight grip.

I was laughing hysterically as the doors slid open, cut off by his pleased exclamation about the Starbucks inside.

“Aww, Remy. I’ll buy you one of those Frappuccinos you love while we walk the aisles.”

“You’re mocking me, but it sounds like a perfect idea to me,” he said lazily.

And that’s what we did.

It was a small moment of normalcy, something I knew I would treasure in days to come. As a kid growing up, I’d dreamed about doing normal things like that, walking the aisles of a store with my boyfriend, or even normal parents. Remington’s comments were ridiculous as he marveled about the fact that you could get oat milk and high heels in the same store, but they were just what the doctor ordered.

Sometimes it felt like I was suffocating. Like The Demon had reached out and grabbed my throat and stuffed my head into a bag.

Sometimes, in the quiet moments, I did feel like giving up. Like admitting defeat and turning myself in for whatever my father had planned for me.

Drinking my dirty chai as I looked at children’s toys was just what I needed.

“Okay, what does your brother like?” I asked as we stared up and down an aisle with hundreds…if not thousands…of toys.

“Um…he wasn’t really allowed to play with toys with Senator Assface. But I would sneak random ones in. I think he would probably like anything, honestly. He’s not a spoiled asshole like me.”

He said it self-deprecatingly, but I wondered if he really thought that about himself, or if he could see what I saw in him everyday.

“Love you,” I murmured, pressing a kiss against his cheek. His features softened as he stared down at me.

“Love you too.”

I didn’t think I was ever going to get over the fact that we said that now. And so easily. Once upon a time, I hadn’t thought I was even capable of love. Now look at me. Declaring my love in an aisle of Pokemon characters.

How the mighty had fallen.

We bickered back and forth about what to get him until Remington said, “fuck it,” and bought ten different items. He once again gasped in shock at how easy it was to get gift bags there as well, and then we were checking out, walking out to a storm darkened sky to head to the party.

“Hope it isn’t a pool party,” I mused as raindrops hit the windshield.

“I’m not sure what the theme is,” Remy responded, sounding lost in his own head.

My phone buzzed. It was Cain.

Are you being a good girl?

I snorted and shook my head.

Always, I responded.

“What are you laughing about over there?” Remy asked.

“Just Cain being an overbearing bastard.”

“Shocking.”

We turned down a street into a neighborhood draped in tranquility, where towering leafy trees formed a natural canopy, their branches reaching towards the heavens. The lawns were all meticulously maintained and children were already playing in the front yards despite the fact that it was sprinkling.

It looked like a little slice of heaven.

“This is where your aunt lives?” I asked, admiring the charming houses. It wasn’t a stuck up neighborhood like where Remington’s father had lived. But it was a nice one, one you would want your kids to grow up in.

If I ever thought about things like that…

“Yeah. It’s pretty perfect, isn’t it,” he commented, a wistful note in his voice that I didn’t point out.

He pulled up to the front of a red brick house with white shutters and turned off the car, sitting in the sudden silence for a long moment. My gaze kept flicking to the rear view mirror, like the Demon was going to pull up at any minute.

But of course he was nowhere to be found.

It would be much easier if he did things like operate out in the open.

“Ready to go?” I asked, when Remington still hadn’t made any move to open the door.

“I’m nervous. Why am I nervous to go to a little kid’s birthday party.”

“I believe it’s because this is called being normal. Something neither of us have ever been.”

“Being normal. Right.”

“First Target. And now this. Look at us,” I teased as we finally got out of the car. Remy opened the trunk and we pulled out the bags. We’d gotten so much that it required both of us to carry everything.

“We may have overdone it,” I laughed as we carried everything to the front door. I could hear children’s laughter from within and I took a deep breath.

Normal. We could definitely do this.

The door opened and there was Remington’s aunt, Tamara. It was hard not to think about what Remington would have been like if he could have grown up with someone as warm and nurturing as she seemed to be. She had a softness about her, both in her gentle smile and the way she carried herself. Her eyes were kind and twinkling. She gave Jenna a run for her money for the most friendly person I’d ever met.

Tamara greeted us with open arms, sweeping Remy up in a tight hug that was clearly very uncomfortable for him based on the tenseness of his features. My gaze flicked over her while she was distracted, studying her for anything that looked amiss. She may look like a nanny out of Peter Pan, and Remington may have done every background check known to man—both legal and illegal—but I wasn’t sure that I could ever trust anyone outside of my circle.

She certainly looked innocent enough though.

She was wearing a flowing floral dress that embraced her curves, its vibrant colors mirroring the blossoms of a well-tended garden. Her hair was up in a soft sweeping bun, and she was literally tearing up as she hugged Remington. Everything about her seemed to be the antithesis of what I’d seen in Remington’s father.

Thank fuck.

She sniffed when she finally released him, but Remington looked all out of sorts as he stepped out of her grasp, like he was afraid she was going to lunge at him and dare to give him another hug.

She went to give me a hug, but I held the bags in front of me like a wall and she stepped back.

“I’m so glad that you’re here,” she said warmly…as we just hovered in the entrance. Her gaze finally widened when she realized we’d been standing there for quite some time. “Oh. Come in, come in!” She stepped aside, revealing a home that had been transformed into a dazzling space fit for a superhero birthday celebration. Balloons in vibrant colors adorned every corner, swaying gently as the soft breeze from the open windows danced through the room. The walls were plastered with larger-than-life posters of superheroes, Spiderman and Batman evidently joining forces for the day.

We walked further into the house where a dining table held a superhero-themed buffet, with a bright red tablecloth featuring comic book-style illustrations. Colorful plates, cups, and napkins with superhero emblems included. There was a stack of superhero-themed cupcakes and cookies all over the table.

“Wow,” I whispered softly. “This is quite the party.”

A weird pang hit my gut. It was weird when things hit you. Like the reminder you’d never had your own birthday party growing up.

Through the living room was a madhouse. Children clad in capes and masks scurried around, their laughter echoing with pure joy, all busily engaged in some kind of imaginary battle. Tamara had made the room into a superhero training ground complete with obstacle courses and a makeshift stage.

“Remy!” a little voice screamed, and a much healthier, happier little boy than I’d seen all those months ago, sprung at Remington, wrapping his whole body around one of his legs.

“Hey there, buddy!” Remy growled happily, sweeping up his brother into his arms and swinging him around, his sweet laughter filling the air.

“I knew you would come. I knew it!” he squealed.

“Of course. I wasn’t going to miss it.”

“Do you like my costume?” His brother was dressed as Spiderman, a mask hanging around his neck.

“Yep. You’re the scariest Spiderman I’ve ever seen.”

“No, Remy. I’m the bravest Spiderman you’ve ever seen,” his brother retorted.

Remington grew visibly emotional at that statement, and he just smiled at his brother, at a loss for words.

“You’re the pretty girl from the house,” his brother said, pointing to me as he struggled out of Remington’s grip. Remy released him and his brother walked over to me, grabbing my hand. “Come meet my friends.”

He pulled me towards a group of battling kids. A quick glance over my shoulder showed an amused Remington trailing behind us…wiping away some tears.

I was really glad he’d brought me, just to see that.

Remington’s little sister burst out from the hallway a few minutes later, dressed as the pink Power Ranger, because she had epic taste obviously. Remington had another emotional reunion with her before we were both pulled into playtime.

At one point, Remy’s little brother came running up to him again, throwing himself almost violently against his legs, his little body shaking.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Remington immediately asked.

“Ja-James is being mean to me. He told me that I’m an orphan and that means no one loves me.” Tears tracked down his stricken face.

The corners of Remington’s mouth tightened, and his eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched, and his hands fisted, tension coursing through his body.

He squatted down so that he was closer to eye level with his tiny brother.

“James is a fucking idiot who’s head is so far up his ass he can fuck himself.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “You said a bad word. A lot of bad words.”

“Trust me. Sometimes it’s necessary.” He stood up and patted his brother’s head. “Don’t worry. James is never going to tease you again. Which one is he?”

His brother pointed out a douchebag looking kid and Remington nodded.

“Remy,” I murmured, thinking this might not be the right time to do something crazy.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this,” he said, striding away.

I gave the boy a reassuring smile and then rushed after Remington.

“Hey, James, is it?”

The little kid, who really needed to sense danger faster, turned around and shot him a cocky glare.

“What do you want, loser?” he taunted.

Kids were idiots.

“James. There are monsters that live under your bed. And they aren’t nearly as scary as me. If I ever hear that you're teasing my little brother again, I’m going to show you exactly what monsters can do. Are we clear?”

The kid—James—just stared up at him, his mouth aghast, his face pale.

“Do you understand?” Remington snapped.

“Ye-yess, sir,” James said as the stench of urine filled the air.

He’d just pissed himself.

Remington smiled…evilly…and the kid dashed away, whispers filling the air as he ran past with his pants soaked.

“His parents are totally going to call your aunt,” I mused, a little impressed with him right now.

And a little turned on.

“Down girl. You can hump your hero later,” he snarked as we watched his twin siblings fight with foam swords.

I rolled my eyes and we went back to enjoying the party like he hadn’t just destroyed a seven year old kid.

Later, after cake, Tamara introduced a surprise guest, and a man dressed in a Superman costume sprung out from behind a wall. We spent the show watching all of the little kids, their eyes wide with rapt awe.

Halfway through the show, the doorbell rang. Remy waved away Tamara who was on the other side of the room. “I’ll get it,” he mouthed. He squeezed my hand and then walked away to grab the door.

Five minutes passed before I wondered what was taking so long.

Another five minutes passed before I went to go look for him.

The front door was wide open as I turned the corner, and my steps stalled as I walked towards them.

My gaze darted around, peering into the dining room where the food was almost all gone.

He wasn’t there.

He was just in the bathroom.

The door had blown open.

That’s all this was.

Or at least that’s what I told myself.

I walked through the doorway, my heart hammering against my rib cage.

And I heard it.

Sweet Caroline. Blaring from someone’s car as it drove down the street.

A normal person would have thought someone was just rocking out to some oldies in their car.

But I knew better. A million memories of the Demon torturing someone flashed through my mind.

Except this time, all the faces of his victims were Remington’s.

The car drove slowly past, the music a roar in my ears as the stranger in the car locked eyes with me.

I watched as the car disappeared from sight. A white envelope caught my eye from the ground, a familiar sprawling script on the front of it.

My hand was trembling as I reached down and picked it up, pulling out the note inside.

Delilah, it read.You really shouldn’t be so careless with your toys, darling.

I immediately dropped the letter, bent over, and threw up the entire contents of our Starbucks run.

He had him.

Remy was gone.

The Demon had him.

The air felt thick and cloying around me, and everything seemed to be spinning. Cold was spitting through my veins, until I felt completely numb. I dropped my phone three times before I was able to grab it and dial Cain’s number.

“Aurora,” he said, and a hitched sob burst from my lips. I worked to clear my throat, but words felt so hard at the moment.

“He’s gone,” I finally spit out roughly. “He went to open the door, and he’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?” Cain asked, sounding frustratedly calm.

“Remington!” I cried, frustrated that he wasn’t understanding.

There was a long silence then, so long I wasn’t sure Cain was even there anymore.

“Cain,” I whispered.

“I’m on my way to you,” he spit, and I heard the ding of the elevator. “Don’t go anywhere. Kill anyone who looks suspicious and ask questions later.”

“No. I’m just going to come back. I have to say goodbye to his little brother and make an excuse for why Remy isn’t here. Remington wouldn’t want him thinking he just left him.”

My mouth was forming words, but they didn’t feel like mine.

“Aurora,” Cain snarled.

“I’ll be in the car in just a few minutes. I promise.” I hung up without waiting for him to agree and strode into the house on autopilot.

Remington’s brother ran up to me. “Where’s Remy?” he asked, glancing around like he thought Remington was going to pop out from behind me.

“Remington—” I paused, because I hadn’t actually come up with an excuse yet. There was a glitch in my brain at the moment. “Remington had a friend who got sick, so he had to leave really quickly.”

The boy’s face fell.

“But he will be back to see you soon. And you guys are going to do so many fun things!”

“Ice cream?”

“Yep,” I answered, with the world’s worst smile.

“Okay!” he practically yelled before he ran off and resumed playing with his friends.

I found his aunt and gave the same lie, and she seemed to take it as easily as her nephew had.

People who lived outside the darkness were easy to lie to. They wanted to believe in the good of the world, so that’s what they saw.

When I walked outside of the house, of course Cain was parked right behind Remington’s car, a cross, annoyed look on his face.

“You’re going to need these,” he growled as he held a set of keys outside his window.

Right. I’d forgotten Remington had the keys with him. Has the keys, Aurora. He was still alive.

I couldn’t let myself think of any other possibility.

Cain tossed them to me, and I got into Remington’s car.

And I was so proud of myself.

I didn’t let myself cry one tear.

The entire way back to the hotel.

Because tears couldn’t bring Remy back.

Only dead bodies would do that.

14

AURORA

I  texted the Demon a dozen times.I was desperate to know what the cost was for Remy’s life. I only got a single response back.

THE DEMON:

Patience.

Cain left us the next day to negotiate with one of his dad’s old business partners, who was willing to consider working with Cain instead. Cain was dismantling his father’s empire one ally at a time.

I was pretty sure anyone who really saw Cain realized which one of them would be the winner. There was something unstoppable about Cain, and it was the true reason—more than the height, the muscles, the tattoos or the unexpectedly angelic face—why everyone stopped when Cain walked into the room. Cain’s presence was awe-inspiring. Every time I saw the way others reacted to him, I felt a thrill of pride. This incredible, dangerous man was mine.

Cain did not leave Stellan and me without making a lot of threats.

Since we were the ones who really saw him, neither of us were impressed.

“Stay here, stay out of trouble,” he warned us both.

“Yes, Daddy,” I teased. He could be so overprotective. It was cute, though.

Cain’s lips twitched in response. “Damn right. That’s all I want to hear come out of this sweet mouth.” He ran his thumb over my lower lip before he leaned in and kissed me.

Then he told Stellan, “Lose her and I’ll—”

“I know,” Stellan shut him down. “I love her too, Cain, I’m not going to lose her. Now go before you piss her off.”

“Stellan has a point,” I said. “I know how much you like to watch—”

“And boss us around,” Stellan cut in, though he didn’t look particularly offended.

“But you won’t like it if you aren’t allowed to do anything but watch.”

Cain’s eyebrows rose. “Not allowed?”

“You know we just allow you to punish us because we like it,” I purred, running my fingernails down his hard chest, beneath the perfect lines of his suit jacket.

Cain scoffed. “We’ll talk about that later.”

It was cute that he thought he was the one in control. I was the one who had four men who adored me. We might pretend, but we all knew the truth.

Cain headed for the door, but thinking about my four men had brought a spike of pain to my chest.

“Cain!”

He turned back, and I ran to him. He held out his arms when he saw my face, and I jumped into them. He caught me easily, holding me as his lips met mine in a hard, passionate kiss.

“Come back to me,” I murmured against his lips.

“Aurora, you and I—and I suppose these assholes too—have been inevitable since the moment I saw you. Our fathers are a temporary blip. Of course I’m going to come home to you. And the rest of them will too.”

He sounded so confident it was impossible not to believe him.

As soon as he left, Stellan and I settled into bed with our room service. The hotel we were staying at had an amazing menu, and Cain had watched it be dropped off—his gun in hand—before he wheeled the cart in. Now Stellan brought the cart up beside the bed. There was an enormous stack of stuffed French toast and crispy bacon, and I leaned back against the headboard and pulled the crisp white sheets and comforter over my legs as I started to eat. I had to keep my strength to help Remy and Pax. The process might as well be delicious.

Stellan turned on the TV, and I knew he loved me because he put on a romance movie, Ruining Dahlia, without any prompting. I had watched it twice before, but I definitely would have been down for watching it again on a normal day.

But this wasn’t a normal day.

This was a day I needed to fight for my men. And although Cain and Stellan had their plans based on Remy’s program still running, monitoring the police leads, and on Cain’s own connections, it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t sit here and wait for someone else to save my men.

In the end, it was always going to come down to me and the Demon.

AURORA:

Dad, please. What do you want?

I hated to call him Dad, but I knew how much it pleased him.

And I knew how much it pleased him when I begged.

DEMON:

You, Delilah. As always.

AURORA:

How do I get them back?

DEMON:

Come find me.

That wasn’t a trap at all.

“Who are you texting?” Stellan demanded.

“No one.”

Stellan reached to take the phone out of my hand. I fought back, but he pinned me with his muscular body, and we ended up wrestling across the bed. He finally kissed me, which was playing dirty, and I got distracted kissing him back. Stellan’s lips were soft and tender, and he looked at me like I was his whole world when he kissed me.

Then the asshole ripped the phone out of my hand and sat up against the headboard.

“Jerk,” I said.

“You’re texting the Demon?” He raised his eyebrows as he handed the phone back to me. “And then what?”

“There has to be more we can do to get them back,” I pleaded.

“Yeah, but there’s only one thing the Demon really wants. You. You can’t play his games. “

“I can. I know his games, and I know how to win. I put him in prison before, Stellan. I should have just killed him—and this time, I will.”

“He’s going to try to manipulate you into giving yourself up.”

“I know.”

Stellan raked his hand through his hair. Then he gestured at the phone. “As much as I want to protect you… I believe in you, Aurora. But nothing more than texts.”

I pounced on him and kissed him again. God, he was the sweetest. When he wasn’t kidnapping me. “You might be my favorite!”

He scoffed. “You say that to every one of us.”

“You take turns being my favorite.”

Give me a hint, I texted the Demon.

I expected us to enter another round of negotiations. Probably negotiations written in blood.

So I was surprised when a text dinged back.

DEMON:

She doesn’t know she knows—she doesn’t know much—but Alexander’s sweet little wife could tell you where to find me. It’s one of the places we’ve been together.

I sat up, curling off the pillows. My body was suddenly so flooded with adrenaline that my fingers wanted to shake holding the phone.

Stellan noticed, and he rested his hand lightly on my shoulder. “Out of the darkness, Aurora.”

But I didn’t need the rest of my mantra.

Because he was my light.

I leaned over, and he wrapped his arm around my waist and squeezed me tight. Into my hair, he murmured, “Now reel him in, Aurora.”

His confidence lit the same spark inside me. I had to be careful with the Demon now, but I could manipulate this into a clue about where he was.

AURORA:

Do you want to talk, Dad?

The Demon always wanted to talk. He loved to hear himself talk. I was sure that for his victims, the bone saws and scalpels were the worst torture, but listening to my father turn down his music to yap at them must have made their agony even worse.

And there was no one my father wanted to talk to more than me. He always wanted to get into my head and fuck with me.

It was no surprise when my phone rang a second later. From another number. My father knew how easily Remington’s program would trace him, and I could see Stellan already moving to Remy’s laptop to start the trace.

We’d need a minute. I’d keep him on the line that long.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Aurora.” His voice curled around my name as if it were sweet on his tongue, and my stomach clenched. “Listen, for once. I’m not going to waste time.”

Fuck, he probably guessed we were tracing. Or he knew what Remy set up, because he had tortured him. Images flashed through my mind, but I pushed them away to focus. I had to save Remy, not worry about him. “I’m listening. Tell me about Rebecca.”

I’d almost forgotten the name of Cain’s mother. She seemed so sweet but so irrelevant, compared to Alexander.

At least, she’d seemed that way to me until she struck out at Cain.

“For a while, Alexander and I were great friends, and Rebecca loves whoever Alexander tolerates.”

“Did you guys vacation together?” The Demon had taken me on too many ‘vacations’.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I took on targets for Alexander. He came to see everyone he ordered killed. He did like to watch.”

Stellan and I exchanged a look. If the Demon was truly hiding someplace he had been before, then we might have a better chance of tracking down Alexander’s enemies who had disappeared. The police seemed to be barely moving on the Demon’s case, but I had no doubt that if Remy were here, he'd be able to find even the police files that had disappeared, thanks to Alexander’s connections.

“And Rebecca came too?”

“Never into the room, of course. But she loved to be near him and Alexander loved keeping her close. She would sit in another room and read her magazines, and Alexander would take her headphones off when the screaming was over and kiss her like a prince waking his sleeping beauty. Except I’m not convinced Rebecca will ever wake up.”

I started to ask another question, then realized I was talking to a dead line.

“You know he wants you face to face with her,” Stellan confirmed what I was already thinking. “Why?”

“He loves games,” I said. “He loves being the smartest person in the room.”

It didn’t occur to the Demon that his little girl just might be that one, not him.

“Do you have Rebecca’s number?” I asked.

Stellan sighed under his breath, already shaking his head.

“The Demon’s not going to attack me when I’m doing what he wants,” I pointed out. “We’ll meet someplace so public that Alexander won’t attack me there.”

“You know how Cain’s going to feel about this, and the only thing at stake for you is a spanking,” he muttered. “Which you enjoy anyway.”

“Stellan,” I murmured, pouting before I leaned in and kissed him. “Yes, Cain will hate it. But we all need Remy and Pax back. I can handle Rebecca.”

“I know you can.”

A few minutes later, I texted Rebecca.

Mom, it’s Cain. I’m using a burner. Can we meet?

The text hung for so long that I was sure she was conferring with Alexander. But in the end, the text I received back said:

Yes.

AS WE WALKED to the café where she wanted to meet, Stellan was on high alert, ready to draw his gun at any second. I felt safe with him beside me; I worried about him, though. Cain was being irrational obsessing about me being the one in danger.

I was sure the Demon would try to take another one of my men from me next. He was peeling away the people I loved and trusted.

I wondered if he wanted me to love and trust him again.

He had to know that ship had not just sailed, it had hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom while Enya played in the background.

Then I glimpsed a familiar face passing by. Clarissa Adams. The beautiful brunette who had starved and abused her kids mercilessly behind closed doors. If anyone else had intervened, maybe she wouldn’t have ended up on the Demon’s table, with her kids’ wounds recreated on her body over and over. I’d been the one to dig the tip of a blade into her skin as she screamed.

She had tried to die many times, only to have the Demon shock her back to life, until she finally went still for the last time.

I froze for a second, then kept moving. But Stellan noticed, slipping his arm around me even as he slid his right hand inside his jacket, ready to draw. “What is it?”

“I thought I saw someone I knew,” I said. “But it can’t be. Like most people I’ve known best… she’s dead.”

Stellan dared a worried glance at me.

“I’m fine,” I promised.

But then I saw another set of faces in the crowd. David Layton and his wife. She had lured in young girls for him to rape, including her own little sister. They had owned the local dump, and they had buried the girls in the trash.

Or at least, that was the story the Demon had told me.

We had kept them suffocating slowly in a living sarcophagus, taking them out to torture them. The Demon made me cut pieces off his penis, one by one. I’d sutured the wounds each time so he didn’t bleed out. He’d screamed until he couldn’t scream anymore, until he could only make a desperate hiss of pain.

I shook my head, and they were gone, replaced by the face of a true stranger.

“Aurora,” Stellan said into my ear. “Stay with me.”

I used to ground myself with physical details in the world around me, and I did the same now. The way his cologne smelled. The feel of his warm, hard side against my palm, because I had looped his waist without even realizing I needed him. The colorful tattoo that ran down his forearm.

“Always,” I whispered.

I didn’t want to tell him what was happening. But Stellan looked at me as if all my secrets were safe with him, his gaze tender.

“I keep thinking I’m seeing people the Demon killed,” I whispered. “His victims. Like at the party…”

Stellan’s arm tightened around my waist. “Christ, Aurora, I’m sorry. I’m sorry we did that to you.”

“I’m alright.”

“You will be,” he promised. “But I’m sorry anyway.”

We arrived at the café first. Stellan and I took separate seats so he could watch the situation and be ready to respond if Alexander tried anything; I’d have a nice little sit-down with my future mother-in-law one on one.

I ordered a chai and at least it was sweet and delicious even if I had to deal with Rebecca’s bullshit. Maybe I could at least get her to focus on murder this time and not recipes.

Alexander and the Demon were friends—right up until the Demon killed Cain’s aunt. She’d been Alexander’s sister.

And I had a feeling I needed to know why to unravel the last pieces of this particular puzzle. The Demon always had to justify his killings with some kind of misbehavior from his victims. What had Cain’s aunt done?

Rebecca arrived, shadowed by two bodyguards who sat down at another table, looking as subtle as Stellan did with their big blocky bodies in suits, sitting down at a place that served high tea on little floral plates.

Rebecca flashed me a beaming smile, as bright white as the immaculate dress she was wearing. “Aurora! Are you playing a trick on me?”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to talk to you face to face.”

And I didn’t want your asshole husband to kidnap me.

“Well, I’ll always make time for you,” she gushed warmly as she sat down. “And for this place! It’s my favorite tea shop. You have to try the rosemary lemon scone!”

I wasn’t sure she had a great memory for how things went the last time we were face to face. Or maybe she had a great imagination, an endless ability to pretend everything was fine. The image of her smiling with her headphones as the Demon tortured someone to death and Alexander watched rose to my mind.

“Why did you want to talk to me?” she asked. “If you’re trying to patch things up between our boys, well, I am with you! It’s so sad to see them fighting. I had to sneak off; Alexander would never approve.”

“You—” I started, then cut myself off. Now I understood why she had seemed so nice despite the darkness of Alexander’s world. She lived in an alternate reality. “Yes, that would be great. I had a different question for you, though.”

“What’s that?”

“You knew my father.”

“That’s not a question, darling.” She tilted her head to one side. She was all style and grace, her makeup perfect, her hair pulled back into a sleek, low chignon. “But yes. I did. He and Alexander were great friends.”

Were.

“Can you tell me about him?” I asked. “We haven’t been on the best of terms lately. I’d like to understand him better.”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” she said. “Family should really try to patch up their differences.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing him again and talking things out,” I said. And by talk, I mean murder.

“Alexander and I used to go on weekends away with your father,” she said. “I think we went four or five times? They were very close. You know your father can be so charming.”

“He certainly can.” He’d charmed me when I was a little girl, that was for sure. I’d loved him so much after he rescued me from my evil foster mom and the abusive creep who had been my ‘big brother’.

The trail of blood he left through that house, splattered on the carpet outside their bedrooms, should’ve been a clue for me.

And then the briefest flash of another delusion. The blood on the carpet. The Demon, murmuring, “Oh, princess. What did you do?” in a tone I couldn’t read, that might have been shock or pride.

Drops of blood falling from the tip of the blade to the carpet.

The feel of the hilt hard in my small hand.

No, none of that really happened. It was like the faces in the crowd. I was just…coming unraveled. I wished Stellan weren’t sitting a few tables away, watching Rebecca’s bodyguards. It was easier when he was near me.

She was watching me with a curious smile fixed across her face, as if she were trying to figure me out.

“Where did you go?” I asked.

“Once we went to this lovely town, Lake Placid, in upstate New York. It was fall and the leaves were golden and everything was just so gorgeous. In the Adirondacks. Have you ever been? The foliage was beautiful—Alexander and I took a picnic and went for a hike along this trail around the lake.”

“Sounds nice,” I said blandly. I couldn’t forget any of this.

“Oh!” she said, as if she had just remembered. “We went to this town called Amarillo once. It was in Texas so it hardly ever snowed there, but it did snow while we were there, and our flight was delayed! It was so nice. Alexander and I never got much time together like that because he’s always worked so much, and we just stayed in this lovely house your father had set up and watched the snow fall and drank wine by the fire.”

“I’d love that.”

“Tell Cain he needs to take you on more adventures!”

“I don’t know if I can handle one more adventure,” I smiled to turn the words into a joke even though I meant them—and I didn’t mean the smile. “But I like hearing about yours. Where else did you go together?”

She went on, prattling on about tea shops and vineyards and the houses where they had stayed. She couldn’t tell me any addresses—that would have been too helpful—but I made interested noises and she told me a surprising amount about their locations.

They hadn’t always flown to Texas and New York. There were three other locations that were in the radius of the Demon’s territory when Cain and I were teenagers and he was active here. Although my father hadn’t hesitated to travel—he’d even moved his reign of terror to the UK for a while—he was so meticulous that I would bet those three nearer locations were where we’d find Remy and Pax.

Besides, I was sure dear old Dad wanted to stay close.

“So, do you have any idea why my father and Alexander had their falling out?” I asked.

She pursed her lips at me over her tea, though it was exaggerated, as though she thought I was being silly. “You already know that, Aurora. I don’t mind you pumping me for information—I have a very good idea why you need to know, and of course I want you to take care of your boys. Just like I’ve always taken care of mine!”

Sudden intuition sparked for me, raising goosebumps on my arms. There was something so bizarre about Rebecca that she worried me almost more than Alexander. I was used to monsters. She still managed to be something special.

“Did you ask my father to kill Alexander’s sister?”

She glanced toward her bodyguards. One of them was eating a little fruit tart, and neither of them could hear us over the classical music from this distance.

“She was embezzling from him, but he didn’t realize. It would have hurt his feelings so much.”

“You had his sister killed so he wouldn’t have hurt feelings,” I said blandly.

“It’s better to mourn an angel,” she said blithely. “And anyone who betrays their family deserves a bad end.”

“So you asked the Demon to hurt her.”

She nodded. “I’ll always do what’s best for Alexander, dear. I know you understand. And the Demon only killed people who deserved it.”

“That’s not true.” I shook my head. My mother didn’t deserve it, and neither did Remy or Pax, even though I knew the Demon would justify their killings.

Her gaze sharpened on mine. “I remember you when you were a little girl, you know. I never would have imagined one day you’d have such a hold on my Cain! Are you still so…bloodthirsty?”

Red spots on the white carpet…

The delusion—the memory—closed around me like a vice.

For a second, I could barely breathe. I was keenly aware of her watching me, analyzing me.

Then, beyond her, I caught sight of Stellan’s face. He winked at me.

And then a real memory, a memory I could count on, drifted to my mind. Stellan winking at me behind his sister Sophia’s back. She had loved me, had been my best friend. The girl she knew had been good. No matter what the Demon tried to convince me of now. She had fought for the people she loved and to keep hold of the best parts of herself.

And I would always be that girl, deep down.

But maybe I’d also always be that girl who had killed for the Demon.

“Yes. But only when people hurt my men.”

She looked amused. “I see.”

I had some real doubts that she did.

“Walk out with me,” she said. “I want every chance I can have to talk with my future daughter in law!”

The second I got up, Stellan was on his feet too. He shook his head at me, but though he wound through tables, he didn’t manage to intercept us before we headed out of the back door of the tea shop to where the limo waited in the alley. Of course she’d taken a stretch limo to tea. If I had a limo, I’d probably take it everywhere. Starbucks drive through. Target. Burying people in the forest. There was room for a lot of bodies or a lot of shopping, either way.

“Some day you’ll understand why I made the decision I have, dear,” she told me. “I love Cain, so very much, but no one can be more precious to a woman than her husband. You have to prioritize your marriage over your children. It’s better for them—it’s unhealthy for them to be at the center of the family. And they grow up and leave! Look at how Cain is leaving us for you. But I’ll always have Alexander.”

Rebecca climbed into the limo.

“I don’t know how long you’ll have Alexander,” I disagreed.

Then I lunged for the first bodyguard’s gun.

He tried to stop me, but he was slow—must have been all those scones—and as I was pulling the gun out, I clicked off the safety. The second the gun cleared his holster, I angled the barrel up into his gut and pulled the trigger. He was going down as I spun to the second bodyguard, put two in his chest while he stared at me in stunned terror, then raised the gun and squeezed the last round off into his head before he could even fall. I spun back to the first bodyguard, who was on the ground, trying to get to a second gun in his boot.

But I squeezed the bullet into his head first.

Stellan had just slammed into the alleyway, and he gave me a wide-eyed look. It was not as surprised an expression as I might have expected, though.

Now Rebecca and I could really have a chat. I slid into the limo seat across from her, keeping the gun trained on the center of that white dress.

“Cain always deserved better than you.” I told the wide-eyed woman.

For the first time, her shiny façade cracked. “Aurora, be reasonable—”

“I don’t think I will,” I said. “There’s too much pressure on women to be reasonable when we should be fierce.”

“Aurora,” Stellan said quietly behind me. “We need to move.”

“I can help you,” she said desperately. “Alexander is going to come for Cain. And—”

“And he’ll regret it,” I promised. “But you won’t be here to see it. Because I know you’re not going to help us. You would never choose your son over your husband—you already made that clear.”

“Aurora—” she attempted.

“You said that if someone betrays their family, they deserve a bad end,” I said. “So here’s yours.”

She raised a hand, too late. I shot twice, and red bloomed across her front before she slumped to one side. Her eyes were still wide with her fake innocence.

“Well,” Stellan said evenly. “That just happened. We need to go.”

He grabbed the gun from me, wiping the prints clean, then offered me his hand out of the car.

“You didn’t try very hard to stop me,” I said.

“I wanted you to think twice about killing Cain’s mom,” he said. “But then I realized you needed it. So alright, go for it. But now, Aurora, let’s go.”

Hand in hand, we ran.

15

AURORA

“D id you see the look on her face?” I asked Stellan as we rode up in the elevator to our hotel room. “I was so sick of all her platitudes to make up for the fact she doesn’t have any personality except Alexander.”

