Tangled Sin (A Dark Realm Novel) (4 page)

Riley hauled her right back. “Get away from her.”

Zac grabbed the Caligo in an armlock and hauled it out of the bar.

Anger powering through him, Riley tried to calm down, an impossible feat given that his fear wouldn’t leave—he wanted to rip the Caligo apart with his bare hands then incinerate the fucker.

At the subtle change in the air, Riley stilled, a prickling sensation crawling over his psyche. He hurriedly scanned the crowd for more trouble, only to come to a grating halt when his gaze hit the entrance.

Shit! Which hole did he crawl out from?

Baric stood near the door, watching them with a smug expression.

Riley had to clamp down on the urge to go after the demon from his past; the one who’d damn near killed him when he’d first come to this realm. But he couldn’t leave Saia alone, not with that Caligo on the loose.

Smirking, Baric stepped back, nudged the door open with his elbow, and disappeared outside.

Saia wriggled in his grip. “Riley, can't breathe—”

Instantly, he eased up. “I have to get you back to your apartment.”

She pushed away from him and scowled. “I'm not ready to leave.”

That’s what she thought.

Grasping her much smaller hand in his, Riley pulled her along toward the door. But humans coming into the bar jostled them back, slowing them down more. Then Saia startled all holy hell out of him as she started to drag
him
toward the exit in a fast trot.

“Oh, shit. Oh, shit!”
He heard her curse beneath her breath. How she sprinted in those heels without tripping, he had no idea. Moments later, they stepped out into the cool, brightly lit street.

Riley scanned the place for what had spooked Saia when he felt them, their stares like blades between his shoulders. Pushing Saia behind him, he pivoted and faced two identical males wearing jeans and leather biker jackets. Above average height and sporting deep brown hair, there was something vaguely familiar about them.

“You two have a problem?” he snapped. It surprised him when Saia made no move to get in the middle of this fracas, but he was damn grateful. Despite these two being human, she could get hurt if things turned ugly.

Both males stepped closer and glared at him, aggression oozing from their pores.

“We sure do,” the one on the right barked. “Who the hell are you?”

Riley narrowed his eyes, ready to tear into these assholes, fed up to his back teeth with all the shit that had happened this evening. Folding his arms over his chest, he waited for the first one to take a swing—hell, even hoped for it, when he heard Saia sigh heavily before she stepped out from behind him, only to scowl at the twins. “What are you two doing here?”

“We could ask you the same,” they both snarled in unison. Then one of the carbon copies snapped, thumb flicking in Riley’s direction. “Who the hell is he?”

“No need to get so worked up,” she muttered. “This is Ri—” She broke off as a third human joined them. Not as tall as the identical males, more on the slender side, this one screamed money, from his light gray designer suit to his prissy-cut dark hair. The male’s attention was fixed on Saia like some homing device. And that started to piss Riley off until he became aware of how still she’d gone.

“We stopped at the apartment,” the twin on the right said, “spoke to Liz then headed over here to find you.”

“Wonderful,” she muttered. “My evening’s complete.”

Riley was sure the humans didn’t hear her soft sarcasm. Then she smiled sweetly, an expression Riley had learned not to trust. “Rohan, Zayn, this is Riley…my date.”

Riley didn’t know who was more stunned, him, or the males who looked ready to hack him into tiny pieces.

“How come we know nothing about him?” Rohan bit out.

“If you give me a chance, you will,” she snipped then turned to him. “Riley?”

He met her pleading gaze. She wanted him to play along, did she? He didn't respond, kept his trap shut and waited to see where this led.

At the slight tremor in her body, Riley frowned. The thought of her being afraid had every primal, protective instinct he possessed awakening. He slid his arm around her shoulders and drew her to him.

She gave him a quick, relieved smile. “Riley, these are my brothers, Rohan and Zayn.”

They continued with the dagger stares. He said nothing. The human she’d excluded from the intro, his mouth tightened. Nope, he didn't look happy.

“If you guys don’t mind, we were leaving.” She turned away.

“A moment, sis,” Zayn called out. “A message from Mother—s
ee you on Saturday.
Be there, Sai. Or I'm gonna be real unhappy if I have to come and get you, especially if Ma’s on our asses again because she thinks we ignored her instruction.”

Guilt flooded her seductive face, and she bit her lush lip.

“And for godsakes, lose the er—date,” Rohan added.

In sync, both pairs of tawny eyes narrowed on him in warning.

What? He wasn’t good enough for their sister?

Of course, he knew that, but it didn’t mean he had to take their shit. Before he could respond, Saia snapped, “You don’t get a say in my life or whom I date!”

Her anger snaked around him like a dark cloud before she spun around and headed up the street. Alone.

