Pandora's Box (6 page)

The door to her bedroom burst open the second before Madison lost consciousness.

Chapter Eleven

The thunderstorm boomed hard enough to rattle his vehicle, and because of it, Nix almost missed Madison’s scream. Scrambling from his car with pistol in hand, he slammed into her house and took the stairs two at a time to her room. Chambered inside the gun were special bullets. At the beginning of their craftsmanship, a Sherlock priest blessed the lead. Once cast, the maker etched a cross into the tip of the final product. One shot and any demonic bad boy would die screaming in a shitload of pain. Better than what they deserved, in his opinion.

Locked. The fucking bedroom door was locked! Damn it!

Taking a couple of steps back, he inhaled and kicked just to the side of the doorknob. The impact jarred up his leg, traveled into his spine and snapped his teeth together. The door held steady. Gurgling sounds penetrated the door, and he fought panic. Losing Madison wasn’t an option. Propelled by this uncomfortable thought, Nix inhaled a long breath, expelled it, repositioned himself and drew one more deep breath. On the exhale, he kicked the door with everything he possessed. The door flew inward, loudly crashing against the wall. He stumbled, caught the doorjamb, and steadied himself.

His gaze swept the room fast. Amos stood beside a dark apparition. The figure tossed Madison to the bed like garbage. She bounced when she landed and lay limp. From where he stood, with only the hall light illuminating the room, Nix couldn’t tell if she were alive or dead. He’d been right to follow his instinct in returning to Madison’s.

Nix reacted, aimed, and fired. The creature jerked when the first bullet ripped through his heart and stumbled when the second one entered his gut. A demon should’ve imploded with the rounds. Nix put a third slug into him, straight between the eyes. The shot jerked his head backward hard enough to rip a human’s head off. Unfortunately, the intruder’s remained intact.

The demon’s features crystallized and a smirk tilted the edges of his mouth before he exploded into flames. Perplexed by the intensity and sparkling whiteness of the fire consuming the entity, Nix protected his eyes with his forearm. The cackle that followed the beast’s departure made abso-fucking-lutely no sense! Demons screamed and died in a dramatic explosion. They never laughed and died in sparkling white light.

What would Georgie make of this new circumstance?

His attention jerked to Amos and the orange ring around the child’s eyes spiked and thinned, but remained. Nix ran to Madison and slid across the bed on his knees. Her eyes were closed. The too dark room kept him from seeing if her chest inflated. Lifting one of her hands, he released it, and it landed limp on her stomach. Pressing two fingers to the pulse in her neck, he detected nothing.

His heartbeat rocketed. Coping with his failure to save her would create a host of emotional problems he wasn’t ready to deal with. And if she were dead, what would they do with Amos?

Nix jabbed his fingers through his hair and reminded himself not to jump the gun. One step at a time, take it slow, assess the entirety of the situation. First was confirming Madison’s status.

Taking a moment to collect himself, he breathed in and out, all the while commanding himself to calm down and get a fucking grip on his rampaging emotions. Once his heart rate slowed a fraction, he adjusted the position of his fingertips and waited. A slow, steady tap hit his pads.

Oh, thank you, God!

“Momma hurt?” Amos asked in a small voice, sounding like a two-year-old rather than a boy of five.

“A little, but—”

“Good.”

Nix whipped his head around, his neck cracking from the force of the movement.

The child smiled and his eyes spiked anew, closer to the shade of burnt orange. “So hungry. I drink Momma’s blood?”

Horrified by the question more than the sight of the demon flinging Madison on the bed, Nix stared mutely at the child. Drink his mother’s blood? Did he drink the blood of the animals he killed, too? As far as he knew, only two supernatural creatures drank blood. Vampires and demons. Neither were rays of sunbeams and puppy dog kisses. And they both gained power by ingesting the blood of their victims.

“No,” Nix said in the most authoritative voice he could project. Inside he quivered and prayed there’d be something in the Sherlock Handbook to guide them accurately. “You cannot ever drink Momma’s blood.”

