Embraced (Eternal Balance) (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

Jax

A
s soon as I was able to stand, I pulled open the car door. The female demon behind the wheel stared straight ahead, her eyes glazed and unseeing. At her throat, a wicked gash still oozed blood. I unfastened her seat belt and jerked her from the seat, then slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine.

I drove until I couldn’t stand it anymore. Azi, like me, was worried about Sam. Whether it was because of its feelings for her, or because it was worried she’d be claimed by someone else, I didn’t know and didn’t care. Right now, we had a common goal—just as soon as I calmed the thing down. Rage seeped into the air all around me, and eventually I had to pull the car over just to keep from ripping off the steering wheel. I was driving in circles with no clue where the fuck to go, or what the hell to do next.

Feed.
The single word nearly shattered my skull.

Just seven hours on the clock. I didn’t want to waste time, but I felt the need as strongly as the demon did. Just as it fed off the pain and anger of others, I’d come to realize, I did the same. Not in exactly the same way, but the demon’s moods influenced me more now that I’d embraced it. Its weakness was mine.

I pulled into a Quick Stop parking lot, and the moment I stepped from the car, I smelled it. Fear. It was easy to track, around the side of the building to a single car parked at the far end of the row. I crept along the shadows, waiting. Watching.

The man in the driver’s seat was screaming at a small boy. He grabbed the kid by the hair, shaking him roughly before leaning across and opening the door to shove him out. The child had to go to the bathroom. The bastard didn’t like stopping. He was going to miss the start of his favorite television show.

The kid closed the door and scurried around the building, presumably to get the restroom key from the clerk inside. Azi shuddered in anticipation. I did, too. My feet carried me from the shadows, across the lot, and to the man’s car. He was looking down at his cell phone so he didn’t see me approach. It made yanking the door open and dragging him out that much sweeter.

“What the—”

I shoved him up against the hood. My fingers dug into skin, through the thin material of his shirt. The sensation sent a ripple of contentment through me. “You think hitting a kid makes you a big man?”

His breath reeked of alcohol and his colors swirled crimson. No fear. Anger. He was pissed I’d had the nerve to step in.

This was just what I needed. Moments like these made me sick. I
wanted
to give in. Craved the feeling that came over me when the demon fed. It was a high like no other, filling me with an unparalleled sense of exhilaration.

He pushed off the car and swung out hard, but I stepped to the side, missing the blow easily, and followed through with one of my own. A kidney shot, it landed with precision, and Azi went wild, greedily sucking down the man’s rage.

He recovered, stumbling a little, and tried again. This time he rushed me, intent on grinding me into the brick wall at my back. I pivoted and changed position, and he flew right past, crashing into the wall instead of me.

I grabbed a handful of his hair, like he’d done with the kid, and shoved his face hard into the bricks. “Touch him again and I’ll kill you. We clear?”

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he struggled against my grip, still trying to free himself and get in a good shot. More. Azi wanted more. It wanted pain. So that’s what I gave it. I pushed, dragging the side of his face along the wall for about a foot. He screamed, leaving a trail of skin and blood where the stone grated him. “Asking again—we clear?”

“Dad?”

I spun to see the kid standing by the car with a look of horror on his face.

“Go get the cops, Kenny,” the man sputtered. He still struggled, but more weakly. He knew he was beat.

I let go of him and stepped away. With a nod to the kid, I said, “No need to do that, Kenny. Your dad and I were just having a chat about how he treats you.” I turned back to the guy. “That right?”

The man narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

“He’s gonna be nicer from now on,” I said, walking back toward my car.

Though not as potent as a demon kill, the violence settled Azi enough for me to focus. Sam and I were linked. That had to mean I could find her. I just had to try.

Once I was back in the car, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Azi flashed an image of her face and my heartbeat went into overdrive. In the vision, she was bruised and bleeding, with a busted lip and a wide gash on her right cheek.

“No,” I snapped, shaking the likeness from my mind. “She’s okay. I would know if she wasn’t.”

The demon wasn’t convinced, but it settled down to let me concentrate. I’d never tried using the link between us. Up until now, it’d been more of a hassle than anything else, making me hyperaware of every detail about Sam. Her moods and emotions. Her body… I’d hated it because it rubbed my nose in the one thing I wanted but couldn’t have. Now I had to rely on it. Talk about fucked up.

I sat behind the wheel with my eyes closed. It took a while, but I finally felt her. Felt her fear. It was just as potent as if she were sitting beside me. She was someplace dark. And cold. But other than that, I had no clue.

“Shit!” I slammed my hand against the dash, leaving a fist sized indentation. I had no way of finding her. There wouldn’t be a ransom. No one would call for a trade. They had exactly what they wanted. They held all the fucking cards.