“Dammit, Saia—wait.” One of the twins went after her. The unnamed human stopped him. “I’ll go.”

“No,” Riley bit out. “She’s my date. I’ll get her.”

He had to reel in the urge to punch these idiots, and went after Saia. He grasped her arm. She wheeled back, her expression tight, then blew out a relieved breath when she saw him.

How the hell had he gotten ensnared in this mess?

Oh, yeah, a pair of sun-kissed brown eyes that had him losing his common sense.

Once clear of the males, Riley stopped, determined to get this farce straightened out. “Your brothers think we’re dating?”

She pushed her hair back with a shaky hand. “I'm sorry about that, but they just make me so mad.”

“Why—” He hissed and stumbled, a stinging pain hitting him square in the back. Inhaling harshly, Riley pivoted. Trevor stepped out from the shadows, pulling another black blob from his palm.

The piece of Caligo entering Riley’s body was like acid burning his flesh. If it entered a human, it would kill them.

“Give her back and I won't hurt you,” the Caligo demanded.

Like. Hell. He shoved Saia behind him. “Go to the bar, find your brothers, and stay with them ’til I get back.” He could feel his powers draining rapidly from the vicious taint of the Caligo’s hit.

“Riley—”

“
Now!
” he roared. Dammit, didn't she ever listen?

He had no idea how this would end. His death—the Caligo’s, he didn't care as vengeance tore through him to end the scourge.

Riley lunged for the Caligo, grabbed it around the neck, and dragged it into a dingy alley rife with the reek of waste. The Caligo’s fist connected with Riley’s jaw, and stars exploded in his head. Snarling, he pivoted and delivered a brutal kick. The Caligo crashed into a greasy wall and slid to the pitted asphalt, grunting in pain.

Riley’s hands fisted. He might be psychically weak, but it didn't mean he’d neglected working on his strength.

“So the weakling finally grew balls?” a new voice taunted from the shadows.

Riley turned as Baric circled him like a vulture. He should have known Baric would use any means to get at him. The Caligo pushed to his feet, grinning like a jackass, blood oozing from its split lip.

“Ah,” Baric said slyly, glancing to the entrance of the alley. “How nice. You brought a treat.”

Concentrate—concentrate—don’t let him distract you.

Riley gritted his teeth, blocked the pain flaying his back. As he lunged for Baric, a familiar floral scent drifted to him.

His heart pounded in fear.
No!

Saia peered into the darkened alley. Dammit, where did he go?

“Riley?” she called out. Despite fear churning her gut, she inched forward with grim determination. She’d rather take her chances in this stinky place with dangerous Caligos or the BDs as her brothers called the blood-demons than go back to the bar with Piers there.

Besides, Riley was alone with Trevor, and something felt off about him. She could help Riley.

A feral snarl resonated off the dingy walls. Her heart thudded. Tamping down her fear, she followed the sounds deeper into the shadows between two buildings. There. Through the watery moonlight, she saw Riley and a man she hadn't seen before.

Riley moved so fast, and like the first night, she could barely keep track of him. He lunged for the man and pounded his fist into his face. A knee in the belly dropped him to the ground.

Oh, God! This wasn’t a simple bar fight. They threw punches as if they meant to kill each other. A shiver rolled through her again, a sense of dread crowding her.

Another man snuck up behind Riley—Trevor! Before she could yell a warning, another, slighter figure barreled into Trevor, who struck out with a right hook to the smaller man’s face. An annoyed curse resonated off the walls in a very feminine growl. She whipped around and kneed Trevor in the groin.

A woman was helping Riley?

“Did you really think I’d still be that same helpless little idiot?”

At Riley’s icy words, Saia’s gaze darted back to him as he slammed a dark figure against the wall.

In the cold moonlight, he looked utterly lethal. A dagger gleamed dully in his hand. In a blur, he moved, his weapon plunging into the man’s chest.

Shocked, Saia stood there, rooted to the spot. Seconds later, the body deflated and disappeared. That was no human. She’d never seen a demon die before, that’s what he had to be, because only they vanished in that manner.

Crap! Was Trevor one, too? Why didn't she sense him, then? She felt for her ring—dammit, she’d forgotten it in her pocket when she’d gone to the restroom and washed her hands. Hurriedly, she slipped it on, and the ring pulsed warmth through her like another heartbeat.

“Get his female,” a guttural voice yelled.

A growl resonated like some savage beast had been let loose. Saia’s gaze darted to the woman fighting with Riley.

“Not happening,” he snarled.

An awful stench, worse than the decaying garbage surrounding her, clogged her nose. Her belly roiled. The fine hair on her nape rose. She snatched her iron blade from her boot and pivoted.