None of this made sense. Running a hand down his face, he thought they might be in way over their heads. He made a promise to Madison not to give up and, for good or bad, he’d keep his word. It didn’t matter the little voice in his head screamed run! He couldn’t save others if he found his way to an early grave.

With the flat of his palm, he tapped her on the cheek. “Madison. Wake up, Madison.”

She groaned, and he tapped the other cheek.

“Ow!” She swatted at his hand, blinked, and blinked again. “Amos?”

“Momma!” Amos scrambled onto the bed and lay down by her side, positioning his head on her shoulder, wrapping his little arm around her waist. Even in the dark, he could tell the child’s eyes were back to normal.

Madison rubbed Amos’s back. “It’s okay, sweet boy.”

Sweet boy? Pfft…only if you enjoyed psychotic rages, creepy orange-red eyes, and children who drank blood
.

“Demon?” Her voice sounded scratchy.

He nearly said he didn’t know. He realized almost too late she referred to the presence in her room and not her son.

“Gone.” Nix brushed his knuckles across her cheek and she flinched. “Sorry.” She nodded, or at least he thought she did. In the dark room, he couldn’t be sure. “I’m going to get the lights.”

She caught his hand before he could move off the bed. “Was that a demon?”

“I—” He thought so. The creature sure smelled like a demon, and the thunderstorm vanished when he did, the full moon shining through her bedroom window proof the weather was a direct result of the presence. The way the creature reacted to the demonic bullets left him confused and unsure. “I…um…think so.”

Chapter Twelve

Madison sat on the sofa, Amos clutched in her arms. Her throat ached, her cheek burned, and the inside of her mouth felt like someone had taken a cheese grater to the delicate flesh. Fighting back tears, Phoenix blurred in her line of sight. To say she suffered from shock failed to come close to what she really felt. Nothing could explain the terror of having a demon in her bedroom. Or being choked by one of Hell’s residents. All of which waned to the horror of her son choosing a demon over his mother.

Not sure she wanted to know what happened in her bedroom after she blacked out; she only knew Phoenix hadn’t abandoned her. Like he should have.

A demon…she shuddered. All this time, her father had spoken the truth. The horror of an actual one-on-one meeting with one of Hell’s minions, proved more than she could’ve prepared for, or ever fathomed. She hadn’t possessed the good sense to be overly scared as the altercation happened. She guessed because she needed to keep a level head to get them out of the predicament. Now, she couldn’t stop thinking how close she’d come to dying. Or that Amos had identified the demon as his daddy.

Micah. It couldn’t have been her husband and she refused to contemplate such insanity. But she couldn’t dismiss that the Mimicker said Micah planned to return and a few hours later she awoke to a demon in her bedroom.
Called Daddy by Amos
, her inner voice reminded.

Blinking back tears, she dragged in a deep breath. It failed to settle her anxiety. She couldn’t get the putrid stench out of her nose. Worse, she still tasted his blood from when she bit his tongue. Madison doubted a bath in bleach would alleviate the smell or that brushing her teeth with acid would eliminate the taste.

You better start repenting, Madison, or you’re going to spend an eternity with that rankness
. A giggle bubbled to her lips at the horrific thought, forcing her to realize she hovered close to plunging off the cliff of sanity.

“Madison?”

She heard Phoenix call her name, but he sounded far, far away.

Humming the tune to ‘Highway to Hell’, she rocked Amos in her arms. An appropriate song, because she figured she traveled ninety on Route 666, with every bend and turn in the road driving her closer to the pit.

“Madison?” Phoenix snapped his fingers in her face and she continued to hum. He and his family should go away, leave her to the forces haunting them, before they were sucked into the abyss with her. The guilt of one of them being harmed wasn’t something she could live with.

Phoenix kissed her, snapping her out of her dark thoughts. It wasn’t the take-all kiss of the demon ravaging her with force. No, his lips were warm, soft, yet firm enough she felt the passion he held in admirable check.

“Phoenix,” she whispered against his mouth.