Azi sent more images of her, a dizzying mix of jumbled moments from over the years.

I gripped the wheel hard and closed my eyes to stop the spinning. “How,” I growled. “How the fuck am I supposed to find her?”

Another rush of pictures came, so strong I almost puked. They went too fast to make out much detail, but I did notice a common thread. Azirak’s demons.

“They won’t help me,” I said, twisting the ignition key a little too hard. “I screwed them over by letting Chase walk away. Cheated them out of their power.”

Azi wasn’t deterred, and they kept coming. Sam. Azirak’s demons. Sam. Demons. The wheels in my head started turning. We had several common enemies in Zenak, his clan, and the angels. If I sought them out and said I wanted to gain a Pure with the intention of hunting down Zenak, they might be forgiving. They were desperate to regain their power. A few hours ago it’d been Azirak in control of my body. He’d called his clan to locate the Fakori descendant. All I had to do was keep them thinking the demon still had the wheel. The only bump in the road would be Malphi.

As if in response, Azi communicated a scene of me embracing the dark, faceless female, and then another, of Sam wrapped tightly in my arms. The feeling that came with both was the same. Need. Desire. Longing. Getting close to Malphi was risky, but I had no other choice. I had no intention of losing Sam again.

“How do I find them?”

A single picture. The Inferno.

G
etting back to Harlow took forever. At least, that’s how it felt. Each second was one I wasn’t trying to find Sam. Every minute was one that they might hurt her. If anything happened, I would bring hell to their doorstep in ways they couldn’t possibly imagine.

It was almost three by the time I pulled up in front of the bar. The place was fairly empty, as usual, and the bartender—a demon I’d never seen before—gave a slight nod as I walked in.

“Heckle here?”

The bartender shook his head. “Nope.” He looked me up and down. “
Out of town
.”

I didn’t give a shit what the euphemism was for. I only wanted information. “I’m looking for one of Azirak’s clan.”

“Never heard of ’em,” he replied, and nodded to the liquor shelves. “What d’ya want?”

I leaned forward and inhaled. The bartender wasn’t Zenak’s. Not Azirak’s. Definitely a demon, though.

Factionless
. I had no idea where the word came from, but knew without a doubt I was right. This demon was neither mine nor Chase’s.

I reached across the bar and grabbed its shirt, yanking forward. The demon dropped the bottle in its hand, the glass shattering against the edge of the counter and dumping vodka all over the floor. “I’ll say it louder, just in case you didn’t hear me the first time. I’m looking for one of Azirak’s clan.”

It wasn’t until the demon looked at me—more specifically, my eyes—that he realized who I was. His head dipped and he opened his mouth, but someone else spoke for him.

“I am of Azirak’s—”

I turned to face it.

Tall, with dirty blond hair and narrow shoulders, the newcomer curled its lip back and tensed, ready for a fight. “You!”

Time to put my game face on. I had to sell this shit good. “I have control of the body,” I said with a subtle nod. I let go of the bartender and leaned back against the bar.

It wasn’t a demon I recognized, but obviously it recognized me. “You betrayed us!”

“The human betrayed you,” I corrected, hoping Azi went along with the charade. “Who’s your leader?”

“You are,” it said angrily. The demon’s eyes narrowed as it regarded me with caution.

“I’ve been otherwise engaged. Who was in charge in my absence?”

“Ranook,” it said, almost hesitantly. I’d expected the answer to be Malphi. “Why?”

“Take me to Ranook.”

It blinked, staring at me for several more seconds. “Why would I do that?”

I offered it a wicked grin. “Because I’ve got information that will change everything.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sam

S
he’d been sitting across from me, just staring, for almost twenty minutes now. Normally I could pull a stare down with the best of them, but something about the angel’s eyes creeped me the hell out. “Are we going to do this all day?” I asked. “Gaze into each other’s eyes? Because I’ll be honest with you…you’re not my type.”

“Ahh, yes,” she responded with a grimace. “Your type is a bit darker, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “All girls love the bad boys.”

“And I wasn’t gazing into your eyes. I was gazing into your head.”

“My head?” Not exactly something I wanted to hear.

She stood and came closer, head cocked to the side. “Trying to see your fears. The things you hold dear. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ve been rude and I apologize. I never introduced myself. My name is Anella.”

“Well, Anella, I’m Sam, and I’d like to go home.”

“You are brave for a human.” She laughed, and I tried not to take it personally. “Or foolish. It’s so hard to tell with your kind.”

I shrugged, doing my best not to cringe when the bindings on my hands pulled tighter. “What can I say? Probably a little bit of both.”

“Agree to be claimed,” she said, bending down so that we were eye to eye.

“Let me go and I’ll think about it?” It was worth a shot, at least.

Anella sighed. I had a feeling I was grating on her patience. She placed a hand on either side of my neck. I could feel her touch through my clothing. In fact, it was really warm. Hot.