A heavyset man stood just a foot away. Malevolent yellow eyes filled with malice stared at her out of a human face that was already peeling, revealing patches of dark, swirling mist.

Oh. Shit. Caligo!

Terror iced her blood as the evil she’d never thought to face drew closer. The Caligo angled its head. Sniffed. “Female…” Its tone turned into a raucous purr. “Must. Have.”

In a panic, she plunged her blade into its belly, but the Caligo didn't seem to care. It grabbed her arm. She head-butted it, whacking it hard in the jaw, the crack reverberating through her skull, along with pain. A riotous snarl rent the air.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Satisfaction welled within her at the sound. Yes, growing up with annoying brothers had its advantages. No one was taking her body or whatever the hell this thing wanted.

“I will make it hurt, mortal, when I possess your body—” The Caligo lunged at her like a lumbering bear. She dodged, teetered off balance in her spiked heels and fell on her bottom. Pain jarred up her spine. Ignoring it, she scrambled after her fallen blade. Before she grabbed it, the Caligo seized her hair in a vicious grip and yanked her up. She kicked its shin and clawed at its hands.

Snarling, the thing grabbed her jaw and squeezed. Pain erupted. Tears blurred her vision. She couldn’t move, held by its hypnotic yellow stare.

“Riley…” His name died on a whimper as she tugged feebly at the brutal hold on her face.

The Caligo didn't go for her mouth straight off. A curl of thick black smoke oozed from its lips to swirl around her. An ice-cold, alien intrusion slithered around her body, constricting, like it wanted to hurt her. Unable to breathe, her lungs burned in agony—

A gush of wind rushed past her, and she stumbled back, freed. A spasm of coughing wracked her aching chest as she gulped in copious amounts of smelly, sulfuric air.

Grunts and snarls rang out behind her. Chest heaving, Saia swung around just as a thick, black, shapeless mist slithered out of the man’s body. Riley stood between her and the creature.

The next minute, a flare of fire left Riley and engulfed the thing. The Caligo screeched and exploded, its human host scattering to the ground in ash.

Oh, God—oh, God!
She couldn’t stop shaking.

Riley strode to her. The sculptured bones of his lightly tanned face seemed carved from marble in the moonlight. He looked her over as if searching for injuries. “Dammit, Saia, I told you to find your brothers. Are you hurt?”

She didn’t answer, her trembling hand pressed to her sore chest.

If it hadn't been for Riley and that woman, who seemed to have disappeared, she’d probably be dead.

“Saia?” His calloused fingers gently stroked her aching jaw.

“I’m…I’m okay.” Needing to be held, she pressed her face against his chest, breathing in his clean scent, and tried to rid her lungs of that horrible stink. And of her fear.

“Why don’t you listen?” he growled, his arms tightening around her.

She winced at his anger, glanced up and froze at the fierce glimmer of red flaring in his pupils. “Your eyes.” She yanked free, putting space between them. “Wh-what are you?”

“You’re worried about what I am,” he snapped. “When you nearly died?”

With no idea what to think, Saia wrapped her arms around her waist. Her teeth clattered.

What did it matter if he was one? He’d saved her.
Again
. Instinctively,
she’d
chosen to be with him rather than go to her brothers.

“My oldest brother is a supernatural hunter. He says Caligos are from the deepest parts of Hell,” she whispered, a shudder rippling through her. “Demons with no shape. They take over human bodies.”

“They are
not
demons”—Riley’s mouth tightened—“but shapeless entities who only come out at night since light kills them. It’s why they look for human hosts.” His gaze hardened and held hers in its merciless grip. “Once their human host starts to die, they will seek another. It will slither into you, through your mouth, and take over your body, killing everything that makes you human. There is no coming back if one of those things gets hold of you.”

She shuddered at his harsh tone.

A tick working his jaw, he grasped her hand and hauled her up the busy, light-filled street. She struggled to keep up with his long-legged stride, didn't want to slow him down. Not with that vile evil around.

Her feet hurt. Manolo’s weren't made for jogging. But she kept silent as they headed into another well-lit backstreet. Multicolored lights decorated the buildings and cast a festive glow over the area. The smell of seafood, sweat, and garbage tinged the air. Far better than the stench of poofing Caligos.

A few minutes later, Riley cut through a narrow lane and stopped at the side of a faded pink, two-story shop with the lights still on. Scrawled across the wall above the door,
The Ink Box
, flickered in neon green. Despite the late hour, it was still open. Several Harleys lined the pitted curb. Riley shoved the door open and entered the building.

The smell of disinfectant and stale tobacco greeted them. Saia slowed and glanced around the pokey place, she tugged at Riley’s hand. “Why are we here?”

