by Larissa Ione
Regan sat on the floor, staring at the vampire who had saved her from one threat and was planning to deliver her into the hands of another.
“You can’t take me to Thanatos. He’s incapacitated—”
“Stupid female,” he barked. “I’m taking you to his keep until he returns. Several of us have come up with a plan to get him back.” His voice softened. “And there are things you need to know, warnings I can’t tell you here—” Blood spurted from his mouth, and he jerked forward, catching himself on the podium.
A crossbow bolt pierced his sternum.
“Get away from her!” Lance, one of Regan’s fellow Elders, rushed toward them, crossbow in one hand, wooden stake in the other. More Guardians followed on his heels, including Suzi, who had moved into headquarters to assist Regan in her final months of pregnancy. From the side entrance, Elders Kynan and Decker burst through the doors.
“Don’t kill him!” Regan shouted, but Lance ignored her, driving the stake through the vampire’s heart.
“Dammit, Lance!” Kynan rounded on Lance as the vampire smoldered. “That’s not how we do things.”
“That’s not how you do things,” Lance said. “Not everyone in The Aegis agrees with your squeaky clean new way of treating the enemy.”
Suzi crouched next to Regan. “Are you okay? Should I call your doctor? Oh man, I should have been with you—”
“I’m fine,” Regan assured her, but Suzi wrung her hands, worry bleeding from her pores. “But you know, I could use a cup of your awesome honey chamomile tea.” Suzi grinned, clearly relieved to be able to help. As she took off, Regan remained on the floor, gathering both her thoughts and her breath. “Why were Thanatos’s vampires here? How did they get in?”
Juan, another Elder, kicked at the remains. “We captured them a couple of weeks ago. We needed to see the daywalkers ourselves. Somehow they escaped their cells.”
“You morons,” Regan snapped. “Don’t you think we’ve done enough to Thanatos?”
“We didn’t do it to the Horseman,” Lance said, his expression so smug she wanted to slap him. “It was your report that brought his vamps to our attention. We needed to study them.”
Oh, damn. Once again, she’d managed to screw Thanatos, just in a different way. Her guilt manifested into bitter anger, which she aimed at Lance.
“The Apocalypse is on our doorstep,” she growled, “and you wasted time with vampires? Nice.”
Lance scowled. “You’re the one who volunteered to take over as vampire expert when Jarrod died last year. You should have known that when you discover a new breed, we’re going to want to dissect it.” He cast her a nasty glance. “You aren’t going to cry about it or some shit, are you?”
God, she hated when he did that. He and a couple of the other Elders seemed to think that as a woman, she’d break down into tears about every little thing. They’d been the negative voices when Regan’s promotion into the Sigil was on the table, and now she never passed up an opportunity to show them she was just as capable as they were. She didn’t have a chance to rip into him though, because Kynan intercepted and steered them back on topic.
“Dissect it.” Kynan shoved his stang blade into its slot on his hip belt. “We have standard operating procedures for new species, and those include informing other Elders about plans to capture. They don’t include dissection.”
“You’ve been busy with your happy little demon family,” Juan said. “We didn’t see the need to make a big production out of capturing a couple of bloodsuckers.”
Regan fought the urge to scream in frustration. “What if the Horsemen see this as yet another betrayal? Did you think of that?” The Aegis’s relationship with Limos and Ares was already strained, thanks to what had gone down between Regan and Thanatos, and this could only make things worse.
“I’m more concerned about the impending Apocalypse than what the Horsemen think, but the fact that the vampires escaped is definitely troubling.” Lance nodded at Juan. “Let’s check the cells to make sure no other nasties are loose.”
As they took off, Decker glared after them. “I hope they get eaten,” he muttered.
“How are you feeling?” Kynan offered her a hand, but Regan refused it and pulled herself to her feet on her own. She’d had enough of being touched tonight.
“I’m feeling surprisingly good.” She winced as a tiny foot caught her in the ribs. “When I’m not being kicked.”
