Numb. There was no other way to describe how Eve felt.
Though, one good thing had come from this nightmare. For the first time in a long time, her mind was utterly silent.
Since Lazarus had come for her, she’d enjoyed relief from all that noise, the multitude of thoughts stomping across her battered psyche, and it gave her hope there might be another way. That she might actually be able to gain control over this thing.
The busy Roxburgh traffic thinned as they moved out of the city. A guy named James, also a demi-demon, had been at the airport waiting for them with a car when they’d landed. Lazarus had barely greeted the guy before he’d taken the keys and gotten behind the wheel. He hadn’t said a word since. The plane ride had been much the same. He’d not said more than two words, and scowled the entire flight.
“I’m one of the trainers,” James was saying. “Once I mastered my powers the hunters were so heartbroken at the idea of me leaving, they offered me a job.” He turned to face the back seat and grinned at her. “Grown men crying…never a pretty sight. What choice did I have? I stayed.”
Lazarus growled.
Eve smiled back. James seemed nice, not terrifying at all. Maybe this wouldn’t be so terrible.
She’d given up wishing this was nothing but a nightmare. What she’d seen of Lazarus’s powers so far—along with her close encounter of the hideous, freaky-eyed monster kind—pointed away from a psychotic episode and made all the crazy stuff that had happened to her impossible to deny.
So she’d made a decision during their flight. She would handle this like any other move she’d had in her life, which had been numerous while growing up. She would accept her new circumstances. Fighting or crying wouldn’t help, it never did. She could do this. She had to do this. She would adapt, like she always did. No problem.
Being forced from her home, taken to a new city by a man she didn’t know anything about—while on the run from demons—which it turns out would like nothing more than to make her their slave.
Yep, cakewalk.
Information overload didn’t cover it, and surprisingly, it was Lazarus’s strong, silent presence that had kept her mind from short-circuiting. It was crazy, and she had no idea why exactly, but she trusted him to keep her safe.
They drove for another twenty minutes before the scenery changed and they entered some kind of industrial area. They passed old warehouses and empty lots. The whole area looked postapocalyptic, or at least what she imagined it would look like. No signs of life, everything abandoned and run-down.
At the end of the block, the car turned into a short road and they carried on until Lazarus pulled to a stop in front of a set of steel gates. They were at least ten feet tall, and there was a security camera mounted to the side aimed at them. He slid down the window and pressed his thumb to a small pad.
The gates jolted loudly then groaned into action.
As they slid open, Eve strained to see what was hidden behind the monstrosities.
Oh…wow.
And not a good wow; a where-the-hell-have-you-brought-me wow. A turn-me-around-and-take-me-anywhere-else wow.
The building on the other side was like something from a horror movie, where the serial killer took his victim to torture them before he finished them off. Besides varying shades of gray, the only other colors she could see were streaks of rust bleeding from large steel framework and washed-out green from the dust-covered weeds struggling up between the cracked concrete that surrounded the place.
Eve shivered. The huge, multistory building loomed ahead, casting an ominous shadow that seemed to stretch toward them like a monster about to devour its prey. Eve actually sucked in a breath when they moved from the light and into the darkness.
She tilted her head back, looking all the way up. The windows had been boarded, and some of the iron cladding hung loose, swinging drunkenly in the breeze, squeaking loudly then clattering against the building.
“What is this place?” she whispered.
“Home,” Lazarus said without looking back.
Her stomach flipped, and the nerves already tying her belly in knots tightened. Doors slid open in the wall ahead of them and the car tilted forward down a steep ramp into the bowels of the place.
Sensor lights flickered on moments later. They were in a parking garage. Several SUVs like the one they were in were parked there, and a couple of large dangerous-looking bikes were against the far wall.
Lazarus climbed out, came around, and pulled her door open. When he motioned her to follow, she realized she’d just been sitting there, too afraid to move.
Eve scrambled out and had to power walk to keep up with his long strides. He stopped in front of an ancient elevator she guessed wouldn’t meet any type of safety code, and she and James walked in after him. He pushed a button, for what floor she had no idea since all the numbers had worn off, and the elevator jarred into action. She stumbled, grabbing for the wall. Lazarus’s hand shot out, catching her arm to steady her so fast the movement was almost blur.
There went those weird little zaps again, right where his hand touched her.
She ignored them and focused on the numbers above the doors as they lit up. It ground to a halt on the fifth. Lazarus stepped closer, his hand moving to the small of her back. God, the immense heat radiating off his palm seemed to sear an imprint of that big paw right into her skin through her dress.