He didn’t seem to know quite what to make of me. “I did, but I was pretty distracted at the time trying to figure out what the hell you were doing.”

“Did you figure it out?”

“Baby, I don’t know what you’re doing now,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re… a little bit of a manic pixie dream murderer lately.”

I let out a laugh, but it sounded shaky. “Do you think Cain will be sad? Do you think I hurt Cain?”

“I’m not sure Cain can be hurt,” Stellan said. Then, more quietly, as if it were something that should be a secret, he added, “Except by you.”

Cain would probably want that to be a secret. Both so I wouldn’t be in danger and so he wouldn’t have to admit that he was indeed human.

“What did you mean earlier?” I asked. “When you said you realized I needed to kill her?”

“You needed control,” he said. “The Demon has been trying to get you back under his control, right? But none of us can control you.” He chucked me under the chin, giving me that bright smile that charmed every woman who crossed paths with him—not that he gave any other woman that smile anymore. “Not even Cain. As much as that may annoy him.”

I scoffed. “That’s why he likes me.”

“Babe, there are about a million reasons why we like you. Some of them are quite depraved.”

I laughed again. This time, I sounded like myself.

We went into the hotel room, and Stellan looked at me curiously.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Whatever's going on in here,” he asked, brushing his thumb gently over my temple. “Do you think it all comes down to needing to make sense of the Demon?”

“I think it comes down to making sense of myself,” I confessed, the words raw and aching. “You’re right, I feel…out of control.”

Stellan leaned down and kissed me. It was a deep, passionate kiss, and I twined my arms around his neck.

“Then control me,” he said quietly. “You don’t need anything or anyone except for the four of us, Aurora. You don’t need to kill anyone. If you need power… use me.”

His words were like a spark to tinder, and I felt my desire ignite in my belly. I kissed him again, more deeply this time, and he responded with an eagerness that sent a thrill down my spine.

He stepped closer to me, pressing his body against mine. His hands caressed my face as he kissed me, exploring every inch of my skin with reverent touches. His lips moved across my collarbone and up the side of my neck before finding their way back to mine in a dizzyingly passionate kiss.

I pushed him gently backwards until his legs hit the bed, and then directed him to sit down on the edge. His eyes were filled with anticipation as he watched me carefully. I moved closer to him and began unbuttoning his shirt slowly, teasingly running one finger down the center of his chest as I released each button one by one. Each button revealed another strip of his tanned chest, then the hard planes of his abs.

He shivered beneath my touch, gripping the sheets beneath him as I moved down his body, trailing my fingertips over his hips and thighs. He was breathing heavily now, his eyes locked on mine in anticipation of what was to come.

I reached up and cupped his face, leaning forward to kiss him again. His hands slid down my sides, tracing the curves of my body through the fabric. I gasped as his touch sent shivers through me, and deep desire pooled inside of me.

With one swift motion, I leaned back and pulled off my dress, leaving myself exposed to him completely. His eyes traveled over my body hungrily. I smiled knowingly and climbed onto the bed next to him, before straddling his lap so that he could feel how aroused I was for him.

He groaned softly as our skin touched, pushing himself closer against me so that he could feel every inch of me pressed against him. His hands slid over my thighs, and I wanted more of his hot palms caressing my skin.

"No more touching," I told him anyway, gathering his wrists in mine. "I'm in control now. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," he said breathily.

"Yes, my queen?" I asked archly, raising an eyebrow. I slapped his cheek–not too hard, but hard enough that it left a faint lingering red mark on his cheek. His eyes went wide and his dick against my thigh went even harder. "Do you want to try that again?"

"Yes, my queen."

"Good boy." I pulled his hands up over his head to grip the edges of the headboard. "I'll cuff you if you can't control yourself, but I want you to obey me. And I don't particularly want to have to punish you right now, Stellan."

I had the distinct feeling he'd loved every minute when Cain punished him for kidnapping me.

I leaned down and kissed him, my hands caressing the hard planes of his chest. As his lips parted in pleasure, I felt a thrill go through me. He moaned softly as I moved my hands up his body, exploring every inch of him with focused intensity.

He whimpered, and I knew he was aroused by the idea. He nodded, biting his lip as I leaned in to kiss him again. His lips were hot against mine, and his body trembled beneath me as I moved my hands over his chest teasingly.

My hands circled lower until they reached the waistband of his pants, and I began to unbuckle them. His breathing quickened as I tugged them down slowly, revealing his rigid shaft and tight balls beneath.

I cupped one hand around it softly while tracing the other hand up one thigh and back down the other in a feather-light caress. He gasped at my touch, arching into me, begging for more. But I pulled away. His eyes stayed transfixed on mine as I teased him with my fingertips, moving over every inch of skin that had been revealed to me until both of us were panting.

My hands gripped his shoulders, and I used them to guide myself up and down his body as we kissed. His hips bucked against mine, trying to gain control of the situation. I pulled back a little and looked down at him, arching an eyebrow at him in warning. He stilled immediately, his hands gripping the headboard even tighter as he waited for me to continue.

I smiled wickedly as I moved back onto him again, rubbing my nipples against the hard planes of his chest until they were both hard peaks. His breath caught in his throat as I ran my hands between us, slipping one hand between our bodies to grip the length of him.

He moaned softly as I stroked him, feeling his body tremble beneath me. His hips moved of their own accord, pushing himself into my hand as I increased the pressure.

I grabbed one of his hands and guided it to my breast, wanting him to feel just how aroused I was for him. My hard nipple pressed his palm. He moaned again and squeezed it gently, exciting me even more.

"Do you want to fuck me, Stellan?"

"Yes, queen."

"Good." I caressed the hard, perfect planes of his face. "But I'm going to fuck you first."

His eyes glinted with desire as I wrapped my hand around his wrist and pulled him away from my breast. "You have to earn the right to touch these tits again, Stellan. Now hold onto that headboard and don't you dare fucking touch me again until I tell you."

His hands went to the headboard. His breath was coming out in short pants, his eyes glazed with pleasure at being dominated.

Which was good, because I couldn't believe how aroused I was. I could feel my juices leaking down my thighs, and I wanted his cock so badly, but not as much as I wanted to play this game with him.

I got up and found the enormous vibrator and lube. We might be on the run from mobsters and serial killers, but apparently, my men had their priorities on what we needed to keep in our hotel.

I straddled him again, smiling as I saw his cock twitch in anticipation. I used the vibrator to tease and stimulate every last bit of skin on his body until he begged me for release.

I took my time, carefully exploring every inch of him with the vibrator. Then I told him to bend his legs, so his heels were on the bed and his perfect, athletic ass was tilted up in front of me. He watched me with his lips parted and his pupils blown with desire.

When I was a girl with a crazy crush on my best friend's older brother, I never could have imagined he would be so completely, perfectly mine.

I finally pressed the vibrator against his tight asshole. He gasped, pushing back against me as I pushed it further into him with each stroke.

He was panting now, gripping the headboard as if it was all that was keeping him from coming undone.

"I didn't tell you to cum yet," I said, running my fingertips over the tip of his cock. His hips strained upward, and I slapped his ass. If it was good for me, I'd bet it was good for him...and indeed, he looked as if that had just aroused him more. Pre-cum beaded the tip of his cock, and I swirled my fingers through it before I popped my fingers in my mouth. "Naughty, naughty, Stellan. I think you need a time out."

I set the vibrator beside me and grabbed his wrists, pulling them above his head. I used the bed sheets to tie them together, making sure it was secure but not too tight.

Then I moved my body back onto his, pressing my breasts against him as I teased him with my nipples and lips. His body strained against mine, desperate for release.

I ran my hands down his chest and stomach, then between us once more and took hold of him.

He groaned beneath me as I stroked him slowly at first, gradually increasing the speed until he was begging for mercy and straining against the bindings that kept him in place.

"You only cum in me," I warned him. "Are you going to be a good boy?"

"Please..." he whispered.

"You're so handsome when you beg," I told him, caressing the beautiful, sharp planes of his cheekbones and jaw. "If you eat my pussy just like you should, maybe I'll let you cum."

"Please," he begged again, writhing against the sheets. "Let me eat your pussy. I want you so much."

It was a good thing I'd tied his hands. I didn't want to have to punish him...and deny myself a moment longer.

I kissed him slowly, deeply, feeling his hard cock tease against my thighs desperately as I ignored it. Then I straddled his face, not worrying if my legs pinning down his arms hurt him. From the intense desire written across his face, he didn't care right now.

“It’s me.” Cain’s deep voice echoed through the hotel room as the door swung open.

But Stellan and I were too deep to care.

Cain walked into the bedroom, took one look at the two of us, and stopped dead. For a second, he was speechless. But it was Cain, so he quickly regained his sarcasm. “Congratulations, you two. Very few things can make me say ‘what the fuck is happening here’, but you two have it nailed.”

I crooked a finger at Cain, and when he came over to me, I kissed him.

Cain once again settled in to watch, drawing one of the leather club chairs from the living room into the bedroom and sprawling in it. “Have at it. I’m…unexpectedly aroused by this entire situation.”

I felt confident and powerful as I let my hips rock back and forth, rubbing my wetness against Stellan’s mouth. His arms strained against the sheets, his mouth working eagerly to please me.

"That's it," I murmured, feeling the pleasure radiating from deep within me. "You're a good boy."

He groaned against my pussy like those words made it hard for him to hold back.

He licked and kissed my pussy hungrily, as if he was starved for it. His tongue explored every inch of me before finally settling on my clit.

I clung to his hair and moaned as my orgasm built up inside me. I knew it was going to be intense.

As he suckled me eagerly, pleasure washed over me like a wave, taking over every cell in my body.

I ground against his mouth greedily, and he kept sucking my clit as my hand wound through his hair, holding him against my core. He kept eating me out like it was his job, his tongue thrusting against my g-spot now, his mouth working frantically against my clit.

I cried out as I felt my orgasm build up inside me. His tongue worked faster and faster until I was screaming his name, waves of pleasure crashing into me with each thrust of his tongue. The orgasm took me so high I could barely breathe, and then I tumbled off him, my muscles relaxed and heavy.

Beside me, his cock jerked as if he were about to cum, and he let out a moan of desire. His mouth glistened with my juices.

"I guess I can be merciful," I teased him. "I choose to let you cum now."

I switched the vibrator on again and teased it around his asshole, watching his thighs begin to shake. Then I inserted it into his asshole, straddling him with my ass facing his head so I could ride his cock even as I played with the vibrator.

He groaned and begged desperately, pushing his hips up to meet mine. I kept changing speeds on the vibrator, milking him until he was at the point of no return.

Finally, with a cry of pleasure, I felt him burst inside me as I rode him harder and harder, his orgasm setting off another wave of pleasure in me.

When it was over, we both collapsed onto the bed in a sweaty heap and stared at each other for a long moment without speaking. His eyes were filled with admiration and desire, and I couldn't help but feel pleased with myself for pleasuring him so thoroughly.

For being the one in control.

I ran my fingertips over his hard, muscular chest. "Should I let you go?"

"Whatever you wish, my queen."

"Ohh, I like this," I breathed, teasing, and then my smile softened. "Thank you, Stellan. You always know what I need."

His answering smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. I began to untie him, the vibrator still in his ass so that his hips jerked occasionally with intense aftershocks of his orgasm.

Cain came over to the two of us then. Stellan looked at him as if he wasn’t sure what to make of Cain, but Cain just began to untie his other wrist.

“Thanks for taking such good care of our girl,” Cain told him, taking away any concern about how Cain might react to our next-level debauchery. “Now, I think I want to dominate both of you…and Aurora, I really think you should suck his cock to thank him nicely while I take your ass.”

I grinned. “That sounds good to me.”

Cain rubbed his hand lazily over the front of my throat, his eyes narrowing with desire. “You know, Aurora, I don’t really give a fuck. Get on your knees.”

Pinned between my two perfect men, the world felt like it was almost…good.

LEAVE it to Alexander to ruin the afterglow.

Cain’s phone rang, and he held up a finger to silence us as he took it. “Hey, Dad.”

Stellan and I exchanged a look. Without a word, he picked up my clothes and held them out toward me. I dressed quickly, and he did the same. My heart pounded in my chest.

It’s always hard to predict how your psycho boyfriend will respond to matricide.

“She’s dead?” Cain asked.

I swiped my hair behind my ears, trying to prepare myself for everything. I paced the room anxiously, just for a few seconds, then sank into the club chair Cain had left behind. He was definitely pacing too.

“Murdered,” Cain repeated. “And you think it’s revenge from the Vitrola family for the arms shipment you lost?”

Even from across the room, I could hear Alexander bark about how he was trying to call a truce…just long enough to tell Cain his mother was dead.

“Well,” Cain said. “There may even be another truce in our future. Whoever killed Mom will be punished.”

The word punishment from Cain always made my thighs clutch, a hungry throb of need growing between them. Now was the same, though it was edged with tension. I sat stiffly in the chair, ready to throw myself into motion if it came down to a fight with Cain. Stellan shifted his jacket, preparing to draw his gun in a second; tension was written through the coiled muscles of his lean, powerful body.

Cain leaned over the back of the chair, hands braced on its arms. His voice was low and quiet in my ear when he asked, “Aurora…what did you do?”

I could imagine how quickly those big, dangerous hands of his could fly to my throat. I knew how quickly Stellan could get a shot off. But I didn’t want Cain hurt, either.

“Rebecca was vile to you,” I said. “I couldn’t stand it.”

“Why exactly were you in a position to kill Rebecca?”

“She had information we needed to find Remy and Pax.”

Cain slid over the arm of the chair to grab me—and pull me into his lap. His hand traced up my decolletage, almost lazily, until he reached the base of my throat. When his hand wrapped around my throat, the gesture was pure possession. His eyes flickered toward Stellan, and I knew he hadn't missed the change in Stellan’s posture. “Why didn’t you want to tell me?”

His head dipped to kiss just below my ear. I usually would have tilted my head to allow him easier access, because I loved his mouth on my throat, but I still felt tense.

“It was a bit impulsive,” I said. “I just wanted to protect you…but then I had my doubts that you’d appreciate it.”

“I don’t appreciate you putting yourself in danger.”

The words hung between us.

Carefully, I said, “Your mom…”

His hand tightened on my throat, pressing hard enough to block the airway a little, to make the world turn heady and sweet. It always aroused me, but now it alarmed me too. I wasn’t sure where this was going.

His lips drifted against my ear as he murmured, “Don’t you know by now I’ll always choose you?”

16

AURORA

W e moved to a new location. Cain didn’t trust that his father would continue to think the killing had been brought on by his enemies, and he didn’t want him to find us if he came looking.

Late that evening, the three of us settled into the living room. Cain turned on the news while Stellan opened Remy’s laptop, trying to check in on the police investigation.

“They didn’t mention my mom,” Cain said. “So Dad must have swept it under the rug.”

I felt a ripple of guilt whenever Cain said “my mom”. After all, he did care—to an extent—about saving my own mother. And I’d killed his. No matter how much she annoyed me, maybe that was too extreme a way of dealing with toxic in-laws.

Stellan, as always, picked up on my feelings. I caught him making meaningful glances at Cain, who was sipping whiskey and either oblivious or ignoring him. I reached over to swat Stellan and make him stop, and he caught my wrist, then leaned in, a mischievous spark lighting his eyes, and kissed me. As I kissed him back, some of my wild emotion fled away.

“What’s going on, Aurora?” Cain’s voice was a rich, sexy rumble as always.

Damn it, he’d noticed Stellan’s signals. I should’ve known. Cain didn’t miss a damn thing.

“It just makes me a little sad to think about…what happened…when you say my mom. It makes me think—”

Cain scoffed. “You know when I call them Dad and Mom, it doesn’t really mean anything to me? I know it means something to you, but I don’t feel that way.”

We had hoped the police would track the Demon—and therefore my mom, Pax, and Remy—but as Stellan flipped through Remy’s data, he groaned. “There’s barely any movement. It’s like they don’t care about tracking down the Demon.”

Probably because the only body that had come up so far looked like me. People were probably happy with the idea my father was busy hunting me…or maybe they believed he had actually killed me when that body turned up. Either way, the Demon being on the loose was barely in the media anymore and it didn’t seem like the police were focused on finding him.

“They should care,” I said. “Sooner or later, he’s going to start leaving a trail of bodies. They haven’t found them yet, but there probably already are…”

I trailed off, because I couldn’t help picturing Remy and Pax as those bodies. Deep, silent graves dug out in the forest. My father’s cult had dug the holes for him, just as they dug the supply caches for his kidnapping tools.

Maybe it had been a mistake to kill all of them. Because they weren’t around to serve my father—and for me to torture.

That night, I curled up between Cain and Stellan. Stellan sighed in his sleep, his arm circling my waist, and I wondered if he felt like the bed was too empty now too. I missed Remy and Pax so much it was a physical ache.

I couldn’t sleep. I got out of bed, easing carefully over Cain’s legs under the sheets. I kept expecting him to grab me and drag me back into the bed, but he rolled over…and snuggled Stellan instead.

I stifled a laugh and debated finding a cell phone to take a photo of two of my favorite people in the world spooning each other. But as much as I wanted to be able to remind Cain and Stellan of this moment forever, a flash might alert them to what I was doing, and I couldn’t have them stop me.

The phone pinged with a text. I stood there in the dark and swiped it open, expecting a message from the Demon. My stomach tightened with fear.

JENNA:

You don’t love me any more, do you?

It’s okay, I need someone to talk to anyway.

You know my boyfriend Jayden? Well, we’ve been dating for three weeks and he doesn’t look at me like your men look at you, like they want to devour you and they can’t breathe without you all at the same time. So I know it’s not love. It’s not forever. But still…

My bitch of a roommate kissed him!

And he claims he was confused because she looks like me!

My thumb hovered over the keys, needing desperately to message her back. But Jenna needed more from me than I could give her right now. I had to focus on getting my men back.

I let out a groan as I left my best friend on read. Just for now. Ignoring her made me feel guilt that straight-up murder did not.

I threw on Stellan’s hoodie—which was from our high school’s varsity team—and my jeans, then quietly went to the dresser and lifted Cain’s car keys off the dresser. He always set everything out so precisely, ready for anything. I needed to get away from our own territory and find someplace I wouldn’t lead Alexander to us..or make it easy for the Demon to claim Stellan or Cain. I couldn’t imagine what I would do without both of them. They were my darkness and my light, and I needed both.

I also borrowed Cain’s boot knife. I didn’t wear boots, but I slid it into my hoodie pocket instead.

It wasn’t quite up to my standards, but it would do.

I left the neighborhood we were staying in and walked into the bad part of the town, hoping someone would accost me or I’d see someone being monstrous. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been cat-called or followed plenty of times, and I’d always thought that maybe a little widespread fear of female serial killers would make the world safer for women. Right now, though, I needed credit to go to the Demon.

I needed the world to be so afraid that he was doing his cruel work again that even the corrupt police chiefs were spurred into action.

But I had a bizarrely quiet night, walking the streets. For all the horrible things that happened in the news, none of it was unfolding in front of me. There were no children being abused, no sex workers being abused, no trafficking victims running from criminals I could carve up.

I stopped on a dark, rainy city street and heaved a sigh of frustration. There was always so much evil around! Where was evil when I wanted it?

Cain and Stellan would have been furious if they knew I was out and putting myself in danger, but I needed someone to attack me.

A damp mist hung over the city as I stalked the streets, looking for trouble. Finally, I turned my steps toward home, only to find myself walking past two men who peeled themselves off the wall as I walked past them. My heart sped with excitement as they fell In behind me. Finally!

“Hey sweetheart,” one of them said, and I pulled a face. I loved endearments on the lips of my men, but everyone else could miss me with the sweethearts and the honeys. Although I’d have peeled up Cain’s eyelids and checked his pupils for a concussion if he ever called me honey. It definitely wasn’t his style.

My back was still to them so they didn’t see my reaction. They didn’t see the way one hand eased into my hoodie pocket, unsnapping the scabbard on the knife. They just saw my feet speed up, as if I were afraid.

“Hey, don’t run away, we’re not going to hurt you.”

The men followed me exactly like men who were going to hurt me. I burst into a run, and grinned when they followed me. Trying to look frantic, I ran into an alleyway.

And I faced a dead-end brick wall.

Perfect.

Then I looked up at the sky, which was already beginning to lighten with dawn. I needed to do this fast.

I turned to face them.

“Take it easy.” The first man held up his hands. “You look lost. Can I help you find your way?”

“I am lost.” I turned around, looking wide-eyed. “Maybe you could help me find my boyfriend?”

He looked surprised by my reaction for a split second, then grinned. “Better yet, sweetheart, I can be your boyfriend.”

“Somehow I doubt you’re up for the job,” I disagreed, pulling loose the knife. I threw it without hesitation, and it sank into his chest. He looked up at me in horror as I spun on his friend, who was suddenly trying to back up. I could’ve shot him, but that was never the Demon’s MO. So I took him down the old fashioned way.

Then I grinned at the two bodies, lying on the pavement. The alleyway smelled like wet cardboard and urine; it wasn’t the kind of place the Demon would have worked. But it would serve well enough to terrify the world.

And at least now as I got to work, cutting away their clothes and humming to myself, I didn’t have to listen to the Demon’s damned blaring music.

As I was working, I could’ve sworn that time blurred, that their faces changed. That I was a kid again, just following orders.

“A little more precise, Delilah. You chose him. Don’t butcher the poor man now.”

No, this had nothing to do with the Demon. I pushed the flashback away.

This was me.

I WAS STILL high on adrenaline the next morning. I slept fitfully, the bad kind of sleep, where your heart woke you up, fluttering madly inside you every time you were on the cusp of achieving actual rest.

Neither of the guys were in bed with me and I sat up, rubbing at my chest.

I wondered if I'd made the news yet.

Deciding that there was no way I was going to be able to get to sleep, I slid out of bed and decided to try and grab some coffee.

Cain had managed to find a rental house in a gated community, the kind with guards at all the entrances, where the other inhabitants didn't blink about the fact that you had your own guards around your house.

Rich people were fucking weird.

I shrugged on one of Paxton's T-shirts, then slid on a pair of Remington's boxers, like I was an Omega in one of those omegaverse romance books that needed her pack’s scents around her. The smell of them was calming, so maybe there was something to all of that.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to the bedroom and slipped out to the hallway, and then down the stairs, where I could hear the clattering of plates. Evidently, even when the world was falling apart around you, and we were down two people, you still were supposed to eat a civilized breakfast.

The TV on the wall was on as I walked into the room, whatever they were watching interesting enough that it took a second for Cain and Stellan to realize I'd come in.

"Come here, little devil," Cain growled, and I walked over to him without a second thought, sliding into his waiting lap as Stellan's gaze flicked over my skin jealously.

"I'll eat lunch in your lap," I teased, and he stuck out his tongue at me.

"What's going on in the world today?" I asked casually as I picked up a croissant and started buttering it.

"Your father," Stellan said carefully. "Evidently, he went on a killing spree last night."

Just then, the commercials ended and the news team popped back on the screen, their gazes somber…and fearful.

Something flickered in my stomach at the sight of it, and the anxious, speedy sensation still threaded under my skin grew even more.

“Last night, there were three bodies found spread throughout the city. Names are still being withheld, but it’s believed to be the work of the Demon.”

I frowned. Three?

I wracked my brain. Had I killed three people? It was all such a blur now.

But…who was the third? Had they deserved it?

Or was the Demon really active again?

Slowly, memories came back to me of a woman on the street. The Demon had struggled at first during our time together to find women who met his criteria—he had convinced me we were killing people who abused kids. But over time, that lie had faded. The Demon had vicious feelings toward many kinds of sins.

I shrugged to myself. She must have deserved it. I wouldn’t have acted otherwise—I never had before.

Cain wrapped his arm around me protectively as the news station cut to a special statement from the local police chief. “I promise you, we are working to find the Demon and return him to prison where he belongs.” The look on his face suggested the Demon wouldn’t make it to prison if this guy had anything to do with it. You and me both, Chief. “There’s a manhunt out across the city. There’s no need for panic. We are imposing a curfew on the city and we are going to find him—”

Stellan’s fingers flew over Remy’s laptop. Usually, Remy would have been furious about any of us touching his stuff, but he’d understand this time.

“Well, as fucked as this is, at least the police are working now,” Stellan said.

“You’re not leaving my sight,” Cain growled in my ear. “The Demon this close…this must be a message. And I don’t trust you not to do something stupid and Stellan to let you, because he’s apparently too whipped—”

“Just the right amount of whipped, actually,” I interrupted. “I could show you how great it is, Cain.”

He let out a growl and gave me a look that said try me. I smiled winsomely at him. I wasn’t sure I could ever win him over, but I was sure he was missing out.

But banter aside, I felt slightly sickened now. Not about the bodies. Some people were no loss to the world; those assholes had served a higher purpose to help bring my men back to me than they ever would have breathing.

But Stellan and Cain thought the Demon was at work, when it was me. For one thing, I wanted credit when I worked.

But most of all, Stellan looked sick—like he didn’t know they deserved it. I wondered if he was thinking of the Demon’s assistant who had killed his sister–and Cain had that far away look, judging and assessing based on bad information.

Did I want this relationship to be built on trust and honesty?

Before my bravery could fail me…I headed to the kitchen and got the arm I’d brought home out of the freezer.

17

AURORA

I  tossed the arm onto the table, and they both stared at it in shock.

“What the fuck, Aurora?” snarled Stellan, lurching away from it. Cain just stared at it in that calculated way of his.

“The Demon wasn’t getting enough attention. I needed to get him in the headlines, make him a top priority.”

“So you chopped someone’s arm off?” Stellan asked, his face a bit green.

“You killed those people,” Cain murmured, his head cocked to the side. It said a lot for what Stellan thought of me that it wasn’t the first thing that had popped into his mind.

“I did,” I agreed. “I figured it made sense for our relationship for me to be honest about that.”

I’d never seen Stellan look so shocked in my life. Even if he never talked to me again after this, remembering his reaction would be amusing.

"I'm going to go take a shower so you boys can decide if you're good with this latest development," I threw over my shoulder as I stalked out of the room. I’d been honest. That counted for something.

But the way that they’d looked at me.

Disgust.

That's what I'd seen in their gazes. That's what I'd seen in their thoughts.

Was I going to be alone again? I’d done it before. I could do it again.

But unlike when I escaped the Demon that first time, being alone now felt all wrong.

I ripped off my clothes, feeling like the loose fabric was too tight on my skin. Was it warm in here? I stomped to the air conditioning and saw that it was on sixty-five.

Okay, so not hot.

I would take a shower, give them time to think like I’d just said. If it was time to be on my own again…then so be it.

I turned on the water, noting how fast it got hot. Cain certainly knew how to pick his residences.

I stepped into the shower, and turned the temperature up even more so that it was scalding, so that it felt like it was burning off the sins imprinted on my skin.

Now, now, Aurora, don't be getting emotional.

I wondered how Remington and Paxton would've reacted if they’d been in the room this morning. Would Remington have blown it all off with his typical humor? Would Paxton have looked at me and wanted nothing to do with me?

I hated that my skin felt so tight. This was where the Demon had gotten it right when he'd told me that no one would understand, that I would never belong with anyone else. I was a freak…

A monster.

Just then, the glass door flew open, and cold air yanked at my skin.

"Are you allowed to just walk away from me?" Cain drawled, and a rush of relief swept over me, so violent that I shook even as I stood there in the piping hot water.

He stepped in and then I heard another set of footsteps, and my heart lifted even further.

Stellan was here as well.

"Fuck,” Stellan muttered, and then he reached over and adjusted the temperature on the water so it no longer felt like my flesh was melting off my bones. A finger slid down my spine, looping around each ass cheek gently before it moved away.

"You better not have been in here doubting us," Cain murmured…his voice sounding dangerous. Stellan pressed a kiss lightly on my neck and I shivered again, still not able to form any words.

I also still wasn't able to get up the nerve to look at them. My eyes were glued to the shiny tiles on the wall like they held the secrets of the universe.

I heard the click of a bottle opening; a second later, hands were threading through my hair, massaging my head as he shampooed it. There was another click of the bottle and then Stellan was slipping in front of me, forcing me to look at him as he slowly soaped up a loofah. He kept his gaze on mine and then kneeled down in front of me, until his face was level with my chest. He dragged the loofah across my stomach, and then down my thighs to my toes before coming back up. His gaze went back and forth between my face and my skin as Cain continued to massage my head, occasionally drifting down my shoulders to give those a squeeze as well. I was turning into butter under their hands.

Stellan slipped the loofah between my thighs so it was rubbing through the lips of my core. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss right above my clit, and I shivered.

I sighed, and my head fell back onto Cain's chest as Stellan moved the loofah up and over my breasts, the abrasive material rubbing over my nipples, sending a shockwave straight to my sex.

"Yes," I whispered as my hands laid on Stellan’s shoulders.

"That's it, little devil. Just let us take care of you…let us worship you," Cain murmured as he pulled one of the fancy spouts from the wall and started gently rinsing out my hair.

"Why aren't you running?" I whispered back, my voice sounding gravelly and coarse like I'd actually been sobbing this whole time. Cain growled roughly and Stellan gave a sharp tug at my nipples, his gaze saying so much.

Like he loved me.

Like he worshiped me.

Like he’d…never leave me.

Stellan’s hands slipped between my legs so that he was gripping the globes of my ass in both hands. He squeezed them for a moment before slipping a finger in my crack and running it lightly up and down the puckered flesh.

I whimpered and Stellan gave me a blinding grin.

"It's strange you don't know by now…" Stellan’s voice trailed off.

"Know what?" I whispered.

"Know the power that you have over us, little devil," Cain finished.

I would've given them both a huge eye roll, but I was feeling a bit emotional at the moment.

"You know what it feels like, Aurora…" Stellan whispered as his finger continued to massage my asshole. He leaned forward and licked at my nipples, the pleasure relaxing me enough that his finger easily popped inside.

My nails dug into his skin.

"To feel like your soul belongs to another person. You could destroy us, ruin us forever if you chose to walk away…if you didn't exist.”

"Sometimes… I don't know who I am," I whispered.

Cain ran his fingers through my hair soothingly.

"I'll tell you who you are. You're mine."

"You're ours," Stellan corrected, his gaze just staring at me in that soul catching, worshipful way.

His finger moved in and out of my ass, and Cain’s hand slipped between us to start massaging my clit. I shivered again as his fingers slid farther back, lazily playing with my folds even as Stellan’s finger thrust deeper and his mouth worked harder on my nipple.

"There's nothing you can do," Stellan said, releasing my nipple with a pop.

"Nothing you can say," Cain continued, biting down on my skin where my shoulder and my neck met.

"Nothing that could ever happen…" said Stellan.

"That would push us away," Cain finished.

"I don't believe you," I moaned, even as my body slid into a small, slow orgasm.

Stellan’s fingers slid out, concentrating on the sensitive entrance of my ass while Cain continued to play with my pussy.

Cain's other hand slid to my throat, until I was wearing his grip like a necklace. He gently squeezed.

"Are you calling me a liar, little devil?" he whispered.

Stellan’s face slid between my thighs and he gave my folds a long, deep lick. Cain pushed me forward until I was straddling Stellan’s face, my breasts hitting the cold marble as he held me down.

"You can kill every person on this planet for all I care, Aurora. Wherever you need to go, just take us with you.”

My fingers tangled in Stellan’s hair now, as I rode his face, his tongue spearing deep inside of me. I could feel Cain's hard cock against my back, pressing into my skin. Cain squeezed my neck tighter.

"We’ll follow you into the darkness, baby. Wherever you want us to go."

I squeezed my eyes closed, the emotions running through me too much for me to handle.

Even then, standing in the hot shower being choked and tongue fucked by my two boyfriends, there were images in my head. Images that I didn't want to believe, that I didn't understand.

Stellan’s lips moved away from my core, and I whimpered as he gently pushed me and Cain back so that he could stand up. His lips were glistening from my cum and I darted forward and licked the taste off of him, liking the reassurance that he carried a piece of me on him.

"Forever, baby," Stellan whispered in a gravelly voice. My breath was coming out in ragged gasps as I stared up at him, searching his face.

"That's what I promised. That's what I need from you." He brushed another kiss across my lips even as Cain’s grip tightened to the point that the edges of my consciousness were flicking in and out of focus.

"Please," I whispered, the words coming out in gasps.

"We’ll take such good care of you, baby," Stellan purred, reaching out to play with my nipples.

"Promises. Promises,” I gasped. “Why haven’t you started yet?"

Cain’s lips brushed against my ear. "Do you want to know everything we’re going to do to you? How Stellan is going to play with those perfect tits until you’re close to coming. How we’re both going to fuck you. Then bathe you. Then feed you…” He laughed softly as I moaned. “Does that sound good, sweetheart?"