He didn't respond. Or stop. She was forced to move or be dragged with him. As they stepped into a brightly lit, much larger front room, two scruffy, leather-clad bikers turned, their attention zeroing in on her.

She ignored them and took in the deep russet wall with framed artwork.

He’d brought her to a tattoo shop?

The door at the back opened, and a tall, ivory-skinned knockout with spiky, platinum hair glided out, dressed in jeans and a black tank top. Her arms were a canvas for her colorful tattoos. She had even more piercings than Riley on both of her ears and sported a spider bite on her left brow.

Spying them, a smile of sheer pleasure lit her face. “Riley!”

“Pandora.”

The woman rushed over, grabbed him by his T-shirt, and laid a loud kiss on his mouth. Jaw tight, he stepped back, breaking the contact.

Saia’s stomach curled into a ball. He had a girlfriend?

What the hell was she doing holding hands with a guy involved with another woman?

She tugged free. Riley cut her a sharp look, letting her go.

Pandora glanced at Saia then lifted a brow at him. “You going to introduce me, sugar?”

“No.”

Pandora’s eyes widened at his terse answer. Then she laughed like someone had told her something funny. The light tinkling sound grated on Saia’s nerves, considering her brothers insisted that she laughed like a horse with a cough because of her hoarse voice.

“You have stock?” Riley asked.

“You know where it is.” Pandora waved him off. “In the meantime, I’ll get to know your little friend with no name.”

Halfway across the room, Riley pivoted. He came back, grasped Saia by her wrist, and pulled her with him. “Dammit, Riley, stop,” she snapped, her irritation growing. “Stop dragging me around like some toy. Why are we here?”

He didn't answer. Pandora’s laughter grew.

“Hey, sugar,” she called out to Saia, “I'm his go-to, his once in a while, and you are?”

“Shut up, Pandora,” Riley muttered. He shut the door on her grinning face.

Not a girlfriend, then.
But there was a familiarity between them that made Saia’s belly pitch. Then she knew.

They were lovers.

“She seems quite tolerant that you're with another woman,” Saia said, trying hard to ignore the twinge of jealousy taking hold. If Riley were hers, she’d be spitting nails.

***

Riley struggled to keep his mouth zipped. Because if he spoke right now, he’d probably yell at Saia about how close she’d come to dying and scaring the life out of him.

All he wanted was some semblance of a life, and a little damn peace from his past. Yeah, Pandora had occasionally featured in that life. But Saia, he was sure, had been sent by the dark gods of Stygia to torment him for denying his heritage.

Barely a day had passed, and it seemed crap was landing everywhere. Between her, Baric, and Trevor, he had his job cut out for him.

He stabbed the buttons of the ancient phone, called for a cab then dropped the phone back in its cradle. Another wave of pain surged through his back as if his skin were being flayed. Riley bit down on his molars to stop from cursing. His injuries didn't bother him. They would heal soon enough. What annoyed him was that he’d forgotten to stock up on the healing potion. It had been a while since he’d been out hunting for these assholes, or hurt.

He opened a cupboard near the window and took out a bottle, uncapped it, and slugged back the brown concoction. Good thing Pandora believed in being prepared for any emergencies. With her Wiccan background and healing gifts, she understood exactly what they needed for these kinds of wounds. Plus, it was a nice profitable business for her when idiotic demons got their asses kicked trying to keep a certain human from harm.

Riley wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Loaded with sugar, the thing still tasted like sewer. But it did the job. Soon enough, its restorative properties went to work, the pain fading as the healing took effect.

Finally, he met those piercing brown eyes that demanded his attention.

“What is that?” she asked, frowning at the bottle he held.

He snapped on the cap. “Champagne.”

She sighed. “You’re still angry.”

“You think?”

“Look, I know I shouldn’t have followed you into the alley, but I refuse to go to my brothers with Piers—” She clamped her lips shut.

She didn’t care for the human so she’d come to him? That shouldn’t have pleased him. Yet it did.

Riley dropped the bottle in the drawer and slammed it shut. “Let’s go.”

As he reentered the front of the shop, he found it empty, but one of Pandora’s artist friends, Mike, leaned against the counter, yapping to her. He turned at their entrance. His dark gaze skated past Riley and brightened with curiosity.

“Hey, beautiful.” Mike straightened his burly body and stroked a hand down his bearded face. “You want me to work something on you? I have a real pretty dragonfly that would look damn fine on that tan skin.”

At the human’s offer, Riley turned to find that Saia wasn’t following him, but she’d stopped to stare at Mike’s grizzly mug in fascination.

“My work’s legend.” Mike grinned, waving a hand around him at the framed pictures.