Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (19 page)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Bell leaned against the headboar
d,
with her knees pulled into her chest. She resisted her need to touch Xavier. When she awoke this mornin
g,
they were a tangled mess of arms and leg
s,
with her head tucked neatly into his chest. She forgot where she was for
a
moment. And that was problematic. With everything going o
n,
she couldn’t afford to miss a step.

She had to find a way to tuck all these emotions back into their bottl
e,
r
ec
o
r
k i
t,
and
never open it again. She didn’t have the luxury of being frivolous or in love. She chuckled.
Is that what this is? How the hell do I know?
Bell had no frame of reference for anything remotely resembling love. She sighe
d,
lightly running a finger down Xavier’s bicep.

Whatever it wa
s,
she had to stop it.

A knock sounded at the door. Bell fumbled for a shir
t,
slipping on the first one she found. It smelled of fabric softener and mus
k,
Xavier’s scent. It swallowed her petite bod
y,
but she liked the feel of it against her skin. She cracked the door ajar and peeked out.

“
He
y,
Sissy
.”
Her brother positioned his long body against
t
h
e
m
a
h
o
g
a
ny
b
a
n
i
s
t
e
r
.
“
We’re meeting downstairs. Everyone’s here
.
”

“
Alright. We’ll be down in a sec
.
”

“
You okay
?
”

Bell grinned
.“
Yeah. Why
?”
His concern always touched her.

“
You seem different. Calm. I’ve never seen you this
r
e
l
a
x
e
d,
e
s
p
e
c
i
a
lly
i
n
t
h
e
m
o
r
n
i
ng
.
”

“
A lot on my mind. Things are a little crazy. I’m just trying to sort it all out
.”
It’s the truth. Just not the whole story. Not ready for a confessional yet.

“
You know you can talk to me if you need t
o,
right
?
”

“
Ye
s,
Dr. Phil. I’ll make an appointment after dinner. No
w,
g
e
t
,
s
o
I
ca
n
g
e
t
d
r
e
ss
e
d
.
”

“
Alright. Don’t take too long. You know how Isis gets when someone makes her wait
.
”

She stuck her tongue out at her brother before shutting the door. When she turned aroun
d,
Xavier
l
ay
on the be
d,
propped up on one ar
m,
the sheet loosely draped around his narrow wais
t,
watching her. A brilliant smile played on his lips. The effect was devastatingly sexy. He patted the mattress in front of him. She should run for the bathroo
m,
but wanted one last taste of him before detoxing him out her system.

He held up the sheet. She slipped in next to hi
m,
the spot still warm from his heat. Xavier and the covers enveloped her. The smell of soap and sex lingered on his body. The feel of his supple lips on her skin flared the smoldering embers that
r
e
m
a
i
n
ed
from their lovemaking the night before. His ability to jumpstart her libido mystified Bell. Her body responded every time she thought of him.

She tilted his face up to hers and kissed the tip of his nose. His laugh was like mahogan
y,
ric
h,
smoot
h,
and warm. She rolled them ove
r,
until she was on top. Bell held his face in her hands as he gazed up at her. Hints of gold flecked his eyes this morning. The strength and longing
r
e
f
l
ec
ting back at her could be her destruction. She stole a lon
g,
lingering kis
s,
relishing the connectivity between them.

He kept her close when they finally broke for air
.“
You act as if you’ll never see me again
.
”

“
These days we don’t really know what’s going to happen nex
t,
do we
?
”

“
Bel
l,
I’ll never let anything happen to you
.”
Undeniable conviction imbued his words.

“
I appreciate tha
t,
but I don’t want you to do anything stupid trying to help me. You don’t owe me. Once this craziness is ove
r,
we can go our separate ways and get back to our normal lives
.
”

“
Is that what you want to happen
?”
Hurt and anger etched his expression.