“Home sweet home,” James muttered as the doors slid open.
It took her brain several seconds to register what she was seeing. The interior was nothing like the shabby exterior. It was clean and modern with a lot of chrome and glass. The floors were a shiny black, and a subtle hint of lemon floor cleaner scented the air. It had an institutional feel and made her nervous all over again.
Several computers were set up around the room, and there was an entire wall covered with monitors. She recognized some of the images from the outside of the building and the underground parking garage.
The three of them stepped out of the elevator. “What is all this?” She turned toward the silent male beside her.
“Our main control area. Besides security for the compound, we also have a visual link to most of Roxburgh and the surrounding areas.”
“Why do you need cameras?” He’d told her how his kind tracked the demi-demons they saved. He’d called it a sort of built-in alarm. All this seemed…well, she didn’t know what to make of any of it.
“Bringing in demi isn’t all we do.” He motioned to the cameras. “Sometimes we need modern technology like everyone else.”
That cryptic answer told her nothing, but Lazarus seemed tense and she got the feeling it wasn’t the time to push for more.
“Are there other demi-demons here like me?”
“The second and third floors house our demi. First, we have a training area, gym. Above the control room, there’s a common area and cafeteria of sorts for those who wish to socialize. The fourth floor is apartments, mine and my brothers.” He turned to her then, finally looking at her again. “You can find me there if you need me.”
His voice had deepened when he said the last, and the gravel in it had her shivering again.
She nodded, unable to make her mouth work all of a sudden.
That intense gaze moved over her. “Are you cold again?”
Eve swallowed and forced herself to answer. “No, I’m not cold.”
His head tilted to the side in that animalistic way, gaze boring into hers, and whatever he saw caused it to darken.
She quickly looked away. The fierceness in his eyes made her heart race and her head swim in a way she did not understand.
“Your room,” he said suddenly. “I’ll get someone to show you to your room.”
Lazarus led Eve out of the control room, trying to keep his reaction to that little shiver, the way she’d been looking at him, on the down-low. Maybe what he’d been feeling wasn’t totally one-sided? Maybe not. Whatever that was, no way she’d understand it, and no way would he take advantage of it.
No matter how much of a game-changer it would be in the war with Tobias. Mating her when she was confused and without all the facts wasn’t something he was comfortable with. Not one fucking bit.
He ignored the throb of his groin and steered her out into the hall, more than a little pleased that all his brothers hadn’t been there for a meet and greet when they arrived. They were intimidating individually; confronted with more than one of them at a time would have freaked Eve out.
And, shit, if Chaos had seen that little shiver, the way Eve had looked at Lazarus, the prick would have locked them in a room together, mated by morning, and have Lazarus out hunting Tobias by nightfall.
The sound of boots hitting the stairs as they approached them echoed up the stairwell, and he gritted his teeth, sensing his brother before the doors opened. Thankfully, it was Kryos and not Zenon. With his angelic blond curls, warm brown eyes, and handsome face, Kryos was by far the least threatening of them all, at least in looks. Being mated helped. Not only did mating mean he had control of his demon, he at least knew how to talk to a woman without scaring the hell out of her.
He smiled. “Laz.” His gaze slid to Eve. “And this is?”
“Eve,” Lazarus said.
Kryos’s smile turned to a grin and he held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” His gaze slid back to Laz. “I hope my surly bro here is making you feel welcome.”
Eve chuckled.
Laz scowled at the bastard. “Is Meredith here? I thought she might she show Eve around.” His brother’s mate would do a better job of making Eve feel welcome than he could.
Kryos frowned a little. “I thought you might…”
“Can she or not?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll get her to meet Eve downstairs in a few.” Kryos met his gaze. “Have you told her everything she needs to know…about how we do things here?”
Laz stared back, not missing what his brother was asking. “No, there’ll be time for that later. I think she’s had enough information for one day.”
Kryos lifted his chin. Message received.
At least he’d keep his trap shut. And as soon as Eve was safe in her room, he’d be sending out a mass text to the others to keep their mouths shut as well. He needed to do this his own way, and he sure as hell didn’t need a reminder that time wasn’t something he had a lot of.
Kryos left to get his mate, and Lazarus led Eve to the stairs.
An hour later, Eve was in her room, Meredith still with her, and Laz was in his apartment, wearing out a strip in his carpet. What the hell did he do now? What was the best way to approach this: take her somewhere, like a date? Try and win her over?
Christ.
He clenched his fists. Winning her over wasn’t the goal here. He didn’t want to trick her into this, make her believe they were something that they weren’t. Make her think he could give her something he knew he never could. Honesty was his only option. He needed to just lay that shit out and hope for the best.