I nodded and he finally loosened his grip. I gasped in big gulps of air, the room spinning around me. Stellan’s hands closed around my swollen breasts as I watched. He kneaded them softly for a second, staring at them with a heavy lidded gaze before his movements grew harder. He tugged and pulled at my nipples, and my body bowed backwards against Cain, hungry whimpers coming out of my mouth as I begged for more. Their hips were plastered against mine, both of their cocks pressed to my skin. I shifted against them, desperate for friction as a savage need grew inside of me. Stellan leaned forward and fastened his mouth around my nipple, suckling it softly as Cain's hands moved over my skin, spiking my arousal further, but never stopping where I needed them to so I could cum.

"Kiss me," Cain ordered as my head fell back against his body. His lips smashed against mine, his tongue plunging into my mouth, locked in a battle for dominance.

Stellan moved to my other nipple and I whimpered, Cain's mouth catching every sound.

I was driving towards the edge, Stellan’s mouth and hands performing magic on my breasts as Cain's thumb finally started to massage my clit.

I was close. So close. Just a little bit more.

"Not yet," Cain growled as Stellan let my nipple go with a pop that seemed to reverberate around us. Cain’s fingers pressed into me and I rode his hand desperately, my arousal spiking even higher.

"I want her ass this time," Stellan growled in a gravelly, hungry voice.

Cain sighed, like that request was a heavy ask, and then he withdrew his hand from my core, slapping one of my ass cheeks once before spinning me around so I was facing him for the first time. Stellan’s hand slipped up along the back of my thigh before he pushed two fingers between my cheeks, soaping up the crack and the puckered flesh. I cried out as he pushed two fingers into the tight ring, and Cain captured my cry once again with his kiss.

I was desperate, more animal than woman at the moment, and they were driving me crazy.

"Fuck me now," I ordered, and Cain laughed wickedly like he thought it was cute I thought I was in charge.

Stellan pushed his fingers in deeper until I let out a small, pained cry.

"Relax," he breathed, and I worked to do exactly that. Cain suddenly reached in between my legs and hitched my thighs up around his arms so that I was spread open to him.

Without a second thought, he slammed into me, angling his hips so he hit the perfect spot, and I gasped at the fullness inside me. Stellan's fingers were still buried deep and it felt like a lot at the moment. Cain thrust into me, his cock pounding into my pussy, my heels digging into his back as I moved against him. Stellan’s fingers were moving in and out, in sync with Cain’s every thrust.

Suddenly, Stellan withdrew his fingers. "You ready for me, sweetheart?” he murmured.

And I nodded, unable to form words at the moment.

I felt the tip of his broad head against my hole, and Cain stilled as Stellan slowly pushed into me. I screamed, my throat clogged with feeling, and my emotions on the verge of tears.

I was so full.

My inner muscles trembled as an orgasm immediately hit me. They both groaned almost in unison as my body sucked them in deep.

"Yes. Just like that. You're such a good girl," Stellan moaned as he thrusted a few short strokes.

Whimpers writhed from my mouth, but they soon turned into full out screams as Cain and Stellan pounded in and out of me, their rhythm perfect and addicting.

The hot water created a dreamy scene around us, almost surreal with the steam blocking everything else out. Cain's eyes were fierce and locked on mine. He was biting down on his bottom lip as his muscles strained as he thrust in and out. I wished I could see Stellan. I knew he'd be just as pretty. Stellan was pressing soft kisses down my neck as he moved, whispering a barrage of praise that I could barely grasp onto. My muscles were weak, and I was glad that Cain had a good hold on me, because I wouldn't be able to hold myself up otherwise.

"Come for us one more time, baby," Stellan ordered, and I clamped down on him, squeezing and pulsing around both their cocks as I did just that.

"Yes. Yes. Yes," Cain growled, thrusting a few more times before he held himself deep inside me, his cock warming my insides as he spurted long ropes of cum.

Stellan yanked me back before Cain was even finished, and cum splashed against my stomach as Cain popped out. Cain’s eyes were wide and furious but Stellan paid him no mind, bouncing me on his cock in rough, fierce thrusts, one arm wrapped around my lower stomach, the other one opening my leg to hold me in the position he wanted.

A few more thrusts and Stellan was moaning loudly as heat filled my ass.

The world was shifting in and out of focus, and I was dazed as Stellan sat down with me settled in his lap, his cock still hard in my ass. A soft sponge eased across my skin, and I whimpered as Stellan finally slowly withdrew from me. I was cleaned between my legs and then passed into a different set of arms—Cain’s, I assumed—since I was too exhausted to open my eyes.

A cold rush of air assaulted my skin as we stepped out of the shower, and I shivered until a warm towel was wrapped around me.

I was already falling asleep as I was laid onto a soft mattress.

Lips brushed against mine briefly before the world went dark.

And the last thing I thought…I guess they didn't hate the devil in me as much as I’d thought they would.

18

PAXTON

I  was decidedly not a fan of cages. Especially after being in one for…who knows how long. I had no idea how long I’d been out after being fucking drugged that day in the hotel lobby. And when I'd woken up, I was inside a very large dog cage. The Demon had stripped off my hoodie, leaving me only in the jeans I'd been wearing at the time.

I was convinced I would never be warm again.

Because the only thing worse than being trapped in a dog cage in the first place, was being trapped in a dog cage in a freezing cold basement.

There was a lot that you took for granted in life. Like windows and sunlight and sanity. It was a fine line that Aurora’s father was pushing me towards. One that I could easily fall over if I wasn't careful.

The Demon was a clever one, I’d give him that. He switched tactics with me, breaking me down…for what purpose, I wasn't sure. For what seemed like days he kept the lights out, so that I was completely drenched in darkness, unable even to see the hand in front of my face. He brought victims in and out, and I'd had to listen to their pathetic whimpers and moans the entire time.

When the lights had finally crashed on, it felt like my retinas were burning, and my eyeballs were going to fall out of my skull. Wherever we were, there were huge shop lights hung all over the ceiling, much more than the space required, and the intensity of them all turning on at once after days of darkness was like being shoved against the sun.

I’d learned that none of the stories about him had been exaggerated—if anything, they hadn't been even close to describing what this psycho did to his victims. I’d watched him use a potato peeler, taking off layer upon layer of skin. Of course, this was after he'd injected the man with something that rendered him completely unable to move. Judging by his screams though, I was confident he’d felt every shred of his skin.

When he’d taken the needle and stuck it right in the guy’s eye, I’d thrown up.

And of course, the Demon wasn't going to clean that up, so I was stuck with the smell of my vomit and the guy’s putrid flesh for the next couple of days.

There wasn’t a word in the English language that was enough to describe that smell.

If I ever went to therapy…it wouldn’t be about my mommy issues anymore.

It would definitely be a result of this.

The one thing that kept me sane was thinking about the fact that Aurora had survived far worse than this growing up with him. She’d been a little girl, and she’d managed to survive and become the brilliant, ethereal, fierce creature that she was today. If she could handle that, I was sure I could too.

At least I could be confident he was going to keep me alive for a while. I'm sure he knew that Aurora wouldn't take it so well if he suddenly gutted me—that it would ruin whatever he was after right now when it came to her.

Or at least that was my hope.

It would suck to die.

It had been a tough day today, though…I’d been alone for a couple more days, and I was desperate for human interaction of any kind. I'd honestly take a rotten corpse at this point.

The basement's eerie silence had been disrupted by the door being thrown open and the Demon dragging in…Remington!

He threw Remington into a cage nearby, and I stared anxiously at Remy’s prone body just lying there.

Of course the Demon then turned the lights off, so I couldn't even be reassured he was alive by seeing his chest move up and down. I kept my hysteria controlled by thinking that keeping him in a cage wouldn't have been necessary if he wasn't alive.

Hours and hours passed, and my mind conjured up images of him dead, lying in a pile of green vomit.

Not sure why the vomit had to be green in the dream, but it seemed fitting for some reason.

Finally, I heard a loud groan; he was awake.

"Remington," I whispered. I was sure that there were cameras or something in the room, but I didn't give a fuck at the moment.

Another groan. "Remington!" I said again.

"Pax?"

"Fuck. It probably sounds awful to say this, but it's good to see you, man."

And it was.

There was so much fucking relief floating through my body right then that I wasn't alone. Maybe I was an evil asshole for thinking that, but Remington had just saved my sanity.

"Paxton!" Remington called, waking up enough to realize exactly who was talking to him. "Where are we?" he asked a few seconds later, and I heard the rattle of his cage. "Fuck, what did he put us in?"

"A dog cage," I drawled. “Nice touch, isn't it?"

"Fuck," spit out Remington. I heard movement and he groaned again.

"How did you get caught?" I asked.

"My kid brother's birthday party. Went to open the door for my aunt…and honestly, I don't remember much after that."

"How's Aurora?" I said softly, getting to what I actually cared about. Not that I didn’t care about Remington, but Aurora…Aurora was my soulmate.

He let out a dreamy sigh. I would've scoffed at him, but thinking about Aurora made me feel the same fucking way.

I was honestly more than desperate for her. It felt like a necessary thing to my existence. Without her, I hadn't been sleeping at all. Not that you could get very much sleep in my current situation, but it was like my body was refusing to cooperate in any form or fashion.

"She’s our perfectly bloodthirsty baby," Remington said.

"Perfectly bloodthirsty baby?"

"Of course she was desperately missing you," Remington hurriedly said, like he was worried I was going to be offended.

But I wasn't.

This thing with Aurora felt irrevocable. Like a permanent tattoo on my heart to match the one she'd given me on my skin. I knew she was feeling the loss of me just as much as I was feeling the loss of her.

“And the thing with Cain's dad?" I pressed.

"Everyone else is fine too. Thanks for your concern," he said sarcastically, and I rolled my eyes. They were all my brothers, but it was Aurora that I thought about every second, and I knew that if they were with her, they were okay.

It was just when she was alone…

Remington sighed. "We stole weapons from him. And then Cain's mom stabbed him, so you know…"

“She stabbed him?" I gasped, trying to picture Rebecca stabbing anyone.

I guess Cain's madness had to come from somewhere. The thought made me disappointed. She tried to step in as a makeshift mother to me, and although we hadn't been close for quite some time… It was just another way that a parental figure had disappointed me.

“It was a whole thing,“ Remington commented.

“How’s Cain taking that?”

Remington shrugged, not bothering to answer that one. Which I didn’t blame him for.

Cain was Cain. A little thing like his mother stabbing him in the back probably wouldn’t be that much of a concern for him. Man or woman. Cain didn’t discriminate with his “don’t give a fuck.”

Remington continued to catch me up with all that had happened since I’d been taken. And then proceeded to give me details of everything that had happened since he’d been gone—complete with a description of how his stocks were doing at the moment.

Not something I actually needed, of course, but I appreciated it nonetheless. I knew that Remington could see how desperate I was for as much human interaction as I could get.

I shivered, my teeth chattering—and Remington’s words trailed off.

“How—how are you doing?”

I gritted my teeth, trying to stave off the shivers. I shrugged, realizing belatedly he couldn’t see me.

“I mean, I would prefer to be somewhere else if given the chance,” I said sarcastically, not wanting to give the Demon the satisfaction of describing just how awful it had been.

“Cain’s been insufferable, so you’ve probably been better off,” offered Remington, and I snorted, a smile coming to my lips that was truly shocking considering our current conditions.

We descended into silence, but the darkness didn’t seem as terrifying anymore.

Even with the dead body I knew was in the corner across the room.

Better not tell Remington about that. Him being unconscious when he was hauled into the room was the only silver lining he’d get in this place.

“Hey Paxton,” Remington finally said after a few minutes.

I was lying on my back, staring up into the inky blackness, imagining Aurora’s face. “Yeah?” I answered.

“You can sleep, man. I’ll stay awake and keep watch.”

A strange, choked up sensation hit the back of my throat. A reminder I had three brothers I could count on for anything.

“Thanks, Remy,” I finally said, not ashamed at all about the emotion clogging my words.

I closed my eyes, and for the first time in days…I actually slept.

“PAXTON,” Remington’s urgent voice broke through my dream.

“Rise and shine,” the Demon’s voice assaulted the dream I’d been having—about his daughter. That and the bright lights suddenly filling the room equaled the worst wakeup call I could imagine.

But I wasn’t alone anymore. The thought hit me hard and fierce, and I glanced over with watery eyes from the sudden light, relieved to see Remington sitting cross legged in his cage, staring at the Demon with a blank, heavy-lidded gaze.

He was real. I hadn’t just dreamt his presence out of desperation. Hal-a-fucking-lujah.

The Demon was humming something that resembled “Sweet Caroline”, and dread poured over me like cold water. Aurora had mentioned that song before, hadn’t she?

I couldn’t remember exactly what she’d said, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know it meant something bad.

He walked over to the long table against the walls, and lifted up a knife that I could tell from here had a sharp, serrated edge…like shark’s teeth.

Hopefully without all the bacteria of a shark’s mouth, because I had a sneaking suspicion that knife was meant for one of us.

“I hope you boys are enjoying the accommodations,” he said in a psycho-smooth voice. He sounded so fucking pleasant, it was more terrifying than if he sounded angry. It was a voice that told you he’d offer you cookies at the door right before he slit you open and ate your liver with some onions.

“Well, the bedside service is a little lacking, but the decor rivals any five star hotel I’ve been to,” drawled Remington.

My eyes widened as the Demon stopped sharpening the knife he’d been holding, obviously as caught off guard by Remington’s nerve as I was.

What the fuck was he doing?

“I’ll let management know,” the Demon finally answered in an amused voice.

“You’ll also have to let me know who your pillow supplier is,” Remington continued. “Who knew hard steel could be so comfortable.”

A snort slid out of me, but the Demon didn’t seem to notice, or he was ignoring it, since he’d resumed sharpening that hideous knife of his.

“Oh, and give our compliments to the chef. The air down here tastes exceptionally good,” I added.

I mean, what the hell. If Remington or I were going to die today, we might as well have some fun before it happened.

“I’m so glad that you both have enjoyed your stay so much,” the Demon said, turning around clenching the knife, a crazy gleam in his eye I did not like at all.

“Do you smell something, Pax?” Remington asked with a frown, as if there wasn’t a terrifying serial killer currently walking towards us.

“Dead body mixed with shit? It’s not good.”

“Not good at all,” agreed Remington. “You might want to shower, old man. It’s going to be hard to lure victims in if they can smell you three hundred yards away.”

“I preferred you without the mouthy one, Paxton,” commented the Demon, cocking his head as he eyed Remington with distaste.

Remington grinned, like he’d just been given an awesome compliment. “I’m going to file that away to remember, you old dog. Right next to my memory of how your daughter sounds when I fuck her asshole.”

Oh shit.

I didn’t think there was anything that could fluster the monster in front of us.

But evidently, talking about ass fucking his prized daughter he was trying to torture could do it.

He stalked towards us. But instead of stopping at Remington’s cage, he stopped at mine.

“I think my daughter needs a little push. If she has time for…that…she’s forgotten her priorities…again.”

“Hey,” Remington called, a bit desperate, as my cage door was opened.

I was too weak at this point to try and rush him. He’d been starving me for who knows how long.

“I can talk all night about how good of a fuck Aurora is. You should come over here so I can tell you all about it,” Remington continued.

The Demon ignored him, his gaze focused on me. He cocked his head and stared at my tattoos.

“Don’t get any ideas, old man. Paxton’s a taken man,” Remington called out, still trying to get his attention away from me.

I appreciated the gesture, but I was pretty sure there was nothing that was going to work.

Unless Aurora was here and he started fucking her right in front of the Demon.

That possibly could work.

Fuck.

He reached out with the knife and I made myself stay still as he traced the ragged edge across my chest, leaving a thin cut that hurt like a motherfucker.

The Demon’s gaze got caught on the tattoo she’d given me.

“Yes,” he purred. “That should work nicely.”

“Hey, motherfucker. Or is it mother killer? Do you have a preference? Do you even fuck? I mean, I guess you’ve done it at least once, to get Aurora and all of that—” Remington’s voice was a constant comforting chant in my ears as I stared into the face of pure evil.

I’d always thought watching my mother die was the most awful thing I’d ever witness. But I had a feeling I’d have a whole new batch of nightmares to deal with after being this close to…him.

He abruptly pushed me to my back, and I got my wits back enough to feebly swing at him. It didn’t pack even close to my usual power, but his head still snapped back.

The Demon didn’t even make a sound. He just cracked his neck and took a step back, out of the cage, and then slammed it shut.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

But it was too soon.

Remington was now describing a play by play of a threesome he’d had with Aurora and Stellan, but the Demon was still paying him no mind.

The Demon walked back over to the counter, opened a cabinet…and pulled out a syringe I was very familiar with.

“Shit,” I muttered, and Remington’s words trailed off.

"Is that—”

“What Aurora used on Cain? Why, yes, it is,” I drawled, proud of the fact there wasn’t any fear in my voice even though I was fucking terrified. The idea of being paralyzed at his mercy…that was the stuff of nightmares. I left off the fact that I’d been watching the Demon use it on his victims quite a bit. No need to give the Demon that satisfaction.

It would piss him off more if I sounded afraid of Aurora and not him.

Because that’s what this came down to, even if he was trying to play it off as something else. He was competing with Aurora. He was trying to put her under his thumb.

I couldn’t wait for Aurora to show him who was boss.

I ignored the voice that wondered if that was possible.

“Getting a little weak there, old man,” I snarked as he approached me with the syringe. “Can’t even hold me off after starving me.”

The Demon’s smile was calm and placid, like I’d just asked him to fucking tea. “You can save your breath, boy. I haven’t gotten this far by being goaded into being an idiot. You think I don’t know about your little fights?”

My teeth gritted at his “little fight” comment, but now I was determined to not be the one goaded into being stupid.

“Hold out your arm,” he said pleasantly, once he’d gotten to the cage. “If you don’t struggle, I’ll only take off one tattoo. If you make this difficult, I’ll strip off every one until you’re a bleeding carcass. If you’re extra cooperative, I might actually sanitize the wound.”

“You fucking asshole,” seethed Remington.

“I’m not sure serial killers are known for their honesty,” I responded to the Demon, just as calmly as he was talking to me.

He mocked a shocked expression. “Has Aurora told you so little? I never lie.”

That was a lie right there, I was sure of it. But I was caught between a rock and a hard place considering I was a million times weaker than normal…and I was locked in a fucking cage.

And I was still thinking he at least wanted me breathing whenever the inevitable showdown with Aurora occurred.

I held out my arm.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Remington muttered under his breath.

The needle slid in, and I zoned out. Closing my eyes as the numbness set in, I pictured Aurora’s face. Her courage. Her empathy. Her…perfection.

I would survive this. For her.

I could do anything for her.

As the Demon laid me down and began to saw away at the tattoo she’d given me, I didn’t make a sound…much to his dismay.

I just thought of her with every strip of my skin he removed.

And I barely felt the pain.

19

AURORA

T here was a box waiting for me at the door of the hotel room the next morning.

Immediately, I knew it was from him.

The Demon.

I should have been terrified at how easily the Demon tracked us from location to location, but I was resigned at this point.

“Don’t you dare touch that,” snarled Stellan, yanking me back as I reached down to pick it up.

“He’s not going to blow me up. That’s an Alexander kind of thing. Not a Demon thing,” I sighed with exasperation.

Cain ignored me and grabbed the box while Stellan kept me in a bear hug.

“This could be from Alexander for all we know,” snapped Cain, setting the box on one of the end tables and eyeing it disdainfully.

“It’s definitely from the Demon,” I disagreed.

“What makes you so confident?” murmured Stellan into my ear, his breath on my skin giving me goosebumps.

“There are blood drops on the red ribbon. I highly doubt Alexander would do that.”

“Who knows at this point,” growled Cain. He flipped open the lid—a little lazily, might I add— considering he’d just said it could be an explosive.

It was worse than an explosive though.

It was a tattoo.

My tattoo. The one I’d given Paxton. I stared at it hard, my chest feeling tight, nausea building in my head.

“I hate him,” I whispered in a trembling voice. “I hate him so much. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to stab him in his fucking throat and watch as the life drains from his eyes. And I’m going to smile the entire fucking time.”

Cain adjusted himself. “Always makes me hard when you go all bloodthirsty on me, little devil,” he purred.

I shot him a glare, his lightheartedness very unappreciated at the moment.

“Paxton’s been through far worse than a little blood loss,” Stellan reminded me, hugging me even closer to him.

“You have no idea what else the Demon has done to him!” I snarled. I yanked myself from Stellan’s grip and paced the room. “How long are we going to keep playing this game? There has to be an ending!”

“Hmm, maybe there’s a chance for us to end it early,” Cain suddenly mused. My gaze snapped over to him where he was looking at his phone. “Looks like there are still some of his worshippers out and about. They just announced a meeting tomorrow. Maybe the Demon will want to make an appearance.”

“Was that on their chat page?” asked Stellan.

Cain nodded, frowning as he continued reading.

The Demon’s followers had a Reddit type page on the dark web where they organized their meetings and exchanged news about the Demon’s whereabouts and suspected kills. It was like a Taylor Swift fan page, but for psychos.

They hadn’t organized any get-togethers in a while. Not since doing so had become a hazardous move thanks to the countless number of them we’d killed off when given the chance.

“What time tomorrow?” I asked, feeling a spark of hope light up my chest for the first time. The Demon had always mocked his followers, but I’d always gotten the feeling he enjoyed their adoration. The news had detailed the piles of fan mail that had been found in his cell after he’d escaped. He’d kept thousands of their letters. Maybe he would show up, and we could have some kind of standoff with him…or maybe we could follow him to wherever he was staying and find Remington, Paxton, and my mother.

Plans never went the way I wanted, but it would be nice if they did.

We spent the rest of the day stalking the message board and reviewing the area where the gathering was going to take place. Because they were nothing if not a cliche, the Demon’s followers had chosen a graveyard that was rumored to be heavily haunted for their meeting.

And not just haunted by regular ghosts, but of the Demon’s victims. The FBI had discovered it was one of the Demon’s burial sites about five years ago, and the rumors had run rampant since then. Stellan looked a little uneasy as we read some of the stories that surrounded the place—like the one about a woman who was missing half her face who would appear in your rear view mirror if you ever visited the cemetery.

The stories didn’t bother me though.

I’d learned long ago not to fear the dead. It was the living that you had to be afraid of. They were the ones that could truly haunt you.

I imagined there were going to be some sacrifices involved if they were holding it at that cemetery. I just hoped they weren’t the human type of sacrifices.

Or did I?

An image of my knife slicing into skin seeped into my mind, and I shivered just thinking about it.

I tried to ignore that the shiver was the good kind.

After we’d planned into the early morning hours, the three of us tried to get some sleep. Or at least I tried; Cain and Stellan slept perfectly, nestled against me like our world wasn’t falling apart.

I envied them.

I also missed Paxton and Remington fiercely. My mind kept conjuring up all the different ways that the Demon was torturing them, and it was driving me crazy.

Would they even be recognizable when we found them?

I didn’t let myself think about the possibility of not finding them.

But I couldn’t stop wondering what would be left of them when we did.

I’d seen the Demon torture people in a thousand different ways, and none of them were pleasant. He’d once kept someone chained to a gurney, and cut off little parts of them over a month, somehow keeping them alive. By the time they’d actually succumbed to death, they had no arms and legs. No genitalia. They were basically just a chest and a head.

I’d had nightmares for months after that one. And now I was trying to stop myself from imagining Remington’s leg showing up at the front door. Or one of Paxton’s hands.

I sat up in bed, a cold sweat dripping down my spine as I stared towards the window where sunlight was already beginning to bloom thanks to the ungodly late hour we’d stayed up until.

Sunrise felt like a lie. You always heard it represented a new day, a way to start over and shed the day before. But every day felt similar nowadays. A nightmare on loop with no end in sight.

Stop thinking like that, I chastised myself, trying to push those thoughts away.

I ran my hands over my face. This was what the Demon wanted. He wanted me to lose my cool, to stop thinking clearly. He wanted me to fall into his trap, so he could teach me a lesson and force me under his thumb.

I didn’t have to fall into his hands.

Out of the darkness and into the light, to all that is good, and all that is bright…

I repeated the mantra over and over again, but unlike usual…

It didn’t have its desired effect.

“Why are you up?” Stellan’s sleep filled voice asked. I turned my head and stared down at his tousled haired beauty. Things weren’t all bad, obviously. Not when I had that view.

“Come here,” he murmured, glancing over at Cain who was still fast asleep…or pretending to be asleep; you never could tell with him. I allowed him to bring me into his arms, and I cuddled into his warm chest, soaking his love in. The tension sitting on my shoulders shifted away slightly.

“I promise it’s going to be alright,” he whispered as he ran his fingers through my hair over and over again.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I answered sadly. His hand froze for a moment before he shook my words off and continued to stroke my hair.

Eventually, his steady caress had my eyes growing heavy, and I fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

THE GATHERING WAS BEING HELD at night, because you couldn’t be a spooky serial killer cult without a little nighttime ambiance. Nerves were churning in my stomach as Cain stopped the car on the side of the road about a half a mile away from the entrance to the cemetery. He pulled down into the ditch so the car wouldn’t be visible right away from the road, but still accessible enough that we could get it out if need be.

We stayed in the tree line as we walked towards the graveyard, hidden from the procession of cars that passed.

“What do you think these people do for their day jobs?” Stellan mused. “Or is that their job— worshipping a serial killer? It would definitely make for an interesting resume.”

I glanced over at Stellan, slightly amused despite the circumstances. Cain just sighed in that impatient way of his, like he didn’t have to wonder about such inane things because he knew everything.

“This place is definitely haunted,” mused Stellan a few minutes later, when we were standing outside the worn, rusted, metal gate that surrounded the cemetery.

It definitely looked like the scene from a horror film. The headstones were all in states of ruin. Cracks, mold, and mildew covered the stones, most of the writing barely visible through the decay. There were headstones lying on their sides, and some were even broken. Because the graveyard had been closed after the bodies had been found, there was no one maintaining the grounds. So the grass was long and wild, and weeds and wildflowers bloomed every which way.

I could already feel my allergies wanting to make an appearance from all the wild plants.

We were stationed on the corner farthest from the road. That didn’t guarantee that we wouldn’t come across some of the cult members, but it lessened the likelihood since most of them were parking nearby.

It was still weird to me to see one of the Demon’s followers getting out of a Prius.

“I’m betting a lot of them are tax accountants,” I whispered to Stellan.

He thought for a second and then nodded his head in agreement. “I bet you’re right. Has to be some paper pusher kind of job for sure.”

There was a sharp crack behind us and I swung around, my mouth dropping when I saw that Cain had just snapped one of the cult members’ necks.

“Can we please spend more time paying attention to our surroundings, and less time wondering what they put on their Indeed profile?” Cain snarked.

Stellan shot him a wide grin and Cain flipped him off.

I was smiling as I turned back around to stare at the group gathering, but my smile dropped when I saw how many people were suddenly there. It had to be over a hundred. And there were still more coming in.

“This was more than I was prepared for,” I mused, unease stirring in the back of my neck.

“They must have another website that we haven’t found yet,” said Cain in a tense voice. He’d pulled out his phone and was looking through the message boards. “There were like ten people who responded to the announcement on the page. In the past, those numbers have matched up.”

“Maybe this will be even more attractive for the Demon,” Stellan offered hopefully.

I bit down on my lip as I surveyed the scene. They were too far away for us to hear anything but the low din of voices. We were going to have to get closer so we could hear what they were saying about the Demon. But we should be safe as long as we stayed hidden. I had no doubt that the three of us could inflict quite a bit of damage to the crowd…but eventually, we would still be overrun due to the sheer size of the gathering.

“Let’s go,” Cain murmured, leaning forward and ducking behind a weeping willow.

It was funny how when you were trying to be quiet, every small noise sounded like a roar. As we crept along the side of the cemetery, I winced every time a twig would break, even though it was impossible for any of the cult members to hear us from this far away.

I could see their lips moving, but it wasn't until we got closer that I realized they were chanting something.

"What language is that?" asked Stellan.

"It's Latin," Cain and I responded at the same time.

"Why do all the bad guys always know how to speak Latin?" Stellan mused.

"I know Latin,” said Cain.

We both raised our eyebrows, because honestly, he’d just proven Stellan right.

Cain smirked, obviously very proud of himself, and then we turned our attention back to the Demon worshippers.

"Okay, Mr. Latin, what are they saying?" asked Stellan.

Cain cocked his head, and grimaced.

"They’re praying to the Demon. Bunch of psychos."

I nodded. I wouldn't have been afraid of the cemetery at all without that crowd of crazies there. But with their demonic sounding chant, and the fact that it was dark, I had to admit the scene was a bit creepy.

The chant abruptly ended and the cemetery descended into complete silence as the crowd just stood there.

A spark of light appeared, and I realized that one of them was holding a lighted match. He threw it down on the ground in front of him, and I braced myself for chaos as they lit the cemetery on fire. But in the darkness, I hadn't been able to see the large stack of wood in the center of the crowd. It burst into flames, illuminating the large pyre shaped bonfire they'd constructed. The flames flickered against their white robes as they began to sway in unison, starting the Latin chant once again.

"Praise to the Demon. May death be delivered unto him. We lay our lives before our master. We are thy servants." There was a bunch of other mumbo-jumbo they chanted after that, but it was more of the same old bullshit.

Someone's hand squeezed mine, and I realized Stellan had slipped our hands together. His skin was a bit pale as he watched the scene in front of us. I made a mental note that on my birthday, I should make us go through a haunted house, just to see Stellan tortured a bit.

"Stop looking at me with that crazy smile,” snarked Stellan as he glanced over at me.

"What smile?" I responded innocently. He rolled his eyes.

"I'll just prepare myself for the inevitable torture you have in store for me."

"And you’ll love every second of it," I responded.

He rolled his eyes again, but he pressed a kiss against my lips that had Cain growling under his breath. The chanting stopped again, and then the crowd parted and I saw the worshippers hauling a struggling body towards the fire.

They tossed the form on the ground, and I watched as the person struggled to get out of the ropes that bound their hands and feet. They were facing away from us, so I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but it was definitely not an animal.

This crowd really had guts. Although the cemetery was abandoned, the FBI still stopped by from time to time to see if there were any new bodies that had been deposited. At one time, there had been cameras stationed around the cemetery in an attempt to catch the Demon, but I knew that his followers had destroyed them so often that the FBI had finally given up on placing them around here.

"Do they follow the same rules as the Demon when it comes to their kills?" Stellan asked.

I squinted, still trying to make out if I recognized anything about the person.

"Oh, I imagine that this sect accepts far pettier sins than what would satisfy the Demon. Maybe they looked at one of them wrong in the office. Or they stole their lunch bag out of the company refrigerator. I'm not sure that this crowd is coming across actual evil in their everyday lives that much, except for themselves," I amended. "It would certainly be helpful if they just started killing each other off."

One of the worshippers bent over with a long serrated knife, slicing at the rope that bound the person's hands and ankles. After the task was done, he stepped back into the crowd.

The sacrifice laid there for a second, obviously confused by the fact their ropes had been cut, and then they jumped up. They turned towards where we were hiding, and I could finally tell that it was a young man, with longer, raggedy hair. Judging by the way his clothes were shredded, he was a runaway, or someone who had been living in the streets for some time. Either that or he'd been kept in one of their basements for a couple of months.

The man stared around the crowd, fear etched into his features. "Let me go!" he screamed in a choked voice. "You freaks will pay for this."

Cain shook his head in disgust, because unless you had something to back up your words, you probably shouldn't call a large group of angry psychos "freaks."

Another robed figure stepped forward, pulling open an honest-to-goodness scroll. Maybe they were also part of a historical literacy book club and decided to combine their hobbies, because I'd never seen the Demon using a scroll before.

"You, Dylan Hansen, have been sentenced to death for your sins," he read from the scroll. He was using one of those voice distorter machines, and his voice came out robotic and low pitched. It definitely added to the whole scary cult member vibe he was going for.

"What sins?" the younger man scoffed.

"We know about the girl," the other man purred through the voice machine.

"What girl? My girlfriend? Look, you can talk to her about it. She liked it," he pleaded.

This guy was a poor liar. Whoever the girl was, his girlfriend or not, I could tell just from listening to him that she had definitely not liked whatever he'd done to her. I guess they’d at least stayed with the Demon’s script and gotten a sacrifice with some sins under his belt.

"I'm assuming you’re not keen to save this one?" drawled Stellan.

"You’ve come so far," Cain said mockingly, patting Stellan on the cheek.

Stellan’s face was murderous, but he didn't respond with the punch to the face he was obviously dying to level at Cain.

"Oh," I said as the chanting started again and the crowd began to walk as one towards the sacrifice. They'd been situated in a large circle, with the fire in the middle, but with every step they took, the space for the man to move got smaller. A trickle of anticipation surged through me as I thought about what was to come next.

The man had two choices. He could try to throw himself into the crowd and attempt to battle his way out—a move not likely to succeed. Or he could throw himself into the fire, and end himself that way so he wasn’t at the mercy of the crowd of crazies approaching him.

He chose the first option. When his ankles were licking at the bonfire, he suddenly surged forward, kicking and biting and clawing as he attempted to push through the crowd.

It was a testament to the human will to live that he made it about three rows in before the crowd overtook him.

"No! Please!" His screams rang through the air, and I watched as he fell to the ground. Almost in unison, several of the cult members held knives high in the air, slicing them down towards the struggling man, until his screams were no more.