“
What else would we do? Let’s not kid ourselve
s,
Xavier. We’re not relationship people. No matter how much we tr
y,
we’ll not be Jacque and Angel. We don’t survive in that kind of life
.
”

“
We may not be the
m,
but we have something. You can’t d
e
ny
y
o
ur
a
tt
r
ac
t
i
o
n
to
m
e
.
”

She studied the Magnolia tree outside the windo
w,
unable to build up her barriers while witnessing the pain on his face
.“
Xavie
r,
this isn’t the time for this discussion. We have much bigger problems to worry about
.
”

“
Oka
y,
but after this is ove
r,
we need to talk about us
.
”

“
When did there become an ‘us’
?
”

“
When you invited me to your bed last night. You could’ve left me downstair
s,
but you wanted me just as much as I needed you
.
”

“
Whatever. Let’s get ready to go down before they send someone else for us
.
”

Xavier stormed into the bathroo
m,
slamming the door.
When we get our freedo
m,
I will make a clean break from Xavier. An attraction as strong as this only brings one thing– misery.

t t t

Everyone gathered in the dining room. Leviatha
n,
Isis and Marie sat on the far side of the large ebony table. The elaborat
e,
golden chairs resembled thrones with them seated regally at the head of the table. Jacqu
e,
Ange
l,
Laurent and Etienne casually lounged in the chairs on the side closest to the floor
-
to
-
ceiling windows. Bell and Xavier took a seat next to Damon the werewolf and the witc
h,
Natasha.

Leviathan nodded an acknowledgment
.“
Everyone has been filled in about Behemoth. Xavie
r,
tell us about your ordeal with Ziz
.
”

Xavier recounted his capture and escape from the other dimension. Bell shuddered when he retold the battle with the Hell Hounds and how Ziz was coming for her. Her heart fluttered when he admitted using all his strength to get back to her before Ziz. No on
e,
except Bell’s brothe
r,
had ever put themselves in harm’s way for her. And Laurent only had to speak on her behalf in the past. No real danger ever came to him. Bell got pretty good at taking care of herself. She earned her reputation as a col
d,
heartless bitch. And she was proud of it.

“
Wel
l,
he won’t stop until he gets what he wants or we convince him otherwis
e
,
”
Leviathan responded to Xavier’s story.

Xavier shook his head
.“
No. He wants his revenge. Ziz is beyond reason. He wants to see me suffer. I didn’t even know it was his woman
.
”

“
Would you care if it was your woman
?”
Isis asked.

Xavier glanced in Bell’s direction
.“
No. I would hunt him until one of us was dead
.”
His tone sent a shiver up Bell’s spine. She knew it was the truth.

“
Tonigh
t,
we will extract Behemoth
.”
Isis commanded attention when she spoke
.“
We’ll have more luck with Ziz if he is with us. The ladies will work on the spells needed to remove the magical barrier. The men will go strategize how to fend off w
h
a
t
e
v
e
r
L
uc
mi
g
h
t
s
e
n
d
to
t
h
w
a
r
t
o
u
r
a
t
t
e
m
p
t
.
”

“
Do you think he’ll know? When Laurent and I went down ther
e,
no one stopped us
.”
Bell checked the expressions around the table.

The were spoke up
.“
From what I hea
r,
he knows Ziz is after you and Xavier. He suspects there are limited options. Behemoth being one of them. He’ll probably cover all of his bases
.
”

“
And how do you know so much about what Luc knows
?”
Bell inquired.

All the focus turned to Damon. His gaze dropped to the floo
r,
and then he slowly lifted his head
.“
Because I’m his son. My mother resides in the main castle in the Underworld. I go back and forth to get information
.
”

His confession left everyone silent.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

How many bastard children did the Princes of Hell have running around? This one wasn’t even a full demon. Xavier just moved up a notch in the world. At least he was full-blooded demon. The reason Damon’s pack gained so much territory and respect made sense now. He had wondered how a pack of dogs accumulated so much wealth. Werewolves were considered the blue collar species of the supernatural community.

“
Alright. We all have things to do. Let’s get started
.”
Isis stoo
d,
dismissing everyone
.“
Come ladie
s,
we have magic to spin
.
”

The females followed Isis out the roo
m,
all except Bell.

“
Aren’t you going with them
?”
Xavier asked.

“
I have no idea how to work any magi
c,
but I can swing a sword with the best of them. Or toss me a semi-automatic pistol. I’ll hang with you boys. You’re more my speed
.
”

She just became a thousand times sexier. Xavier fought the temptation to kiss her. He loved the fact she could handle herself. Not that he’d ever allow anyone close enough to hurt her. He couldn’t explain his overwhelming need to protect Bell. He only knew a world without her pained him. Maybe the air in the other dimension messed up his head. Or could this possibly be what love felt like?