Scorching.

“What—? Oh my God.” I gasped. The pain increased until I was nearly blinded by it. There was a smell in the air. Singed hair and what I guessed was my burning flesh. I tried to hold back, but it was impossible. A deafening scream spilled from my lips.

T
he music was loud. I felt it thumping in my bones. A steady, hypnotic rhythm that made me want to move my body. Or, maybe it was Jax, pressed close behind me and swaying his hips in a way that made my mind wander to dark, forbidden things.

We were in the middle of the dance floor at the Viking. Alone. A nagging voice whispered in my ear that this wasn’t right. We shouldn’t be here. Not like this. But as the beat intensified and the lights dimmed, I let it go. All that mattered was now. This electric, alive feeling.

“I love the way you move,” Jax whispered in my ear. The sound of his voice, oddly clear over the rumbling beat, was like a flamethrower to my skin. His tongue flicked out, skimming the edge of my earlobe just a second before he nipped it.

He draped his arms around my shoulders from behind, hands pressing flat against my chest. Slowly, still moving his hips to the music, he slid his hands downward, between my breasts. I gasped as he paused just beneath them, then jerked his hands up to cup each one. His warmth bled through the thin material of my shirt. I covered his hands with mine and pushed back, grinding myself into him.

He chuckled. Leaning forward, he said at my ear, “I know what you want.” With his thumb and pointer, he squeezed the right nipple and twisted—just a little—and I inhaled sharply. He laughed again and continued to slide his hands down until he came to the waist of my jeans. Playing with the button, he said, “Is this it?”

I bit my lip.

He slipped the button through the hole and slid the zipper down an inch, letting his thumb slip behind the fabric. Sliding it back and forth, frustratingly slow, he added, “Or, is this it?”

Every inch of me was ready to combust. My pulse was off the charts and my heart was about to break free of my chest.

He laughed again, a dark chime that made the hairs on the back of my neck and arms jump to attention. Pushing his finger a little further, he pressed it into me, stopping just shy of slipping inside. “I’ll do it,” Jax said. “I’ll make you scream. Right here. Right now. You just have to do one thing for me.”

God. Anything. I would do anything. It was taking all my self-control not to push his hand where I desperately wanted it to be.

He laughed. He had me wrapped around his little finger and he knew it. Then again, Jax had control over me. My body, my heart and soul. Everything that was me belonged to him. “Let me claim you.”

I froze. The music stopped, and my heart, so close to imploding, seemed to stutter and come to a frightening standstill.

“Come on, Sammy. All I’m asking is that you be mine. Let me claim you.” He pulled my hair back with his free hand and nibbled on the tip of my ear. “Agree and I’ll show you things you never dreamed of.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes tight. It’s what I wanted. A few hours ago, I’d practically begged him to do it to save my life. For some reason, though, now it seemed like a bad idea. Something had changed, and even though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, I knew deep in my gut that it was a bad idea. “No. I can’t—”

“Fine,” he snapped. I opened my eyes to find him across the room, on a couch that hadn’t been there before. He wasn’t alone.

The girl beneath him sighed loudly, turning her head. Our eyes met, and Sadie grinned at me from behind long, thick lashes. “Baby,” she cooed, keeping her eyes on mine. “
I’ll
let you claim me anytime.”

Jax chuckled and looked up, and all the air rushed from my lungs. “She’s willing to let me do whatever I want…” He bent his head and took a chunk of the skin on her neck between his teeth. Horrified, I watched as he bit down and pulled, tearing the flesh.

Sadie laughed and arched her back as the blood flowed freely from her wounds. “Oh, baby. You know just how I like it.”

Wrong. This was wrong in so many ways. Little things began to creep up on me. The club, previously spotless and empty, had a dilapidated look. Around the edge of the dance floor there were boxes piled halfway to the ceiling, stacked next to shelving units and old lawn equipment. The pristine tile beneath our feet dulled and lost its color, springing spider web cracks in places I knew there were none.

Jax stood, shoving Sadie away from him, and made his way back to me. “Say the word,” he whispered against my ear. “Allow me to claim you, and I’ll get rid of the witch.” He pressed himself close, but something was different now. He’d lost his warmth. Instead of the inferno he’d been only moments ago, all passionate and wanting, his body felt cold. Dead, almost. One hand wrapped around my waist, forearm grazing bare skin, while the other wrapped loosely around my neck from behind.

I tried to pull away, but he held brutally tight. Panic rose in my throat, and I screamed as the rest of the illusion peeled away to reveal the basement. I was shoved forward and I stumbled, landing hard on my knees across the room.

“Bitch,” the angel spat. She sighed and nodded toward the stairs. There was a shadow standing at the top. “Time for plan B.”