Their breaths mingled, and he remained in her personal space. “It’s me, darlin’,” he muttered, rubbing the heel of his palm along her bare shoulder. His touch felt wicked and decadent, and suddenly she wanted his hands everywhere on her body. Once he had her attention, he moved away. “Let me have Amos.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Madison—”

“No!” She tightened her hold on Amos. “No, Phoenix. I can’t. That—that demon….” Her son had called that demon daddy for goodness sake! She shook her head. “Amos wasn’t afraid of the demon.”

May Heaven damn her for the thought, but Amos and the demon seemed the best of buds. She knew Phoenix wouldn’t understand why she couldn’t give her son up. She didn’t understand. She just knew she wanted to keep him safely tucked in her grasp.

Amos and that thing had shared some form of silent communication. That made her all sorts of terrified, sick to her stomach with dread. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Demons actually exist, huh?”

Phoenix sat on the arm of a chair, folded his arms across his chest, and nodded.

“So, God’s as real as they are?”

He couldn’t imagine the importance of his answer. After spending a lifetime rebelling against her father’s religion, to suddenly learn all of it might be real. Madison struggled with a fount of regret and anger spewing from her mind.

“Yeah, I believe in God. Can’t have evil without good.”

“Certain of that?” She’d have chewed on the inside of her cheek if it weren’t sliced in a gazillion pieces already.

Phoenix stared at her, his green eyes stark and intense. His opinion shouldn’t matter. She wasn’t even sure she liked the man, yet she anxiously waited for his response.

“I’m certain of two things, Madison. Death and Demons. The double Ds.” He chuckled, and a dreamy look clouded his eyes. He quickly cleared his throat. “Yeah, God’s real.”

“But?”

He waggled his eyebrows and shook his head as if he misunderstood the question.

“There’s a ‘but’ at the end of your statement.”

“But….” He lifted his eyebrows again. “I think he’s an absentee dad.”

Madison peered down at the child in her arms and thought about his absentee father. That demon was
not
Micah regardless of how Amos addressed him.

Nix finished his explanation. “I don’t think He hears our prayers, or even cares what the demons are doing. We’re on our own.”

Sounded like Micah, he’d left them on their own too. She brushed a lock of hair off Amos’s forehead. “And angels?”

“Oh, they’re real.” Before she could ask why he was so sure, he told her, “Lucifer was an angel before the fall. Angels definitely exist.”

She nodded and accepted his beliefs for what they were…his outlook on religion. Madison wasn’t altogether certain she wanted to believe in God or the copious minions of darkness. Still, she couldn’t dismiss that something very wrong stalked them.

“What’d he want?” She peered up at Phoenix. “What does the demon want with us?”

“Only you can answer that.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

She shook her head in denial.

“I know demons,” he said. “They’re pompous bastards and love to spew their desires. Certainly he said something to you of his intentions?” He elevated a questioning eyebrow.

Madison stared at him, her heart wild in her chest, pounding in her ears. The demon had said a lot, but none of it she cared to repeat.

“Either way, he’ll be back.”

No words ever spoken had turned her as cold as those. The doorbell startled her, interrupting their conversation.

“That’ll be the rest of the cavalry.” Phoenix left his perch and moved toward the door. At the worst moment of her life, she couldn’t miss the fine way his ass filled out those jeans.

“Madison, we’ll need to prepare you for his encore.”

Encore? His butt abruptly forgotten, she gulped back the surge of panic encroaching on her frayed nerves. The prospect horrified her, and she wondered if a church could offer them sanctuary from this sordid mess.

Chapter Thirteen

Nix’s family spread out as they entered her home. Madison huddled on the sofa, clenching Amos in a grip the youngster should protest. Face-to-face with a demon half an hour ago, she was shell shocked to be sure. He’d wiped the blood off the corners of her mouth, but her bruised and swollen cheek gave proof the demon had struck her at least once. Her gorgeous blue eyes were flat, hollow of every emotion except deep trauma her mind might have trouble coming back from.

No one said anything as James walked straight to her and pulled Amos out of her arms.

“No!” Madison scrambled to her feet to take him back.

James turned in such a way that she couldn’t get her hands on her son, and Amos pushed her away, too. “I’ll protect him with my life, like he’s one of my own boys.”

Her glance shot to Nix and returned to his uncle’s determined features. Nix thought she appeared as set on having her own way.