“
Xavie
r,
do you have your own weapons
?”
His father leaned back in his chai
r,
less formal since the females left.

Xavier hesitate
d,
trying to regain his thoughts
.“
Yeah. But I got
t
a
g
e
t
t
h
e
m
f
r
o
m
o
ur
h
o
t
e
l
.
”

“
There is a vault downstairs with weapon option
s
,
”
Etienne offered.

“
Bell and I’ll go back to the hote
l,
grab our stuf
f,
and come back here. I appreciate the offe
r,
but an assassin’s weapons are an extension of him. They were made for me and I know how to kill with them. Shouldn’t take long. Is my bike here
?”
Xavier rose from his chai
r,
offering his hand to Bell.

Leviathan frowned
.“
I don’t like you guys going by yourself. Jacqu
e,
go with your brother. Actuall
y,
Lauren
t,
too. Ziz is strong. He’s managed to ambush you twice
.
”

Xavier tensed hearing his father refer to him like a true son. It felt good to be acknowledged
.“
Okay. Let’s get this done
.
”

t t t

Xavier unlocked the safe and removed the two steel cases housing his arsenal. He popped the lids and viewed the contents to ensure everything was intact. He lifted a Ruger semi-automatic out of its foam protection. The weight of the gun balanced perfectly in his hand. Outside of holding Bell in his arm
s,
nothing felt this right to him.

He slid the gun into his belt. The cold metal of the gun chilled the small of his back. No more walking around unarmed for him. He pulled a nine millimeter pistol out of its housing. This would do nicely for Bell. He shut everything up and headed out to the front of the suite.

Glass shattered. A loud thud echoed in the hall. A stream of profanity escaped Bell’s mouth. Xavier sprinted to the living room. Jacque and Laurent shielded Bell from Ziz’s blade. Xavier held the gun in both hands and unloaded a clip in Ziz’s direction. The intrude
r,
in his human for
m,
dove for the ground. Jacque and Laurent tackled their attacker. Bell ran up on Ziz and stomped him with her stiletto. The obscenities she yelled revealed her level of infuriation.

Ziz scrambled toward the balcony.

“
He
y,
don’t let him get to the door
.”
Xavier ran
toward
the group
.“
That’s probably where the portal is
.”

He grabbed Bel
l,
removing her from immediate danger. She fough
t,
kicking her feet at hi
m,
wanting her turn with Ziz
.“
Stay bac
k
,
”
Xavier ordered. She immediately became quiet.

Laurent and Jacque wrestled the demon to the ground. Xavier searched the room for something to secure Ziz with
.“
Bel
l,
go get me those cuffs you got
.
”

Jacque chuckled. Bell narrowed her eyes at him before she left the room. When she returne
d,
she tossed the titanium cuffs to Xavier. Supes needed a stronger metal than the normal steel to contain them. Xavier didn’t want to think about why she had the handcuffs. Or who wore the
m,
as he slapped them on Ziz. Apparentl
y,
Jacque had run into the restraints before.

It took some muscle and stealth to get Ziz to the parking lot undetected. They shoved him into the trunk of Bell’s car.

Something wasn’t right. Xavier checked Ziz’s hands to make sure they were secure. He removed the tire iron and a couple of other tools. Didn’t want to test the waters. This creature survived for over a millennium. It wasn’t because he was stupid. In his shifted for
m,
Ziz had the strength of twenty demons.
Why the hell hadn’t he shifted?

Xavier slouched in the passenger seat. He glanced at Bel
l,
hands clutched to the steering whee
l,
deep in thought. Jacque and Laurent filled the small backseat. The feeling they missed something gnawed at Xavier. He gripped the handle above his head as Bell cornered the car to make her turn. She looked over at him. Worry creased her brow.

“
What are you thinking
?”
Xavier probed.