Kynan unzipped his leather bomber, revealing a weapons harness loaded to kill an entire legion of demons. “Gem said the same thing when she was pregnant.” Ky’s daughter, Dawn, was almost a year old now, and the cutest little dark-haired thing ever. Regan wondered what color hair her child—a boy, she’d learned a couple of months ago—would have, given that Thanatos’s hair was blond and hers was dark brown. “I know we talked about this before, but if you need someone to talk to about pregnancy stuff, Gem is there for you.”
Ugh. This had been an uncomfortable subject ever since Juan had brought up the fact that Regan didn’t have a mother to share the experience with or to ask for advice. No, Regan’s mother had committed suicide-by-demon after giving birth to Regan. As Lance had once put it, “You should feel lucky she didn’t off herself the second she found out her demon-possessed lover knocked her up.”
He was such a dick.
Regan offered a polite smile. “Thanks, Ky, but I’ll be fine.”
He nodded. “Offer still stands. When’s your next doctor appointment?”
“Tomorrow. Dr. Rodanski is concerned about the baby’s size, so he’s going to do another ultrasound and decide if we’re going to do a C-section instead of a natural delivery.”
“You really should see—”
“No.” She cut Kynan off before he could suggest allowing a demon doctor from Underworld General to take care of her. It was one thing to be working with demons to prevent the Apocalypse, but allowing one to touch her intimately? Not unless things got dire. Way dire.
“Regan,” Ky said. “Your body reacts badly to medication. You can’t have a C-section without meds and pain management.”
“Rodanski said he’d figure it out.” She hoped so, because what Ky, a former Army medic and physician at Underworld General, mentioned was a huge concern. The baby’s delivery could be potentially dangerous. Still, she wasn’t ready to deal with demon doctors and their alternative therapies.
Her stomach growled loud enough for Decker to hear. “Want me to get you something to eat?”
“I don’t suppose you have a chocolate milkshake in your back pocket.” She’d always been a bit of a health nut, but pregnancy had given her a major craving for all things ice cream.
He wrinkled his nose. “That crap will kill you.”
An image of Thanatos popped into her head, and no, it wouldn’t be the milkshakes that killed her.
“So,” she said. “Tell me why you’re here at this hour of the morning.” The boys exchanged glances, and her gut twisted. “What is it?”
Beepers went off, three at once. Decker grabbed his phone first. “It’s Lance. Fuck. Demons loose in the building.”
Instantly, Ky and Decker drew weapons and closed rank around Regan. “What the hell is going on? If we hadn’t come to discuss rousing Thanatos, Regan could be dead.”
Regan gripped the podium so hard her nails dug into the wood. “You were thinking about rousing him? Now?”
“Long story, but yeah. We came across new information. We need to consider waking him right away.”
“You’re a little late for that, Aegi.” The deep, rumbling voice from the doorway drained every drop of blood from Regan’s face. She broke out in a cold, clammy sweat as she looked up to see Thanatos at the auditorium entrance, his big body radiating danger even his armor couldn’t contain.
And she knew, without a doubt, that her nightmare was about to become reality.
Four
Regan couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t swallow. All she could do was stare death�
��literally, Death—in the face. Thanatos was going to kill her. His yellow eyes drilled into her, but when he spoke his words were for Ky and Decker.
“Leave us.”
“Listen to me, Thanatos,” Kynan began. “If you have a beef with someone, it should be me—”
“Shut up.” Than’s voice echoed through the auditorium, carrying as if he was talking through an amplifier. “Leave now. Last warning.”
He moved toward them, his boots thumping like death knells on the carpeted floor, the bone plates of his armor clacking, the sword at his hip more menacing than she remembered.
“Go to hell, asshole,” Decker drawled.
Regan reached out to grasp Deck’s shoulder in warning, but it was too late. Shadows rose up around Thanatos, the souls of those he’d killed. Once released from the prison of his armor, they were deadly, nightmarish weapons Regan had no desire to encounter again. She had no idea if one of them could kill Kynan, seeing how he was immune from harm by anything but fallen angels, but Decker would be easy prey.