“Want your trucks?” James asked. Amos nodded and wrapped his arms around James’s neck.

Madison’s features fell at Amos’s acceptance of a near stranger. Score one for the kid.

“Come on, we’ll go get them while the old people talk.”

Nix snorted at the ‘old people’ comment and watched Madison follow them with her eyes as they went up the stairs together.

His uncle rarely spent much time with kids. He’d never goofed off with him and Gage as children either. James studied killing demons, not hugs and kisses. If anyone possessed the balls to snatch a child out of his traumatized mother’s arms without asking permission, his uncle was just the person. Nix sure as hell wouldn’t have had the gall.

Madison crossed her arms beneath her breasts and turned to face them, the outline of her nipples stark beneath her thin, pale-green tank top. Jesus, garments such as hers should be illegal. He ran a hand down his face, the action failing to dispel the thoughts swirling in his head. At least she’d possessed enough sense to throw on a pair of shorts before they came downstairs. Nix had been all too aware of her lack of attire. Full breasts, rounded hips, and legs meant to grip a man with iron strength and hold him tight as he thrust into her soft core. Perfect. Yes, yes, the perfect fantasy for him. Madison could smoke up the big screen and turn men into drooling idiots in no time. His opinion, of course.

His physical awareness of Madison needed to be squelched pronto because he couldn’t afford the luxury of losing his focus. Protecting her was more important than getting her on her back and his dick inside her body.

Nix shifted uncomfortably and peered at Gage and Zoe. Zoe stared at Madison, a soft look of concern washing her features. At any moment, she’d probably be offering Madison a hug. Zoe could be touchy-feely. Gage gave him a look he couldn’t read, odd because he normally could decipher Gage’s expressions. He could live with the oddity, as long as Gage couldn’t translate his present thoughts.

Clearing his throat, Nix crammed his improper contemplations to the back burner, slammed a lid down on them, and opened the discussion. “We need to know everything that happened between you and the demon, Madison.”

She stared at him and took a shaky breath which made her breasts wobble. Nix didn’t notice! Okay, maybe he did—any red blooded American man would.

“We need to know everything he said, too,” Gage clarified.

“Everything. Even all the not-so-fun stuff.” Zo nodded, as if Gage’s instructions weren’t enough. “So we can determine how best to proceed.”

Madison cocked her head slightly as she focused on Zoe, before sliding her attention to Gage. Not staying there more than a second or two, her eyes hit him, and Nix sucked in a breath. The intensity of her blue eyes on him, more potent than a laser beam, turned him equal parts hot, passionate, and uncomfortable. Not a good combination.

“We need coffee.” She stalked out of the room, spine ramrod straight.

Nix stared after her, wondering how to proceed. They needed to know all that’d happened, to better assist her. He’d witnessed part of the interaction with the demon, none of which she wanted to relive. He ran his hand over his nape and glanced at Zoe and Gage. Gage made a face, one he understood easily. Neither knew how to handle this situation any better than Nix. He took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. It didn’t calm his jittery nerves, but he hoped it would at least clear his mind enough to handle Madison rationally. “Give me a few minutes.”

Walking into the kitchen, he watched her a moment, admiring her fluid movements as she prepared coffee, pulling a canister from the cabinet over her head. “Coffee, Madison? Seriously?” He waited a second. She glanced at him over her shoulder and shrugged. Such a casual gesture, it set his hackles to rising. “You’re making coffee, and there was a goddamn demon in your bedroom!”

He hadn’t intended to elevate his voice, but he couldn’t control his exasperation. This was serious shit, and she acted like it was Sunday morning…and of all mundane things, made fucking coffee!

Madison turned to face him. Her bottom lip quivered slightly, the only sign of emotion on her face, and it socked him in the gut, hard. “I know there was a demon in my room.”

Delivered with much too calm for his liking, he needed some emotion from her. He wanted her as furious as he was over the violation. “Then act like it. Act like someone who gives a shit about her son and her own life! Fuck!” He dodged to the left as the canister sailed past his head and thwacked the wall. Coffee grounds spewed across the kitchen, leaving a long arc across the floor.