Stellan shivered next to me, and I squeezed his hand.

"What was the next thing on their little cult agenda?" Stellan whispered.

"You," a voice said from behind us.

"Fuck," Cain growled as we swirled around and saw at least twenty figures hiding in the trees behind us.

"It’s an ambush. They knew we were here and used him as a distraction," I murmured, dread settling over my skin. I pulled out the knife I had sheathed around my thigh, and Cain and Stellan both drew their guns.

"Okay, a couple hundred against three. No problem," Stellan joked.

"How did you know we were here?" I said as they trudged towards us. Cain, Stellan, and I began to retreat to the left, hoping to avoid a situation where the worshippers behind us boxed us in. A quick glance behind me showed that they were still concentrating on their victim for the most part, with the exception of a few of the outer lying ones that were watching where we stood with interest, even though I doubted they could see us well thanks to the heavy tree line.

"Delilah, you’ve disappointed your father," the one closest to us said in a gravelly voice.

"I'm sure he'll survive," I retorted sarcastically.

"When I say three, you need to run," murmured Cain.

I shot him a look of disgust, because obviously I wasn't going to do that.

"I'm serious," he snarled. “I’m not going to let you fall into the Demon's hands. He’s obviously planned this."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but either we all leave here, or none of us leave," I responded calmly, taking a deep breath as I prepared myself for what was to come.

"He's going to spank you for that," muttered Stellan, and I almost laughed.

“Almost” being the operative word, because it was a little hard to find humor in the situation right now.

Taking a glance towards the crowd again, my heart sank when I saw they were starting to head towards us. So far, we were all just walking, but I was sure that would change any minute now.

As if he had read my mind, Cain grabbed my arm and yanked me further to the left. "Let's try to outrun them, and if we can't, then we’ll fight," he whisper yelled.

We took off, and like ants out of a mound you’ve just stepped in, the cult members were suddenly swarming from…everywhere.

Including the direction we were trying to run.

"Fuck! How are there still so many of them?" Stellan yelled.

"This way," Cain said frantically, the first hint of panic in his voice.

I was feeling panic too. There were so many of them. Cain aimed his gun in front of us where three of the cult members stood and fired it, picking them off one by one. They fell to the ground, their screeches and groans filling the night.

I would prefer their screams over what everyone else was doing. It was that chant again, one that would be starring in my nightmares.

It was impressive how crowds could get on the same page and be perfectly in unison.

Someone lunged at me from the side and I stabbed out with my knife. I hit the person right in the jugular, their blood spraying all over me. I tried to pull my knife out, but it got stuck on something; evidently, I’d gone too deep. After I lost a few precious seconds trying to pull it out, I let the body drop with the knife still inside it, grabbing the blade I had hooked on my other thigh. I had one more knife on my waist, but another situation like that, and I'd soon be weaponless.

The cult members had picked up speed, and they were actively cutting off the small opening we'd made when Cain had fired those shots.

Cain and Stellan picked off more of the encroaching cult members, trying to keep the space open. But it was no use, there were just too many of them. They fell on us, and my knife was much easier in close combat than Stellan and Cain’s guns. Cain pulled out two knives from his belt and tossed one to Stellan, and all three of us got to work, slashing and stabbing as the Demon’s worshippers fell on us.

Despite the number of bodies falling by our hands, they kept coming, what felt like a limitless supply of psychos everywhere.

"Fuck," I heard Stellan yell, and I glanced behind me to see that six of them had a hold of him, and they were dragging him off. I immediately lunged after them, slicing away, but they dragged him too far into their midsts for me to make any headway.

"Stellan!" I screamed as I stabbed a woman directly in the eye. Her garbled moan faded away as I watched him disappear into the crowd.

And then, as if they were a beast that had just needed to eat, the crowd pulled back. Cain and I were still slicing and dicing everyone we could get a hold of, but they were no longer trying to grab us. They seemed to disappear into the trees, and there was no sign of Stellan or the cult members who had taken him.

"Stellan!" I screamed again, and then…something caught my eye.

Across the cemetery, standing just in the tree line, reminiscent of that day that he’d escaped from prison, was the Demon.

He smiled broadly at me, blowing me a kiss.

I immediately held up both my middle fingers, screaming, "Fuck you!"

His cocky grin slipped away, because there was nothing that the Demon hated more from me than disrespect. I jumped forward to go after him, but a pair of arms grabbed me by the waist and hauled me back.

I screamed and tried to fight the hold.

"Aurora, stop," Cain grunted as my elbow connected with his stomach.

"He's right there," I hissed angrily, still struggling.

"And he's outmaneuvered us. Today is not our day," he answered, continuing to drag me back into the forest.

Hot angry tears were running down my face, and like when Paxton and Remington had disappeared, there was an ache inside of me, a hole in my soul where my love for Stellan lived.

I could only hope that Stellan would end up with the others. That he would stay alive.

I finally stopped struggling, and Cain hugged me tighter.

"I promise you we will find them, Aurora. I'll bring them back to you," he murmured, over and over again…until I almost believed him.

There was no sign of the Demon’s followers now. It was like the cemetery really was haunted and they had all been ghosts taken back to the grave.

The walk back to the car felt like it took a lifetime.

I was changed as I settled into the passenger seat. I realized belatedly that I was gripping onto Cain's arm, and when I tried to loosen my hold, I couldn't get myself to do it. I needed a tangible reminder that he was still there.

That I wasn't alone.

We drove back to a new hotel Cain had picked out, and the room felt empty.

As he held me in bed for the rest of the night, all I could think was…

How soon would it be that he was gone too?

20

AURORA

D read settled in my stomach when my phone pinged.

Killing Carnage had meant nothing to me except for the danger it posed for my men and me. But killing my old FBI handler had been agonizing. The look of sympathy on his face when he opened the door would haunt me forever.

What would the Demon want next? He’d eased me into being his weapon again with Carnage. Then the FBI agent had been devastating. Three men, three targets...the next one would be terrible. Could it be my mom? Who else was precious to me? There were so few people I knew or cared about in the world besides my men. I closed my eyes, unwilling to look for a moment. I wanted to live another few seconds in the before.

But I’d do whatever it took to get my men back. I had to face it.

“What is it?” Cain demanded, pulling me onto his lap so we could look together.

At least I wouldn’t face this alone.

There was just one word on the screen.

THE DEMON:

Jenna

I threw the phone onto the table as if it had bitten me. “No!”

Cain picked it up and looked at the screen, frowning.

My fingers were shaking as I took it from him and began to text back.

AURORA:

Why? She’s never done anything.

DEMON:

She’s one of your ties to a world where you don’t belong. It’s time to come home, Delilah.

Cain’s eyes were icy as I turned to him. There was a catch in my voice when I said, “I can’t… I can’t…”

“You won’t,” he said. “We’ll get Jenna to disappear. I have the contacts to get her out of here to safety. But…”

“I need someone who looks like her,” I said. “Someone who I don’t mind killing.”

I snapped my fingers.

“What?” Cain asked.

“How about a terrible, boyfriend-stealing roommate? She even lives in the right place… if we can make it look like the roommate disappeared, like she ran back home after the terrible murder in her own dorm room, then there’s no reason for the Demon to suspect it wasn’t really Jenna.” He’d be suspicious. He knew I wouldn’t kill a friend if I could help it.

That must be why my phone pinged again, then again, then again.

Each time with a bloody photo of my men. Pax. Remy. Stellan. Proof of life...and proof of torture.

Tears sprang to my eyes.

“It’s alright,” Cain said. “They’re tough bastards, Aurora. They’ll hang on while we get to them.”

I nodded, blinking away the tears, trying to smile through my grief. “I’ve got someone to kill. I need to focus on that.”

That night, I made my way to Jenna’s dorm room. Some sick part of me wouldn’t stop wondering what I would do if killing the real Jenna was the only way to protect my men. Would I really choose my best friend over their lives?

But I couldn’t dwell on that. There was no reason to. I already had a plan.

Thanks to Remy, we all had master swipe keys for the whole campus. So I didn’t pause outside my old dorm room, where the laughter of girls rose up down the hall. The entire place had a creamy scent of lotion and body spray, like I’d wandered into a Bath and Body Works, but I’d bet that it smelled a lot better than the men’s dorm.

I stepped into the room and for a second, I thought the blonde haired girl facing away from me at her desk was Jenna. But she was on my side of the room. An unexpected flare of jealousy spiked through my chest. I was glad I lived at the Sphinx now—when I lived anywhere—but I still also missed this place and the week I’d had pretending to have a normal life, to be a normal girl with a real, living best friend.

“Jenna,” she said without looking back at me. “Do you think you could pick up your side of the room? It’s disgusting.”

I frowned at Jenna’s perfectly tidy side of the room. It seemed strange that she had the same white comforter–still stained with a tiny dot of red paint–and peach-colored sheets on her bed, the same framed photo of her with her parents and siblings smiling at the beach on the desk. It made it feel like time had stayed still in here while my whole life reeled out of control.

“I swear you’re making our whole room smell like you,” she made a gagging sound. “No wonder Jayden dumped you for me. You’re such a mess.”

“Make it easy for me to cut your throat, why don’t you?” I asked.

She spun around in her desk chair, a look of horror crossing her face. She did look surprisingly like Jenna—same height and build, same blonde hair and brown eyes. Which was good, because that was all I planned on leaving behind.

“You shouldn’t have been such a bitch to my best friend.”

The resulting plume of red splattered across the wall. I winced at the fact some splattered on Jenna’s bedspread even as I leapt forward. She opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn’t—I had slashed through her airway. I watched her crumple to the ground, her eyes still wide, her body twitching and spasming. She clutched her throat, but there was no way for her to hold back the blood that flowed down her breasts and soaked her shirt, the carpet.

Cain came in behind me and knelt with the machine to burn off her fingerprints. The scent of burning filled the air, and it made me crinkle my nose. I got up and took one of the bottles of body spray—Sweet Pea—and sprayed it around the room.

Cain coughed. “Was that necessary?”

“Leave it to you to prefer the smell of death and depravity to a light floral scent.”

Then the door opened again.

Jenna stood there, frozen in the door for a second, taking in the horrifying scene.

“Good,” Cain said, getting up and closing the door. “I need to scan your fingerprints so I can replace hers with your own.”

“What’s happening? “Jenna asked, wide-eyed.

“The Demon ordered me to kill you to save Stellan,” I said. “Obviously, I’m not going to do that.”

“Obviously,” Jenna said, still wide eyed as if that weren’t obvious at all. “Is this where I help you bury the body?”

“I love the sentiment,” I said. “But we’re leaving this body right here.”

Jenna nodded. She looked wide eyed at the carnage decorating her room. “Thanks for not killing me, Aurora.”

“You’re my best friend,” I said.

“Fingerprints,” Cain said impatiently.

I raised an eyebrow and a finger at him in admonishment. “Watch how you talk to her. You’ve already seen what I do if someone hurts my best friend.”

Cain just grinned, unaffected, and looked down at the body I was beginning to cut into. She had cooled into death while we were talking. “I can’t wait to see what you do when someone hurts me.”

“Never going to happen,” I said quickly.

I couldn’t lose Cain too.

21

AURORA

I t had been two weeks of moving locations, and I was sick of it. I had never been a wait and see kind of girl, and the lack of inaction was slowly driving me insane.

Besides the daily pictures I got of Paxton, Remington, and Stellan's tortured bodies, the Demon hadn't come up with any new requests since the order to kill Jenna. Cain had sent her to a oceanside resort under an alias until we got rid of the Demon, but we’d had to go radio silent with her to keep the fact she was alive a secret.

I missed her.

I missed my men.

The wait was getting to Cain as well. When we weren't trying to figure out clues to the Demon and Alexander's locations, Cain was fucking me on every surface he could find, like the only outlet that prevented him from going crazy, was my body.

We were at a huge cabin in the woods for the next two days, rented under one of Cain's many aliases. There were too many windows in the house though, and I found myself walking around, staring out of them constantly, searching the surrounding woods for threats.

Currently we were seated on the couch in front of the television. It was on the local news channel, but neither of us were paying attention. Cain was searching the dark web chat rooms for news of the Demon’s movements, and I was searching on my own computer for any mysterious deaths in the area. We'd already spent a few hours looking for any sign of Alexander earlier.

After another couple minutes, I slammed my computer shut and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Cain immediately asked. It didn't annoy me, him monitoring my every movement. I was doing the same thing to him. I was too afraid of him disappearing on me to go very far.

"I'm going to go run a few miles on the treadmill, try to get this energy out," I responded.

He nodded, his face softening as he took me in.

Cain opened his mouth, and I knew what he was going to say; it was the same promise he'd been giving me, one where he swore to get the others back for me.

Right now, I didn't want to hear it.

I held up my hand, stopping his words. "I’m okay. I just need to let off some steam."

He closed his mouth and nodded, forcing his gaze back to his computer.

I felt a little guilty that I couldn't be as cool and collected as the situation called for, but every bloodied photograph the Demon sent made me feel more and more helpless.

Once I got to the exercise room, I popped in my headphones and started to run. I didn't know the name of the song I was listening to, but the singer’s screeching voice helped drown out my dark thoughts.

I'd been going for about thirty minutes when a loud bang sounded down the hall, causing me to trip on the treadmill in my surprise. I caught myself right before I face planted and jumped off, not even bothering to turn it off as I ran down the hall. "Cain?" I called out, his name getting caught in my throat as I turned the corner and ran right into him.

He pushed me against the wall, his hand covering my mouth.

"Alexander's here," he murmured as I heard another bang. "This way." He led me down a series of hallways. When I had said cabin, I had of course meant mansion cabin. And although Cain did enjoy his finery, the reason we both had liked this place so much was that it was easy to get lost in. There were multiple staircases leading to the second floor and the basement, and many of the rooms were interconnected by bathrooms so we could travel between them easily.

We made our way down the back staircase, into the basement. It was a better choice than the upstairs since it had two walk out entrances to the woods that surrounded the place. Crouching low to the ground, we made our way across to one of the sliding glass doors, and plastered ourselves against the wall next to it. Cain peeked his head out to stare through the glass into the backyard. There were no footsteps above us yet, but any minute now, that would change. The owner of the property had a big thing for security. When Cain had been looking into the place, the listing had talked about a security film that made the glass windows and doors extremely tough to break. I wasn't sure how strong the film on the glass really was, but at least it was giving us a little time to prepare ourselves.

Another bang sounded upstairs.

"I don't see anyone out this way, but they could be hiding in the woods,” whispered Cain. I nodded, thinking of the way the Demon’s worshippers had popped out of the woods at the cemetery like bunnies.

I was sure that Alexander had brought reinforcements with him as well.

Cain and I had set up a weapons room in one of the empty bedrooms in the basement. We moved away from the door and headed towards the room just as we finally heard the sound of glass breaking and footsteps above us.

"Are you ready for this?" Cain asked as we grabbed weapons. I sheathed several knives on my thighs, my waist, and my arms, holstering three guns around my waist just for good measure.

"Yep," I said, popping my lips, his gaze growing hungry as he took in the sight of me.

"Like what you see?" I teased as I admired him right back, watching as he strapped an assortment of weapons all over him, including a few grenades.

He just winked at me.

The sound of more footsteps above us had my heart hammering in my chest. Cain locked up the cabinets where the weapons were stored and turned towards me.

"Today's the day it ends," he said simply, and I nodded.

Today was the fucking day.

"Oh, Cain," I heard Alexander call out mockingly from the first floor. "Daddy's home."

Cain’s face curled up in disgust. "I always hated that word," he said as we moved through the bathroom that connected this room to another, right as footsteps sounded on the stairs down the hall.

"You don't hate it when I call you that," I murmured.

He sighed impatiently. "I really don't have time to fuck you right now, Aurora. And I don't really want to kill my father with an erection."

I snickered. It felt weird. How messed up our relationship was with all the parental units in this group. Even Stellan, with his relatively normal mother, had loads of issues with her since Sophia's death.

I quickly turned my thoughts down another path, because that was not going to be helpful thinking about her right now.

"Cain," an unfamiliar voice called out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

“Keith, one of his underlings," Cain whispered. "A particularly annoying one."

The footsteps came closer and Cain suddenly spun from the doorway, swinging a blade. I heard the sound of the knife hitting flesh, and then a low gurgle. Peeking around, I saw Cain holding a big oaf of a man in his arms, a knife sticking out of the guy’s throat.

"Hey, that's my move," I murmured petulantly.

He just winked at me again as he dragged the body into the bedroom across the hall.

"One down," I commented as he came out and closed the bedroom door behind him.

Cain nodded. We headed towards the other staircase, winding through the various bedrooms so it took three times as long as just walking down the hall. Three more men came down the opposite stairs and we made quick work of them, leaving them in the various bedrooms. Hope the owner didn't mind a little blood on his floorboards, because I didn't think even the best cleaning crew in the world could get it out of the real wood floors.

"It's a good color," Cain commented as I stared at the blood red puddle on the floor from the body he’d just dragged into one of the bedrooms.

"And this is why when I build a house, it’s going to have tile," I retorted.

"Your wish is my command," Cain said, typing something in the notes section of his phone. "Anything else?" he asked.

I gaped at him. "Are you taking notes right now about my housing plans?"

"No time like the present."

Just then, his father's voice again sounded from upstairs, further away this time, like he was yelling from the second floor. Every now and again I would hear the heavy beat of footsteps, but from what I heard, it didn't sound like he had a large contingent with him…at least inside the house.

We crept up the random set of stairs that let out right by the enormous butler's pantry.

"I hope you have a room like this on that little list of yours," I whispered, admiring the pretty oak shelves as we passed by.

Cain went to pull his phone out of his pocket, and I grabbed his wrist. "I was just joking. Focus," I hissed.

The corner of his mouth flipped up sexily. "Then stop distracting me with your wish list."

I shook my head, moving into the butler pantry closet as Cain continued down the hall. This was all part of the plan we had whispered to each other in the weapons room earlier. I wasn't sure how I felt about it—him going off without me. But since this was Cain’s father, he could take the lead.

I sure as hell would be taking the lead when it came to my own father.

After waiting a few minutes, I slipped out of my hiding place and tiptoed down the hall, going down the back hallway slowly until I’d finally made my way to the opposite end of the house, behind where Cain would hopefully have lured Alexander.

When I peeked into the large formal living room where Cain had set up shop, Alexander was standing in front of me, his back to where I was hiding, five of his henchmen spread out behind him.

Cain was seated on the couch. He was staring at his father…his expression bored.

"What a pleasant surprise," drawled Cain. "I was just telling Aurora how this place would be great for company.”

"I decided I was bored of our games," said Alexander, unbuttoning his suit coat.

I lunged forward and stabbed one of his men in the back before retreating to the doorway.

Alexander’s head shot around at the sound of the man dying, and his gaze snapped to mine. "It's a pleasure as always, Aurora," he purred.

I didn't have anything particularly catchy to say, so I gifted him with my middle finger. Hey, if it was good enough for my psychopath of a father, it was good enough for Alexander as well.

Alexander stalked further into the living room, closer to where Cain was still seated. The others looked uneasy as they stood there, their gazes moving from Alexander to Cain…to me. At least they were giving me a healthy look of fear. I hoped I had earned that by now.

"Well, you're here. What happens next?" Cain asked easily.

"You die is what happens next, son. Your mother? Really?" he said, and I heard the first tinge of emotion in his voice.

I raised my hand even though Alexander wasn’t looking. "Actually, that was me," I tossed out flippantly, not feeling even an ounce of guilt at the look of deranged rage that crossed Alexander's face as his attention turned back to me.

“I'm going to kill you after Cain," Alexander said with a nod, as if he'd suspected as much. "But I'm going to make it hurt." His face curled up in abject hate. "I'm going to make you wish it was the Demon who had you."

"Bring it on," I said.

My response only added to Alexander's fury. His son was much better than him at keeping his cool.

Cain stood up from the couch and a couple of the men raised their guns at him. Their gazes still flicked back and forth between Cain and I. It looked comical, really; because of where I was standing, they basically had to turn their entire bodies.

"Here I am, Alexander," said Cain, holding his arms outstretched wide. "Take your best shot."

Alexander raised his gun as the rest of his men turned their guns towards me.

Not waiting to be shot, I threw one of my knives into the forehead of the man closest to me, and he fell back against the guy behind him. Alexander's gaze flicked away from Cain for just a second to see what had happened, and that was all Cain needed as he threw one of his own knives at his father. Alexander managed to move at the last second, so the knife embedded itself into his shoulder rather than his heart.

Alexander shot at Cain, who jumped out of the bullet’s path. We were doing a good job of distracting them. They weren’t sure which of us was more of a threat, and I shot two of the men before the rest could do anything.

The remaining two shot at me, and I ducked behind the door, grateful for the thickness of the walls. I raced down one of the hallways again, popping up in the other entrance. The formal living room was the only room in the house that had three entrances for some weird reason. I could hear their footsteps just like they could hear mine, so they knew I was at this doorway now. I paused outside the door, waiting for one of the idiots to stick their foot out before I jammed a knife into his knee. He let out a howl of pain as more gunshots rang from inside the room.

I yanked out the weapon and stabbed again, so that the guy fell to his knees. As soon as his face came into view, I reared back and punched him in the face, swinging up so that the force of my hit broke his nose and jammed it into his brain.

He died instantly.

And then there was one.

I peered around the doorway, and a shot missed me by an inch.

Whoops.

"It would be nice if you were a little more careful over there,” drawled Cain. I couldn't see him, but I stuck out my tongue anyway, just for good measure.

More shots rang out.

"Might as well give up, Cain. I might even let you have a little dignity in your death rather than letting the animals ravage your body in the woods," hissed Alexander.

Cain chuckled lowly, and I grinned at the sound of it. I really needed to kill this last guy so I could have a front row seat to what was about to go down.

As if he had heard me and wanted to grant my wish, the last guy that Alexander had with him came down the other hallway. The squeak of his leather shoes gave him away.

"Ready when you are," I called out.

He didn't move from his spot, and I debated what to do. I didn't really want to start running in a circle down the hallways in a deadly game of tag.

Biting my lip, I ducked into the kitchen that was right across from me and sat on the counter, eating an apple as I waited for him to make an appearance.

I heard a couple more shots, and then finally the kitchen door creaked open. I aimed my gun at the door and waited until his hand appeared, and then I shot at it.

There was a howl of pain and I grinned as I chucked the half eaten apple away and jumped off the counter, strolling casually to the door. A shot came through the doorway, but it was just a panic shot. I was sure he wasn't doing very well with a hole in his hand.

Stepping behind the door, I slid it open. More shots rang out as he fired them through the empty doorway. I let him get a few rounds off before I swung around the door and hit him in the chest before he could get any more shots off.

The resounding thud of his body falling to the floor was like music to my ears.

I walked to the living room where Alexander was snarling insults at Cain.

When I glanced into the room, Cain was leaning against the wall, looking no worse for the wear, while Alexander was a bloodied mess. I could see several entry wounds where Cain had hit him. They were all shots meant to antagonize rather than to kill.

"Playing with your food again?" I asked as I sidled into the room. Alexander’s face scrunched up in surprise when he saw I was alive, and he tried to raise his gun at me, but Cain shot him in the arm before he could do anything. Alexander’s gun clattered to the floor.

"Ready to die with dignity?" Cain said in the same mocking tone his father had used earlier. "Except, hold the dignity. Because I'm definitely going to let the animals ravage your body when I’m through with you."

Alexander roared and ran at Cain. Cain let him barrel right into him and then he pushed his father easily to the floor.

"Have fun in hell," he said to him in a singsong voice before he pummeled Alexander repeatedly in the face as Alexander struggled under him. He went on and on until his father was such a bloodied mess, he was completely unrecognizable. Alexander had long since stopped moving when Cain finally called it good, sitting back on his haunches and staring at his father's prone body impassively.

I searched his face for any sign of regret. But there was nothing there.

There was still nothing there when he rose from the ground and pulled out one of the extra guns he’d holstered at his waist. Cain then shot Alexander right in the head.

There was a short moment of silence before Cain turned to me with one of his rare grins. "I guess you're the only one who still has daddy issues now," Cain snarked.

"I liked having that in common with you. It was like having my own personal therapy group,” I drawled.

Cain surveyed the bloodied mess on the floor.

"Let's get out of here, yeah?" he said, before leaning over and grabbing Alexander's arm. He dragged him out of the formal living room, down the hallway, and through the busted front door.

And just like he’d promised, he didn't stop until his father’s body was lying in the trees, the perfect meal for any surrounding predators.

Cain and I walked back to the house and grabbed our remaining weapons from downstairs, and the bags we’d kept packed, and we headed out of the house.

Cain

The setting sun cast long, eerie shadows on the woods as Aurora and I dashed to the car we’d hid half a mile away. Our transportation would have been the first thing Alexander would have messed with if we’d left the car outside the cabin.

We’d just gotten to the forest’s edge, where the path to the car was…when a group of the Demon’s worshippers emerged from the fucking darkness, their faces concealed beneath white hooded cloaks, eyes blazing with unholy zeal.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I hissed. I was hungry. And horny. This new development wasn’t helping with any of that.

The sound of their footsteps was a macabre rhythm, growing louder with each beat of my heart. I clenched Aurora's hand tight before reluctantly releasing her so she would have both hands to fight.

"Don’t you all ever fucking die?" snarled Aurora, her voice a mixture of resolve and hate.

The air turned heavy with an ominous silence, punctuated only by the cult members’ ragged breaths as they came to a stop and stood there staring at us. There were only twelve or so though, instead of the horde that had been at the cemetery. So we had that going for us…I guess.

Fuck. Now I was sounding like Stellan.

Without warning, they attacked, all of them descending upon us at once. Their knives were raised high in the air and their guttural chants filled the night. Instinct took fucking control as my body moved with a savage grace. I reached for the knife hidden at my side and swung it in front of me.

With a swift, vicious motion, the blade gleamed in the dim light, and I lunged forward, meeting the first fucker head-on. A primal scream pierced the air as my knife hit his chest, blood spraying into the night like a twisted painting. The metallic tang of blood mingled with the acrid scent of desperation made me want to douse myself in bleach.

The cult members closed in, and we fought. I swung, I stabbed, and I slashed, my knife becoming an extension of my fucking fury. Each strike found its target, and the once-cloaked figures crumpled like paper dolls, their devotion to their Demon master nothing compared to my fucking will.

Two cult members broke away from the chaos, their eyes seething with malice as they came at me from my other side. They lunged at me, trying to rip Aurora and I apart. She’d been fighting by my side the entire time, sometimes back to back so we only had to face things from one side.

I pulled out my gun and fired at one of them, the blast ripping through the night. The other one faltered, momentarily thrown off by the sight of the gun.

Seizing the opportunity, my knife danced through the air and I hit the guy in his throat.

"When will you fuckers learn?" I growled, my voice echoing through the night.

Aurora slashed her knife across someone’s throat and blood sprayed all over her.

She was fucking beautiful.

We slowly carved a path to freedom, the ground littered with the broken bodies of the brainwashed idiots.

All of a sudden, four more appeared out of the woods. Aurora was still dealing with two of the others, and the four assholes immediately grabbed me and started yanking me into the woods.

I shoved a knife in one of their eyes, his shriek getting Aurora’s attention. I saw the look of panic cross her face and she killed off the two other cult members before sprinting towards me.

She didn’t need to worry though. None of these fuckers were ever going to take me away from her.

I punched one of them and then stabbed the other two…before she’d even made it over to us.

She tackled me, her face slamming into my chest as she held me close.

“You can’t leave me,” she whispered.

I squeezed her back, my gaze darting around us just in case there were more of them lying in wait. There seemed to be a never ending supply of those idiots.

She pulled away, her face streaked with blood, and I pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

“I need to eat. And I need to fuck you,” I murmured, the blood lust and adrenaline hitting me hard…but not enough to distract me from my priorities.

She grinned, the haunted look in her gaze slightly fading. “In that order?”

I smirked. “I could be persuaded otherwise.” I grabbed her hand and we set off down the path towards the car, leaving behind a trail of dead bodies.

And a house we were definitely not going to get our deposit back on.

22

STELLAN

I  woke up in hell.

I was in a cage. The floor was cold beneath me, and Remington was talking when I hadn’t had time to wake up yet. Hell on earth.

“What happened?” I groaned as the past came flooding back to me, along with pain that flared through my muscles. I looked down at my body and realized I was covered in bruises, and then the memory of fighting and finally going down under cult members rose in my mind. They had stabbed me with some kind of sedative, but I had made them work for it.

“You spent a whole week fucking Aurora while we were starving,” Paxton said grumpily.

I blinked, focusing on him blearily through the wire of the cage. Remington was on the other side of Paxton.

“Hey buddy,” Remington said cheerfully, barely missing a beat. “Glad you joined us. What’s been going on?”

“You sound awfully casual for a man in a cage,” I muttered.

“You know me. I always believe in looking on the bright side. Right now, I’ve got two of my best buddies here, and Cain and Aurora on the outside working to get us free. It’s just a matter of time.”

Remington sounded as cheerful as ever, but the more he prattled on, the more I realized how desperate he sounded. He was staying positive… with force of effort… but it wasn’t natural.

Paxton had been here the longest. When I looked at him, he pulled a face at me as if he knew I was gauging them both. Pax looked weary, thinner than he had been before.

“He’s been starving you?”

“Yeah. But he’s chucked some water our way.” Paxton raised an almost-empty bottle, and it was obvious from the look on his face that he’d been saving it, resisting his thirst in case the Demon didn’t deliver more of it. He tilted the bottle carefully, watching the water slosh back and forth. Then he raised his dark gaze to mine. “Do you need it?”

God, I loved these crazy bastards.

“I’m alright,” I promised.

“Tell us about Aurora,” Remington said.

The need in his voice was obvious.

“She has a dominatrix side, did you know that?” I sighed at the memory. “It’s sexy as fuck.”

Paxton and Remy were focused on me now, and I knew they needed to hear something to distract them from their pain. Paxton’s bandage on his chest looked clean enough, so at least it must be beginning to heal. His face gave no sign of how much pain he must be in. But that didn’t mean he could hide it from me.

So I told them every detail.

Paxton groaned like he was going to find the strength to beat off thinking about Aurora, no matter how weak he was.

Then the door creaked open. Two sets of footsteps descended slowly.

Nina shuffled into view, looking weak, with deep shadows under her swollen violet eyes. Maybe I should’ve felt sorry for her, but I thought about how destroyed Aurora had felt about losing her mother again, and I couldn’t summon anything for her.

Then the Demon turned the corner behind her, gripping her chains. He still had that damned noose around her throat, and the rope trailed before her, occasionally catching on doorways so that she choked for a second.

The Demon led her past the enormous television screen mounted on the wall–I was curious what kinds of shit he did with that, because I didn’t think he was going to turn on ESPN for us–and began to chain her to the wall.

Then the Demon turned to us, giving us a bright smile. “Soon I’ll have the complete collection. My little girl will have to come back to me then.”

“Leave her alone,” Nina murmured.

He scoffed, grabbing the noose around her neck. Her eyes widened with fear, but she still spat out, “Just let her be free. She’s a good girl.”

“She’s my girl,” the Demon disagreed. “And she’s transcended good.”

Thinking about Aurora–mounting me and smiling down at me, or dressed in blood, or turning shy after delivering us a dismembered hand–I thought the Demon was right.

But he didn’t truly understand what that meant.

Aurora was going to dismantle him.

REMINGTON

When the Demon finally went back up the stairs, Nina slumped against the wall. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, mixing with the dust and blood coating her face.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

She nodded. “I just…” She shook her head. “He’ll never stop until he gets Aurora.”

“Oh, he’s going to regret it when he gets her,” Stellan said fiercely. “Aurora comes with a knife in the chest.”

Nina raised her head, opening her eyes. Or at least, she opened one eye. The other was swollen black and blue. “How is Aurora?”

“Tough and brilliant as always,” Stellan said. “She’s done crying over the shitty way you left her.”

“That’s not fair,” she said.

“You’re not stupid,” I said. “You must have known the Demon would find her eventually.”

“No.” She shook her head, a look of horror crossing her face at the accusation. “I knew he was after me…he was killing women who looked like me, leaving a trail of bodies. I knew he would find me eventually, and if she were with me…” She shuddered. “But I thought he might leave her alone if it was just her.”

“Might,” I growled. “That’s not good enough.”

Some day, if Aurora agreed, I couldn’t wait to get her pregnant. She would never leave her baby. Aurora would fight and kill to protect her children. And I’d do the same. This woman facing me was so much… less than her daughter.

“The Demon deserves a world’s worst dad mug,” Pax said. “But somehow he raised one hell of a woman.”

She didn’t miss his implication. “Aurora is who Aurora is. No one could change her.”

Pax scoffed. “We changed her. We showed her she could trust someone for once.”

“I thought she would be safer away from me!” she protested.

“Now? Or then?”

“Then,” she said.

“She needed you,” Stellan’s intense eyes blazed into hers. “And I think you know damn well she wasn’t really going to be safer. You should have protected her.”