So would she. Her ability to rip souls out of a person … or to defend against an attacking soul, seemed to have been affected by the pregnancy. The loss would have been a relief not long ago. Now it left her vulnerable in a way she hadn’t thought possible.
“Go,” she said softly, never taking her eyes off those swirling souls. “I’ll be okay.” She hoped. Kind of doubted, really. But she would not be responsible for Decker’s death.
“We’re not leaving,” Kynan said.
Thanatos smiled, and Regan shuddered. “I just killed a fallen angel.” He threw out his hand, and one of the souls, its inky form sprouting wispy wings, darted toward Kynan. It halted mere inches away, straining as if tethered by invisible chains. “He can suck the life right out of you, human.”
“Dammit,” she hissed. “You guys go. Hang out in the hallway, but please…go!”
Ky and Decker both glared in stubborn defiance, but finally, they stalked off. When Ky got to the door, he turned around and shot the Horseman a deadly cold look. “You’ve got five minutes.”
Five minutes? That would be an eternity, given that Thanatos could end her in under a second. The moment Ky and Decker were gone, Thanatos struck, wrenching her away from the podium and pinning her against the wall with his upper arm across her throat. She couldn’t even reach for her handy-dandy anti-Horseman dagger.
“You betrayed me.”
“Please,” she whispered.
“Please.” His voice was guttural. Low. Downright evil. “Say it again. It won’t help, but I want to hear you beg before I kill you.”
She would never beg for her own life, but she’d do anything for the child. She licked her lips, but she had no moisture on her tongue. “Please don’t do this.”
Closing his eyes, he inhaled, and a wicked smile curved his mouth. “The scent of your fear is intoxicating. How does it feel to be restrained and helpless, Regan?”
Horrific. It was horrific. “Do what you want to me,” she rasped, “but don’t… don’t hurt the baby.”
His eyes popped open. For a moment, he stared at her, his blond eyebrows pulled low over golden eyes. “Baby?”
How could he have missed the fact that she looked as if she’d swallowed a watermelon? The baby kicked, as if aware he was being talked about, and Thanatos looked down.
“What the—?” Thanatos leaped away, eyes wide and glued to her belly. “When?” He swallowed audibly. “Who’s the father?”
Now she had to tread carefully. The plan had been to wait until after the baby’s birth to rouse Thanatos and tell him about it … the hope being that if he came after Regan in a murderous fury, at least the baby would be safe. Now… shit. She wasn’t sure what to do. Weird, since she’d always been able to think on her feet.
“Listen to me—”
“Who?”
She inhaled a shaky breath. “I’d feel better if Kynan was here—”
“Kynan?” Thanatos let out a godawful snarl, and she swore she saw the flash of fangs. “The Aegi is the father? He dared to touch you?”
Dared? “No—”
“Kynan!” His roar shook the entire building, and then his sword was in his hand and those creepy shadows were circling his feet.
“It’s not Kynan,” she blurted, but Than wasn’t listening.
“Kynan is a dead man.”
“Thanatos! Yo, deaf Horseman. It’s not Kynan. It’s you.” She smoothed her hand over her belly. “This baby is yours.”
Thanatos had lived during the days when being poleaxed wasn’t just an expression. He’d managed to avoid it … until now.
Now he knew exactly how it felt as he stood there like a dolt, staring numbly at Regan’s belly. He dragged his gaze upward, to breasts that seemed larger than before, to her slender throat, and finally, he met her hazel eyes. They were as beautiful as he remembered, bright, with a warrior’s hard ice behind fire. But they were also tinged with fear, proving she wasn’t stupid.
When he’d first entered the auditorium, he’d been prepared to kill her. Now he just wanted a stiff drink.
He was going to be a father.
From virgin to dad in zero to sixty.
The door burst open, and both Kynan and Decker were there, pistols trained on Than. Bullets wouldn’t penetrate his armor or kill him, but they’d hurt like hell if they struck exposed body parts. Like his head.
“Fire those guns,” Than said quietly, “and every Aegi in the building will pay for it.”
“We don’t want any trouble,” Kynan said. “Leave now.”