“Hey, Eve, you’re my mate. That means you’ll be tied to me for eternity, but I don’t actually want you for more than one night. So yeah, wanna come back to my room and fuck?”
Who wouldn’t fall at someone’s feet after that declaration?
The knock at his door was not unexpected. The only surprise was it hadn’t come sooner.
He yanked the door open and Chaos, their unofficial leader, walked through and prowled across the room.
Chaos stopped in front of Lazarus. “Does she know?”
“Not yet.”
“So you’re not mated?”
Lazarus stiffened and barely resisted the urge to decorate the guy’s face with a matching pair of black eyes. “Can I have more than a goddamned day? I’d like Eve to get used to me before I fucking jump her.”
The persistent hum he’d woken up with vibrating in the back of his skull, plus the uncontrollable craving for the female now in this building, made him aware of how naive he’d been.
He thought he could take her, make her his mate, then leave. But it wouldn’t be that easy, not any of it. His life was not his own. The greater good, it always came first. He’d been created to fight, to protect mankind. His feelings never came into it. It had always been that way.
Which meant he hadn’t even factored Eve’s feelings into any of this, how this fucking nightmare would affect her.
Chaos visibly tensed. “We don’t have time to fuck around, and until you finish this, we’re all at risk. Diemos and his brethren are just waiting for their chance.”
By finishing this, Chaos meant making Eve his mate. His brother was even blinder than Lazarus when it came to duty. The male was made of stone.
As for Diemos—the most powerful male in Hell—Lazarus would do whatever was necessary to keep his brothers away from that sadistic bastard. The guy had once been Lucifer’s most trusted confidant, his right-hand demon, his favorite. Until Diemos betrayed him and cast Lucifer out. Word had it Lucifer refused to kill him, fuck knew why, and instead decided if Diemos wanted the throne so badly he could have it.
The king of Hell was currently MIA.
Lazarus knew it was hopeless, but he had to ask. “There’s no other way?”
“You know there isn’t.” Chaos’s gaze held an unyielding determination and a grain of pity that set Lazarus’s teeth on edge. “Diemos already has Tobias on the payroll. And the way our brother wants you hurting, you know he’s coming for you next. We can’t let that happen.”
Yeah, T wanted him next, and Lazarus deserved that and more. Shame he couldn’t let Tobias have at it. But that wasn’t an option. He wasn’t the only one that would suffer if he didn’t do this.
Chaos’s gaze locked on his. “I know how tight you and T were, and I know this is gonna fuck with your head, but we need to sever the bond Tobias has with us before he takes the rest of us down with him. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get off on the idea of being Diemos’s new plaything.”
Lazarus rested his hands on his hips and stared at the ground. It had to be done, there was no other choice. But the idea of breaking that bond with their brother fucking killed him. T would still be with them if it wasn’t for him. Scarlet would have walked through those doors to greet Lazarus’s mate with open arms and a wide smile on her face.
Eve could have been his.
Instead, his brother was lost forever. Scarlet was dead. And Eve’s welcome was a ticking time bomb of a mate who she’d end up hating when all this was over.
“Suck it up,” his brother said. “How bad can it be? Kryos seems happy enough. That bastard’s always mooning after Meredith.”
Kryos was the only mated male among them. His demon was leashed, which meant Tobias’s deflection didn’t pose a risk to him. He’d found Meredith close to fifty years ago, and the pair had been loved up ever since.
Lazarus shook his head. Chaos had no idea he planned to leave after he and Eve were mated. Lazarus didn’t need to live there at the compound to do his job, but his brother wouldn’t see it that way. “Right.”
Chaos shrugged, actually grinning. “I’ve never heard him complain.”
“You’ll wanna be next then?” Laz said, knowing the answer before Chaos spoke.
The guy’s grin disappeared.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Look, if that female can help keep your shit under control, your head straight, long enough to take out T?” He shrugged again, but Laz didn’t miss the pain that flashed across his features with those words. “I figure it’s a small price to pay.”
Lazarus didn’t comment. It felt like a fucking mammoth price to pay to him. He truly didn’t give a shit what happened to him. Not anymore. But Eve, whose life he was about to destroy, that was another matter.
Chaos clapped him on the shoulder. “You have no choice, brother.”
“I know,” he gritted out.
“Good. Don’t fuck it up.”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
If he screwed this up, they’d all be a pack of mindless, bloodthirsty demons and Diemos’s new playthings within a few weeks.
So, yeah, fucking this up wasn’t an option.