Rack woke up trapped in a box. Well, a closet was more likely, since he saw a door. His chin hurt and his neck ached. God, Esme packed a wallop.
Oh, God, Esme.
The picture of him and Dell had told his secret. She knew that Dell was her cousin’s daughter. He’d confirmed that he knew it just by how guilty he acted. She had every right to knock him unconscious and get the hell out of town.
He reached up to rub his chin but felt something decidedly different.
Leather with big wooden beads, interlaced with strands of coarse horsehair. Rack shuddered as he remembered the devil honoring him with a gift, a gift of a gold necklace, similar to what ancient Egyptians used to wear. Once Rack accepted the gift, the gold melted away, leaving in its place the collar Rack now wore again.
He tore at the leather, scraping his neck in the process. The panic of being used, owned, swept through him and he kicked out. His boot hit the door, the walls, and his bellows of anger reverberated back at him.
He slammed his fists on the door. “Semi, you worthless bastard! Let me out! What the fuck is wrong with you? Face me like a man, you piece of shit!”
There was no answer.
With one last fist into the door, Rack fell back against the wall behind him. He ran his hands through his hair and rested them on the back of his neck, thinking. Sure, Esme had knocked him out—again, he couldn’t fault her for it—but someone had dragged him to wherever he was. He sure as fuck didn’t think Esme could have done it, or, more importantly, would have done it.
So where was she?
He launched off the wall at the door, fists and feet kicking again. “Esme! Goddamn you, Semi! Let me out of here!”
Nothing. She’d worked for him before. Was she working for him now? Had everything she’d done and said been an act?
He couldn’t believe that. Her responses had been honest and raw. He might be old as fucking dirt, but he knew women. Esme hadn’t lied with her body, and she sure as fuck didn’t seem the type of woman who would even pretend to fake anything. No, Semi was behind all of this.
The collar chafed him. He tucked his hands in the worn leather and tugged. The horsehair itched. The leather was hot. The wooden beads dug into his throat. Goddamn, where had Semi found this thing?
“Semi!” he shouted again. “You want me to burn this whole place down?”
There was a thump. A drag. Thump. Drag. Thump. Drag.
Rack’s heart lurched. Semi.
“Let me out of this damn room!” he yelled, both fists connecting with the door again. Loose dust filtered down on him from around the door frame.
Thump. Drag. Thump. Drag.
“Fuck!” Now Rack kicked and punched, dents appearing in the door.
He stopped, chest heaving. He braced both hands on the door, breathing hard. Fucking Semi. Goddamn, motherfucking Semi—
A scream.
A feminine scream.
“Fuck,” Rack breathed. “Esme!” Terror fueled him and he doubled his efforts on the door. He tried starting a fire, but it only sputtered out. The fucking collar. He put a shoulder into the door, over and over, until he heard wood cracking. A splinter broke off in his shoulder, but he kept ramming against the door. Semi could not hurt Esme.
A hole appeared in the door and Rack put both hands in, ripping at the heavy wood, his hands becoming bloody and torn. He didn’t care. He had to get to Esme. One final shoulder into the middle of the door and Rack busted through. He tripped out of the small room he’d been held in and crashed to the floor.
He was in a long room, the farthest end from him hard to see. Along the walls were cases made of Plexiglas, each housing an object that Rack hadn’t set eyes on in thousands of years. But right now, he didn’t care about any of that.
About five feet in front of him was a rough-hewn chair, Esme secured to it. Behind her stood Semi, one arm wrapped around her, his hand under her chin.
Rack slapped both hands on the concrete leaving bloody handprints behind. He lurched to his feet and took one step toward them.
“Might want to stay there, Araqiel,” Semi said softly.
Now Rack saw that it was not just his hand under Esme’s chin, that evil hand held a knife.
“Let her go,” Rack said roughly.
“She works for me,” Semi answered with a smile.
“She quits.”
“I require a two-week notice,” Semi laughed.
“You bastard.”
Semi leaned down and put his lips next to Esme’s ear. “See, sweetheart? He’s just an awful man. You’re right to leave him.”
Rack risked a look at Esme. She was crying. It broke his heart. Sure she was at the mercy of Semi, but Rack knew some of those tears were because of him. The pain of that nearly brought him to his knees.
He tried again to shoot a bolt of fire at Semi, but the flame flickered out.
Semi laughed. “You can’t believe how happy I was to find that collar. I must say, the devil knew how to control the likes of you.”
Rack bared his teeth and growled.
“So let’s talk about this, Esme,” Semi said with a smile. “You had a cousin. Lisette was her name?” Esme didn’t answer and Rack saw Semi’s hand push the knife deeper. “Answer me.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“And Lisette had a child, correct?”