“I couldn’t protect her! But once I was on my own, I did what I could. I became a hacker just so I could keep an eye on her–”

“Keep an eye on her?” I cut in sharply.

“You know what I mean,” she said. “To help her if she needed me. I did help her!”

“But you didn’t tell her who you really were.”

Nina let out a shaky laugh, then gestured around at the bars. “I don’t know why you’re so focused on this here. All that matters is getting out of here before the Demon peels all our skin off.”

Pax let out a growl. I’d bet it hurt him that his mother had been taken from him, and Aurora’s mother had walked off herself. My father had slowly destroyed my mother, but I still wish she’d found a way to fight for me.

“Why did you really go?” I demanded. “It wasn’t to protect Aurora. That’s enough of that bullshit excuse.”

Maybe it was better if Aurora believed it, but it wasn’t true.

“Because I was scared of her!” she exploded.

Rage tightened my chest, but I glanced at Stellan to gauge his reaction. He had been the one who forced Aurora into our lives, our house, because he thought she was a monster.

I could usually read Stellan pretty well, but the tousle-haired pretty boy had a stoic look on his face that could’ve competed with Cain’s. It gave nothing away.

“Explain,” Pax said tightly.

“Start at the beginning,” I overrode him. “How did you meet the Demon?”

Pax glared at me. “I’d be pissed at you interrupting me, but I guess you are the genius.”

It was nice Pax trusted me, but I didn’t exactly feel brilliant crouched in a dog cage.

“You know, the Demon is going to torture us all,” she said, with a hint of attitude that reminded me of Aurora. “You don’t need to do his work for him.”

“Just tell us.” Stellan demanded, and she looked at him like she saw something on his face that got her talking.

“I was young when I met him,” she said. “He was a regular at the bar where I was working. Of course, knowing him, now I realize he was hunting. He would never drink, and he secretly must have hated the atmosphere at the bar—he doesn’t like cursing or sexual behavior, especially from women.”

“Such a fun guy,” I said dryly.

“I didn’t see that then,” she said. “He was polite, even charming, when I talked to him, but he never initiated conversation. I was nineteen, I had a shitty boyfriend that I lived with and parents who were zero help when he started hitting me. He put me in the hospital, I begged them to help me, and they said I’d made my bed. I had nowhere to go.”

“Then I went to work, and he came over to the bar for the first time. He told me he had missed me. I was flattered—all the waitstaff had a crush on him, he was so good-looking—and then he saw the bruises. He asked me if I needed help, and I almost started crying.” A faraway look had come into her eyes, as if she was reliving that time.

“I said I didn’t need help. But at the end of the night, I realized he’d signed a thousand-dollar tip onto his bill. I thought it was a mistake that would get bounced back by the credit card company, so I ran after him. It was raining and he was walking across the parking lot, and when I called his name, he turned around. He told me it was no mistake, and then he touched my bruised face—so gently—and asked me again if I needed help. Really.”

“I told him you don’t know me, and he said I know you enough to know you deserve to be safe and loved. I hadn’t known how much I needed to hear someone say that until then.”

“He helped me move out of my apartment and into a new place. He was with me when I got my stuff, and my ex-boyfriend tried to insult me, and he was so calm but clever and cutting. I hadn’t had anyone to protect me.”

“Of course, now I know it was all a trap. In the long run, we got married—”

“What happened to your ex-boyfriend? Dead?”

Her lips pursed, then she nodded.

Good.

“He told me that my ex-boyfriend broke in, but now I’m not sure that’s true. We buried the body together. I thought at the time I’d found someone who would love me, protect me, forever. And I had to do the same for him. But now I realize it was all a trap, it meant we were tied together by what we’d covered up.”

“And then…we had Delilah.” Her eyes flooded with tears. “She was such a perfect, beautiful baby. People would stop me in the grocery store to say she looked like a doll, with those long-lashed violet eyes and her dark curls. We were so happy for a while. He was controlling, he always wanted things done his way. But when it seemed like he loved us…it seemed so real.”

She closed her eyes. “No wonder Delilah believed him when he pretended to love her. I was a grown woman and I believed it too.”

It was grating to hear the name when I knew how much Aurora didn’t like being called Delilah, but Nina had gotten lost in the past.

“I should have seen it,” she added. “He was always traveling for business. He was private, and there were hints of things I found out. He had a hunting cabin; he said he inherited it from his father, and I always wanted to go out and see it, but he said it wasn’t romantic like I imagined. And we hung out with people like Alexander and his brain dead wife.”

“I knew Alexander had connections in the police. That was why when I found out what he was doing, I knew I just had to take Delilah and run.”

“Yeah, I understand that,” I said. “But then…you left her.”

She swiped at her eyes. “She was a little girl when I ran. She was so sweet, she charmed everyone.”

That sounded like Aurora. She’d even won over Cain.

“Just like he did,” she added. “She wouldn’t remember it because she was so little—at least, she wouldn’t remember it consciously—but I realized later that he was taking her out with him when he was hunting. He used her to lure people in and make them trust her. Aurora’s earliest childhood was…”

“Blood-splattered?” I filled in when she couldn’t find the words.

“And yet, she turned out to be so sweet,” said Stellan, who looked troubled, no matter what he said.

“Is that so?” The Demon’s voice crackled from the loudspeaker in the corner. The next second, the TV beyond the bars flickered to life.

God, he was so fucking creepy. I wish he’d come in here and get close, give us the chance to take him down.

“What do you boys think?” the Demon asked. “You’ve spent so much time with my girl. You must know by now there’s nothing weak about Aurora.”

“She’s not weak at all. But she is good.”

“A good liar, certainly.”

Stellan looked as if he wanted to leap to his feet, not that he could. “Fuck you.”

I gave Stellan a look, warning him not to piss off the serial killer who held us hostage. I’d already tried that. Then he returned to studying the television on the wall. It was too far to reach. Otherwise, I would have already figured something out.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” The Demon sounded amused by Stellan’s outburst. “She doesn’t even tell the truth to herself.”

A video came up on the screen. Aurora looked like she was around ten, with her dark hair in a braid and her cheeks still round like a little kid. She was grinning as she twirled in the leaves. She couldn’t have looked more innocent.

“What did she tell you about the people who had her when I found her?” The Demon asked.

“That you saved her,” I said tightly, because I hated to admit the Demon had done anything good.

“No,” the Demon said. “She saved herself.”

Stellan shook his head. There was high color in his cheeks. Was he doubting the truth about his sister’s death now? “Just tell your fucking story if you must. You’ve got a literal captive audience.”

“All right,” he said. “I’ll show you another video or two.”

The TV cut over to a view of Aurora—even younger—walking down a sidewalk with her backpack. The view was distant, a good thirty feet, and slightly obscured as if it had been taken from someone in hiding. She turned toward a little white house and disappeared into the backyard.

“I was watching her,” he said. “I was going to kidnap her. But I didn’t want to give the police any reason to connect Delilah and the Demon. I was going to take her without killing anyone. At the time, I didn’t realize how cruel Aurora’s life was or how much they deserved to be punished. How could I? As you can see, I was watching from across the street. I couldn’t see what was happening inside Aurora’s bedroom.”

“I found her foster brother in her room, that’s true. But I went in then because I heard his scream. Aurora had already killed him.”

“I wasn’t the only one who came running. I found myself facing Aurora’s foster mother. Aurora was crying, waving this bloody knife—sending blood flying everywhere—” he tutted disapprovingly. “And she told me how awful her stepmother had been. Aurora was a mess, crying and wild and desperate. And then…a switch flipped.”

He didn’t hide the pride in his voice.

“I would have killed the woman, of course. She was witness to the second birth of my Delilah, and besides that, she deserved to die. But I wasn’t the one who killed her.”

The room was stunned and silent. I looked around at the faces of Pax, Stellan, and Nina. Did they believe this story?

“You think Aurora is yours,” the Demon went on, his voice boasting. “But she’s always my Delilah.”

Photos and videos began to play in a loop then. Blood-splattered crime scenes, starting with that first one in Aurora’s bedroom. Aurora smiling in school photos. A video of Aurora holding a scalpel where I couldn’t read her face. A photo of the Demon and Aurora dressed for a father-daughter dance.

“Tell me why you left her,” I demanded, looking at Nina. Then, as a full picture rose in my mind, I corrected, “Tell me why you were afraid of her.”

Something had triggered Nina’s abandonment.

“I wish you knew what she was like as a child,” she whispered. “Aurora was never…the typical psychopathic kid who hurts animals and wets the bed. She was different. Sometimes it was like…two people in one body.”

“You know what I said about how she wasn’t the kind of kid who hurt animals? Once, when we lived in this shitty apartment, we saw two of the neighbor kids drowning kittens in a bucket. I yelled at them and they ran away. Delilah and I tried to save the last kitten, but we couldn’t. She held it to her chest,” Nina clasped her hands against her chest, unconsciously mimicking Aurora, a faraway look on her face. “And she was just crying and crying. She was so sweet.”

“So what happened?” I demanded.

“About a week later, the two kids disappeared,” she said. “I took Delilah with me and we went out and joined the search party. But they didn’t find them until…later.”

“Where were they?”

“The police said it was a tragic accident. They couldn’t swim, and they had drowned in the lake.” She had a faraway look in her eyes. “But I had caught Aurora playing with them that week. I’d asked why—she knew they were bad kids, and she’d been so sad about the kittens. She wouldn’t tell me why she’d wanted to play with them.”

Then she added, “But once they found the bodies, I knew.”

“So she needed you,” I said. “She’d seen things a kid shouldn’t, and it turned her into someone else…that didn’t make her bad.”

“I just…started to feel nervous when I had to scold her. There were little moments when she thought things were unfair, when I saw that blank look in her eyes that she had when I tried to talk to her about if she’d gone to the lake with those kids. She led them there…I’m sure of it.”

“And all the while, the Demon was killing women who looked like me. I had to get away from him. It would’ve been easier to disappear and start a new life on my own…and yes, before you say it, I thought about the Demon finding Aurora. But I didn’t think he would! I thought she’d have a chance to have a new life with a family who had the resources to take care of her, instead of a single mother who was never around while she murdered other children!”

“You thought the foster care system was going to give Aurora a better life?” Pax asked in disbelief. “I have some serious misgivings about your ability to pull the sheets over your head.”

“I thought he would leave her alone and I’d finally be able to sleep at night! He’s a psychopath. What kind of psychopath wants to raise a child?”

“A psychopath who wants to make a child just like him,” I pointed out.

She shook her head, but she was crying. “Don’t you see why I did it, why I abandoned her?”

“Here’s what I think,” I said slowly. “The Aurora I know would absolutely hurt someone who hurt the innocent, but she wouldn’t hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. So what did you do to her?”

“Now you’re blaming me?”

“I think there’s more to the story than you’re telling us. What kind of woman abandons her kid?” Pain flashed across Stellan’s face. He had been abandoned by his mother too in a different way.

She shook her head. “I want to see the best in Delilah, too. If you’re right, if you changed her…you make her better… you can save her from herself.”

“Aurora can save herself,” I disagreed.

Then I realized the Demon had said the same thing.

23

AURORA

C ain leaned forward, his icy blue eyes tracking across the screen of Remington's laptop.

"Do you have something?" I asked eagerly.

"Yeah," he said. "It looks like Remington's software finally tracked down the Demon. Look..."

He pointed to the screen. Cain had been the one to find the second secret forum that the Demon's idiot minions were using to plan their 'worship'. Once we added that to Remy's software, it had begun to synthesize all the data, tracking where the minions' GPS took them.

They converged on a house out in the woods.

When Cain zoomed in on it, it looked like a little hunting cabin. Like the one my father had mentioned wistfully sometimes even as he kept me moving around the country–and the world–to find his next victim.

I let out a shaky breath. The thought of facing my father again was terrifying...but that was nothing compared to the possibility that my men would be dead.

Cain was watching me closely, so I said lightly, "Remington is always my hero, even now. I can't wait to get him back and reward him."

Cain let out a little jealous growl, but didn't protest. Then he admitted, "I can't wait to get them back too."

My lips parted in surprise before he added, "Then they can all watch me fuck you. I'm the one who's here putting up with your ass and keeping you out of trouble."

I grinned. "You love keeping me out of trouble. Or trying, anyway."

His big hand reached out and caressed my ass as if he was daydreaming about putting me in check. But we had to focus now. Cain had spent the last week fucking me to keep his feelings under control as our life fell to chaos around us.

Now we had the route forward to end things, once and for all.

"Let's go kill your father, babe," Cain said.

It was the ultimate sweet talk.

We made a plan and began collecting weapons. We'd moved to a new house in the city, and we rode the elevator down to the garage. Cain slung the bag of weapons in the trunk.

"I take it you need to drive?" I teased him, already moving toward the passenger seat.

"I need you ready to shoot anyone who gets in our way," he told me. "You seem to enjoy that."

"I do," I crooned. "But are you expecting company?"

The Demon's worshippers weren't likely to attack us in broad daylight in the middle of the city. Too many security cameras around to make some sociopathic accountants happy. Although they would do whatever the Demon asked, so I couldn't be sure they wouldn't attack.

"We took care of Alexander," he said. "And that means now everyone knows I'm taking his throne. One of the other families might challenge me for that throne."

He didn't sound particularly bothered by the idea.

"Oh, no one's taking our thrones," I said, meeting his gaze over the car before we both ducked into the smooth leather seats of his car.

"Our thrones?" He put the car into gear, looking slightly put out. "I miss the McLaren."

I pouted at him. "Aw, so sad about your favorite car. Too bad you needed to be punished. And yes, our thrones."

Cain threw me a dark look that was nonetheless full of heat. "I know who's getting punished later. But I suppose you do have a throne...right beside me...as my queen."

He took my hand in his and raised it to his lips, kissing my knuckles even as he gunned the car and it raced up the ramp to exit the parking garage. The door rumbled open in front of us.

"Even if you're not going to sit very comfortably in that throne," he added, a glint in those icy blue eyes.

"Promises, promises," I said loftily. The fear that I felt when I thought about my men in the Demon's clutches softened when I was with Cain, when the two of us bantered.

Together the two of us were unstoppable. Or at least, I could convince myself we were.

As the car jetted out of the garage and toward the street, I punched the address into the nav system.

Hang on, boys. We're coming.

Then I caught a glimpse of the dark-windowed van across the street from us. Either we were being watched by the FBI–not that that would be much of a surprise–or someone else had found us.

Cain was already accelerating, beginning to weave through traffic. There was a red light ahead of us and a row of cars stopped there, but Cain was incredibly fast and smooth behind the wheel of a car; I knew he'd be able to navigate through the intersection to get us out of danger.

Then another car hurtled from the garage of an expensive apartment building. "Cain," I called urgently, but he already saw it and was responding, swerving into opposing traffic so the car sailed past us. It crashed into another car, with a tremendous crunching sound.

Headlights and brake lights flashed all around us. Horns blared. Then Cain was gunning the engine and weaving through the cars, trying to get to the other side of the intersection.

A black truck raced down the street behind us. It was moving dangerously fast.

"Brace," Cain ordered, glancing in the rearview mirror even as he slammed down on the accelerator. "The first car was just a distraction."

Still, he managed to navigate us through the suddenly-gridlocked street so that another car hit the truck that was chasing us. The truck drifted to one side then kept accelerating.

"It's armored," I warned him.

"Of course it is," he said grouchily. "The whole point is to get us out of the car. Don't you fucking move. You stay here."

The truck slammed into our trunk. Cain tried to keep the car under control as we drifted, the car sliding to one side until my side of the car slammed into one of the smashed cars from the accident. Chaos was spreading around us, as more cars crashed from the unexpected wreck filling the street.

We weren't going to be able to move without getting out on foot.

"Don't move," Cain growled again, reaching for the driver's side door. "The car is still driveable. You get away from here as soon as it's clear."

There were men converging on us, moving swiftly through the crashed cars with their guns drawn.

"You've got to know I won't do that," I warned him.

"Damn it, Aurora–"

"Spank my ass later," I grinned at him. My heart was hammering in my chest, but these fuckers needed to die. They were standing in the way between me and my men. "Fight now."

"I'm going to have to figure out something you don't fucking relish," he muttered.

"I don't think there's anything you can do to me that I won't love," I said.

"Don't give me a hard on when I have to fight a whole mob family," he said, before he threw open his door.

Cain launched himself out, raising the gun. He popped off systematic rounds, shooting one man in the face and then another. He was fast and precise, but there were too many of them. One man was already aiming for Cain's head, but I leaned out the window and fired. I missed, but it did give Cain a chance to duck and take shelter behind the car while he shot at the men.

There was an explosion from the trunk.

"Now, Aurora!" Cain bellowed. "Drive the fucking car!"

I slid into the front seat. Always so obedient. I deserved a reward for sure.

Two men barreled toward Cain, murderous intent written across their faces.

I slammed the car into gear and crashed into them, pinning them between my car and another. They writhed desperately, and I knew if I backed up, they'd fall to the ground. The pressure of the car was the only thing holding their bodies together.

So I backed up and they hit the pavement.

Then I jumped out of the car.

"I told you to leave," Cain snarled, not turning back as he fired at the men who rushed him. One body, then another, dropped.

"Sorry, Daddy," I drawled. "But I can't lose you."

I ran toward Cain, toward the men focused on him. This was an assassination attempt. Not the Demon's work.

The approaching men were too close to Cain for me to drop them with my gun, but if they got to him, I knew what they'd try to do.

I pulled out the knife strapped to my thigh and threw the first knife. It slammed into the man's chest and he fell backward, his gun going off as he hit the ground. His buddy turned back toward him, a look of surprise coming over his face as blood bloomed across his shirt.

The gun discharging had taken him out too.

For once in my life, luck was on my side.

That was good, because I could use some luck to face the Demon. These guys were just the warm-up.

"We need to get out of here," I shouted at Cain. "We can deal with them later. Once we've got the guys."

We were stronger when we were together.

I took in the scene around us. Our car was locked in at this point. We were going to have to move on foot.

"Stay behind me," Cain ordered, moving swiftly toward a side street.

The two of us went together, squeezing off rounds as more enemies moved toward us. They seemed more tentative now.

Sure, there were only two of us.

But we were a dangerous team. When Cain twisted to one side to take out an ugly mobster winding around cars, I knelt to wrench my knife from the chest of the man I'd just killed...and straightened to throw it into the face of the man who had moved toward Cain's exposed back.

Cain turned back just in time to see the man drop, the knife plunging out of his eye.

"God, I love you," he said.

We kept moving through the crowd, moving in perfect sync.

I drew my gun and fired again, hitting a man in the shoulder and crippling him. He dropped his gun as Cain hit him, delivering a vicious blow that knocked him out. Cain stood with the gun raised and sighted the next man. He squeezed off another round, and the man fell between two cars. He was beside an open car door, and I realized where Cain was moving. We were going to take one of their vehicles.

We were at our best when we were together.

We glanced at each other. And it was the perfect time to race down the street, toward the car that had just disgorged a bunch of gangsters. The last two in the car were leaning out of the window, shooting, but Cain and I were firing back even as we ran.

Cain went left and I went right.

"I've got these two," Cain shouted. "Get to the vehicle."

The two drivers were both shooting at us, but they were fucking Stormtroopers compared to Cain and me.

One of them dropped to the ground, a bullet wound through his forehead.

"Nice work, honey," I crooned. The other one was trying to take cover behind the car, so as Cain covered me, I leapt on top of the nearest crashed car, running up the slick metal and glass to the roof. From my vantage point, I caught a glimpse of his shocked face just before I squeezed off another round and he dropped to the ground.

"Get down from there!" Cain shouted, even though I was already running down the windshield, then letting my feet go out from underneath me so I could slide down the glass and across the hood. I landed smoothly on my feet, ready to fight on.

I didn't like how much distance was between Cain and me right now.

But from my vantage point a second before, I'd been able to see how many bodies littered the streets–and that a few mobsters were running now. We'd scared them off.

Then I saw him freeze.

He'd been shot.

The next second, he stumbled forward, wrenching something out of his chest. "It's a fucking tranq dart," he shouted at me. "Get out of here, Aurora!"

The Demon was here too.

"No," I scrambled toward him, trying to get around the other cars that blocked us. I had to vault the hood of one, since the two were smashed into each other. Luckily, the civilians had cleared the streets, running desperately.

"Listen to me." Cain was still on his feet and moving despite the tranq dart. He was enormous, after all, taller and more muscular than any normal man; he always looked like a god, and right now, I wished he was one.

I wished the Demon couldn't hurt him.

"You're the key to saving Pax and Remy and Stellan," he said. "And me. You need to take care of yourself, Aurora. Get in the car and get out of here."

He stumbled away from me.

"Wrong direction, Cain," I called, hearing a desperate catch in my throat. "You don't ever walk away from me."

Just like he had said to me, after I gave him a dismembered hand and all my honesty. When he caught me and proved that nothing would ever destroy his love.

Except death.

"Go," he shouted, as the Demon's worshippers began to stream out into the chaos. He reloaded again, then took down one after another, but we were going to run out of ammo.

Even after everything that had happened to him, he was still moving. The tranq dart had barely seemed to make an impression.

"Cain," I shouted, but he didn't stop moving. "If you fucking leave me, I'll hunt your ass down through the gates of hell."

"Go, Aurora!" He wouldn't move toward the car, even though it was still so far away.

Fuck, Cain. I knew he wouldn't leave me. But he couldn't save me, either. And I couldn't get to him.

Cain was fast and strong. But the Demon's power was nothing to be fucked with. The sedative was finally doing its terrible work.

Cain's gun fell from his hands.

One of the Demon's men took the opportunity to get near him.

He was dazed, and the other man had a knife, the blade catching the light as it rose.

I couldn't leave him. We had to fight for each other.

"Cain! Kill him!"

Cain turned to see the man. He was moving more slowly than usual, but Cain at half power was still incredible. He grabbed the man and snapped his neck, the blade hitting the ground a second before the body did.

"I'm not leaving you," I screamed.

"Of course not," a voice said, sounding pleasantly amused. I turned to see the Demon walking slowly toward us, through the smoke and fog from the gunfire and the burning cars, as if he had all the time in the world.

"Are you going to come with him?" the Demon asked politely. "It's time to come home."

"Where's home?" I demanded.

"Wherever I am, Delilah." The Demon sounded surprisingly tender. "If I thought you might be lost to the outside world...the chaos you've left behind you tells me you can be redeemed. You're still my girl. You can learn to obey again."

The Demon waved a hand, and Cain convulsed but tried to keep moving forward.

"What was in the tranq dart?" I screamed at the Demon.

"Something special for your last man standing," the Demon crooned.

"Get out of here," Cain gritted at me, swaying on his feet, even though his pupils had turned to slits as if he were barely hanging onto consciousness. "You're our only hope, Aurora."

The Demon's men swarmed toward Cain, chanting wildly. One of them lobbed a smoke grenade, and the world turned white and fuzzy.

I coughed and fought my way out of the smoke, trying to make sense of what was left on the street.

The worshippers were gone.

The Demon was gone.

Cain was gone.

I turned around on the street. Blood streaked the gray pavement, and the scent of gunpowder and death hung in the air. Even the sky overhead felt heavy and overbearing.

I was alone.

The Demon’s smug, self-satisfied smile rose in my mind. He’d taken everyone from me—or at least, he thought he had, since Jenna had disappeared.

Now it was just me and the Demon.

And I’d make sure he regretted that.

It was no surprise when my phone rang.

I pulled it out as I walked and raised it to my ear. I was surprised to realize that this time, my hands didn’t shake. My voice came out clear and strong. “What else do you want, Demon?”

“You can call me Dad, Delilah.” He sounded so pleased with himself. “You’re coming back to me, after all.”

“Not a chance in hell.” The only one of us who was going anywhere was the Demon. And he was going to Hell.

Knowing the Demon, he’d probably end up ruling hell, but at least he’d be away from me and my men.

“Be reasonable, Delilah. I’ve collected them all for you…I’ve turned you back to who you were…now we can move on.”

“You didn’t turn me into anyone.”

“Oh? Then why are your clothes soaked in blood?”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to pick which one of your men you’re going to kill to keep the others alive.”

24

AURORA

I  wanted to sneak up on the Demon. But I had the feeling he could guess I was coming, even though he didn’t know how I’d found him. Or maybe he could guess that. Maybe one of my men had cracked under his torture.

The cabin had been bought by a William Goodman. Was that my grandfather? I wondered what kind of man he’d been. I wondered what kind of crimes ran in the family. Had the Demon once been apprenticed to a killer too?

As I moved through the woods, a strange sense of familiarity, almost comforting, rose up around me.

I didn’t remember it, but I had the feeling I’d been here before.

The air was cold and damp, and the trees were thick with foliage. Every step I took was cautious, my senses alert for any sign of danger. It was quiet, too quiet, as if the forest was holding its breath in anticipation of something ominous.

As I reached the cabin, I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up. The Demon was nearby; I could sense him.

But when I pushed open the door, to reveal a small but immaculately tidy cabin–it was just like the Demon–there was no one there.

I searched the cabin, looking for any sign of the Demon's presence. The small kitchen was bare, with only a few utensils and a stove. The living area had a small couch and a TV, but no personal belongings. The bedroom held only a dresser and a neatly made bed. I eased open the dresser drawer to see a neatly folded stack of shirts. The closet door stood open, and inside the closet was nothing but a few pairs of neatly hung, crisply-ironed trousers and dress shirts...and a fucking sweater vest.

But I knew for sure he had been here when I pushed the bed aside and found the chains beneath it. There were drops of blood scattered across the hardwood floor. I'd hoped that it would be the trap door down to where my men were hidden.

He'd chained my mother beneath his bed, I'd bet anything. He'd kept her close like they were still husband and wife...but put her beneath him. The thought of the pain she'd been in, the pain and suffering and fear...

I couldn't let myself think of that. I needed to find my men, and find her. They were here somewhere.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, as I re-entered the living room. The last time I’d faced the Demon, he’d almost killed Cain and me. And now, I was alone.

“Delilah,” a voice whispered, and I whirled around, my gun drawn.

But there was no one there.

He was trying to rattle me.

I moved toward the sound, studying the bookcase. There was a small speaker here–and a camera.

I smiled into it. "Hey there, Dad."

Show no fear.

The Demon wasn't worth my fear.

I walked over to the fireplace, where the Demon was undoubtedly watching me from a hidden camera. I took the iron poker and destroyed the camera, then waited.

"Hello, Delilah," the Demon's voice echoed through the cabin. "You've come looking for me again. How many times do I have to show you that you can't beat me?"

I didn't respond. I knew he just wanted to see me crack. I walked to the window and looked out into the night to see if I could spot anyone.

"You came alone, huh?" the Demon said. "That's really brave of you. Or really stupid."

I turned to face the Demon's voice, trying to pinpoint where this next speaker was hidden. Or maybe it was the Demon, speaking over a loudspeaker. I couldn't be sure.

"I don't need anyone else," I said, my voice strong and steady. "I can finish this on my own."

The Demon laughed. "You've grown arrogant like those men of yours. They tried to goad me, you know. So foolish."

Fear tightened my stomach.

"Where are they?"

"Oh, Delilah. You're the one who thinks you're smart enough to beat me. Find them."

I gritted my teeth as I looked around the cabin. There had to be some clue, some hint of where my men were being held captive. I couldn't let them suffer any longer than they already had.

As I searched, the Demon's voice continued to taunt me. "You think you're so clever, don't you? But you're just a little girl playing dress-up in her father's clothes. You don't have what it takes to defeat me."

I ignored his words, focusing on my search.

There were a handful of framed photos amidst the books in the bookcase. One was of the Demon and me when I was a little girl, both of us smiling out at the camera. Once, the Demon had been my hero. Another photo was of the Demon as a boy, so young and bright-eyed I had to search his features to see the man he'd become. Beside him stood a tall man, also dark-haired and handsome, dressed in hunters' garb. Both of them carried rifles, with wicked hunting knives strapped to their legs.

"You never told me it was a family legacy," I told him. "You should've mentioned it."

I wanted to keep him talking as I kept searching. Maybe I could get him to give something away. But nothing I did turned up my men.

They weren't here.

I burst out into the night. Where would he have hidden them? They must be close. I could tell now this place was precious to my father, despite the bare bones appearance. This was the hunting cabin he'd inherited from my grandfather.

Had the Demon killed him too? Why had I never heard about him?

Too bad the Demon wouldn't live long enough to tell me the whole story.

I searched through the forest until I caught a glimpse of firelight glowing through the trees. I approached cautiously, catching a glimpse of a handful of Demon-worshippers. They had their hoods back, relaxing around the fire. They looked like normal people, but I knew they were anything but normal. They were twisted, evil, and loyal to the Demon to the end.

Then I heard a faint scream. Beyond the fire, I caught a glimpse of a dark building.

A second cabin!

I took a deep breath and moved closer, keeping to the shadows. I had to rescue my men. I had to finish this.

As I approached, one of the worshippers noticed me and stood up, his hand moving to his weapon. I didn't hesitate. I lifted my gun and took him out with a single shot.

The others were on their feet instantly, scrambling for their own weapons. I moved quickly, taking cover behind a nearby tree. I aimed and fired, taking out another one of the worshippers. They returned fire, but none of them managed to hit me.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, and I realized that one of them had grazed me with a bullet. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain as I took down another one of the attackers.

But there were still more of them, and they were closing in fast. I needed to find a way to take them out before they overwhelmed me.

I couldn't let myself get killed now when I was so close to my men.

I dashed towards the outbuilding, bullets whizzing past me, and squeezed off rounds. I was laying down covering fire more than trying to hit them, but I still aimed as much as I could while moving fast. One of them screamed and crumpled to the ground. Now there were just three left. I slammed into the door and it opened, and I managed to make it inside just in time to slam the door shut behind me as bullets punched against it. I ducked low and hid for a second, waiting for things to go silent as they approached the cabin.

Then I swung open the door and popped off three quick rounds, aiming at each of them in turn. One after another, the remaining worshippers fell.

I caught my breath and assessed my surroundings. The cabin was small and dimly lit, with piles of old hunting equipment stacked in the corners. There was a grisly table in the corner, with bloodied leather straps hanging loose, waiting. A light swayed overhead, so the cabin had power.

I searched the room for the trapdoor I knew I would find.

Then I opened it knowing my men were down there.

The Demon might well be waiting too.

I took a deep breath and rushed down the stairs, ready for the Demon to be waiting. I went down a long hallway, expecting him at every corner. It was enormous down here, a whole labyrinth of rooms by the looks of it.

But the Demon wasn’t here.

Not even when I turned the corner into a dark room and felt that it was large and cold.

I fumbled to find a light switch, expecting to see him watching me.

Across from me was my mother, chained to the wall, and my men in cages.

Remington! He was asleep, his arm thrown over his face, but his chest was moving.

Paxton half leapt up when he saw me, then grabbed the chain link fencing in front of him as he almost fell. He looked so weak, his cheeks hollowed below those high cheekbones.

Stellan’s eyes widened with relief when he saw me, his expression shooting straight to my heart even before he mouthed, “I knew you would save us.”

Cain’s jaw went hard when he saw me–the overprotective bastard didn’t like this one bit–and I raised the knife in my hand toward him in salute. He gave me the faintest nod.

He might hate this, but he knew what I had to do.

This all came down to me versus the Demon.

“Aurora,” my mother whispered, and I held my finger to my lips. I was sure the Demon was playing some game now, but if there was any chance I could get ahead of him, I needed every advantage.

I tried to figure out how to get the cages open.

I was so close to my men, but I still couldn’t save them.

I’d have to find the Demon. He must have the key.

“Welcome home, Delilah.” The Demon’s voice came over the speakers, making me jump. His voice was clear but loud; he’d cranked the volume. Made sense. He always thought about himself more than anyone else. “You know, I already showed your men your baby book. But I thought you’d like to reminisce with me too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just watch the screen.”

Stellan reached through the bars and caught my hand. “We know who you really are, Aurora.”

I held his hand, but I watched the screen.

And his hand turned cold in mine.

I remembered now.

I’d killed so many people.

And I wasn’t exactly sad about it.

Then the Demon stepped into the room.

“Well, Nina, you always wanted to visit the cabin.” The Demon spread his arms out to encompass the space. “Are you happy now?”

“I could never be happy when I have to look at your face.”

“That’s not true. You were happy for years.” The Demon stroked her face. She jerked at her chains, but couldn’t escape. “Sweet, stupid Nina. I’m glad our girl got my brains.”

“Fuck you,” she said, and the Demon winced at the expletive. “She’s nothing like you.”

“Oh, she’s everything like me,” the Demon disagreed. He turned and looked into my face. “I’ve got you back. Don’t I, my girl?”

“Yes,” I said swiftly.

I needed to get him to trust me. To get control of the situation.

“I guess we’ll see,” he said.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. “Before you get any ideas, Delilah…this is just for Cain’s cage. And I’m going to bring your mom with us, too. I want her to see this.”

The Demon unlocked my mother’s chains and moved her to the next room.

While he was gone, the guys tried to talk to me.

But I didn’t get the chance to answer before the Demon returned, with Cain in tow.

