Page 59 of Mortal Heart

At no point since they’d met had Ronan seen Arkady knocked back a step, until this moment. Her head snapped back as if Bunny had landed a physical punch. And she couldn’t manage a reply, not even one of her trademarkfuck you’s. He could almost taste her pain.

If Bunny—or whatever her real name was—had been within reach at that moment, he would have ripped her apart limb from limb for that alone.

“Down in two shakes, darlings,” Bunny said. The monitor went black.

Less than a second later, one of Arkady’s blades shattered its screen dead center, right where Bunny’s forehead had been. Her chest heaved.

“Miss Woodall,” he said.

“Don’t.” She stalked to the monitor, reclaimed her knife, and headed for the darkened bar. He followed silently, flexing his fingers and imagining how satisfying it would feel to use them to crush Bunny’s throat.

Just before they entered the bar, his skin prickled. He touched Arkady’s shoulder and bent his head to murmur in her ear. “Low-level demons inside. About a dozen of them.”

“Is that all there are in the building?” she asked, her voice tight.

“I believe so.”

“Two against twelve. I like our odds.” She shoved the metal gate of the bar’s entrance aside and started to go in.

He halted her with a hand on her arm. “Calm and focus,” he said, his mouth pressed to her ear. “We are smarter and better prepared than she thinks. She can’t beat us unless we let her.”

She took a deep breath, exhaled, and looked up at him. “When this is over, I’m going Harley shopping, and then you’re going to help me get some of those cool saddlebags you’ve got.”

He took advantage of her closeness to kiss her lightly. “Deal,” he murmured against her lips.

Inside, they found the dozen low-level demons he’d sensed lined up in front of the bar. All had removed their clothing and reverted to their natural forms. As far as he knew, Arkady had never seen any infernal creatures other than the horde they’d dispatched at Nyx.

Presumably to make Bunny think she’d succeeded in rattling her, Arkady didn’t hide her disgust at the demons’ red leathery skin, vertically slitted pupils, glowing red eyes, and thick raised scars that covered their bodies almost from horns to hooves. She cringed at the sight of their aroused, barbed genitals and made a show of keeping Ronan between herself and them. He might have been fooled by her acting if he hadn’t known better.

“All in a row, like a Rockettes kick-line from Hell,” she muttered in his ear.

He didn’t know what that meant. He’d have to ask her to explain later.

The demons chittered and hissed at them, showing their jagged teeth. Unlike Arkady, Ronan had no reason to show fear or revulsion, and these low-level creatures deserved a reminder that they weren’t shit, as Arkady would have phrased it. He didn’t want to waste power putting them in their place. Instead, he braced himself and flexed his wings as much as the bindings would allow. The pop of sound and angelic magic sent the demons scurrying for the darkest corners of the bar. He smiled with satisfaction.

“Ha. Take that, you stinky little shits.” Arkady glanced around, hands on her hips. “Who do I have to shank to get a drink around here? Ugh, never mind. Whatever demons drink probably sucks anyway—or it’s poisoned. Or both.”

The back of Ronan’s neck prickled. Bunny’s voice came from the darkness on the far side of the bar. “I believe this establishment has some very fine tequilas. None poisoned, as far as I am aware.”

Arkady palmed a blade and spun it in her hand. “Oh, gee, in that case pour me a double.”

Chuckling, Bunny emerged from the shadows. She’d gone back to being a redhead and wore a slinky, semi-transparent green dress that emphasized her lack of undergarments in every possible way. Given her human form was as much a costume as her hair and clothing, Ronan found the sight of her body highly unappealing. Judging by Arkady’s wrinkled nose, she felt the same way.

Bunny went behind the bar, poured herself a glass of whiskey, and leaned against the counter directly across from Ronan and Arkady. “What a meanie you are, Ronan. Scaring my little ones so badly, and without provocation.” She sipped her drink and smiled. “No more manners than your bedmate. At least she has good reason for her conduct. I expected better of an archangel—even one so disgraced.”

“Have you nothing but petty insults for weapons?” Ronan asked. “Frankly, I’m bored with you.”

“Bored? Of me?” She laughed. “Not possible.”

He scoffed. “I’ve never met an incubuslessinteresting.”

“You both found me interesting enough at Bella’s.” Bunny came around the end of the bar nearest them and posed with her elbow resting on its top. “You were hard for me, and your woman grew wet from my touches. Do you deny it?”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t take either of those things so much to heart. It wasn’t you we were lusting over. We’d been fantasizing about fucking each other from the moment we met—so much so that we’ve indulged ourselves how many times in the past twelve hours?” He would not normally use such language to describe the intimacy between himself and Arkady, but their purpose was to antagonize their adversary into reacting without thinking.

And of course Arkady understood and played along “Four.” She smiled. “How many times have you gotten some today, Bun-Bun? Pretty sure the answer is none. Someincubusyou are.” She put air quotes around the word. “You couldn’t get laid if you were the only woman on the menu at a Nevada cathouse.”

Bunny’s eyes blazed red. She slipped the straps of her dress over her shoulders and let the shimmery fabric fall to the floor, leaving her nude. She caressed her ample breasts and cupped them proudly, as if expecting her audience to fall to their knees in reverence. “I am Atonoskelis, worshiped by legions of demons and men. You would fight each other to the death for the privilege of having me.”

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