Tears trickled out Esme’s eyes. “Oui.”
“Now, here’s where it gets tricky, Esme,” Semi told her. “You see, months and months ago, Rack here managed to destroy a little enterprise I started. He and his merry band of fallen angels, I should say. Busted my leg up as you well know.” Here Semi looked up at Rack and smiled his hideous smile. “Turns out, though, I needed help from demon friends that I have. I opened a portal not far from where one of Rack’s friends lived.”
“You fucking bastard,” Rack hissed.
“Why, Rack, I’m surprised. Surely you knew I opened that portal.”
Rack remembered the swollen face of Dell’s mother, hanging from the broken beam of a covered bridge. And poor Dell in a baby carrier still attached to her dead mother.
More than anything, Rack wanted to rush Semi, fucking kill him. But not with that knife to Esme’s throat. He fisted his hands, wishing Semi’s neck was in his grasp.
“I thought it would be fun, since that portal was so close to a walking trail, to hang a rope over the side of that bridge.”
Esme choked back a sob.
Semi leaned down and spoke directly in her ear. “I got a taker.”
Esme closed her eyes and sobbed louder.
“You fucking bastard!” Rack now shouted. He took a step forward.
“No, no, my friend,” Semi warned, his tone becoming hard. The knife pressed against Esme, breaking the skin.
“You fucking killed her cousin!”
“Very possible,” Semi responded, his eyes burning red. “But I didn’t steal a baby.”
Rack hissed again and leaned to charge Semi. An arm swept across his chest, holding him back like a band of steel.
“Uh-uh,” Olivier murmured in his ear.
“I didn’t steal her!”
“You sure didn’t give her back,” Semi answered.
Rack struggled against Olivier’s hold, even though he knew it was hopeless. More than anything, he wanted to explain, but he knew Esme wasn’t listening. The pain was too fresh.
“What was her name, Esme?” Semi asked.
“How did you live through that explosion?” Rack tried to redirect the conversation.
Semi gave him a sardonic glare. “Rack, please. We’re trying to learn about Esme’s young cousin. Her name, sweetheart?”
Esme gulped a huge swallow of air. “F-Fleur.”
“Fleur. How beautiful. And you named her…what was it again, Rack?”
Esme raised her eyes to him. He no longer saw the love in her eyes. Now they were blank and he knew she’d dismissed him. “Esme, you have to understand—”
“Does she?” Semi demanded. “The very afternoon she files a police report in your town, you show up at her hotel room. Tell me, Rack, what were your plans?”
He sagged back against Olivier’s body. How awful this all looked. “Esme,” he tried again.
She closed her eyes and turned slightly away.
“Hmm, doesn’t seem as though she wants to hear it. How sad for you, Araqiel.”
“I took care of her,” Rack tried. “Her mother was dead and I saved her. Then I took care of her.”
“She had family to take care of her,” Semi rejoined.
“You don’t fucking care!” Rack yelled. “You’re using this for your own gain. Leave her alone! You want me, you bastard! Me!”
“Do I?” Semi asked.
Rack’s heart nearly stopped. Oh, God. What could he want with Esme? With Dell?
“You see, once I realized someone had fallen into my trap on the bridge, imagine my surprise when I found out there was a child involved. Seemed a perfect opportunity to gather that child to my bosom and treat her well. Ah, but you and Sam got to her first. But then….” Semi removed the knife from Esme’s throat and Rack breathed a sigh of relief. “Then I was injured, wasn’t I?” Semi grinned wickedly. “And I just simply can’t shake this damage.” With a quick flick of his wrist, Semi reversed the angle of his hold on the knife and lowered the blade with force, jamming it into Esme’s thigh.
Esme screamed in pain and Rack struggled.
Semi grinned. “Turns out someone was looking for that little girl. I found her and hired her. Figured that once she came here to Germany you’d eventually come across her. Especially if I lead her here.”
Esme dropped her head forward, her shoulders shaking.
“Fucker!” Rack shouted.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Semi played confused. “I figured since you stabbed her in the back, you’d be fine with this.” He pointed to the knife. Blood bubbled up out of the wound along each side of the blade. “You,” he flicked his hand at Rack. “You and Sam tried to kill me. So now, I’ll try to kill you. Seems only fair.”
The collar around his neck tightened. Rack got his fingers underneath the leather just in time and pulled on it. Now Olivier let him go as Rack fought with the collar. It tightened no matter how hard Rack yanked on it. He dropped to the floor, his throat constricting.
He thrashed on the floor, kicking out. He felt his eyes bulge.
“Rack, Rack,” he heard Esme sob.