“I know better than to try to hold a gun on you, of course,” the Demon told Cain. “But surely you’ve noticed the collar around your neck. One wrong move, and you’ll be injected with my very favorite poison. You’ll be dead before you have time for a goodbye kiss.”

The Demon held up the remote. Cain crossed his massive arms over his chest.

“I promise you this works better than a tranq dart,” the Demon said.

Cain made eye contact with me. He looked expectant, like I was supposed to say or do something.

Then the door clicked open.

“Come out slowly,” the Demon said.

Cain raised his hands in a gesture as if he was placating the Demon. But Cain had never placated anyone in his life.

With his hands still raised, Cain walked ahead of the Demon, as the Demon gestured him toward the hall he’d disappeared down with my mother.

We turned down a few corridors and emerged into a large room. There was a window dug out into the side of this one for some reason. I could tell it was raining outside now, pounding against the aluminum window well and running down the window, making it almost impossible to see outside.

As if there was nothing beyond this room for us.

But I knew I would walk out of here, one way or another.

“Now,” the Demon said. “Are you really Delilah, again?”

“I remember everything,” I said. “Why did I forget?”

He nodded. “I think your brain fractured, trying to protect yourself. Trying to seal away the best part of you and make you forget.” He looked at me closely. “How do you feel now?”

“Better.” That was true. The sense of shame and guilt, the tension of always trying to do the best thing I could in a terrible situation, the confinement of being a good girl had fallen away.

At my best, I was wild and free. I was the girl who had tattooed Cain just above his cock and who had made that ring slut watch Pax and me. I was the girl who had been killing since I was a kid…for good reasons. The best reasons.

My reasons.

And the girl I had been had peeked out in those moments of sheer blissful insanity.

It was time to set her free again forever.

“Don’t forget again,” the Demon added.

“How do I keep from forgetting?”

“The people you love, the connections you make...they’ve tried to make you small. Look at your mother. She was afraid of who you were…and she was supposed to be the one who loves you the most.”

“Delilah,” she cried. She started to try to talk to me.

“Shut up.” He pressed a button. She screamed.

Cain scoffed. “I’ve never made Aurora small. I love who she is. And I remember her fucking name.”

“How do I keep from forgetting?” I cut Cain off, my focus on the Demon.

The Demon smiled at my single-mindedness, even as my mother sobbed in the background.

“You have to kill them.”

Cain

Aurora's violet eyes had darkened. It was like a switch had flipped, watching the Demon's video of her scenes.

"Here's the thing," Aurora said breezily. "There can only be one Demon."

"You're right about that–" the Demon began.

The next moment, Aurora's hand flashed so quickly I barely saw it. There was a silver flash as she pulled a knife, and the Demon didn't have time to do more than register shock before she threw it and it landed solidly in his chest.

"Not a killing blow," Aurora said lightly. "We have time to do this right, Dad."

She leaned over him, caressing his face gently, before she planted her boot in his stomach and yanked the knife free. He let out a scream of pain as his blood began to pump out wildly. She pulled out the remote for my collar, and a second later, it slipped off my neck. I was curious how she’d been so confident she had the right button.

"You like when I call you that, right?" Aurora asked him. "Does it still sound sweet to you now?"

She dragged him toward the table.

I moved to help her–I would always help her–even though I was weak with blood loss and hunger.

She shook her head. "This is a family matter, Cain."

She heaved his body onto the table.

Aurora bent over the Demon, her eyes wild. "I'm going to make you suffer," she hissed. His eyes widened and he tried to squirm away, but she pressed down on him, and I could hear the sickening crack of bone as she broke his wrist.

He screamed again as she ran a finger through his blood and licked it off. Her violet eyes were darker than ever now, and I knew that whatever happened next would not be pleasant for her good old dad.

"Time for some fun," Aurora said cheerfully, her voice bubbling with dark anticipation. She moved around the table, snatching up several instruments of torture that had previously been lying dormant in shadowed corners. Taking them in hand, Aurora began her work in earnest– first slicing open his arm so that it bled freely before clamping it shut with tight metal pliers, then moving on to pierce him with hundreds of tiny needles until he was writhing in agony.

Every move was precise and planned, yet mercilessly brutal.

She watched as he writhed in pain, a satisfied smirk on her face. When it was done, she took a step back and looked at him one last time with cold eyes. The hatred that had consumed her moments ago had been replaced by an icy calm that seemed like it could last forever.

"It's time for you to go," she said softly yet firmly as she plunged the knife into his chest again with one swift motion. His body went still and his eyes closed as darkness embraced him for the final time. Aurora leaned over him one last time and whispered something inaudible before turning away from the corpse without another glance.

Then she turned that cold, dangerous gaze on her mother.

"You left me," she said, as if the pain she felt had been replaced with nothing but icy cold rage. I knew that feeling. She was just like me.

"Help her," her mother's eyes begged me silently as her gaze met mine. "Help me."

Like I cared about what that bitch wanted.

I loved Aurora just the way she was.

But I remembered all the times Aurora had pleaded that she didn't know who she was.

She wouldn't want to be this person who was descending into madness.

"I didn't want to leave you," Nina pleaded. "I had to."

"Shut up." Aurora's voice was as quiet as a caress. She unstrapped her father so she could push him off the table. "Get on the table, Mom. You made me who I am. You left me for him. You made me just as much as he did. So it's time to show you what I learned."

"Please, Aurora," Nina said weakly. "I love you."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have left me," she disagreed.

"Aurora," I said quietly.

She turned toward me, and her beautiful face was almost unrecognizable without the usual spark of life.

This was the other person who lived inside her, the one Nina had talked about.

The one who had killed.

The one who had survived the Demon by becoming like him, instead of becoming his opposite like the Aurora I usually knew.

"I love you," I told her quietly. "All of you. Every bit."

She had to find a way to bring those two sides together. To stop hiding from herself.

"You don't have to hide from us," I reminded her. "There's nothing you can do to make it so I don't love you. And I know you love me. Always."

"I don't love anyone," she said icily.

"That's not true," I said.

I picked up one of the knives that were scattered across this horrible place.

"Are you going to use that against me?" she asked archly, sounding amused by the idea. She already had her own knife out.

"No," I said. "I'm going to remind you who you really are. Spoiler alert, Aurora: you're mine. Always. You're always mine, every bit of you."

I flipped the blade around, bracing the hilt with one hand as I aligned it with my gut. It wouldn't be a wound that would kill me. Not quickly.

But it would eventually, if she didn't take care of me.

Aurora always took care of those she loved.

"Come back to me, Aurora," I said quietly. "Remember that we love each other. That we need each other, even while the rest of the world can burn."

Then I drove the blade into my gut.

I collapsed to my knees as the pain seared through my body.

She was watching me, her gaze heavy-lidded and cold, as I fell to the rough floor.

As my gaze fluttered close, the last thing I saw was her leaning over me, studying me, as if she didn't know what she was going to do.

And neither did I.

But I would die for her. She was the only one.

"Come back to me," I whispered one last time before I slipped into the darkness.

25

AURORA

I  stared as blood pooled from his stomach and the life started to fade from his eyes. He never took his gaze from mine. Not until his eyes flickered close.

Images slashed through my mind. Of a hazy room in a frat house. Of him leaning over me as I laid on his bed. I saw our first kiss. I heard the promises he’d made me. He loved me. He loved Aurora. He loved Delilah.

And I…

I loved him too.

As if I’d been in a trance, something inside of me shattered like glass, and a million emotions shot through the numbness, so powerful that I fell to my knees.

The truth stretched out before me, and the room came into focus.

And with that focus, came panicked despair. Because it finally sank through the haze of Delilah, what Aurora…what I…was about to lose.

I ran towards Cain and knelt beside his lifeless body. Time seemed to stand still, mocking me with its cruel immobility. The man I loved, the one who had fought tirelessly by my side, now lay motionless, his spirit on the precipice of being gone forever. He was so pale, like the loss of his life force had drained away all his colors.

I was frozen for a moment, sheer panic overwhelming my senses.

And then a flicker of determination ignited in my chest.

The Demon had always kept a defibrillator nearby. It was a twisted tool he used to revive his victims when he went too far, prolonging their lives so he could have more fun.

Surely he had one here. He’d had it at all of the other places I’d lived with him.

In a surge of desperation, I leapt up and started rifling through the cabinets, looking for the device.

It had to be there. It had to be.

Finally…my trembling hands closed around a cold metal casing.

Sprinting back to Cain’s body, I positioned the defibrillator's paddles on his chest.

I’d never prayed before. But I prayed then, to every divine force that existed in the universe, willing them to answer my plea.

With a shaky breath, I pressed the button, unleashing a surge of electricity that coursed through his body. The room crackled with anticipation, the atmosphere heavy with the possibility of both life and death.

"Come back to me, Cain," I whispered, my voice a fragile thread of hope. "Don't you dare leave me."

The electric current jolted through Cain's body, his muscles convulsing in response. A flicker of doubt threatened to extinguish the flame of hope within me, but I refused to let it consume me. I pressed the button again, my touch a desperate plea for his return.

In that moment, his eyes snapped open, wide and filled with a mix of confusion and pain. He gasped, struggling to find his breath, his chest heaving with newfound life. His gaze met mine, a spark of recognition glimmering within the depths of his irises.

"Aurora?" he rasped, his voice weak.

I couldn't help the tears that streamed down my face as relief washed over me like a tidal wave. "Yes, Cain. It's me. You're here. You're alive."

He reached for my hand, his touch trembling but resolute. "You’re back?” he croaked. I knew what he was asking—he was wondering if the real Aurora was back. Or if I was still stuck in my blood stained past.

I nodded, unable to speak. The relief I was feeling at that moment was a living, breathing thing that blocked everything else out.

He passed out again, but his chest kept rising and falling. His heart kept beating.

He needed a hospital though. Immediately.

I took a deep breath and dragged myself from his side, ignoring Nina weeping in a corner, and I ran down the hall to where the others were still caged.

The stench of despair clung to the cold, damp air of the basement, suffocating me as my trembling hands fumbled along the grimy walls, trying to find a light the Demon had flicked back off after we’d left the room. My heart pounded in my chest, its erratic rhythm a constant reminder of the ticking clock, counting down the precious seconds Cain had left before there was nothing I could do to bring him back.

Finally, my hand caught on the switch and the light flicked on, illuminating the room.

“Fuck!”

“Aurora!

“Where’s Cain?”

The guys all hollered things at me at once, and I took a step towards them…until I realized the keys would be with the Demon still.

“Be right back,” I called as I fled the room, heading back to where the Demon's lifeless body lay. There was a terrifying rattling sound coming from Cain’s chest, but I forced myself to continue with my task. With shaky hands, I reached into his pockets, relief hitting me when I felt the cold metal of the keys against my trembling fingertips.

A quick glance at the Demon…and what I’d done to him, and I was dry heaving. Waves of revulsion clawing at my skin. With a deep breath, I tore myself away from his lifeless body, the keys clutched tightly in my grasp.

Back in the main room finally, I raced over to the cages and inserted the key into the first lock, my heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and fear.

Click.

The sound of the lock releasing was like a sweet symphony, a whispered promise of liberation. Stellan emerged from the cage, his eyes filled with both gratitude and pain. I rushed to the next, unlocking it with a fervor born of determination and love.

Click.

Remington emerged, his body battered but his spirit unbroken. Paxton followed suit. Their faces were etched with a mix of relief and exhaustion.

“We have to go,” I said frantically, my voice coming out panicked and overwhelmed. “Cain has to get to the hospital. He’s dying.”

Stellan's eyes flickered with concern as he stepped forward to follow me.

Without waiting to see if they were keeping up, I sprinted back towards the doorway, trying to hold in the hysteria…and the guilt.

If he died…

It would be all my fault.

“Fuck,” Paxton muttered, and I heard something smack against the concrete floor. I glanced back to see that he’d fallen, and I immediately sprinted to him. After not walking for weeks…and being tortured, his limbs were obviously having trouble holding him up. Stellan was supporting Remington—being a little fresher than Remy and Pax—both of them stumbling along…but Paxton was trying, and failing, to struggle to his feet. I pulled him up, almost falling myself as I tried to support his body.

“Just leave me,” he said through gritted teeth, his forehead beading with sweat over the effort he was making to try and walk with me.

“Shut up,” I snapped as I all but dragged him across the room.

Desperation was seeping into my bloodstream at a steady pace as we made our way excruciatingly slow to where Cain was. Time was a blur, a whirlwind of motion and desperation as we trudged forward.

Stellan cursed at the sight of the Demon's lifeless body, lying sprawled across the floor, a stark reminder of the horrors we all had endured. My mother was backed into a corner, her hands pressed over her mouth as if she were frozen in horror, even with the Demon dead.

The rattling sound coming from Cain had gotten weaker, not a good sign. I held in a sob as I stared between Cain and Paxton. I didn’t want to leave any of them here. Even with the Demon gone, that didn’t mean that Paxton would be safe if we didn’t take him with us. With our luck, one of the Demon’s followers would come by for a visit, and they’d find Paxton like this, a sliver of his former self.

“I’m not leaving without you,” I said, daring him to argue.

“I’ll crawl,” said Paxton, seeing the determination in my face.

I didn’t have a choice but to let him do it. I helped him to the ground as Stellan lowered Remington to the floor and then dashed over to help me with Cain.

My limbs trembled under the weight of Cain's unconscious body, even with Stellan’s help, as we slowly made our way through the dimly lit hallway. Paxton and Remington dragged themselves across the floor as fast as they were able, while Nina limped along.

Each step felt like an eternity as we navigated the labyrinth of hallways, our breaths heavy with a mix of exertion and anticipation. The faint glow of emergency lights danced along the walls, casting eerie shadows that seemed to mirror the darkness that had plagued us for far too long.

"Careful, Aurora," Stellan murmured after I tripped and almost fell over, his voice laced with concern as he adjusted his grip on Cain's limp form. "You can do this. Just keep moving."

I nodded, the weight of Cain's body in my arms fueling my determination. With every labored breath, I willed him to hold on, to find the strength within him to keep fighting. The thought of losing him, after everything we had been through…I couldn’t let myself go there.

Finally, we reached the basement stairs, a gateway to freedom that loomed before us. With careful, deliberate steps, we ascended, each footfall echoing through the stillness.

Stellan’s gaze met mine over Cain’s head, his eyes filled with unwavering resolve. "Almost there, Aurora. Just a little bit further."

We made it up the stairs and the basement door creaked open, revealing the moonlit filled room. Hope surged within me, urging me onward. A little further, and we were through the cabin, finally emerging into the cool night air. Our breaths mingled with the wisps of mist that hung in the darkness, a tangible reminder of the world outside, waiting to embrace us.

“I’m parked down the road,” I whispered dejectedly as we moved forward.

Remington and Paxton hadn’t made it up the stairs yet, but at least I could still hear them moving.

By the time we made it to the car, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed. With synchronized movements, we gently laid Cain's body on the backseat of the car. I leaned over him, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead, my touch a gentle caress filled with love and desperation.

"Stay with me, Cain," I whispered, my voice choked with emotion. "Please."

As I slid behind the wheel, my hands trembling on the keys, Stellan spoke softly next to me, his voice filled with conviction. "He’ll survive. We haven’t made it this far just to lose one of us now."

I nodded, swallowing the knot of apprehension in my throat. The engine roared to life and I raced to the cabin where Remington and Paxton had finally made it to the doorway, Nina hovering behind them with an inscrutable look on her face.

They were as pale as death themselves as I helped them all into the car, filling it with a cacophony of strained breaths and whispered curses. And then we were off, the engine roaring as we peeled away from the Demon's lair, leaving behind the horrors that threatened to consume us. The wind whipped through the car's open windows. The road stretched before us, an uncertain path leading us towards the salvation we so desperately sought. The world outside blurred into a chaotic haze, each passing moment a race against time.

Finally, the hospital loomed before us. I skidded to a halt outside the emergency entrance, the screech of tires piercing the air. I leapt out of the car, and rushed towards the entrance.

"Help!" I screamed, my voice a raw plea as I burst through the doors of the emergency room. "We need help!"

The emergency room buzzed with frenetic energy, the chaos of it all assaulting my senses. The blinding lights, the antiseptic scent that lingered in the air, the loud din of urgent voices, all merged into a disorienting symphony that had me reeling. I scanned the room, desperation etched into every fiber of my being, searching for help.

The faces of the medical staff contorted with shock and disbelief as they took in the state of me. Blood stained my clothes, bruises painted my skin, and the weight of our harrowing ordeal bore down upon me.

But their momentary hesitation was shattered by my piercing scream.

"Someone, for the love of God, help him!" I cried out, my voice raw with anguish and desperation. "Please, save him!"

In an instant, the medical team sprang into action. They rushed towards me, and I led them out to the car parked right in front of the entrance. Their trained eyes immediately understood the severity of Cain's condition. With a swift yet gentle motion, they lifted him out of the car, and placed him on a gurney, their movements efficient and urgent.

Minutes felt like an eternity as they wheeled Cain away, disappearing behind the double doors of the emergency surgery unit. I sank to my knees right there in the entrance, my body trembling with a cocktail of fear, exhaustion, and an overwhelming flood of emotions. Tears streamed down my face, each drop a testament to the depths of my love and my understanding that my world was falling apart.

Gurneys carrying Remington, Stellan, Paxton, and Nina soon followed Cain through the double doors.

And then I was all alone, unable to follow them further inside.

The waiting room became a sea of whispered conversations and anxious glances, a microcosm of collective worry and shared humanity. I clutched onto fragments of hope, praying fervently for Cain's survival.

The seconds stretched into minutes, and the minutes morphed into hours, as time became an amorphous entity that refused to be tamed.

With every passing second, my heart splintered further, fragmented by the weight of uncertainty. The sterile walls of the hospital seemed to close in around me, suffocating me with their clinical detachment.

Finally, an exhausted looking doctor approached, her eyes filled with both weariness and guarded hope. “Aurora?” she asked as I sprang to my feet, her eyes widening only briefly as she took me in. I hadn’t bothered to get cleaned up yet, and my shoulder was still bleeding from where the bullet had hit me. I didn’t feel like I could do anything until I knew they were alright.

She spoke in measured tones. "Cain made it through surgery. It was touch-and-go for a while. We lost him twice. But he's holding on now. I think we’re out of the woods."

Relief washed over me like a cleansing wave. I wiped away my tears. “And the others?”

“Severely malnourished and dehydrated. Remington and Paxton both had infections brewing in their cuts. But they should be okay. It will just take awhile.”

I nodded, my throat clogged with my tears.

“Aurora, I think you should see a doctor as well,” she murmured.

I shook my head. “I’m fine. I—I just need to get cleaned up.”

She eyed the blood clinging to my skin with concern, but she finally nodded her head, not having the time to argue with me, I was sure.

“You can go see them if you want,” she told me. “Cain can’t have visitors yet, but the others have been asking for you.”

My heart leapt in my chest, nausea and nerves suddenly springing to life.

I’d spent all this time trying to save them, that I hadn’t thought about the after part. When they knew everything I’d done, and didn’t want me anymore.

"I'll take you to them," she said, missing my inner meltdown.

I would just see for myself that they all were okay. And then I’d leave.

There wasn't a way back for us after all that had happened.

I felt like I was walking to my death as I followed her to the hospital room. I was getting all sorts of looks, thanks to my crazy appearance. Somehow the police hadn't shown up yet to start asking questions, usually an automatic if you rolled up to a hospital like we had.

At least, they were alive. I could handle losing their love, but I couldn't have handled them not existing anymore. For the rest of my life, I could at least find solace in that.

"Here you go," she said gently, stopping in front of a room. “You should be able to see Cain in the morning."

I nodded, hopefully giving her a grateful smile, because I was still having trouble finding words.

She patted me on the shoulder and hustled away, I’m sure to scrub her hands after touching me.

Peering in through the window of the door, I could see Paxton, Remington, and Stellan’s still forms. Somehow, they'd all been given a room together. I didn't see any sign of Nina, but I didn't particularly care about that right now.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door, the beeping of the machines they were hooked to filling my senses.

Stellan’s eyes shot open as soon as the door opened, but Paxton and Remington stayed asleep.

"There you are," he whispered. "I've been threatening the nurses for hours if they didn't go get you."

"Here I am," I said, shifting anxiously and not making any move towards the bed.

"Come over here," he cajoled, his face frowning as he stared at me.

"I just—I just wanted to make sure that the three of you were all right," I whispered, my hands trembling at my sides, my heartbeat pounding against my rib cage.

"Why are you acting like that? Come get in this bed with me. It's not comfortable, but it'll do for a nap,” Stellan insisted, lifting the blankets and patting the small space next to him.

Why was he acting so…normal? Why was he making it worse for me?

Remington shifted in bed and let out a small moan. I rushed to his side, my eyes dancing over the hospital equipment like I could understand the numbers on the monitor.

His eyes opened groggily, coming to rest on my face.

"Hi, little devil," he croaked. I could feel Stellan’s gaze boring into the side of my head, but I ignored him. They all were starting to get their color back already, looking healthier, it seemed, with every drop of the I.V. going into their bodies.

Remington's smile morphed into a frown as he took me in, and I braced myself again for the rejection I was sure was coming. "What time is it? How long have you been here? Why hasn't anyone helped you get cleaned up? Are you fucking bleeding?”

He struggled to sit up in the bed, and I reached out to help him before jerking back my arms and crossing them in front of me. Remington's frown deepened. "Are you hurt? What do you need?"

"I’m—fine," I spit out haltingly.

"Stellan, what did you do? Why is she acting like this?"

"I have no idea. She’s been like a skittish colt since the second she entered the room," drawled Stellan.

"Why am I acting like this? Why are all of you acting like this? Like everything's fine?" I spit out, a tear trailing down my cheek.

"They told us Cain was fine. Did something else happen?" said Paxton in a gravelly, sleep filled voice.

"He's fine. It was scary for a while, but the doctor thinks he’s made it through the worst. He’ll be able to have visitors in the morning," I quickly explained.

"Did the Demon come back to life?" Remington asked, looking a little green at the thought.

"No. He's definitely dead."

"Then, what's the problem?" Stellan pressed.

"How are you all just looking at me like this?"

“Like what, princess?" Paxton asked slowly.

"Like you still want to be with me!" I cried.

There was a long silence, and I turned to go.

"What in the fucking hell are you talking about?" spit Paxton. "Why would we not want you?"

I stilled, before slowly turning back around to face their three expectant and confused gazes.

"You know the truth about me now, don't you?" I whispered.

"You mean how you’re kind of a psycho?" asked Remington, a smile in his voice that was extremely confusing.

"I killed—"

"You killed a lot of people," said Paxton. "I personally find that attractive."

My jaw dropped as I stared at the three of them, looking for the punchline. They were acting like it didn't matter, like nothing had changed. But how in the world could that have been possible?

I turned my attention to Stellan. "I'm the monster you thought I was all along," I whispered haltingly.

He shrugged. "Turns out I only like monsters. Nothing else will do." Stellan smirked at me.

"Need us to stab someone to prove we’re all in?" asked Remington, except he sounded completely serious.

My eyes widened. "No, I think there's been enough stabbing lately. We can hold off for a while; we’ve fulfilled our quota."

"Look at our girl, with her jokes," snarked Remington.

"Look at our Queen," purred Paxton, stirring my insides to life. The cold that had infiltrated my veins was slipping away, replaced with the heavy warmth brought by the fact that they still loved me.

"It might happen again," I warned, my gaze darting from face to face. “I might not be able to stop the darkness from coming."

"We won't let the darkness take you. We’ll always find you," Stellan swore, and more tears were assaulting my skin.

“And if we can’t bring you back, we’ll stay there too,” murmured Paxton.

"Come get in bed with me," Stellan ordered. “Or else I’ll yank this needle out of my arm and drag you here.”

I nodded and walked over, slipping into bed and snuggling against his chest as my body continued to rack with sobs.

Their murmured reassurances, their declarations of love…I soaked it all up, grateful that I hadn't lost it.

Gabriela. Delilah. Aurora.

They loved them all.

Maybe it was time I did too.

I FELT like a new woman as I stopped in front of Cain’s room the next morning. I’d even gotten to shower last night, and get my arm stitched up, so I didn't look like a modern-day version of Bloody Mary.

Cain’s eyes were open, and he was watching a football game on TV, a grimace on his face.

I opened the door. "I already said I'm not talking to any of you until she's here," he growled without looking at me.

"I'm here," I murmured.

His gaze shot over to me and he tried to move off the bed, even though he was strapped to what looked like at least six different machines.

I rushed over to his bed before he could do something crazy.

He looked a lot better, some of his golden glow returned. He reached up and grabbed my face, and brought it towards him until our foreheads were touching.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," I sighed in a choked voice. "Thank you for staying alive."

“Thanks for coming back to me," he responded.

Sweet pain sparked through me.

“You look like shit,” I told him, my hand on his chest, tracing the bandage on his stomach.

“Mmh. You don’t.” He slid my hand down to his hardening dick.

“Young man. You are not allowed to have sex for several weeks,” a nurse said as she strode into the room.

I snorted at the distress on Cain’s face.

“I don’t think I remember the doctor saying that,” he said smoothly.

She hummed as she checked all the tubes attached to him. “That’s because you were unconscious with a stab wound in your gut,” she said sweetly.

“Touché,” I mouthed to Cain behind her back.

She checked him for several more minutes before typing something into the computer and leaving the room.

“No sex,” she yelled behind her.

“You’re annoying,” Cain yelled back. Her laughter followed her down the hallway.

“Come here,” he said in a soft, persuasive voice, patting the space next to him like Stellan had the night before.

I eyed the bed doubtfully. There was no way I could get in there without yanking one of those tubes out.

“Not happening,” I said, settling into the chair next to the bed. “It’s been like a day since you almost died. Those tubes are staying in.”

I ended up in the bed, curled against him, his hands stroking through my hair.

“I’ll kill you if you ever do that again,” I whispered to him, as a tear slid onto his bare chest that I was lying against.

“Don’t try and leave me then, ever again. You’re mine. You forgot that.”

I remembered Stellan’s reassurances last night.

“I am yours,” I murmured, pressing a kiss against his smooth skin. “And you’re mine.”

“The rest of the world can burn,” he said drowsily as the pain medicine kicked in and he fell into a deep sleep.

I stayed awake, watching over him. Not because I was scared something would happen, but because for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t have to fear the future.

I could just enjoy the now.

26

AURORA

H ealing was a slow process. And today was just another step in my journey.

My mom was waiting in the next room, finally out of the hospital after her recovery from the Demon’s tactics.

It had been several weeks since everyone had gotten out.

And life was…good.

More than good.

It was normalizing. No serial killer or mobster fathers trying to kill us. Cain had somehow made any police interest in us disappear with his vast array of resources.

I was extremely impressed.

Even the Demon’s followers had been quiet, in a state of deep mourning since the Demon’s death had been announced. They were also killing themselves off left and right in tribute to their master’s legacy.

It was wonderful.

We’d been regrouping, taking it day by day, dreaming of a future that could actually happen now.

I was even enrolled back at Darkwood College, the dean mysteriously disappearing.

I’d pressed Cain about that, but he’d pretended he didn’t know what I was talking about.

“You don’t have to talk to her,” Stellan said fiercely, bringing me out of my head and back to the task at present.

He wasn’t a big fan of my mom.

None of them were.

And after everything that had happened…I was realizing I wasn’t a big fan either.

Which was why today was necessary.

“It will be over soon,” I told Stellan with a smile, before taking a deep breath and opening the door to the room.

She was sitting on a chair by the window, just staring out at the backyard.

“Hey,” I said cheerfully, or as cheerfully as someone like me could actually muster.

She jerked in her seat, her gaze flicking towards me. And I grimaced at the look in her eyes.

She was afraid of me.

Not that it should be surprising. After everything that had happened, everyone should be afraid of me.

“Hello,” she said carefully. I walked towards her, but when she pushed back in her chair like she thought I was about to lunge…I stopped. Keeping the fake smile on my face, I moved to the couch across the room from her instead of sitting in the chair next to her.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and ran a hand through her shorn hair. The Demon had hacked it off all the way to her scalp.

“Ready for this to grow back so I don’t have to stare at myself in the mirror and think about everything.”

I nodded.

That was fair.

The silence between us was heavy. Uncomfortable.

Staring at her now, it was hard to remember how desperate I’d once been for a mother. Maybe I’d always have an ache there, where I would tangibly feel the loss of her.

Or maybe not her. Of the idea of her.

When you had mommy issues, that’s what you were really feeling. You were feeling the loss of your idea of what a mother was supposed to be like.

Not missing them.

“Aurora,” she said stiffly. “I feel it’s my duty to talk to you about what I saw—who you’ve become.”

Shame tried to work its way through my insides, but I pushed that bitch back. Shame wasn’t going to get me anywhere.

“I really don’t think there’s anything to talk about.”

“Everything I’ve done has been to protect you, and after all that, you’ve still become…”

“Say it. Say what I’ve become,” I hissed, leaning forward.

Her face scrunched up, pure, unadulterated sorrow oozing out of her features.

“A monster.”

The word didn’t have the effect that it used to. I was a monster. And so were my men.

That was my identity, carved into me at an early age. And it wouldn’t do to hate something I couldn’t change.

“You don’t even care,” she murmured, sounding slightly hysterical. “You’re—you’re proud of it.”

““Proud might be a strong word,” I answered, lounging back in the cushions. “But I’m certainly not trying to throw myself off a bridge. Sorry if that disappoints you.”

Her silence was deafening. My eyebrows rose. “Oh, sorry, did you want me to throw myself off a bridge?”

“Monsters weren’t made to exist with everyone else, Aurora. Your soul is corrupted. It’s black. You’re a danger to everyone around you. It’s…devastating. After all I’ve sacrificed for you…” Tears filled her eyes.

“After all you’ve—you do remember you left me on a bench, right? And after that, I was put into abusive foster homes until the Demon found me and spent years trying to mold me. Any of that ring a bell?”

She scoffed, like all of that meant nothing compared to her sacrifice. It felt like we were having the same conversation over and over. Like as a child, I should have had this moral compass that defied all odds.

It all felt like a joke at this point.

I shifted in my seat, pretty well done with this whole conversation. “Well then, what’s your plan? Where are you going to go? What will you do, now that you’re…free?”

Again, her eyes spoke for her. She wasn’t going to tell me where she wanted to go. She just wanted to get away…from me.

“We’ll drop you off somewhere, I guess.”

For years I’d just wanted her to be here with me. And now I hoped I never saw her again.

Judging by how “disappointed” she was with me, I would probably get my wish.

She leaned towards me. “You can still change though, Aurora. You can still choose from here on out to be a better person. You can shed this persona. You can still be the woman I’ve always wanted you to be.”

I stood up and brushed off imaginary lint from my jeans.

“The problem is, Mother, I’m no longer interested in that. Grab your stuff; we’ll drop you off right now.”

I exited the room without a look back, feeling a burden leave my shoulders I didn’t even know was there. Evidently, the Demon wasn’t the only weight I needed to shed. She’d been a bag of rocks on my back this whole time, and I hadn’t realized it until today.

After today, she would only be Nina, I decided right then and there. I’d never call her Mom again.

Cain was waiting in the hallway for me, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him like a brooding, golden god.

“Do I need to kill her?” he asked casually, and I snorted.

Cain and I were really fucked up.

“No. She’s going to leave, and this time, she’s never going to come back.”

I strode down the hallway, a tension under my skin. I couldn’t wait for her to leave.

“She upset you. What happened?”

I sighed and shook my head, not wanting to look him in the face. “It’s nothing new. I just wonder—”

“What?” he asked, stopping me in the hallway and turning me around so I had no choice but to face him.

“I wonder how you could look at your daughter, the daughter you handed off, and just be…disappointed.” I laughed harshly and pulled my chin from his grip so I could stare at the wall. “I don’t think I could ever be a mother,” I whispered, my mind going there for probably the first time ever. “I don’t want to wake up one day and realize that I’m just like them. That I’m just as selfish, just as…disappointing.”

Cain growled and whipped my head around. A second later, his lips smashed against mine and he was kissing me desperately, like his kiss could erase the dark thoughts running rampant in my head.

After I was breathless and on the verge of passing out from lack of oxygen, he released me, one hand going around my neck and flickering around my pulse point. “Have my children, don’t have my children, but whatever choice you make, it fucking better have nothing to do with thinking you won’t be a good mother. I have no doubts when it comes to that. There won’t be a child more loved and more cared for than ours. I promise you.”

I stared up at him, wide-eyed at the passion in his voice. I’d never really thought Cain would want kids. Or at least I’d thought he wouldn’t care either way. But that was not what I was hearing right then.

A picture of a golden, tousled hair child filled my head, and I found myself…yearning for it.

Weird.

“Well, I guess we can cross that bridge when we come to it…eventually.”

Cain’s gaze seemed to burn and smolder in the dim light as he studied my face. “Just as long as we’re clear about how that decision will be made.”

I patted him on the shoulder, attempting to lighten the tension threaded through the air. “Message received. Let’s just make sure you don’t mess with my birth control now that you seem to have developed some kind of “daddy” kink.”