She pitched well for a girl.

“Are you mad? I’m on your side.”

“Mad?” She flung the coffee scoop, which popped him in the center of his forehead. “I’m mad, all right!”

“Ow!” God, her accuracy proved perfect with her left hand.

“I’m mad as hell a demon has chosen us! What’d we do to deserve this nightmare? That son of a bitch turned my son against me. That son of a bitch kissed me, shoved his nasty tongue in my m-m-mouth…th-th—”

Her voice quivered, her breath shuddered, and Nix took a couple of steps closer. Gage stepped into the room, and said Nix’s name softly, but he shook his head and waved him back out. Madison didn’t appear to notice Gage’s entrance and subsequent exit.

Madison shoved her hands in her hair and clutched the sides of her head as if it hurt. Nix refused to look below her neck. Now wasn’t the time to be lusting after her. Only a bastard lusted after a half-naked, traumatized woman. And he really wasn’t that big a bastard.

“If not for you…” Her blue gaze walloped him and Nix feared he’d forget his name if he stared into them while she climaxed. “He’d have killed me, Phoenix.” Her fingers traced the bruises on her neck. He’d have called himself a bastard in twelve languages if he knew twelve languages. He desperately wanted to kiss each discoloration along the column of her throat. “What would have happened to Amos if I died?”

Madison turned and smacked the salt and pepper shakers off the kitchen table. “I hate this! Why us? Why!”

She came at him and surprised him by whacking him in the chest. She met his stare with battle-ready eyes and hit him again. Even though he wasn’t to blame for her predicament, he understood her need to strike out at someone. Truth was, he needed her good and angry if she was going to help win this fight.

He caught her hand before she could cuff him again and yanked her against his chest, wrapping his arms tight around her. She needed to inflict violence, but he still wouldn’t willingly submit to being her punching bag. Her anger was so strong she vibrated in his arms.

What about her made him want to protect her? Why the desire to promise her the world? On the tip of his tongue were the words to tell her everything would be okay. He’d make sure of it, even if it cost him his life. But he knew it for a lie. He couldn’t promise her anything as long as a demon remained involved. He’d just met her. He shouldn’t feel this type of protectiveness. God help him, he wanted more for her.

Madison’s body finally settled. She remained snuggled against his chest. No woman had ever felt so perfect nestled in his arms, seeking comfort, the way she did. He breathed her scent and resisted the urge to kiss the top of her head.

“I’m sorry. You’re not to blame.” Her words were muffled against his chest. “I shouldn’t have hit you.”

He clasped her face and tilted her head back. He expected tears, but her eyes were dry, seething with rage. He thought her the bravest woman he’d ever met. “Don’t apologize.”

“I’m freaking mad!” He suspected ‘freaking’ was a pretty dirty word for Madison. Nix forced back the grumble of laughter. “If your God exists, how could he allow this to happen?”

He could offer no answer to the question, and he settled on shaking his head. He wouldn’t pretend to have all the answers. His concentration fell to her mouth, where her tongue darted out to swipe across her bottom lip. He wanted to follow her actions, but he wouldn’t stop there. He’d lick her all over, her breasts, nipples, belly, and down her legs, working to the inside of her thighs—not going there!

“Madison, being angry is okay. You needed the release. Crying’s okay, too.”

“I don’t want to cry. I want to hit something.” He smiled. Yeah, he’d realized the need when she started pounding on him. “Do you cry when a demon almost kills you?”

No, but he’d been in this business since childhood. The expression on his face must have answered her question, because she executed a slight smile.

“I didn’t think so.” Madison pulled out of his arms, and he felt lonely without her there. “I’m just scared, Phoenix.”

“I know.” Scared wasn’t good enough. She needed to be terrified. “You think you can give us the details now?”

Madison nodded.

“I don’t guess you’re going to make me any coffee tomorrow, eh?” He glanced at the coffee strewn all over her kitchen floor.

She followed his gaze, and her eyes widened in horror.

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Nix said quickly.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “I suddenly find myself fresh out of coffee.”

Nix chuckled and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. Before he thought through his words, he said, “That’s my brave girl.”