He couldn’t reassure her. Hell, he couldn’t reassure himself. Above him he saw Olivier looking down at him, his mouth a gaping black hole ready to steal his soul. Semi trudged over to him too. Rack pulled and pulled, but the collar wouldn’t give. Semi nudged him with his cane.
“I would give your death more time, but I have a full schedule. Turns out finding these relics are certainly a boon for me. I can control any of you with them.” Semi grinned with glee. “So we’ll just let that collar tighten until your neck snaps, then I’ll take my leave. Olivier will go and find Sam, since I’m assuming he has the little girl. Once I have her, I’ll be able to control your little girlfriend over there. She’ll be extra sure to get all of these relics for me, no matter what she has to do.”
Before he blacked out, Rack saw the whole thing laid out perfectly. Semi didn’t care about Dell. He wanted the relics, and if he had something to hold over Esme’s head, she’d do anything to get those relics for him.
Rack saw red. Pure and utter anger. He fought past the black out and his fingers tensed on the tightening collar. This shit wasn’t about him, this was about Esme.
He sure as hell wouldn’t let her or Dell end up in Semi’s hands.
He gritted his teeth and lit up the fire.
****
Esme couldn’t stand the pain. First Rack had broken her heart. Now Semi had stabbed her. Stabbed her! And poor Fleur. This raging psychopath wanted Fleur to hold over Esme’s head? The horror of it all made Esme sick.
The worst part was watching Rack on the floor, twisting and thrashing as he slowly suffocated. Sure he’d lied to her, broken her heart, but he was still Rack. Still the guy who saved her. Still the guy she somehow had managed to love.
She tried to ignore the knife in her leg. Tried. The utter pain coursing through her was mind numbing, but she worked at the knots around her wrists feverishly. While Semi and Olivier hawked over Rack, she was relatively forgotten. If she could get free….
A knot came loose. Esme’s heart leapt into her throat. Adrenaline pumped through her and it became easier to ignore the pain in her thigh. She had to get to Rack, had to get to Rack….
One wrist popped free. She almost sobbed in relief, but held it in. This was no time to call attention to herself. She risked a glance at Rack, who was turning bluer by the second. His fingers were trapped between the leather and his neck, but they were ineffectual against the tightening.
She got the other wrist loose. She flexed her fingers, her wrists, and bent to her ankles. As best she could, she hid what she was doing, but if Semi turned around, if Olivier looked this way, everything would be over.
They seemed intent on torturing Rack. When she was free, Esme shakily got to her feet. The only weapon she had was the one that had been used against her. She gripped the hilt of the knife with both hands and pulled. As deep as it was, it took several seconds to jar it loose. When she did, it came out with a sickening, sucking slide of metal against skin and burbling of blood.
She almost fainted, but managed to stay upright.
From where Rack was still fighting, she heard murmurs of Semi’s awful taunting. She couldn’t hear the words, but knowing that Rack was being mocked in his final minutes was too much for her to bear. No matter what he’d done to her, she seriously doubted he had bad intentions toward Fleur.
Esme dragged her bad leg behind her, the knife in her right hand. She got closer to Semi’s half turned back and nearly stumbled. Pain coursed through her and she tried to fight it off. He couldn’t do this to Rack. He couldn’t do this to Jove. She wouldn’t go down without a fight, that was for sure. Once close enough, she raised the knife.
“…She’ll be extra sure to get all of these relics for me, no matter what she has to do.”
Esme brought the blade down, over and over, into Semi’s back. The rogue fallen angel bellowed anger and pain, but she didn’t stop.
A flash of blue and a deafening roar blew her backward. Semi went one direction and Esme and Olivier went two others. She landed several feet away, having knocked over a display case. Feathers sifted through the air around her, but she didn’t even look at them. No, she was all about watching Rack.
He’d torn off the collar. The limp leather tossed aside, his body was now encased in a blue flame. All around him burned bright, and he had his sights set on Semi.
Esme watched as he stalked toward Semi. He hauled him up by the front of his shirt, the cane forgotten on the floor. A cut oozed black blood out of Semi’s forehead. Rack held him steady, the flames licking along his arms and reaching out to Semi.
“You don’t fuck with me or mine,” Rack rasped. His voice seemed different, deeper and harsher.
“I’ll fuck with whatever I want,” Semi spat.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Semi sneered.
Esme’s mouth dropped open as Rack hauled a fist back and plowed it into Semi’s face, simultaneously letting go of his shirt. Semi flew back, hitting a full wall of cases. Glass rained down on him and Rack stalked toward him again.
“No,” Semi hissed, throwing up a hand.
Ice spurted out and arrowed in on Rack, but he kept going, knocking the icicles aside, burning them up with his hellfire. Esme scrambled to the side, dragging her leg behind her as Semi sent shards in her direction.