He rolled his eyes…but he didn’t dispute it.

Well then.

The door down the hallway opened and Nina stepped out, coming to a halt when she saw Cain crowded over me against the wall…one of his hands still around my neck.

“I’m ready to go,” she said disapprovingly as her cheeks flushed with an embarrassed glow.

I loved that I no longer cared.

“The car’s this way,” I told her, just as stiffly, and I turned and walked away, not really caring if she followed or not.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“I’m sure waiting in the car already,” remarked Cain casually.

“Waiting in the—wait, were you guys watching me?” My voice sounded indignant, but honestly, I was just amused.

Cain sighed, as if my question bored him. “Of course. We’re always watching. You have a habit of getting in trouble. And we’d have to kill everyone if something happened to you.”

I stared at him, my mouth falling open in shock. “I don’t even know what to say to that. When do I get to chip you too?” I snarked.

“Whenever you want, little devil. Although maybe hold off on drugging me this time. I’ll gladly sit still for you to do it.”

I smiled, thinking of the little tattoo incident. “We’ll see,” I teased. He shook his head, and then abruptly scooped me into his arms and threw me over his shoulder. I squeaked as my stomach hit his shoulder, well aware Nina was watching us with disdain.

Just like Cain had said, Paxton, Remington, and Stellan were waiting by the Escalade.

“Have fun spying on me?” I drawled at them, still hanging upside down. None of their smirks looked guilty in the slightest as they stared back at me.

I spanked Cain’s ass. “You can let me down now.”

He just handed me off to Paxton who slid with me into the backseat. Everyone else filed in as well, with Cain driving, of course. Nina settled herself reluctantly into the front seat.

“Where would you like to be dropped off?” Cain asked sarcastically as we pulled out of the driveway.

“The rental car place,” Nina responded.

Cain and I exchanged a secret smile in the rear view mirror that Nina didn’t notice because she was too busy staring out her window, lost in her thoughts.

Paxton’s fingers traced my skin as I laid my head on his chest, the steady sound of his heartbeat comforting the complicated emotions thrumming through my veins.

Forty minutes later, Nina sat upright. “We should have been there by now!” she snarled, a thread of unease in her voice.

“I decided against that,” said Cain smoothly. His tone was friendly…if you didn’t know him.

If you did, you wouldn’t be able to miss the undercurrent of danger that was present.

“Where exactly are you taking me?” Her hands gripped the armrest, her knuckles turning white. Nina turned to glare at me. “Really, Aurora?”

“Really what?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Are you—” she took a deep, shuddering breath. “Are you planning on killing me?”

Stellan scoffed, although, really…the whole thing with Cain’s mother had happened and I had sort of threatened Nina before…

I kept my head on Paxton’s chest, like I couldn’t be bothered with what she’d asked.

“No, Nina. We aren’t killing you,” I answered, right as Cain pulled into a random gas station in the middle of nowhere.

Cain pulled up next to a green bench just outside the storefront and stopped.

“Why are you stopped? What is this place?”

“This is your drop off point. If you think really hard, I’m sure you’ll recognize it.”

Nina stared out the window, her face scrunched up, as I pictured a little girl, sitting on a bench, waiting for her mother to come back.

It was poetic justice that I hadn’t known I’d needed until Cain had decided it for me.

Remington hopped out of the car and tossed open Nina’s door. “Time to get out.”

Nina glanced back at me, a harrowed look on her face.

“The gas station,” she murmured, before she pursed her lips. “If you’re trying to make me feel guilty for what I said, it’s not going to work, Aurora. I stand by—”

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty about anything,” I said, finally lifting my head from Paxton’s chest. “After you get out of the car, I’m never going to think about you again. But I’m confident you’ll think of me every day for the rest of your life.”

“Aurora!”

“Get out,” Cain said cooly. “I’m going to fuck your daughter after this with the rest of her boyfriends. So you can rest assured she’s in good hands.”

Nina’s mouth fell open in shock. Remington took the opportunity to unclick her seatbelt and scoot her out. She stumbled as she caught herself on the sidewalk.

Stellan rolled down the back window. “There’s a bench you can sit on right there,” he said, motioning to the closest one. Remington hopped into the front where Nina had been sitting, and slammed the door in Nina’s face. Stellan closed his window and we drove away.

I started to turn my head and Stellan caught my chin.

“Don’t look back, Aurora. There’s nothing there for you anymore,” he murmured, catching my lips with a soft kiss that had me melting against him, completely forgetting Nina and all I’d left behind.

When Stellan released my lips, Cain caught my eye in the rear view mirror. “Ready for that orgy, little devil?” he purred, his tongue peeking out to slide along his bottom lip.

“Ready,” I breathed as Paxton’s hand slid between my legs, moving to cup my core.

Remington whooped in the front seat as Stellan shot me a sexy wink.

He and Cain had both been right. There was nothing waiting for me back there.

And I was definitely about to fuck all of my boyfriends.

PAXTON JUMPED out of the car, towing me with him before Cain had even come to a complete stop. Remington cursed him out viciously, but Paxton paid him no mind, marching into the house.

Cain screeched the brakes and I heard the sound of doors opening and then slamming shut.

Paxton was practically sprinting as we got into the house, taking the steps two at a time, not winded at all despite the fact he was carrying me.

It was hot.

As soon as we got into the room, he was pulling at my clothes, until I was standing there completely naked.

“Fuck. You’re perfect, princess,” he growled as his hands danced over my skin. His fingers slid through my folds and I gasped. “You’re soaked. Fuck.” He brought his wet fingers up to my lips, smearing it over my lips so I had no choice but to taste myself.

“You’re still completely dressed,” I pouted, pulling on his shirt…desperate to touch those surreal abs of his.

“Don’t touch her again until I say so,” came Cain’s growl from the doorway behind us. Paxton froze and then huffed in annoyance.

“Cain, I think we’ve talked about who’s in charge in this relationship,” I said in a sing-song voice, tasting myself with every word I spoke thanks to Paxton’s…moisturizer.

He chuckled and a chill swept down my spine.

“Get on the bed, Aurora,” Cain said calmly, as if I hadn’t even spoken.

“Are you going to spank me again?” I asked, my blood heating at the thought.

Cain slowly unbuckled his belt. “I had something else in mind.”

Was the belt going to be involved? This was getting interesting.

Stellan and Remington were inside the room by now, and the three of them were lined up, reminding me of the party from the night I’d blown up Cain’s car—and they’d completely betrayed me.

It didn’t give me a foreboding feeling though. Everything had changed so much since then.

Deciding to play along, because I was always rewarded for it, I moved to slide onto the bed.

“Get on your knees on the bed—” corrected Remington, and I lifted an eyebrow when Cain didn’t have anything contrary to say about Remington’s order.

“Spread your legs,” Cain ordered. Keeping my eyes locked with his, I slowly spread my knees apart as far as they would go.

“Fuck,” murmured Paxton, drawing my gaze. He was staring eagerly at my pussy.

“Stellan, get on your knees now and eat our girl out, just like that,” Cain pressed.

Stellan strode to the bed before dropping to the ground in front of me eagerly, his face diving in between my legs, his tongue lapping at my core. I shivered and whimpered as his fingers joined his talented tongue.

I writhed against his face as his tongue pushed into me, my head falling back in ecstasy. I was already close. There was nothing quite like having all of their attention as I was tongue fucked.

It was empowering in a way I needed after today.

“That’s enough,” Cain barked, right before I was about to orgasm. Stellan immediately withdrew his tongue and his fingers. I tried to snarl at Cain, but it came out more of a pained cry than what I’d intended.

“Lay on your back now,” he ordered, and I stared at him, wondering if I could get away with punching him in his stupid, perfect face right now, and still be able to orgasm.

Judging by the dark hunger in his gaze, I was thinking he’d be perfectly fine with denying me an orgasm if I disobeyed him right now.

I slid to my back, so desperate to come that I was willing to play along…for now.

Cain walked over to the foot of the bed and just stared at me, his eyes glittering as he took his fill. His gaze felt like a physical caress, and my skin flushed as he traced my curves.

A hand closed around my wrist, breaking the spell. Remington was the one holding onto me, a silky looking black band in his other hand.

“What are you doing?” I asked, watching in disbelief as he expertly tied my wrist to the headboard above me.

“Just preparing you,” Remington smirked…as Paxton tied my other wrist. I pulled on the bands, testing their strength.

Yep, this would take awhile to get out of.

Not that I felt like going anywhere at the moment.

Anticipation was threading through me. This kind of play…I was soaking wet just thinking about it.

“Stellan, get back to work,” Cain said cooly, settling into a chair on the far side of the room, the bored indifference in his voice at odds with the fire in his stare.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Stellan drawled sarcastically, but he didn’t waste any time diving back to my core, his tongue licking me obscenely from my clit to my ass crack, circling my rosebud slowly.

“All ours,” Remington whispered gruffly as he grabbed one of my ankles and tied it to the foot of the bed as Paxton serviced my other ankle at the same time.

I was stretched open in front of the four of them…seriously turned on.

Paxton covered my breast, gently kneading it as one of Remington’s hands glided over my stomach and thighs.

“All ours,” Paxton whispered in my ear.

Remington’s tongue trailed down my neck, circling my frantically beating pulse. A moan trailed from my throat when he sucked the flesh into his mouth.

“Remington,” I breathed, and he found my mouth, covering my moans with a delicious, perfect kiss. He licked into my mouth aggressively, as eagerly as Stellan was currently licking at my core.

Stellan’s tongue speared into me and I bucked back, desperate for more friction near my clit, but unable to do anything…since I was tied to a fucking bed.

How had we gotten here again?

“Remington, fuck her mouth,” said Cain, a tightness in his voice that told me how turned on he was right then.

Stellan moaned against my core and my insides fluttered. ‘“Mine,” he growled, finally rubbing my clit, with just the right amount of pressure.

I immediately spiraled into an orgasm, my scream cut off by Remington suddenly slamming his cock into my mouth, hitting my gag reflex right away.

Stellan was still working on my clit, and I writhed shamelessly, coming again when Paxton bit down on my nipple, the sharp sting making me mindless with pleasure.

Tears were streaming down my cheek as I sucked and pulled at Remington’s cock. He groaned, his hips following my movements, a steady stream of dirty praise falling from his mouth. His movements sharpened and my gag reflex dissipated. I was finally able to find a rhythm that had him groaning.

“Fuck, she’s soaking my face,” Stellan growled, lifting up to show us how half of his face was glistening.

I’d never been this turned on in my life.

“Fuck yes. Just like that,” Remington rasped. “Look at you taking my entire cock. You look so fucking hot with my dick down your throat.” His hand caressed my face and I slid my cheek against his touch, like I was a fucking house cat enjoying a good pet.

I didn’t know how it was possible…but I was somehow taking it all.

It felt like it was halfway down my fucking throat.

But I was taking it all.

Remington’s gaze was fixated on my mouth, rapt awe and wonder all over his face.

“Please,” I cried around Remington’s dick.

“Please what?” Cain cajoled mockingly, making me pull at my bonds in desperation. I needed to be fucked.

If it didn’t happen in the next minute, I was going to go insane.

Or at least more insane than I already was.

“Poor little devil. Do you need your holes filled? Do you want to be stuffed full of our dicks?”

I glared at him as Remington shoved deeper down my throat, almost choking me.

Cain laughed cruelly right as Paxton bit down on my nipple again, his tongue immediately soothing away the pain.

“Let’s flip her around. Give our pretty little fucktoy what she wants.”

Remington pulled out and I whimpered, because them leaving was the opposite of what I wanted.

In a move far more practiced than I wanted to think about since I was trying not to murder anyone, my bindings were untied and I was flipped over, my legs once again spread open obscenely.

“Paxton, get underneath her. Fuck that tight pussy of hers.”

Paxton growled and pushed me up so that he could slide underneath me.

“Such a good girl, princess,” he said mockingly, as his dick slid through my folds, passing over my clit and sending sparks of pleasure cascading through my core.

“If you don’t fuck me, I will gut you like a pig,” I threatened, my voice far too turned on to have the intended effect.

Paxton laughed like I’d just told a funny joke, but his grip on my ass tightened, his fingers digging in painfully.

“Please,” I begged.

“Please what?” Cain drawled.

“Please fuck me with your big cock before I kill you,” I spit out sarcastically, a moan finishing my sentence as Paxton’s dick made another pass over my clit.

All of them chuckled like the assholes they were, but another set of hands joined Paxton’s on my ass. This one provided more pleasure than pain as they massaged my ass cheeks.

I glanced down at Paxton’s body, enjoying the view. He was fucking perfect.

“You get rewarded for looking at me like that, princess,” he purred, and the head of cock slid into my entrance. It was a tight fit on any day.

But right now, I was soaking wet, so he slid in much easier than normal. My body arched as his head bent down to lather my nipple with his tongue, sucking on it as he pushed further in.

I was writhing as a tongue circled my asshole, dipping inside and setting my sensitive nerve endings on fire.

Paxton released my nipple, and his mouth claimed mine in a hungry kiss. Whimpers spilled out in a constant stream as my lips closed around his tongue, sucking eagerly.

The tongue in my ass pushed in further. In that moment, I wanted everything. They could do whatever they wanted to me and I would be desperate for it. I was so fucking turned on. As if he was jealous that my attention had shifted slightly away from him, Paxton slammed into me, until he was balls deep inside of me.

“Yes,” I cried out against Paxton’s lips.

“Open up,” Remington said gruffly, tapping his cock against my cheek as Paxton fucked into me. I turned my head away from Paxton’s and opened wide, eagerly taking Remington in once again, his musky sweet smell filling my senses.

Paxton pressed kisses against my chest and neck and he slid smoothly in and out of me. “You’re fucking soaking my balls,” he groaned, and I giggled around Remington’s cock, earning a sudden slap on my ass that had me almost biting it off.

“Fuck!” yelped Remington, and I winked at him as he swore again and savagely fucked in and out of my mouth as payback for a little teeth.

Hey, teeth were a known risk when having an orgy.

“Stellan, find some room in that pussy,” Cain said silkily.

Tears were streaming down my face already from how hard Remington was fucking my throat. But they only increased as Stellan began to push his dick inside my—filled to capacity—vagina.

“No,” I whimpered as pain shot through me.

Paxton reached between us and massaged my clit, my muscles immediately responding and relaxing enough that the head of Stellan’s enormous cock popped through my opening.

I thrashed and pulled at the ropes as he worked his way in.

A bead of sweat trailed down Paxton’s face and his teeth were gritted. His eyes rolled back. “Fuckkk,” he snarled as Stellan pushed forward.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t do anything. Remington was somehow still hammering into my lips, and I was only faintly aware of him filling my mouth with ropes of milky cum—that’s how out of it I was. It slid down my chin, joining in with the tears on my face.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Stellan murmured in a choked voice. “Just relax.”

Paxton slowly rolled my clit between his fingers, sparking me somewhat back to life. A hand spanking my ass again brought me the rest of the way.

‘We’re going to move now,” Stellan warned as Remington slipped from my lips and flopped onto the bed with a groan, his gaze attached to the two cocks currently stretching my pussy.

Paxton’s features were harsh and strained as he moved slowly out of me. His cock hammered back in then, right as Stellan pulled out.

“Fuck,” I screamed, right before Remington’s lips met mine, licking up the cum he’d just put in my mouth.

It was strangely…extremely hot.

But then again, I couldn’t be trusted with judging hotness factors right now. Everything was at the moment.

Pleasure was starting to overtake the pain as they moved and I continued to make out with Remy.

And then a buzzing sound filled the air. I froze, yanking my lips from Remington and trying to look behind me—a tall task with two cocks stuffed inside you.

Something cold…that was vibrating…touched my asshole, and I yelped, right as the thing was pushed past my tight ring of muscle.

I immediately came, again and again. Sobs were streaming from my mouth as pleasure swam over and over me again.

I was faintly aware of Stellan and Paxton groaning, of their hot cum flooding my insides.

I came twice more before the buzzing thing was pulled from my asshole and Stellan and Paxton also withdrew.

I was a limp mess as hands untied my wrists and ankles, and I was flipped over once again.

Cain was standing at the edge of the bed in front of me, his gaze hungry…and desperate. He was completely naked, stroking his perfect cock as he stared down at me.

“Now that you’re stuffed with your boyfriends’ cum, it’s my turn. I’m going to fuck that messy pussy until you’re screaming my name, and I’m not going to stop until you pass out.”

That was…extremely detailed.

And again. Weirdly hot.

He crawled up the bed until he was kneeling in front of me. Then he grabbed both my thighs and shoved them apart.

“Their cum is all over you, baby. You’re full of it.” He leaned down and gave my pussy a long lick, tasting all of the aforementioned cum, and I shivered and whimpered.

When he pulled away, his face was glistening from our combined juices.

“Have a taste, little devil,” he growled, his tongue licking along my lips, spreading the cum all over my mouth. My tongue followed his, eagerly lapping up the taste.

My favorite flavors.

Cain’s cock thrust inside me and a cry choked out of my lips. He didn't waste any time, his cock hammering into me relentlessly, his control completely gone.

I was aware that the others were watching us, but my gaze was fixed on Cain. On his angelic features, his guttural groans, his muscles flexing under my fingers. The tattoo I’d given him flexing between us.

“Yes, Yes, Yes,” I chanted, and he grinned before biting down on my lip savagely, until blood was flooding my mouth.

I came instantly…relentlessly, as he hit that sensitive spot inside me with each impact.

He let my lip go and my head pushed back into a pillow as more pleasure assaulted my veins.

“No more. I can’t,” I cried out. Cain just laughed and continued to fuck me. I was convulsing around his cock, the pleasure never ending.

“How many times can you come, Aurora?” Cain taunted, right before he slammed into me again.

The others’ hands glided over my skin, pinching my nipples, rubbing my clit, kissing my neck…and Cain continued on.

“Again, little devil. Again,” he ordered, a hard edge to his voice.

I came again.

And again.

And again.

Until I screamed his name.

And I indeed blacked out.

I’d lost a mother today.

But what I’d gotten more than made up for It.

EPILOGUE

A FEW YEARS LATER…

Aurora

T he sun was blazing as we sat in our chairs, listening to the commencement speaker drone on and on about the future we had waiting for us once we walked across the stage.

I used to dream about this moment.

It still felt a little like I was dreaming. I sat next to Jenna, enjoying her whispered sarcastic comments throughout the program.

We were supposed to be seated in alphabetical order. But of course, Cain found a way out to get me my every whim.

They were in the stands watching. I could feel their gazes on me, a physical caress I would do anything to keep.

“I can’t believe it’s here,” whispered Jenna excitedly, clutching my hand tightly as she wiggled around in her seat.

“It’s really here,” I murmured, staring around at the campus that still looked like something out of a dream all these years later. I would miss this place.

But I was confident that my future would be a million times better than anything this place could ever offer me.

The usher motioned for our row to stand and head towards the far side of the stage so we could walk across and receive our diplomas.

For a second, I saw myself parking in front of the dorm that first day. I remembered the rush of adrenaline and nerves. I remembered that first dinner at the cafeteria. The first time I’d seen Stellan. The first time I’d seen them…

I’d envisioned myself standing here back then. It had been the goal, after all.

I never could have imagined how I’d get here though.

“Aurora Hart,” the dean announced, and I strode across the stage, wearing high heels and trying not to fall.

I could wear them now that I wasn’t having to look over my shoulder every second of every day.

I was also carrying a cane in my hand—one with a sphinx on top of it.

Just like what Jenna had described in those first days.

It was my right as a member of the Sphinx, after all.

I could hear the roar of the guys, and then an air horn went off. I didn’t have to look over to see that Remington was responsible.

I took the diploma, feeling a sudden spark of emotion as I clenched the paper in my hand. The dean’s expression was terrified as he shook my hand, his entire body trembling at our touch.

I smirked at him, not bothered by it at all.

I’d earned that reputation, after all.

I strode off the stage, Jenna waiting on the other side.

She threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight. “Congratulations, Aurora,” she whispered in a tear choked voice.

I pulled away from her, studying her face. “Congratulations to you too, babe. But what’s wrong?”

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Everything is going to change after today. They’ll whisk you away to do sexy things. And I’ll never see you again.”

I hugged her tight for another second. “Although I’m sure they will whisk me away from time to time, and I will be doing lots of sexy things, nothing is ever going to keep me from you. Best friends, remember?”

Jenna was headed to New York for a marketing job. I’d already had Remington do a deep dive on the company to make sure my bestie wasn’t going into a bad situation. But everything had come back clear.

She was going to kick ass in New York City.

And I’d be visiting her every chance I got.

She squeaked and wiped at her eyes, right as Cain, Paxton, Remington, and Stellan appeared in my periphery, their gazes locked on me.

As they always were.

Jenna saw where I was looking and laughed. “Apparently, the sexy times are about to commence.”

I wrinkled my nose, but didn’t dispute her.

There were a lot of sexy times in this life of mine.

She gave me another hug and then went to find her family, somewhere in the crowd. I watched her go, a tendril of sadness looping through me.

Because she was right.

Everything was going to change after today.

“Hey, none of that,” snarked Remington, smacking a kiss against my lips before gracing me with one of his heartbreaking grins.

He worked as Cain’s right-hand man in the organization, and hadn’t changed one bit. He also slayed the financial markets and had gained back his fortune, and then some.

It was fucking hot.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” murmured Stellan, pulling me away from Remington.

“I still don’t know why you weren’t out there,” I said, melting against him. Stellan had decided against going pro, and instead chosen to get his masters in psychology so he’d still been on campus with me after the others had graduated. And today had been his graduation day too.

“Mmh, it wasn’t a big deal. Today was about you,” he said, nuzzling into my neck.

It was always like that…with all of them. It was always about me. And if it wasn’t, they made it about me.

The Demon had probably thought that he loved me, but what he loved was having someone to control. Nina, who we hadn’t seen again, had been in love with the idea of me.

But my four men...

They were in love with all of me. The good. The bad. The murderous.

Every single inch of me.

And they showed me that every day.

Cain pulled me away from Stellan and started to lead me to the street where a black Escalade was waiting.

“Wait, why are we getting into a car?” I asked, very confused…but still following him. The Sphinx was having a huge graduation party, and I was kind of supposed to be there.

“We have something better in mind,” said Remington with a grin as he opened the door to the car and I slid inside.

“Is this where you kill me? A very long and convoluted revenge plan finally coming to fruition?” I drawled, even as I snuggled back against Stellan who’d just gotten in the car after me.

Cain snorted and I fist bumped Remington, like we always did when we got Cain to smile or laugh.

It happened a lot more often nowadays, even with him running an extensive criminal enterprise.

“You’re not going to find out where we’re taking you until we get there,” said Cain. “And don’t look at Stellan; he’s not going to tell you either.”

Stellan winked at me and mimed zipping his lips, even though we both knew that I could get anything I wanted from Stellan.

“Fine. But there better be good food where we’re going,” I snarked as we drove off.

“Of course,” said Paxton.

Have fun, Jenna texted me. Along with a boatload of hearts.

She was the fucking best.

Thirty minutes later, we were walking up the steps of a large private plane.

“Oh,” I murmured, as I stepped inside it. There was lots of food on the plane…and all my favorites too. “Good boys.”

Remington scooped me up and settled me onto one of the leather couches near the back, even though we were definitely supposed to at least start the flight in our chairs. Stellan sat next to me a moment later, cuddling me close. I laid my head on his shoulder, watching eagerly as Paxton unbuttoned his dress shirt almost the second he got on the plane, unveiling inch by inch of that delicious skin.

Tattoos with my name all over him.

He was officially fighting with the UFC now, and there was nothing that got me hornier than watching him…and fucking him in the locker room after his win.

Cain got on last, on the phone—as usual—thanks to all of his responsibilities. But to my surprise, he got off the phone as soon as the plane took off.

“What are you doing?” I feigned shock, clutching at my chest. “Don’t you have something illegal to plan?”

Cain rolled his eyes and picked me up off the couch, sitting down where I’d been sitting—with me in his lap.

“I’m all yours for the next two weeks,” he purred, his thumb tracing the skin that was peeking out between my shirt and my skirt.

I shivered, already anticipating the fun.

Paxton settled onto the couch across from us, sprawling out, his gaze hungry as he stared at me.

The plane took off then, and through the small window, I caught a glimpse of the world shrinking beneath us, the city lights twinkling like distant stars. We were leaving it all behind—at least for now.

For the next couple of hours, we cuddled—and ate—and gave each other a hard time.

And eventually, I was taken to the bedroom in the back where they all took turns fucking me until I passed out.

Best flight ever.

When I woke up, it took me a second to realize that we weren’t in the air anymore. Paxton was asleep next to me, his arm curled around my waist. I pushed out from under him and walked over to the small window, staring outside at…

“Welcome to Paris,” Paxton murmured from bed.

I glanced at him over my shoulder, my eyes wide.

“One day, I’m going to take you to France,” he murmured.

“France?”

“My grandmother was from there. My mother used to talk about going all the time. She never got to.”

“Okay. So we’re going to France. What are we going to do there?” I asked, reluctantly playing along.

“We’re going to walk down the sidewalks, get drunk on good wine, and eat a million baguettes. We’ll make fun of the art we don’t understand. And we’ll stand under the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower…and we’ll just be.”

“Just be?”

“We’ll do all of that knowing there’s nothing out there after us. There’s nothing hiding in the shadows down the alleyways. There’s nothing waiting for us when the lights go off. We’ll just be.”

“That sounds like a dream,” I murmured as his thumb traced my lips.

“It’s gonna happen for us, Aurora. I know it is. You just have to keep going…just a little longer…just one step at a time.”

“Okay,” I whispered, the promise sounding right on my lips. I could see his dream. I could see us in Paris. I couldn’t picture yet what it would feel like to not be constantly looking over my shoulder or dreading the next day.

But I wanted to.

“So you’ll come with me to Paris?” he asked, brushing a kiss where his thumb had just touched.

“I’ll come with you to Paris.”

“You kept your promise,” I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks.

He hopped out of bed, a concerned look on his gorgeous face. “Hey, those better be happy tears,” he soothed, pulling me into his arms. We both stared out the window, to where we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. “Are you ready to just be?” he murmured.

“Yes.”

And that’s what we did.

For the next two weeks, we just existed. In the moment.

We ate baguettes, we went to museums, we walked the streets without having to look over our shoulders.

We made love with the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower streaming in from the window at night.

And when they took me up to the top of it, and got down on one knee, telling me I was going to marry them—because Cain could never leave something like that to chance—I sobbed and nodded my head, never imagining I could be that happy.

The world ended for me, then started again in technicolor, on a Tuesday afternoon in fourth grade.

And the week after I graduated from college, the lights of the Eiffel Tower brushing against my skin, I was reborn once again.

Gabriella, Delilah, Aurora. They loved them all.

I may have been born the Demon’s daughter.

But they’d made me their queen.

And it turned out…being the queen meant a happily ever after that the scared girl in fourth grade would never have believed.

THE END…

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NO PUCKING WAY

L ike Rich Demons of Darkwood and The Pucking Wrong Number…you’re going to love No Pucking Way, the next dark romance collaboration between C.R. Jane and May Dawson…think hockey meets mafia…

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I WOKE up in the hospital three years ago with no idea of who I am, or where I’m from. Every day, I walk aimlessly around the city, searching for anything that reawakens my memory.

I don’t find it until I apply for a job at the local hockey arena, home of the NHL hockey team the Devils.

Three sexy hockey players inside look…familiar.

They all insist they don’t know me.

I take a job working concessions while I try to fight my amnesia. I watch them. They ignore me.

Until a handsome, dark-eyed, tattooed mafia man saunters into the skating rink and starts sweet talking me.

Then they jump off the ice, ready to fight him to the death. He seems ready to return the favor.

They tell me we all have history.

The next thing I know, I’m being swept out of my everyday life and into glamorous darkness… and into a war between men I evidently used to love.

THE DELILAH RECIPE

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THE PUCKING WRONG NUMBER

C.R. JANE

One text to the wrong number…mine…and everything changed.

He won’t tell me his last name, and maybe that should throw up a thousand red flags, but when I’m all alone in a new city and struggling to make ends meet, his texts are the lifeline I’ve been desperate for.

But I never would have answered that text if I’d known that Lincoln Daniels, superstar hockey player extraordinaire was the one sending them.

He’s trying to sweep me off my feet now. He says he’s obsessed.

He wants me wearing his number…permanently.

The question is…is he still the wrong number, or can this hockey god prove he’s Mr. Right?

The Pucking Wrong Number by C. R. Jane

Copyright © 2023 by C. R. Jane

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review, and except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions contact:

crjaneauthor@gmail.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover Design: Cassie Chapman/Opulent Designs

Photographer: Cadwallader Photography

Editing: Jasmine J.

PROLOGUE

MONROE

“M onroe. My pretty little girl,” Mama slurs from the couch. She’s staring up at the ceiling, and even though she’s saying my name, I know she’s not talking to me. Or at least the me that’s standing right here, scrubbing at the vomit stain she left on the floor. She’s talking to the me from the past, or wherever it is her brain takes her when she’s high as a kite.

There’s a knock on the door, and I glance at it fearfully, dread churning through my insides. Because I know who it is. One of her “customers” as Mama calls them.

The door opens without either of us saying anything. I’m not sure Mama even heard the knock. In steps a sweaty, pale-faced man that I’ve seen once or twice before. He has rosy cheeks and a belly that protrudes over his jeans. Like a perverse Santa Claus. Not that I believe in that guy anymore. He’s certainly never come to our place on Christmas Eve.

The man’s eyes gleam as he stares at me, but then Mama groans in a weird way, and his attention goes to her.

“Roxanne,” he says in a sing-song voice as he makes his way over there.

I want to say something. Anything. Tell him that Mama’s in no shape for company, but I know it’s no use. Besides, Mama would be furious with me later on if she missed out on the money she needs to get her fix.

I leave the room and lock myself in the one bedroom we have in this place. Mama and I share the room, but more often than not, she can’t make it any further than the couch.

The disgusting noises I’ve learned to hate start, so I turn on the radio, trying to drown them out. I fall into a fitful sleep, and my dreams are haunted by the image of a healthy mother that cares more about me than she does about escaping the life she created.

I wake with a start, panic blurring the edges of the room until I can convince my brain that everything’s fine.

Except everything doesn’t feel fine. It’s so quiet. Way too quiet.

I creep towards the door, pressing my ear against it to see if I can hear anything.

But there’s nothing.

I slowly open the door and peek out into the room. There’s no sign of the man, or my mother. Thinking the coast is clear, I make my way out of my room, only to come to a screeching halt when I see my mother on the ground by the front door, a pile of green liquid by her face.

I sigh, thinking of the clean-up ahead. Again. I hate these men. Every time they come here, they take a piece of her, while leaving her with nothing. It’s always like this after they’re done with her.

When I walk over with a rag and bucket, I see Mama is shaking, tears streaming down her face. She’s a scary gray color I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

“Mama,” I whisper, reaching down to touch her face, only to flinch at how icy cold her skin is. Her eyes suddenly shoot open, causing me to jump. They’re even more bloodshot than normal. Her bony hand claws at my shirt, and she frantically pulls me closer to her. Her lip is bruised and bloody. The bastard must’ve gotten rough.

“Don’t let ‘em taze your heart,” she slurs, incomprehensibly.

“Mama?” I ask, worry thick in my voice.

“Don’t…let a man…take your heart,” she spits out. “Don’t let him…” Her words fade away and her chest rises with one big inhale…before she goes perfectly still.

“Mama!” I whimper, shaking her over and over again.

But she never says another word. She’s just gone, like a flame extinguished in a dark room.

And I’m all alone, with her last words forever ringing in my ears.

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CHAPTER 1

MONROE

I  sat on the edge of my bed, staring out the window into the dark, seemingly starless sky. Freedom was so close I could taste it.

18.

It felt like I’d been waiting my whole life for this moment. For this specific birthday. The thought of finally being able to leave this place, to start my life, on my own terms…it helped get me through each day.

I knew it would be difficult when I left. I only had my scrimpy savings from my after school job at the grocery store to start my life. But I’d do whatever it took to make something of myself.

Something more than the empty shell my mother had left me that day.

I’d been in the foster system since I was ten years old, the day after that fateful night where I’d lost her. Everyone wanted to adopt a baby, and a baby I had not been. I’d gone through what seemed like a hundred different homes at this point, but my current home was where I’d managed to stay the longest.

Unfortunately.

My foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Detweiler, and their son Ripley, seemed like nice people at first, but over time, things had changed. They were different now.

Mrs. Detweiler, Marie, had come to think of me as her live-in maid. I was all for helping out around the house, but when they got up as a collective group after every meal and left everything to me to clean up–as well as every other chore around the house–it was too much.

Someday, hopefully in the near future, I would never clean someone else’s toilet again.

While I could deal with manual labor for another month, it was Mr. Detweiler, Todd, who had become a major problem. His actions had grown increasingly creepy, his longing stares and lingering glances making me sick. Everything he said to me had an underlying meaning…was an innuendo. He’d started talking about my birthday more, like he wanted to remind me of it for reasons far different than the promise of freedom it represented to me. I’m not sure it had even occurred to any of them yet that I was actually allowed to leave after that day. Both my birthday and high school graduation were the same week. Perfect timing. I just hoped he could control himself and keep his hands off me long enough to get to that point. Some people might not think a high school graduation was anything special, but to me, it represented everything.