She pressed her lips in a thin lin
e,
before answering
.“
He gave in too easy
.
”

“
Yep. My thoughts exactly
.
”

“
I’ve felt his power. I don’t care if there were three of us. We shouldn’t have walked away unscratched
.
”

Before she made the next tur
n,
four dagger-like claws ripped through the backseat. Laurent and Jacque scooted out of the way just in time. Bell slammed on the brake
s,
causing several cars to swerve around them. The sharp nails slashed through Jacque’s arm. Xavier unbuckled his seat belt and rotated around to
face
the action. He searched for a sho
t,
but Laurent and Jacque interfered with his line of sight. In the corner of his ey
e,
he saw Bell reached for the button to pop the trunk.

Xavier slapped her hand away
.“
No. If we open it no
w,
he’ll get out before we can get to him
.”

He jumped out
of
the car. Bell followed. Jacque slammed Ziz’s arm against the exposed metal around the opening through the backseat. Laurent punched the beast in the head as it snarled and snapped at him. Xavier fired several rounds into the trunk of the vehicle. Ziz let out a muffled whimper. Xavier had hit his mar
k,
only he didn’t know how many rounds he needed to stop the thing.

A loud roar erupted. Bell fumbled with the keys. The trunk release button didn’t work
.“
Just shoot the damn thing and get it open. You know. Like they do in the movies
.”
She jumped out of Xavier’s way.

Xavier changed the clip and fired two rounds into the lock mechanism. The
t
r
u
n
k flew open. Ziz held Laurent in a head lock with razor sharp claws posed at his jugular. Bell lunged toward the ca
r,
but Xavier caught her around the waist. Jacque froze in the blood soaked backseat. Ziz dragged Laurent through the opening between the interior of the car and the trunk.

“
Anyone move and I will gut him from his chin to his waist. I’ll make sure there isn’t enough of him to have an afterlife
.”
Ziz swung his legs out of the vehicl
e,
tightening his chokehold on Laurent. Blood dripped from the gunshot wounds in Ziz’s back and side. At least twelve of the eighteen rounds in the clip found its targe
t,
a target that still lived and had the strength to take down an upper level demon.

Xavier shielded Bell behind him. Her tremors reverberated in his own body. He wasn’t sure if they were from ange
r,
fea
r,
or both
.“
Don’t do anything stupid
.”
While his eyes never left Zi
z,
the message was for everyone.

Bell stepped in front of Xavier so swiftl
y,
he didn’t have a chance to stop her
.“
Look. Let Laurent go. You don’t have a problem with him. He’s never hurt anyone. I’ll go with you if you let him go
.
”

“
The hell you wil
l
,
”
Xavier spat.

Ziz straightened to his full height. He jerked Laurent
from
the trunk like a rag doll. A gleaming white claw traced the throbbing vein in Laurent’s throat
.“
I think I have a better hostage than I could wish for. This one actually has others who care for him
.
”

Bell dropped to her knees
.“
Please. Not him. I’ll go. Just
l
e
a
v
e
him
a
l
o
n
e
.
”

Xavier’s heart broke for her as he bent to
s
c
o
o
p
her off the ground
.“
Zi
z,
this is not about anyone here except me. I’ll leave with you. You can do whatever you want with me. Let the others leave
.
”

“
Aw. Wouldn’t that tidy things up nicely? But what fun would that be? I think I’ll gain more pleasure seeing you suffer by taking this one
.”
Ziz cut a slit along Laurent’s collarbone.

Blue eyes so similar to Bell’s went wide with pain. Laurent succeeded in squelching his cry of anguis
h,
but his sister expelled a scream of unabated terror. Xavier restrained Bell when she reached for Laurent. Jacque waited next to the back passenger doo
r,
glancing
toward
Xavier for a signal. Regardless of what they di
d,
there was no way to extract Laurent from Ziz’s clutches before Ziz killed him.

“
What do you want from me
?”
Xavier aimed the gun with one hand and trapped Bell to his side with the othe
r,
losing sight of Ziz.

“
I already told you what I want. To see you suffer. Make you feel what I feel. Death is too good for you. I’ll destroy everything around you. And when you have nothing lef
t,
I’ll administer a slow torturous demise
.
”

Bell’s nails imbedded into Xavier’s fles
h,
drawing blood
.“
What the hell does that have to do with my brothe
r,
motherfucker
!”
she gritted through clenched teeth.