“Leave?” Than laughed even as the souls in his armor spun like thousands of little tornadoes. Thousands? Why would there be so many? Didn’t matter. Not right now. He took Regan’s arm before she could scoot away. “I’ll leave. But she’s coming with me.”
Decker’s finger slipped from his pistol’s trigger guard to the trigger. “No way in hell.”
“It’s all right,” Regan said quickly. “I’ll be fine.”
“Presumptuous, don’t you think?” Than said, and then felt like an asshole when she paled.
“Regan, you don’t have to protect us.” Kynan stepped closer, and Decker moved with him, their bodies in practiced sync. “Let’s talk about this, Horseman.”
“Stall until you can summon my brother and sister? I don’t think so.” He dragged Regan to the door at the other end of the auditorium, and when he slammed it open he wasn’t surprised to find over a dozen Guardians, all armed to the teeth, waiting for him. Well, one female held a dagger and a menacing-looking cup of tea.
“First person who moves against me dies,” he told them. “Second person gets you all killed.”
Regan remained stiffly at his side. “Stay back, everyone. I’m going willingly.”
All but one obeyed, and the one, the idiot who dared to swing a skinny blade at him, found out how fast Thanatos could launch a soul from his armor. The other slayers found out how loudly humans screamed when they were having their souls ripped from their bodies.
“Stop it,” Regan yelled, but it was too late.
“I warned them,” he said, as he hauled her out of the building. “And I’m not in the mood for second chances, Regan. Keep that in mind.”
The second they were outside headquarters, Than threw a gate and tugged Regan through it. They came out at his Greenland keep in a marked-off area set aside specially for gates—the things had a tendency to slice people in half if they materialized next to or on top of someone.
Wind roared across the dark, barren landscape, carrying with it the faint tang of the nearby ocean and smoke from the fires inside the keep. Regan’s ponytail fluttered as she stepped onto the grass, her cheeks pinking up from the cool breeze. It might be summer, but it was still cold, cloudy, and wet.
“Why are we here?”
He took her elbow and marched her toward the door. “I live here.”
“I know that,” she ground out. “But I figured you’d want to
go someplace less obvious. Especially since you’re now going to have the entire Aegis organization after you for kidnapping me and killing a Guardian.”
“You figured wrong.” He shoved open the door, and immediately his vampire servants came running.
“Master!” Viktor’s dark eyes were wide, a grin splitting his face. “You’re back. We didn’t know or we’d have prepared—”
“It’s okay. I’ll be back to talk to you later.” He led Regan down the stone steps to his dungeon, and when she resisted halfway, he swept her up and carried her. Oddly, where her belly touched his armor, her heat burned right through the bone plate.
“Let…me…go.” She struggled in his arms, and he cursed, gripping her tighter while trying not to hurt her.
“Stop it. You’ll injure yourself or the baby.” A glint of silver flashed, and he blocked the blade before it bit into his cheek. With a snap of his wrist, he broke Regan’s grip on the dagger and it clattered to the stone steps. “Let me guess. Coated in hellhound venom? Nice try.”
“It’s also imbued with a locator spell, you giant ass. The Aegis will be able to track me.”
“Right,” he drawled, “because they won’t guess that you’re at my place. Seeing how I took you.”
She sank her teeth into his hand and he yelped, but he didn’t put her down until they reached the first cell. Quickly, he shoved her inside before she bit him again. Not that he was opposed to biting, but there were more appropriate times for that.
Oh, look… you got laid once and you’re already making everything about sex.
“You’re just going to leave me here?” Regan asked, incredulous.
He slammed the cage door. “Yes.”
Crimson splotches colored her pale cheeks, and she hugged herself, rubbing her bare arms. “Can I at least have a blanket?”
Fuck. Now he felt like a heel. She was dressed for summer in a gauzy white blouse, khaki capris, and bare feet, but it was freezing down here year round, and while it didn’t affect him, she was human, and she’d succumb to hypothermia. He shouldn’t care. In fact, he didn’t. But he wasn’t going to let her die while his baby was inside her.