Ripley was fine, I guess. He was more like a potato than a person, which was better than other things he could be. His eyes skipped over me when we were in the same room, like I didn’t actually exist. And maybe I didn’t exist to him. As long as his bed was made every day, and he had food on the table, and toilet paper stocked to wipe his ass, he could care less. He was much too involved in his video games to care about the world around him.

I glanced at the clock. It was 4:55pm, time to get dinner started before Mr. Detweiler got home from work. Sighing, I absentmindedly smoothed my faded quilt that Mrs. Detweiler had brought home from who knows where, and headed out to the hallway and down to the kitchen. The house was a three bedroom rambler in an okay part of town. It was nicer than other places I’d stayed, but I’d found that didn’t matter all that much. The hearts beating inside the home held a much greater significance than how nice, or not nice, the house actually was.

I’m sure I could have been perfectly happy in the hovel I’d started life in with my mother…if only she’d been different.

I came to a screeching halt, and panic laced my insides, when I walked into the kitchen and saw Mr. Detweiler leaning against the laminate counter. How had I missed him coming into the house? I couldn’t recall hearing the garage door opening.

He was nursing his favorite bottle of beer, which was actually the fanciest thing in the kitchen, costing far more than any of the other food they bought. Todd Detweiler was still dressed in the baggy suit he wore to the accounting office he worked at. He had a receding hairline that rivaled any I’d seen, so he brushed all the hair forward, carefully styling it to a point on his forehead right above his watery blue eyes.

He raised an eyebrow at the fact I was still frozen in place. But he usually didn’t get home until 6:30, long enough for me to get dinner on the table and hide away until they were done.

“Well, hello there, Monroe,” he drawled, my name sounding dirty coming from his lips.

I schooled my face and steeled my insides, taking methodical steps towards the fridge like his presence hadn’t disarmed me.

“Hello,” I answered pleasantly, hating the way I could feel his gaze stroking across my skin. Like I was an object to be coveted rather than a person.

I knew I was pretty. The spitting image of my mother when she was young. But just like with her, my looks had only been a curse, forever designed to attract assholes whose only goal was to use and abuse me.

I reached into the fridge to grab the bowl of chicken I’d put in there earlier to defrost…when suddenly he was behind me. Close enough that if I moved, he’d be pressed against me.

“Is there something you need?” I asked, trying to keep the edge of hysteria out of my voice. His hand settled on my hip and I squeezed my eyes shut, cursing the universe.

He leaned close, his breath a whisper against my skin. "You’ve been thinking about it, haven’t you?" Todd’s breath stunk of beer, a smell that would prevent me from ever trying it, no matter how expensive and nice it was supposed to be.

“I—I’m not sure what you’re talking about, sir.” I grabbed the chicken and tried to stand , hoping he would back away. But the only thing he did was straighten up, so our bodies were against each other. I tried to move away, but his hand squeezed against my hip. Hard.

“I need to get this chicken on the stove,” I said pleasantly, like I wasn’t dying inside at the feel of his touch.

“Such a tease,” he murmured with a small chuckle. “I love how you like to play games. Just going to make it so much better when we stop.” There was a bulge growing harder against my lower back, and I bit down on my lip hard enough that the salty tang of blood flooded my taste buds.

My hands were shaking, the water sloshing around in the bowl. An idiot could figure out what he was talking about.

“Have you noticed how much I love to collect things?” he asked randomly, finally releasing my hip and stepping back.

I moved quickly towards the sink, setting the bowl inside and going to grab the breadcrumbs I needed to coat the chicken breasts with for dinner.

“I have noticed that,” I finally responded, after he’d taken a step towards me when I didn’t answer fast enough.

How could anyone miss it? Todd collected…beer bottles. Both walls of the garage had various cans and bottles lined up neatly on shelves. There were so many of them that you could barely see the wall—not sure how social services never seemed concerned he might have a drinking problem with that amount of empties. But Todd was never worried about that. He added at least five to the wall every day.

“Virgins happen to be my favorite thing to collect.”

I’d been holding a carton of eggs, and I dropped them, shocked that he’d outright said that, shells and yolk ricocheting everywhere.

Just then, Mrs. Detweiler ambled in, her gaze flicking between her husband and me suspiciously. “What’s going on in here?” she asked, her eyes stopping on the ruined eggs all over the floor.

Marie had once been a pretty woman, but like her husband, her attempt to hold onto youth was a miserable failure. Right now, she was wearing a too tight flowered dress that resembled a couch from the eighties. It accented every roll, and there was a fine sheen of sweat across her heavily made up face, probably from the effort she’d had to make to get out of her armchair and storm in here. Her hair was a harsh, bottle-black color, and though she attempted to curl and keep it nice, it was thin and limp and I’m sure disappointing for her.

I usually didn’t pay attention to looks; I knew better than most they could be deceiving, but Todd and Marie Detweiler’s appearances were too in your face to ignore.

“Just an accident, honey,” he drawled, walking towards her and pulling her into a soul sickening kiss that made me want to puke considering Marie most likely had no idea where else that mouth had been.

They walked out of the kitchen without a backward glance, leaving me a shaking, miserable mess as I cleaned up the eggs and tried to make dinner.

If that interaction hadn’t sealed the deal that waiting for my birthday to leave wasn’t an option…the next night would.

I was in bed, tossing and turning as I did every night. When your mind was as haunted as mine was, sleep was elusive, a fervent goal I would never successfully master. I’d never had a night where I could relax, where the memories of the past didn’t creep in and plague my thoughts.

It was 3 am, and I was on the verge of giving up if I couldn’t fall back asleep soon.

Light footsteps sounded down the hallway by my door. I frowned, as everyone had gone to bed long ago. I knew their habits like they were my own at this point.

Was someone in the house? Someone who didn’t belong?

The footsteps stopped outside my door, and shivers crept up my spine.

“Hello?” I whisper squeaked, feeling like a fool for speaking at all when the doorknob tried to turn, getting caught on the lock I was lucky enough to have.

I felt like the would-be victim in a horror movie as I slid out of bed and yanked my lamp from the nightstand, prepared to use it as a weapon if need be.

The person outside fiddled with the lock and it clicked, signaling it had been disengaged.

There was a long pause as I stared breathlessly at the door, waiting for the inevitable.

The door creaked open and a hairy hand—that I recognized—appeared.

It was Mr. Detweiler’s.

I didn’t think, I just started screaming, knowing I had one chance to get him away from my room.

I needed to wake up his wife. With their bedroom right down the hall, I just needed to be loud enough.

Sure enough, a second after I started screaming, the door banged shut, and footsteps dashed away. A moment later, I heard the Detweilers’ bedroom door fly open, and then a moment after that, my door cracked against the wall and Marie’s harried form was there. Her chest was heaving, pushing against the two sizes too small negligee she was wearing–that made me want to burn my eyes–and her gaze was crazed as they dashed around the room, finally falling to me standing there in the middle of it, a lamp clutched to my chest.

A red mottled rash spread across her chest and up to her cheeks as anger flooded her features.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Someone was trying to get into my room. Someone unlocked the door.”

I didn’t say it was her husband, because that would give me even more problems.

A moment later, Todd was there, faking a yawn with a glass of water in his hand. “What’s going on?” he asked casually. Our eyes locked, and in that moment, he knew I knew it was him. His features were taunting, daring me to say something, like his wife would ever believe anything that came out of my mouth when it came to him.

“The girl’s saying someone was breaking into her room,” Marie scoffed before pausing for a second and examining her husband. “Why were you up?”

The way her lips were pursed, the way her flush deepened—it told me a lot. Apparently, Marie wasn’t so unaware of her husband’s true nature after all.

Not that she would ever do anything about it.

“I was getting some water when I heard Monroe scream. But I didn’t hear anyone else in the house.” His gaze feigned concern. “Are you sure you didn’t just have a nightmare?”

I stared at him for a long, tense moment before I took a breath. “Maybe that’s all it was,” I finally whispered, eliciting a loud huff from Marie.

“Get yourself under control, you brat. The rest of us need our sleep!” she snapped, whirling away and leaving, curses streaming from her mouth as she walked back to her room.

Todd lingered, a smug grin curling across his pathetic lips. “Sleep well, Monroe,” he purred, a firm promise in his eyes that he would be back.

And that he would finish what he started.

I fell to my knees as soon as the door closed, sobs wracking through my body.

I’d never felt so alone.

He had ruined everything. A month away from a high school diploma, and he’d just torn it from my grasp.

If Todd got his hands on me, he would break me. And I wasn’t talking about my body–I was talking about my soul.

The image of my mother’s desolate, destroyed features flashed through my mind.

That couldn’t be my story. It couldn’t.

I had to leave. Tomorrow. I had no other option.

THE DETWEILERS LIVED in a small town right outside Houston. I decided Dallas would be my destination, about four hours away. I’d never been there before, but the ticket price wasn’t too bad, and it was big. Just what I needed to hopefully disappear. Surely the Detweilers wouldn’t try and go that far, not with only a month left of state support on the line. I bet they wouldn’t even tell anyone I was gone. They’d want that last check.

I didn’t let myself think about what my virginity would be worth to Todd. Hopefully, “easy” was one of his requisites, and he would forget me as soon as I disappeared.

I went to school, my heart hurting the whole day. I’d never been one to make close friends—when you never knew when you’d be moving on, it was best not to make any close connections—but I found myself wishing I had longer with the acquaintances I did have. I walked the familiar hallways, wondering if it would have been hard to say goodbye at graduation, or if I was simply feeling the loss of my dream.

Mama had never graduated from high school. In her lucid moments, though, even when I was little, she would sometimes talk about her dreams for me. Dreams of walking across that stage.

I’d just have to walk across a college stage, I told myself firmly, promising myself I’d get a GED and make that possible.

After school, I went to the H.E.B. grocery store where I worked, putting even more hustle in than usual since I’d be a disappearing act after this shift. The timing worked out, because it was payday, and I was able to get one more check to take with me. Every penny would count.

After my shift, I bought a prepaid phone since I didn’t want to take my Detweiler phone with me. Knowing them, they’d probably try and get the police to bring me back by saying I’d stolen their property. A part of me was a little afraid they could track me with it too. I knew I wasn’t living in a spy thriller…but still, better to be safe than sorry.

Once I got home, I packed a small bag with some clothes, my new phone, and the cash I’d saved up. And then I sat on my bed, hands squeezing together with anxiety.

I didn't have a good plan. For as much as I’d been dreaming of getting away, my plans were more fluid than concrete. And all of them had depended on me having a high school diploma so I could get a better job, as well as not having to look over my shoulder every second for fear the Detweilers were after me. The state also had a support system for kids coming out of foster care, and I’d been hopeful I’d have that to lean on.

But I could do this.

I cleaned up after dinner. Marie had ordered pizza, so it didn’t take as much effort as usual. And then I sat in the corner of the living room, biding my time until I could say goodnight. It was a tricky thing. I had to escape tonight–late enough that they’d gone to bed, but not so late that Todd decided to give me another late night visit.

My departure was the definition of anticlimactic. My mind had conjured this image of the Detweilers running after me as I escaped with my bag out the window, the sound of a siren haunting the air as I ducked in and out of the bushes, trying to avoid the police.

But what really happened was that I slipped out the window, and everyone stayed asleep. I walked for an hour until I got to the Greyhound station, and no one came after me. The exhausted-looking attendant didn’t even blink when I bought a ticket to Dallas.

It was nice for something to go my way every once in a blue moon.

The bus ride took twice as long as a car would have. And although I tried to catch a few hours of rest, I kept worrying I’d somehow miss my stop, so I never could slip into a deep sleep. My mind also couldn’t help but race with thoughts of what my future held. Would I be able to make it on my own?

Despite my worries, a sense of relief flickered in my chest as the distance between Todd and me grew with each mile that passed.

At least I could cross keeping my virginity safe off my list of to-do’s.

When we finally arrived in Dallas, the morning sun was just peeking over the horizon. Even with the dilapidated buildings that surrounded the Greyhound station, I couldn’t help but feel excitement. I was here. I’d made it. I may have never been to Dallas before, and I may not have known a single soul here, but I was determined to make a new life for myself.

This was my new beginning.

IT TOOK ABOUT twelve hours for the afterglow of my arrival to fade and for me to find myself on a park bench, debating whether I could actually fall asleep if I were to try. Or if it was even safe to attempt such a thing.

I’d gotten off the bus and was in the process of calling for a cab to take me to the teen shelter I’d found online. And then I’d been fucking pick pocketed while I looked the address up. They’d taken all the cash in my pocket that I’d pulled out for the cab, and swiped my phone right out of my hand.

You can bet I ran after them like a madwoman. But with a backpack containing all my earthly possessions weighing me down, the group of boys easily outran me.

I hadn’t dared to spend any of the rest of the cash I had left, except to get a bag of chips from a gas station that had seen better days.

I’d walked all over for the rest of the day, trying to find the shelter, scared to ask for directions in case anyone got suspicious and reported to the authorities that I looked like a runaway teen.

Obviously, I never found the place, because there I was, on the park bench. Cold, hungry, and pissed off.

And exhausted.

Apparently, when you hadn’t slept for close to forty-eight hours, you could fall asleep anywhere, because eventually…that’s exactly what I did.

I WOKE WITH A START, the feeling of someone watching me thick in my throat. Night had fallen, and a deep blue hue had settled over the park. The trees and bushes were indistinct shadows against the darkened sky. The street lamps had flickered to life, casting a warm glow on the path and the nearby benches. The light danced and swayed with the gentle breeze, casting long shadows on the ground. You could hear the rustling of leaves and the chirping of crickets.

I yelped when I saw a grizzled old man sitting next to me on the bench, a wildness in his gaze that matched the tattered clothing on his body. There was the scent of dirt and body odor wafting off him, and when he smiled at me, it was only with a few teeth.

“Oy. I’ve been a watchin’. Making sure you could sleep, my lady,” he said in what was clearly an affected British accent.

I flinched at his words, even though they were perfectly friendly and kind, and scooted away from him.

“Oh, don’t be afraid of Ole Bill. I’ll watch out for ye.”

I moved to jump off the bench and run away…but I also had a moment of hesitation. There was something so…wholesome about him. Once you got past his looks and his smell, obviously.

“This park’s mine, but I can share. You go back to sleep, and I’ll keep watch. Make sure the ruffians stay away,” he continued. Even though I had yet to say anything to him.

I opened my mouth to reject his offer, but then he pulled a clean, brand new blanket with tags out of his grocery sack. When he offered it to me…instead of talking…I found myself crying.

I sobbed and sobbed while he watched me frantically, throwing the blanket at me like it had the power to quell hysterical women's tears. When I still didn’t stop crying, overwhelmed by the events of the past few days…and his kindness, he finally started to sing what I think was the worst rendition of “Eleanor Rigby” that I’d ever heard. Actually, it was the worst rendition of any song I’d ever heard.

But it worked, and I stopped crying.

“There, there, little duck. Go to sleep. Ole Bill will watch out for ya,” he said soothingly after he’d finished the song—the last few lyrics definitely made up.

I was a smarter girl than that, I really was. But I was so freaking tired. And everything inside of me really wanted to trust him. After all, he had called me “little duck.” Serial killers didn’t have cute pet names for their victims, right?

“Just a couple of minutes,” I murmured, and he nodded, smiling softly again with his crooked grin that I was quite fond of at that moment.

I drifted off into a fitful sleep, shivering from stress and exhaustion, and dreaming of better days.

When I woke up, it was far later than ten minutes. It was the rest of the night, actually.

Bill was still there, watching over me, and whistling softly to himself, like he hadn’t just stayed up all night. My backpack was still under my head, the cash still in it, and at least I didn’t feel like anyone had touched me.

Fuck, I’d gotten desperate, hadn’t I?

“Do you have a place to stay, lassie?” he asked softly. I shook my head, biting down on my lip as I thought about spending another night on this bench.

“Ole Bill will take you to a good place. It’s not as nice as my castle, but it will do,” he said, gesturing to the park proudly as if it was in fact an English castle complete with a moat, and he was its ruler.

Despite the fact that he’d at least proven trustworthy enough not to do anything to me after a few hours, it was still pure desperation that had me following him to what I was hoping wasn’t a trafficking ring, or something else equally heinous.

I relaxed a little as he took me to a slightly better part of town than where I’d been walking the day before. He chattered my ear off, all in that fake British accent, regaling me with stories about places I was sure he’d never visited.

Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the entrance to what appeared to be a fairly new shelter. The sign read that it was a women’s shelter, and the sight made me want to cry once again.

“When you get in there, tell ‘em Ole Bill sent you…they’ll give you the royal treatment,” he chortled, and tears filled my eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time—causing him to take a step away–probably fearing I would burst into hysterics again.

I hesitated for another moment before I finally ascended the steps that led to the shelter doors. Stopping halfway, I glanced back at Bill, who gave me another charmingly snaggletoothed grin. “I see great things for you, little duck,” he called after me when I continued to walk.

I knew I’d never forget him. He may have been homeless and slightly crazy, but he was also one of the kindest people I had ever met. He’d watched over me, a stranger, and helped me when I needed it the most.

As I walked inside, exhaustion still stretched across my shoulders, I strangely felt at peace right then that everything was going to work out.

“Welcome to Haven,” a kind woman murmured as I approached the front desk.

Haven indeed.

I could only hope.

FORBIDDEN HONOR

MAY DAWSON

I n my world, dragon shifters rule. Dragon shifters are always royals. They’re always male. They’re always assholes.

An orphaned servant like me? Everyone assumes on first shift, I’ll turn into a squirrel.

Instead, I grow wings. Breathe fire. Throw the world into chaos.

No one wants a girl in the Royal Dragon Guard. So I’m disguised as a man and sent off to military training.

The Dragon Royals are not a welcoming bunch. These princely scions of the four ruling families have been training to fight the plague-crazed Scourge since they were toddlers. Every girl in the city dreams of winning the heart of one of the dragon nobles, but they only care about each other.

Jaik, the cold-hearted hero who never smiles and never falters. Arren, who kills without mercy and guards his friends fiercely. Lynx and Branick, the twin spymasters with deadly swords. Talisyn, with the beautiful cruel mouth and endless bravery.

By night, I’m the servant they flirt with. I’m the one stealing Jaik’s heart and kissing Talisyn and antagonizing Arren. All the while, Branick and Lynx fret that I’m a spy, sent to destroy the Royals.

By day, I’m Lucien Finn, the man they despise and the dragon shifter they have to fight alongside.

These royals are determined to make me fall, and the princes play dirty. Can I ignore the pull they have on my heart and kick them off their thrones?

Will they break the maid... or kill the man? What will it do to us all when they finally discover the truth about who I truly am?

IF COCKY DRAGON SHIFTERS, steamy scenes, and snarky heroines who refuse to choose anything less than ALL their heart's desires offend...then back away. Otherwise, scroll up and dive into the adventure alongside Honor.

Forbidden Honor Copyright © 2021 by May Dawson

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review, and except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions contact:

Maydawsonauthor@gmail.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

CHAPTER 1

Honor

I n my world, dragon shifters rule. Dragon shifters are always Royals. They’re always male. And they’re always assholes.

I have to obey if I want to survive.

But I don’t have to like it, and I don’t have to like them.

It was lunch time, and I was thinking about just how much I disdained the royals as I watched them from the balcony of Prince Jaik’s room. I’d been cleaning his room when the noon bell tolled, and I hadn’t hesitated to dump his dirty laundry in a pile by the door and head outside.

Red strands lashed my face until I raked them back into a ponytail, tying them with a leather thong from around my wrist. I needed that breeze after being up-close-and personal with the prince’s laundry.

Prince Jaik was sword-fighting with one of the young dukes, Arren. Arren moved impossibly fast for a man so tall and muscled, his dark hair pulled taut from his chiseled features. Jaik’s gorgeous cheekbones, wavy dark hair and tall posture in his dark uniform made him look impeccable.

But I knew better. The man’s armpits stunk like any other’s when he was done with a day of training.

That was what he—and the other dragon royals—were up to at the moment. The rest of the shifters at the academy had already melted away to lunch, but the five of them continued to banter and fight. Their swords rang against each other’s, their muscles rippling and flexing under tanned skin. They seemed to coordinate without ever saying a word, two of them attacking the other three, moving in fluid tandem.

They should stay shirtless like that forever.

And not just because it was easier on the laundry.

“Honor.” My friend, Calla, leaned across the opposite balcony, waving to catch my attention. “How did I know you’d be watching them?”

“I wish we could train too,” I said, before she could accuse me of having too much fun watching them.

I could enjoy the sight of the pretty men even if I didn’t have any respect for them. Not that they needed my respect; they had the adoration of an entire nation, because they stood between us and the Scourge.

“I know, I know. Come over here, I’ve got cake.”

I threw my sandwich back into my bag and tossed it over my shoulder, just as Calla hurriedly said, “Use the door, Honor. The hallway is your friend.”

I grinned back at her as I backed up and ran toward the balcony ledge. Calla backed up, shaking her head, until her back pressed the stone exterior of the building.

I jumped, got my balance on the edge of the railing, and leapt easily from one side to the other. In a second, I was beside Calla.

She sighed. “You scare me.”

“You’re still afraid of heights.”

She leaned over the railing, taking in the training yard far, far below. She was silhouetted against the shimmering lake and the blue outline of the mountains in the distance. “You don’t have to be afraid of heights to know that jumping balconies is a bad idea if you want to live until our first Shifting Moon.”

She was excited for our first shifting. I imagined that would be nice.

“Mm,” I said. “Maybe I don’t want to live long enough to find out my soul-creature is a field mouse.”

“What’s wrong with being a field mouse?” She raised both eyebrows at me, reminding me—too late—that Calla was from a proud family of chipmunks. Perhaps field mice and chipmunks were cousins in her eyes.

“Nothing,” I said, too late to be convincing.

“You want to be something fierce.” She put her hands up beside her face and imitated claws. It was adorable. It was charming. It was not remotely fierce.

“Hey, when you’re an orphan, the first shifting moon is an exciting gamble.” Although our soul-creatures were supposed to be manifestations of who we truly were, most times, they ran in families. Only males shifted into dragons, the highest of creatures, but their royal sisters tended to shift into lions or wolves.

And servants like Calla and me tended to be smaller, meeker, and far more edible.

“It’s an exciting gamble for everyone,” Calla reminded me. “Greta Sandstone discovered her real father was a hawk.”

I groaned. “What a terrible day.”

Calla had squawked and run away from the temple as if her true soul creature were an angry chicken.

One of the Royals whirled, throwing his sword—and a long, horned head and a powerful tail whipped out of his body as he grew long and scaled. The next second, his transformation was complete and he was an enormous dragon. He let out a long, blast of fire at the other royals, who threw up magical shields to block the attack and jumped over his wicked tail.

Their power was incredible, I had to admit. The Scourge had recently surged right outside the gates of the city. The royals had stopped them as the rest of the city cowered in their houses.

Calla propped her chin on her hand, forgetting to eat as she gazed at the royals. “You know, Lara got her hands on this amazing story being passed around about the dragon royals.”

“A true story?”

“No, it’s a fantasy. A romance. One of Lara’s cousins wrote it.”

I groaned. “Look at those men down there. They might be the heroes of the kingdom, but they are wildly arrogant. They’re probably terrible in bed.”

Calla looked considering. “They’re really good with those swords.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen victim to their fan club, too.” I had regrets about being so condescending about the Royals’ fan-fiction now, because part of me was a little curious. Did they always have tails? Some Fae did, although our race of shifters looked more mortal than the Fae in the storybooks I’d read.

Ever since the Scourge began, our island had been sealed away from the rest of the Fae world. Storybooks were the only glimpse I’d had of the bigger world beyond.

“Come on,” Calla swept her arm toward the door. “We should get out of here. We’re not supposed to linger in their rooms once we’re done.”

The military students training here were apparently too precious to wash their own laundry or scrub the hallway floors. Worst of all, though, were the royals, who were too important to even clean their own rooms.

“But I like the view,” I pouted, then added, “of the mountains.”

I glanced down at the empty yard only to realize the royals had left the yard as we were chatting, and sudden disappointment dropped like a stone.

“Mm-hmm.” Calla gave me a knowing smile.

Maybe every girl in Rylow secretly dreamed of winning the heart of a dragon prince.

Maybe that was even true for me, even if I also fantasized about kicking their asses.

They were a pretty fine-looking group of men.

A voice in the hall called for Calla, summoning her out of the room, and Calla scrambled toward it. I grabbed half her handful of cake before she could go.

“You’re going to get in trouble,” she hissed at me.

“Is that a promise? Because I’m so very bored,” I answered, even though the truth was, I needed the money. Which meant I needed the job.

But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t defy the head housekeeper behind her back. I was an uppity orphan—as she’d informed me. Now I had a reputation to live up to.

“I’m going to work right through my lunch break because I’m such a diligent employee,” I added, and even though Calla’s back was to me as she bustled through the room toward the door, I could feel the eye-rolling vibe.

Carrying my cake in one hand, I leapt onto the balcony, then across. I strolled into the prince’s room, scattering crumbs as I ate my cake. I still had to mop the floors anyway.

Then the connecting door to the bath swung open.

Prince Jaik stepped out, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Beads of water trickled from his spreading shoulders down the most beautiful set of abs I’d ever seen.

He stopped dead, staring at me, now wearing both a towel and a frown.

“Hi, just finishing up tidying your room,” I said, flinging my arm to encompass the room—and flinging crumbs along with it.

A bit of frosting landed on the prince’s cheek. Pink frosting. It complemented his dark hair and furious amber eyes quite nicely.

“What are you doing in here?” he demanded. “Haven’t I requested my privacy?”

I was momentarily flummoxed. “Did you think the towels picked themselves up by magic? That the dirty clothes turned sentient at night and walked themselves to and from the laundry?”

“Oh, you’re a smartass, aren’t you?” He leaned in the doorway. “I’m sure the head housekeeper would love that.”

“And I’m sure no one loves a tattle tale.” I tapped my cheekbone with two fingers. “You’ve got a little something right there.”

He swiped and his fingers came away covered in pink frosting. “You’re not a very good housekeeper, are you?”

Funny, I’d heard some variation on that—usually with a lot more swearing—several times from the Head Housekeeper since taking this job. “Maybe I’m meant for something more.”

“Mm. What’s your name?”

Giving him my name seemed like a very bad idea. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class? I can take care of the floors while you’re off. It’s no trouble.”

His eyes blazed. “I don’t need you to tell me where I’m supposed to be.”

Oh god. Even those abs wouldn’t make up for his anger problems. Why are the beautiful men so often such bitches?

The bit of cake still in my hand was becoming a sticky distraction, and I didn’t know how else to get rid of it, so I stuck it in my mouth. I backed away from him, still chewing.

“What is wrong with you?” he demanded.

I had an awesome snarky response for that, but the words came out a bit jumbled and with a spray of crumbs.

“I’m sorry, what did you try to say to me?” He took a step forward to match each step I took backward, as if we were dancing.

I’ve never liked dancing.

I swallowed just as I stepped out onto the balcony. “Honestly, you’d think with all that power you wield, all the reverence you get from the common people, you wouldn’t be so touchy. How do you get your feelings hurt so easily?”

He took the next step forward a bit faster, and I turned and leapt onto the railing, then over to the next balcony.

We rotated who cleaned the princes’ rooms. I wouldn’t come up in the rotation for a week or two, and hopefully I’d embarrassed him enough that he wouldn’t tattle to the Head.

But probably, I was going to end up fired in the next hour.

I stopped and turned toward him. His eyes still blazed with anger, but he leaned against the railing opposite me.

“You’re awfully sure-footed for a servant.”

“And you’re awfully tender-feeling for a king,” I shot back.

I stuck my tongue out at him and sauntered into his friend’s room.

The second I was out of his sight, I ran through the room and careened out into the hallway.

But the prince didn’t chase me.

READ the rest of Forbidden Honor now….

AUTHOR’S NOTE

It’s hard to say goodbye. I sit here, after writing “the end”, and I’m at a loss. I don’t want to be done, and yet here we are.

Aurora is one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve had so far in this career.

She’s such a complex mix of strength and vulnerability. And Stellan, Cain, Paxton, and Remy are her perfect matches.

May we all have a little Aurora in us, but on a broader note, may we all learn to love all the different parts of us…even the dark parts we want to hide.

And may we all find someone who can love those dark parts with us.

A few thank yous…

Caitlin…thanks for being my bestie and my support system every day of this crazy life.

Thank you to Jasmine for proofing our baby and believing in us.

Thank you to Victoria for creating all of these beautiful covers and graphics and being so patient with us along the way.

Thank you to Crystal and Samantha for loving Aurora.

And last but not least…thank you to you, our readers. You’ve made the Demon’s daughter into a girl we all love. We’re grateful for every comment, every review, every word you read.

XOXO,

C.R. & May

BOOKS BY C.R. JANE

www.crjanebooks.com

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Broken Hearts Academy Series: A Bully Romance (complete duet)

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Heartbreak Lover

Ruining Dahlia (Contemporary Mafia Standalone)

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The Pucking Wrong Series (Hockey Romance Standalones)

The Pucking Wrong Number

The Pucking Wrong Guy

The Fated Wings Series (Paranormal series)

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Forgotten Specters

The Fallen One (a Fated Wings Novella)

Forbidden Queens

Frightful Beginnings (a Fated Wings Short Story)

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Faithless Dreams

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Forever Hearts

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The Darkest Kingdom

Monster & Me Duet Co-write with Mila Young

Monster’s Temptation

Monster’s Obsession

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School of Broken Souls

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School of Broken Dreams

School of Broken Wings

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Betrayed

Belong

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Stolen Destiny

Broken Destiny

Sweet Destiny

Kingdom of Wolves Co-write with Mila Young

Wild Moon

Wild Heart

Wild Girl

Wild Love

Wild Soul

Wild Kiss

Stupid Boys Series Co-write with Rebecca Royce

Stupid Boys

Dumb Girl

Crazy Love

Breathe Me Duet Co-write with Ivy Fox (complete)

Breathe Me

Breathe You

Breathe Me Duet

Love & Hate Co-write with Ivy Fox

The Boy I Once Hated

The Girl I Once Loved

Rich Demons of Darkwood Series Co-write with May Dawson (complete series)

Make Me Lie

Make Me Beg

Make Me Wild

Make Me Burn

Make Me Queen

BOOKS BY MAY DAWSON

May Dawson’s Website

The Lost Fae Series

Wandering Queen

Fallen Queen

Rebel Queen

Lost Queen

Their Shifter Princess Series

Their Shifter Princess

Their Shifter Princess 2: Pack War

Their Shifter Princess 3: Coven’s Revenge

Their Shifter Academy Series

A Prequel Novella

Unwanted

Unclaimed

Undone

Unforgivable

Unstoppable

The Wild Angels & Hunters Series:

Wild Angels

Fierce Angels

Dirty Angels

Chosen Angels

Academy of the Supernatural

Her Kind of Magic

His Dangerous Ways

Their Dark Imaginings

Ashley Landon, Bad Medium

Dead Girls Club

The True and the Crown Series

One Kind of Wicked

Two Kinds of Damned

Three Kinds of Lost

Four Kinds of Cursed

Five Kinds of Love

Rich Demons of Darkwood Series Co-write with C.R. Jane

Make Me Lie

Make Me Beg

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ABOUT C.R. JANE

A Texas girl living in Utah now, I'm a wife, mother, lawyer, and now author. My stories have been floating around in my head for years, and it has been a relief to finally get them down on paper. I’m a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and I primarily listen to Beyonce and Taylor Swift…don’t lie and say you don’t too.

My love of reading started probably when I was three and with a faster than normal ability to read, I’ve devoured hundreds of thousands of books in my life. It only made sense that I would start to create my own worlds since I was always getting lost in others’.

I like heroines who have to grow in order to become badasses, happy endings, and  swoon-worthy, devoted, (and hot) male characters. If this sounds like you, I’m pretty sure we’ll be friends.

I’m so glad to have you on my team…check out the links below for ways to hang out with me and more of my books you can read!

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ABOUT MAY DAWSON

May Dawson lives in Virginia with her husband and two red-headed wild babies. Before her second career as an author, she spent eight years in the Marine Corps and visited forty-two countries and all seven continents (including a research station in the Antarctic). You can always find her on Facebook in May Dawson’s Wild Angels or on the internet at MayDawson.com

Table of Contents

Title Page

Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Join Our Readers’ Group

Make Me Queen Soundtrack

Rich Demons of Darkwood Series

Make Me Queen

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Epilogue

Rich Demons of Darkwood Bonus Scene

No Pucking Way

The Delilah Recipe

The Pucking Wrong Number

Copyright

Prologue

Chapter 1

Forbidden Honor

Copyright

Chapter 1

Author’s Note

Books by C.R. Jane

Books By May Dawson

About C.R. Jane

About May Dawson