Rack hissed and leapt at Semi, punching over and over. The rogue fallen angel grunted at each impact, but didn’t fight back. Not right away.
When he did, Esme didn’t see it coming.
Olivier snagged her hair, jerking her toward him. His hand hovered in front of her, his nails lengthening to points. Esme screamed as those nails clutched her throat, digging in and drawing blood.
Rack stopped hitting Semi and turned. “Let her go!”
“Rack, no! Look out!”
But Esme’s warning was too late. Semi lifted a blackened hand and gripped the side of Rack’s face. Rack yelled in agony and the blue flame flickered out. He backhanded Semi to free himself and he stumbled to his feet. Semi lay in the glass his body had broken, laughing, as Rack tripped his way to her.
“Ah, Rack, so very predictable.”
Esme felt the blood running down her neck and felt the throbbing in her leg. Rack stood before her, his body battered, his neck black and blue, and the hellfire put out.
“Esme….”
She shook her head, Olivier’s nails digging deeper. “Rack, you must go.”
“I won’t let them take you.”
“Keep Fleur safe.”
“I’ll keep you both safe.”
There was another flash of blue, a crack of what sounded like thunder, then screaming. The hand holding her fell away and Esme collapsed to the ground. She scrambled back and away, realizing that it was her that was screaming. Olivier’s hand still followed her, but only because it was in her lap—in her lap—and Olivier lay several feet away from her.
Horror stricken, she tossed the hand away from her as Olivier moaned in pain.
“Bet that won’t grow back,” Rack rasped.
“Neither will this.”
Everything happened in slow motion. The sizzle of flame from Rack to Olivier. Olivier grasping the flame with his remaining hand. Rack yanking on the flame. Semi staggering behind Rack….
“Rack, look out!” she shouted.
Too late. The knife, the one Esme had been stabbed with, the one she’d buried in Semi’s back, now plunged deep into Rack’s body. She saw the instant it hit his heart, the flame around him erupted into a full blown fireball. His shout shook the display cases around them. The fireball combusted, shorting out on the line of flame Olivier still held. In a rush of color and a blast of cold wind, the hellfire consumed Rack.
Esme covered her mouth, sobs shaking her. As the fire licked up his body, he looked over at her and gave her a sad smile.
Olivier tugged on the flame he still held and Rack fell to the ground, flames still burning over his body, but slowly going out. Esme watched, disbelieving, as Olivier tossed the fireball into his distended mouth and swallowed it whole. In a crack of immense light, Olivier and his amputated hand exploded and disappeared.
The light nearly scorched her eyes. Esme held a hand over them until she could no longer see red behind her closed eyes. She removed her hand and looked around.
Relics were scattered over the room, some on fire, some broken. Glass covered the floor, as did broken wood and blood.
She no longer saw Olivier. Semi was nowhere to be found.
Rack lay crumpled on the floor.
Esme tried to get to her feet, but couldn’t. She dragged herself over to Rack and lifted his head. She leaned over him and was rewarded with the sharp intake of breath.
“Esme….”
“Shh, I am here.”
She rested his head in her lap and hovered over him. Blood dribbled from his nose, mouth, and ears. She tried to cover the hole in his chest with her hands, but the wound was too big.
“Wanted you….”
“I wanted you, too,” she whispered.
“No.” He shook his head. “Semi. Wanted to use you.”
Her eyes filled with tears. Of course. If he had control of Fleur, he most certainly would have had control of Esme. She would have done anything to keep Fleur safe. “Do not worry about that right now. We must leave….”
He lifted a bloody hand and cupped her cheek. “Not going anywhere.”
“Do not say that,” she said sharply as his hand fell from her cheek. “I do not know where Semi has gone. Or Olivier. But we must get out—”
“Gone,” he interrupted her, his voice low. “All gone.”
Esme realized he didn’t just mean Semi and Olivier. “What do you mean?” She asked through stiff lips.
He raised his hand again, this time snapping his fingers. It took several tries, considering the blood that covered him, but when she finally heard the snap, she didn’t see what she was accustomed to seeing.
Fire.
“Gone,” he said again.
Esme stared at his bloody hand. “Gone,” she whispered.
He dropped his hand and his big body seemed to collapse. “So sorry, Esme,” he mumbled. His eyes rolled back in his head and he moaned in pain. “So very sorry, Esme.”
“You do not have my permission to die,” she told him sternly. “You open your eyes, Rack. You open them!”
But he didn’t. Esme hung over him, her tears staining his shirt and cleaning off some of the blood.
She held him deep into the night, long after she heard no more breath in his lungs. Long after the room grew dark and her own arms and legs had fallen asleep. She held him close to her, clutching his body to hers. Hoping to bring him back.